damp check

[Chainwheel2]

Has anyone been told damp checks are only being carried out on the floor at the habitation service nowhere else .?

 

[VXman]

But you are, they've told you only the floor needs checking as the rest is aluminium (i think), as I said Carthago is just visual check as there's no wood to check the damp on.

Most are sandwich aluminium with foam in the middle for insulation and the better quality (I think XPS) then that is moisture proof. My argument is you can't check aluminium for damp like you can wood!

I'm not quite getting this Aluminium stuff. Only the skin is Aluminium. There is all sorts of stuff inside that could be damp depending on the construction. My Burstner (2021) was diagnosed with damp on a annual check. I has no idea prior to the check. The damp was inside the aluminium skinned wall. No wood involved. They said once inside the Aluminium wall it wouldn't ever dry out. It was around the water filler point and the external TV/power point. One can only assume these were not sealed properly and water leaked in from the seals around these utility points.

The dealer who diagnosed it (Heart of England motorhomes)said it was a big job and the damp area would have to be cut out from the inside and replaced. They refused to do it under warranty as I hadn't purchased it from them. Camper UK agreed to take it on but I don't believe they cut anything out - I think they removed the utility points, dried it out with heaters and then replaced/resealed.

 

[Chainwheel2]

Thanks for that. Your experience confirms what we were

 

[MichaelT]

I'm not quite getting this Aluminium stuff. Only the skin is Aluminium. There is all sorts of stuff inside that could be damp depending on the construction. My Burstner (2021) was diagnosed with damp on a annual check. I has no idea prior to the check. The damp was inside the aluminium skinned wall. No wood involved. They said once inside the Aluminium wall it wouldn't ever dry out. It was around the water filler point and the external TV/power point. One can only assume these were not sealed properly and water leaked in from the seals around these utility points.

The dealer who diagnosed it (Heart of England motorhomes)said it was a big job and the damp area would have to be cut out from the inside and replaced. They refused to do it under warranty as I hadn't purchased it from them. Camper UK agreed to take it on but I don't believe they cut anything out - I think they removed the utility points, dried it out with heaters and then replaced/resealed.

Carthago are aluminium inside and out so no way to check, maybe your burstner has wood inside like my dethleffs did but aluminium outside?

 

[CazPaul]

I'm not quite getting this Aluminium stuff. Only the skin is Aluminium. There is all sorts of stuff inside that could be damp depending on the construction. My Burstner (2021) was diagnosed with damp on a annual check. I has no idea prior to the check. The damp was inside the aluminium skinned wall. No wood involved. They said once inside the Aluminium wall it wouldn't ever dry out. It was around the water filler point and the external TV/power point. One can only assume these were not sealed properly and water leaked in from the seals around these utility points.

The dealer who diagnosed it (Heart of England motorhomes)said it was a big job and the damp area would have to be cut out from the inside and replaced. They refused to do it under warranty as I hadn't purchased it from them. Camper UK agreed to take it on but I don't believe they cut anything out - I think they removed the utility points, dried it out with heaters and then replaced/resealed.

As an example one of our previous motorhomes, a Hymer S820 had a leaking roof light around the sides for over a year, it was p1ssing water in. When taken off it was bone dry all the area around it, it’s all about the construction.

Our Concorde which is aluminium inside and out with good insulation was bone dry when the side windows were taken out to replace the double glazed glass, even though they were leaking.

In the 2 above cases with a different Motorhome you could get damp all over from exactly the same scenarios.

This is our van construction method, walls roof and floor.

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[VXman]

Carthago are aluminium inside and out so no way to check, maybe your burstner has wood inside like my dethleffs did but aluminium outside?

No wood in the construction of present Burstner walls/roof/floor as far as I am aware.

 

[MichaelT]

No wood in the construction of present Burstner walls/roof/floor as far as I am aware.

What about 2021 version?

What are your interior walls?

 

[VXman]

What about 2021 version?

What are your interior walls?

Not sure - feels like some kind of man made material. I've struggled to find any technical info on Burstners.

 

[Chainwheel2]

Benimar are not concerned. So that's that . Thanks for your help. Pam

 

[Jerrywh]

I had a hab check when I bought my (used) van, and some damp was found around a window seal. It seems to me that skin construction is irrelevant, if your van has windows ..

Also, I have been told that it is illegal in the UK, to issue any warranty that specifies that further work must be done only by the specific manufacturer or dealer, and paid for. Eg car warranties have to be valid whoever has been servicing the car. If you want to make a warranty claim you may have to show that proper maintenance has been done but that is as far as it goes.

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[John The Foot]

Personally would like to know exactly what they do for £456, I wonder how much per hour that equates to.?

 

[Jerrywh]

Personally would like to know exactly what they do for £456, I wonder how much per hour that equates to.?

About £912 I reckon..

 

[Blaydon]

Hi folks. We had our new Liaka ‘damp checked’ each year by the dealer who sold it to us. ‘Part of the six year warranty’, we were told. Each year we went back to get the check done. For the first few years we got stickers in the book. Then they said, ‘oh it’s all on line now, so no stickers’.
Then they said, ‘oh we don’t do Laika anymore, go to these folks over in Kent.’
So we did.
Choose Leisure, Canterbury, did a great job, but then said the previous dealer had not entered the last check on line so the warranty was void. Oh and there is a damp door to the garage.
I got back to the first dealer. ‘Ah,’ they said, ‘Don’t worry, send us a photo of the book with the stickers.’
When I told them about the stickers, it sort of went quiet. ‘Ok,’ they said, ‘bring it to us and we will see.’ So I took it to them and they saw.
‘Yes,’ they said, ‘damp in the garage door,’ they said. ‘You need a new one,’ they said.

We have now been waiting for about a year from the damp check done at Choose Leisure, and still have not got a new garage door. We are booked in for another damp check in a couple of month’s time. I wonder what they will fine.

To be continued…….

 

[maison]

We have our motorhome but also an 8 years old caravan which is permanently sited.

On its annual check this year the technician found a damp patch, on the floor, in one corner. A leaking seal is the likely culprit and is being repaired.

When I asked if he was going to check the walls he stated that with the fibreglass inner walls it was not practical to test them.

 

[BouncyBoatFolk]

Hi folks. We had our new Liaka ‘damp checked’ each year by the dealer who sold it to us. ‘Part of the six year warranty’, we were told. Each year we went back to get the check done. For the first few years we got stickers in the book. Then they said, ‘oh it’s all on line now, so no stickers’.
Then they said, ‘oh we don’t do Laika anymore, go to these folks over in Kent.’
So we did.
Choose Leisure, Canterbury, did a great job, but then said the previous dealer had not entered the last check on line so the warranty was void. Oh and there is a damp door to the garage.
I got back to the first dealer. ‘Ah,’ they said, ‘Don’t worry, send us a photo of the book with the stickers.’
When I told them about the stickers, it sort of went quiet. ‘Ok,’ they said, ‘bring it to us and we will see.’ So I took it to them and they saw.
‘Yes,’ they said, ‘damp in the garage door,’ they said. ‘You need a new one,’ they said.

We have now been waiting for about a year from the damp check done at Choose Leisure, and still have not got a new garage door. We are booked in for another damp check in a couple of month’s time. I wonder what they will fine.

To be continued…….

Can you load a photo of the offending door?
Mike.

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[Blaydon]

Can you load a photo of the offending door?
Mike.

Not right now, it’s throwing it down, but I will see what I can do tomorrow.

 

[BouncyBoatFolk]

Not right now, it’s throwing it down, but I will see what I can do tomorrow.

.

 

[Jonno1103]

I'm not quite getting this Aluminium stuff. Only the skin is Aluminium. There is all sorts of stuff inside that could be damp depending on the construction. My Burstner (2021) was diagnosed with damp on a annual check. I has no idea prior to the check. The damp was inside the aluminium skinned wall. No wood involved. They said once inside the Aluminium wall it wouldn't ever dry out. It was around the water filler point and the external TV/power point. One can only assume these were not sealed properly and water leaked in from the seals around these utility points.

The dealer who diagnosed it (Heart of England motorhomes)said it was a big job and the damp area would have to be cut out from the inside and replaced. They refused to do it under warranty as I hadn't purchased it from them. Camper UK agreed to take it on but I don't believe they cut anything out - I think they removed the utility points, dried it out with heaters and then replaced/resealed.

Aluminium records like ingress on any moisture meter, lay a piece on the ground and you'll get readings upto 40% depending on the thickness & quality. This would be pointless in a motorhome as a reading such as that would visually show a good deal of water so a damp meter would be pointless. Motorhome panels have aluminium end caps/strips which are notorious for giving false readings. The problem you have with dealers is that they're not so knowledgeable on the specific construction on any given model.

Essentially you didn't have 'damp' you had water ingress... the former soaks in, the latter doesn't.
.
In modern motorhomes coachbuilders now use a dye of two specific colours, always ask to see the evidence when someone says "you've got damp mate". NEVER simply take their word for it.