Floor rot

[590RL]

Hi folks, firstly just want to say hi - long time lurker on a few of the forums!

Picked up our first motorhome on Tuesday to much excitement, a 2004 Swift 590RL which was badged as a "lifestyle" but I believe it was a dealer special edition version of the Suntor. bit of an upgrade from my old 1978 VW T2!

We bought the van from a dealer/broker (although it wasn't a brokerage sale) without actually seeing it - bit of a wierd situation but we are in Northern Ireland so my parents in Lincs (seasoned caravanners) went to view the van for us and reported back that it was all OK with a caveat of "your dad's 74 so he couldnt have a proper look underneath but what he did see looked fine" so we went ahead and bought it as it was exactly what we wanted, rear lounge, seemingly excellent condition etc.

Had a poke around underneath today and found quite bad area of rot in the floor behind the driver's side wheel well. Whilst poking, my fingers managed to go right through and the floor crumbled away. In the RL the washroom is directly behind the driver so this area of rot is directly beneath the sink/vanity unit. it doesnt go too far towards the centreline of the van but progresses towards the rear.

I think the water ingress has come from a missing cap on the outer trim behind the drivers door pillar which is letting rain and spray in - you can see the daylight from said missing cap through the hole I poked. It gets progressively better rearwards until the toilet door by which point it's fine. The cap is also missing on the nearside but it's been filled by what looks like isopon.

Any advice as to what's my recourse? It's not an area that would be walked on so i'm not worried about falling through the floor, but if the hole is filled will it stop it getting any worse? We've thrown our life savings into this van and we are both really quite upset at finding this.

On the whole it's a great van and we really like the layout and the overall condition, but just wondering what we can do? is it something easily repairable? do we have any comeback with the dealer? Will try and add pics tomorrow - van is currently in storage yard.

Cheers for any advice!
Iain

 

[Ernesto]

I think it depends on how the dealer responds. It may not cost a fortune to fix, and if the dealer is willing to help, it may be a good idea to give them a chance to put it right.
A 19 year old van will have the odd “issue” but this does sound like something more serious and something they should have picked up and either highlighted, or better still, fixed before selling.

Let them know and hopefully they will do the decent thing, but keep a diary of what and when you say just in case, so if you need to get formal with them, you have all the facts

 

[590RL]

Hi Ernesto cheers for your thoughts. I've already emailed the dealer so I'll see what they say. It'll be a bit of a pain if they want to repair it themselves as I'm in NI and they are in England so there will be a few ferries and flights to factor in, but I'll give them the chance anyway.

Fully expected there to be a few niggles as she's getting on a bit and there were a few bits I've spent today sorting (sticky turbo wastegate/broken grey water drain bracket/leaky rear window) but i think this is a bit too much to tackle myself!

Thanks again

 

[buzz1]

Sorry to hear your troubles, sounds like good advice from ernesto, I hope you get it sorted
And good luck

 

[Elsie2010]

Hope you get sorted, just a pity the dealer sounds quite far away, but still worth the travel (maybe with a cheeky get away encompassed in to the trip en route) if it's worth the cost element.
We've fallen lucky with ours as nearly one year on, they're still picking up the bill on the odd job and even collect and deliver it back to us.
Not great on comms, and sometimes we may not see our van for a month but, they still get the job done
Hopefully your dealer with be helpful too and possibly reimburse you if you go elsewhere for the fix if it's too far too travel back?

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[MisterB]

Firstly, don't panic !!! You will be surprised by the number of motorhomes that have been repaired by their owners should the dealers/brokers not come through for you. How long ago was it purchased? That will have some sort of impact on whether they accept all, some or no responsibility for repair.

Start doing some research on here and other forums (is there a Facebook group specific to your model?), It might be a common issue that has been dealt with by others and you can learn how to do it yourself or at least show 'someone' else what needs to be done.

Don't start or attempt any repairs until you've heard back from and accepted the dealers resolution though!!

Best wishes

 

[grasscutter]

Floor rot on this age Swift is well documented. For a number of years Swift carried out remedial work in their factory on affected vans, mine at the time included.
The problem was caused by them using a laminated plywood for the floors.
Water ingress occurred where the side skirts met the walls. Because the plywood was laminated the water could not escape and started rotting from the inside.
On mine they stripped the lamination and dried it out and removed the skirts and re sealed.
If your dealer is long established in motothome sales then I would have expected them to be aware of the issue. If not then they didn’t carry out a proper habitation check prior to sale as this issue didn’t just happen.
Hope you can get some recourse or find a knowledgable repairer.
Good luck.

 

[StephandJohn]

Hope you get it sorted to your satisfaction. It must be so disappointing for you.
Just a thought maybe you could get a quote locally for the repair then you'd know what you're talking about with the dealer. Maybe a cheaper option in the end if they won't help - even maybe cheaper than all the ferries etc.
Our Swift Firebrand 590 (2007) was a dealers model and had the same problem but luckily we bought it new and Swift took it back to repair under the warranty.

 

[TDub49]

Not uncommon in older Swifts I think and for a while Swift did except responsibility for the design faults that led to the problem occurring and apparently had a specialist team working on replacing floors for a while. We had a similar problem on our Ace Siena (Swift) when the corner of the floor under the habitation door, just behind the passenger door, went soft and the steps started 'leaning' a bit.

As ex-yachties we had a few contacts in the world of yacht repair which is not unfamiliar with the issue of soggy plywood and got a boat builder to look at repairing it. His plan was to cut out the rot and epoxy/laminate in a new piece of wood. The problem was dismantling the interior of the van to enable access to that area of the floor from inside and finding anyone who knew how to disassemble the interior a coach built was near impossible.

The boatbuilder didn't want to know this aspect of the job in case he got caught up in something too complicated and backed out as he couldn't work out how to do it. I tried undoing stuff and pulling hopefully at interior trim but getting the bulkhead behind the passenger seat to budge proved impossible.

I pitched the problem at this forum without much joy, advice on floor repairs being sadly lacking at the time unlike the raft of fantastic advice that you find with things like the average toilet or battery thread. I even joined the Swift Owners Club in order to get access to their forum which was a much use as a chocolate caravan in the Sahara.

In the end it was done through very cautious dismantling of as much as I could get at without (I think) breaking anything) and with copious amounts of epoxy and the strategic insertion of a steel plate to re-enforce that area of the floor as it is where the leccy steps are mounted I managed to fix it. Still looking to do it properly but that will be another time and place . . . .

 

[headlight]

590RL your van is a dealer special of the Swift Sundance.
I have a 2006 Swift Suntor 590RL which is a Brownhills special of the Sundance.
I've had mine about 14 months and am very happy with it.
At 2004 I would imagine your van is exactly the same as mine.

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[Swifter]

Have a look underneath and see if the floor is covered in a black plastic membrane. I had exactly the same problem as you . I hope you get it sorted. I will never buy another Swift Motorhome again .

https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/threads/☹%EF%B8%8F-rotting-floor-.237323/

 

[590RL]

Have a look underneath and see if the floor is covered in a black plastic membrane. I had exactly the same problem as you . I hope you get it sorted. I will never buy another Swift Motorhome again .

https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/threads/☹%EF%B8%8F-rotting-floor-.237323/

I think mine must've been just before the vinyl floor debacle as it's just bare black painted ply underneath. I'd Read about that (on here) before deciding to buy this van, it was one of the things I told my dad to look out for. The floor is in generally sound condition underneath apart from this section behind the wheel well.

Pics to follow later, just waiting on entry to the storage yard now. Cheers for your advice everyone, I think it will either be going back for a refund or repair but the travel across the Irish sea issue will be a bit of a sticking point!

 

[headlight]

Fortunately my floor is fine.
In fact the garage that did my MOT this year commented on how good the underneath of my van is, both chassis and floor, and showed me while the van was in the air.
Underneath my floor is just painted with some black substance.

 

[590RL]

Where I believe the water is coming in

 

[590RL]

Wheel well to left

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[Swifter]

View attachment 739376
Wheel well to left

That’s quite bad . How much did you pay for the Motorhome ? Was it sold at a reduced price ?
Edit
You have now used your 5 free posts .
I would suggest joining as a full member to get the best advice possible .

 

[Swifter]

590RL your van is a dealer special of the Swift Sundance.
I have a 2006 Swift Suntor 590RL which is a Brownhills special of the Sundance.
I've had mine about 14 months and am very happy with it.
At 2004 I would imagine your van is exactly the same as mine.

Please check your side skirts are sealed and not allowing any water to pass down behind them . I was happy with my Swift until a very detailed inspection of the floor found several serous damp issues .

 

[ontheroadagain]

I would take it to a local repairer for a quote.
You could then decide on your next move depending on the cost. I would start with M&E Motorhomes or Leisure Technical Services as they both have a good reputation.

 

[headlight]

Please check your side skirts are sealed and not allowing any water to pass down behind them . I was happy with my Swift until a very detailed inspection of the floor found several serous damp issues .

It's 17 years old now with no sign of problems with the floor what so ever so I assume my skirts are sealed.

 

[Swifter]

It's 17 years old now with no sign of problems with the floor what so ever so I assume my skirts are sealed.

Brilliant . It’s just worth having a good look underneath every now and again .

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[rosalan]

A lot will depend on your DIY skills, the actual materials should not cost a great deal but access and the ability to work underneath your van could be difficult.
The floor I believe was the first part of the van to be fitted, with everything else built on top of it until finally the roof is added.
Check all the other edges for damp to see how much work needs doing.
On an earlier van I owned, damp was a major problem and I had no choice but to fix it. Ignorance, need and enthusiasm did work and that 1984 van is still running.
I cut out all and a bit more of the rot and used marine materials (glue and wood) but you may need to re-enforce the joint you make with steel plate or support brackets. With everything totally dry epoxy resin and later sealant to protect future problems everywhere it could be a problem.
Please note, I am a bodger! If it works, whatever it looks like that would be success for me.
Hopefully some one will come along with better options.