Damp inside the door of a PVC (2 Viewers)

[Insider]

2016 Autocruise Forte that I've owned for close on 4 years. Feeling a soft spot inside the sliding door underfoot I decided to investigate. There is water ingress happening but from where. I've owned the van too long for it to be a spill from a previous owner. My dog did pee in the area a few weeks ago but I dried it up immediately(never never ever dip your finger in some liquid on the camper floor and go "I wonder what that is"!!!). Other than that no spills in the area. It's too far from any internal source of water and the softness in the floor is only at the entrance. I did have a water leak at the toilet cassette found soon after purchase and rectified immediately. Underneath is perfect, I had it over a pit only two weeks ago doing an inspection and there is no major rust, esp in the area and I have also fitted front mudflaps so there is very little water thrown up while driving. I have cut into the flooring further inside the van where it is not visible and all is perfect so I believe this is isolated near the sliding door. I don't think there is any issue after 30cm from the entrance at the most as I can't feel any difference beyond that. Also the wood at the start and end of the door opening is perfect for the first inch or so.

I have a van carpet and took it out a year ago. My gut feeling is this is the small amount of rain coming in when opening/closing the sliding door and sitting on the floor. This is then making it's way in under the aluminium sill and causing the rot. Removing the carpet may have been part of the issue perhaps

I'd be interested in what people might think of in terms of my diagnosis, stopping further ingress and repair. I don't think it warrants dismantling the entire front of the van. Can it be dried out sufficiently. Rather than cutting out the wood is there some type of compound that could be worked into the area to solidify the softspot. Finally does anyone use rain deflectors about the sliding door and are they effective?

Sorry for the long post. This is my pride and joy and while the damp is not bad I don't want it to turn into something worse!!

 

[TUCANO]

Cant help sorry other than to bump your post.

 

[Minxy]

If the door isn't tight when shut it could be allowing rain in at the top which would make it's way down to the base and then onto the top/ edge of the floor. It could also be condensation from the door and caused gradually over the years.

A deflector would certainly help to divert rain away and stop it dropping in when opening the door.

We always had rubber backed mats/coverings on the floor in ours so never had any issues.

I'd be tempted to let it have a good airing with the door wide open on dry sunny days facing the sun. Once it's dried out fully it might be stronger and then you can determine just how much/little rectification work is needed. If you do need to strengthen it one of the products used to fix delamination may solve it.

 

[L' Hobo]

Thinking that it may have come from the door might be a red herring. I would have thought the temperatures over the last few days would have dried anything from there. Looking at the pics I think it may be coming from somewhere else and, because of the camber on the road, it's running between the wooden floor and the laminate of the conversion.

 

[Simon Select]

Its a panel van, don't worry about it. Take it to a Peugeot dealer and ask them to check the seal on the door.
Its sat on metal, not a wooden floor!

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[mikebeaches]

I broadly agree with what Minxy has said. Although your floor looks a bit messy, the condition of the plywood appears reasonably OK in the areas your pics illustrate.

We have a 2016 Rapido PVC, so same age as yours. As far as I know, we don't have an issue with our floor. Though in winter we do sometimes see a build up of condensation and occasionally some light mould on the back to the kitchen unit, which is directly next to the sliding door. It cleans off easily enough.

We've had a leak in the centre of the van, or so we thought - it took ages to identify where the water was getting in. Turned out the seal had broken down on the rear roof light, but the visible area getting wet was nowhere near it. Obviously, the water was tracking across above the ceiling, but without any visible evidence until it emerged in the centre of the van. Anyway, we had the back roof light re-sealed - and the other two as a precaution - and all has been fine since.

Hope you get sorted!

 

[L' Hobo]

Its a panel van, don't worry about it. Take it to a Peugeot dealer and ask them to check the seal on the door.
Its sat on metal, not a wooden floor!

Look at pictures, there appears to be plywood sandwiched between metal floor and laminate floor.?

 

[Simon Select]

Look at pictures, there appears to be plywood sandwiched between metal floor and laminate floor.?

Get a damp metre in it. It doesn't look bad. If that was the floor in a coach built it would be different. Worst case, that's a tiny bit of wood to replace.

 

[L' Hobo]

Get a damp metre in it. It doesn't look bad. If that was the floor in a coach built it would be different. Worst case, that's a tiny bit of wood to replace.

If it was me, I would still want to know where the dampness came from?

 

[Simon Select]

If it was me, I would still want to know where the dampness came from?

I agree, however with where it is, I would expect its either coming from a seal on the sliding door or from an awning bracket. However I think the bracket would be further over so without investigation I would guess the seal.

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[Minxy]

Door seals don't always give a watertight seal, in one of our previous PVCs the driver's door didn't fit tightly and we ended up with mouldy marks in the door pocket.

 

[Northernraider]

Metal floor and water equals rust .. even galvanised metal rusts so I would say not worrying about it is a dangerous game over any length of time.

 

[Insider]

Firstly - thanks to Tucano for the bump!!

I listened to what Minxy and Simon suggested about the seal and I put a hose on the outside of the door for ten minutes. Left the door closed and entered via the rear door and I could see a glisten of water between the seal and the door. As you can just about see from the picture this is still 2 inches down and about 1 inch out from the floor but perhaps when driving there is wind forcing the water up from the seal. Hard to know but it's a path to follow. I also looked underneath again and there is one screw not properly sealed underneath in about the centre of where the issue is. I doubt it could be the cause but interested to hear what people have to say and it's a 30second fix.

I'm heartened to hear that people don't think it's too bad. I've also attached a picture outlining where I think the dampness is. I've cut into the vinyl in places where it not visible to determin if there is damp underneath. I also think the vinyl is acting like a vapour barrier - not allowing it to dry out so first thing in the morning the dehumidifier goes in with the vinyl propped up.

 

[Coolcats]

2016 Autocruise Forte that I've owned for close on 4 years. Feeling a soft spot inside the sliding door underfoot I decided to investigate. There is water ingress happening but from where. I've owned the van too long for it to be a spill from a previous owner. My dog did pee in the area a few weeks ago but I dried it up immediately(never never ever dip your finger in some liquid on the camper floor and go "I wonder what that is"!!!). Other than that no spills in the area. It's too far from any internal source of water and the softness in the floor is only at the entrance. I did have a water leak at the toilet cassette found soon after purchase and rectified immediately. Underneath is perfect, I had it over a pit only two weeks ago doing an inspection and there is no major rust, esp in the area and I have also fitted front mudflaps so there is very little water thrown up while driving. I have cut into the flooring further inside the van where it is not visible and all is perfect so I believe this is isolated near the sliding door. I don't think there is any issue after 30cm from the entrance at the most as I can't feel any difference beyond that. Also the wood at the start and end of the door opening is perfect for the first inch or so.

I have a van carpet and took it out a year ago. My gut feeling is this is the small amount of rain coming in when opening/closing the sliding door and sitting on the floor. This is then making it's way in under the aluminium sill and causing the rot. Removing the carpet may have been part of the issue perhaps

I'd be interested in what people might think of in terms of my diagnosis, stopping further ingress and repair. I don't think it warrants dismantling the entire front of the van. Can it be dried out sufficiently. Rather than cutting out the wood is there some type of compound that could be worked into the area to solidify the softspot. Finally does anyone use rain deflectors about the sliding door and are they effective?

Sorry for the long post. This is my pride and joy and while the damp is not bad I don't want it to turn into something worse!!

View attachment 767308 View attachment 767309 View attachment 767310 View attachment 767311 View attachment 767313

Just found a new feature on ours, you may wish to double check how your grey waste is emptying. https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/foru...-under-floor-and-dripping-via-scuttle.285168/

 

[Insider]

Just found a new feature on ours, you may wish to double check how your grey waste is emptying. https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/foru...-under-floor-and-dripping-via-scuttle.285168/

Reasonably sure it is coming in via the sliding door but intend to spend the weekend being definite about whether the water is coming from within or outside. Heading to Spain for 3 weeks at the end of the month and I don't want to make a small problem(I hope) into a much worse one. I have made small cuts into the vinyl in areas around where water\waste is running and so far cannot find any damp. The construction in areas is terrible. The waste host from the sink was loosely fitted abound the drain going through the floor...for want of a jubilee clip!!

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[RedFrame]

My guess, and it is just that, is that water is running down the sliding bar of your flyscreen.

Once you've dried it out a piece of newspaper sandwiched between the laminate and the grey angle should highlight any further ingress (doesn't have to be visible for more than 1 or 2mm.

Or that this is not the first time your dog has had a sneaky pee.

Hope you get it sorted.

Cheers
Red.

 

[Insider]

My guess, and it is just that, is that water is running down the sliding bar of your flyscreen.

Once you've dried it out a piece of newspaper sandwiched between the laminate and the grey angle should highlight any further ingress (doesn't have to be visible for more than 1 or 2mm.

Or that this is not the first time your dog has had a sneaky pee.

Hope you get it sorted.

Cheers
Red.

Good idea and easy to test for - thanks

If it was the dog then we might be finding out if Jim has a policy on animals in the classifieds

Rory

 

[SpeedyDux]

I agree, however with where it is, I would expect its either coming from a seal on the sliding door or from an awning bracket. However I think the bracket would be further over so without investigation I would guess the seal.

A Fiamma awning should be bolted using a specific bracket onto the standard roof fixings that FIAT provides, presumably for traders' roof racks. No holes required.

As mikebeaches points out the seals for rooflights on PVCs can fail allowing water ingress. I had a similar problem with water dripping in via the front rooflight.

 

[Stroppy Bird]

Door seals don't always give a watertight seal, in one of our previous PVCs the driver's door didn't fit tightly and we ended up with mouldy marks in the door pocket.

You're right with this.

I had the same issue with one of the rear doors on our PVC. I think from new, the sealing strip on the bottom of the door had not been seated correctly, and no amount of heat applied and sticking into its correct position would sort it. I ended up fitting a length of foam door weatherstrip along the base of the rear of the van (just above the step) to compensate and this stopped the issue. Which was cheaper than buying a whole new sealing strip for the door.

 

[Coolcats]

Reasonably sure it is coming in via the sliding door but intend to spend the weekend being definite about whether the water is coming from within or outside. Heading to Spain for 3 weeks at the end of the month and I don't want to make a small problem(I hope) into a much worse one. I have made small cuts into the vinyl in areas around where water\waste is running and so far cannot find any damp. The construction in areas is terrible. The waste host from the sink was loosely fitted abound the drain going through the floor...for want of a jubilee clip!!

Hope your right it’s the seal around the door

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[Riverbankannie]

Apologies as I haven’t read all the posts in detail. I just wanted to add, that we had damp that appeared just inside sliding door. It was eventually traced to a poor seal on the rear door on that side. This was allowing water in which tracked down the van under the habitation floor and was stopped at the cab step up. We sit in the drive nose down.
Just another area worth checking.

 

[Insider]

Update on this. Left everything as I was going on holidays and then when I came back it started raining and didn't stop for a year(Ireland). I've started stripping everything out recently and so far my theory is the sink waste pipe is the source of the leak and because of a slight slope on my driveway the water migrated to just inside the sliding door. I actually had a sudden leak over a year ago and noticed the water on the floor. When I checked I saw the waste pipe had come off the pipe running through the chassis and I put a jubilee clip on both ends so it wouldn't happen again. Either there was more water than I though or it had been happening in small amounts. Either way I am working on this theory that a bit more stripping down will hopefully confirm. If so then I'll be happy as it was causing me no end of head scratching. Repair costs will be neglible - some ply for the floor - but it's going to take a lot of hours because I want to do the job right and that means taking a lot of the camper insides out to get under the lino. Luckily I had a brilliant two weeks in France cycling around their canals and rivers with my wife so I'm all loved up for the camper.

 

[Riverbankannie]

We had to have our floor replaced because the seals around the rear door had not been fully replaced. In particular, the bottom bit which they have now stuck down with black sealant. Rainwater then got between the base of the van and the habitation door, down the channels and stopped at the rise in the cab floor.
First signs were wet floor inside sliding door, but it took a couple of

years!
Just noticed, I had previously replied!

 

[Insider]

We had to have our floor replaced because the seals around the rear door had not been fully replaced. In particular, the bottom bit which they have now stuck down with black sealant. Rainwater then got between the base of the van and the habitation door, down the channels and stopped at the rise in the cab floor.
First signs were wet floor inside sliding door, but it took a couple ofView attachment 940935 years!
Just noticed, I had previously replied!

Thanks - had read your previous post but pics make it a lot better. Have checked the back door and reasonably sure it's not there but did a lot of work over the weekend in taking out woodwork to expose the floor so hopefully I'll find the source over the next couple of days.

 

[Insider]

Big update on the damp. I have removed half of the inside of my van to be able to peel back the lino and investigate where the water was coming in. Bought a boroscope as part of the process and my investigation led me to the gas locker. The gas vent was never sealed properly on the underneath of the van. The sealant looked good but never made it to the gas locker. I am going to put in a 60mm gas vent and will fiberglass the top and bottom of the gas locker to seal it properly. It's taken 8 years to get to this stage and an extra squeeze of the gun when putting it in place would have stopped this - thanks Autocruise. The repair job is going to be very easy - cut out the 9mm ply and replace it with similar. I'm lucky as the rot only goes in for 60cm and the ply is perfectly normal further in. Thanks to all the posts and I hope this helps someone in the future - you can see from my earlier posts I was very confused about the point of water ingress!

Vent fom underneath

View of the gap where the seal did not reach the gas locker.

Seal removed and damp ply exposed.

Extent of the damp inside the van.

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[berni109]

Bad construction workmanship always comes back to bite us poor unsuspecting punters.
Luckily (not quite what I said) the leak from our fresh tank had a slight drip to the outside past all the mastic or it would have done what happened to yours and run the length of the van.
Hope it all gone back in place when you refitted everything.

 

[L' Hobo]

Big update on the damp. I have removed half of the inside of my van to be able to peel back the lino and investigate where the water was coming in. Bought a boroscope as part of the process and my investigation led me to the gas locker. The gas vent was never sealed properly on the underneath of the van. The sealant looked good but never made it to the gas locker. I am going to put in a 60mm gas vent and will fiberglass the top and bottom of the gas locker to seal it properly. It's taken 8 years to get to this stage and an extra squeeze of the gun when putting it in place would have stopped this - thanks Autocruise. The repair job is going to be very easy - cut out the 9mm ply and replace it with similar. I'm lucky as the rot only goes in for 60cm and the ply is perfectly normal further in. Thanks to all the posts and I hope this helps someone in the future - you can see from my earlier posts I was very confused about the point of water ingress!

Vent fom underneath
View attachment 951148

View of the gap where the seal did not reach the gas locker.
View attachment 951149

Seal removed and damp ply exposed.
View attachment 951150


Extent of the damp inside the van.
View attachment 951151

That looks like a BIG vent, or is the pictures distorting it?
Mine is just a couple of 4 inch circles.

Thanks for the update!

 

[Insider]

That looks like a BIG vent, or is the pictures distorting it?
Mine is just a couple of 4 inch circles.

Thanks for the update!

6x4inches so yeah pretty big, much bigger than required and difficult to seal as no tube on it. Putting in a 60mm round vent with a 50mm tube on it.