Oh no..Found some dreaded damp

[Terry]

Hi Sandra stick some gaffer tape over it temporally
terry

 

[MitchandJenny]

Motorhome dealers usually sell Sikaflex 512.. It really does the job..
I have Captain Tolleys "creeping crack cure" as well, And it is great for small cracks round glass etc..But for the body, I would use Sikaflex..
Good luck..

 

[robnchris]

Hi, Just a point as I don`t know which motorhome you have, if it`s one with a rail and the leak is were the rail bonds to the bodywork it might be best to use one of the NON-SETTING mastics.
This will of course mean removing the rail cleaning out the old mastic and then resealing with the non setting mastic before re-fixing the rail.

 

[GWAYGWAY]

I always wonder that if when they made a body they do not make roof that is bigger than the body with an overhang at the edge so that it covers the body and the top of the side, a bit like the top of a plastic container does then if it was sealed as well would never leak without an actual breakage occurring. Cost too much I suppose to mould a roof rather than stick a bent sheet over and stick it at the edges.

 

[Bobby22]

Sandra you'll get sikaflex at the Caravan Shop in Great Western Road. Maybe the nearest outlet to you.

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[Petrol_headz]

Go Outdoors sel sikaflex too.
Hope you get it sorted

 

[irnbru]

Thanks. I am leaving it in Terrys capable hands. Just hope the weather is kind enough to us for him to get the job done.

 

[Terry]

I always wonder that if when they made a body they do not make roof that is bigger than the body with an overhang at the edge so that it covers the body and the top of the side, a bit like the top of a plastic container does then if it was sealed as well would never leak without an actual breakage occurring. Cost too much I suppose to mould a roof rather than stick a bent sheet over and stick it at the edges.

They generally don't even bend a sheet at the edges simply screw it together add sealant and the capping strip-that performs the twin task of sealing and looking pretty

terry

 

[Terry]

Not a lot of thought goes into a lot of vans -the floor is added then sides sat onto floor without being stepped down on the outside on some then roof sat on top of sides -again not bent over -so If a seal lets go it gets inside
Swift had a big problem back in 2005/6 in that the sides were sat onto the bottom that was supposed to be weather treated then they did not seal the side skirts enabling water to run down the sides and onto the floor that acted like a sponge Must have cost them thousands and lots of bad publicity that the then Chairman did a good job of containing
terry

 

[Barclaybasher]

I always wonder that if when they made a body they do not make roof that is bigger than the body with an overhang at the edge so that it covers the body and the top of the side

They can..................my van is 24 years old, 0ne-piece fibreglass top even extends over the original truck cab roof.....

and the frame is steel not wood

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[mjltigger]

They can..................my van is 24 years old, 0ne-piece fibreglass top even extends over the original truck cab roof.....

View attachment 58185


and the frame is steel not wood

What do you screw stuff to?

 

[Terry]

What do you screw stuff to?

the walls the inside will be like any other van

 

[Barclaybasher]

What do you screw stuff to?

Don't need to screw anything to the roof, WIFI antenna and TV aerial are 'popped out' of the vents in the pop-up roof..............only hole in the roof apart from the pop-up is the flue vent and never had to screw anything to the walls, just to the 'furniture'..

 

[robnchris]

Not a lot of thought goes into a lot of vans -the floor is added then sides sat onto floor without being stepped down on the outside on some then roof sat on top of sides -again not bent over -so If a seal lets go it gets inside
Swift had a big problem back in 2005/6 in that the sides were sat onto the bottom that was supposed to be weather treated then they did not seal the side skirts enabling water to run down the sides and onto the floor that acted like a sponge Must have cost them thousands and lots of bad publicity that the then Chairman did a good job of containing
terry

Sadly Terry it didn`t only happen in 2005/6, our friends had a 2011 Swift and that was built exactly as you described 2 years old and the floor was rotten in places.

The holes for all the services, pipes and wiring etc in our 2013 Autotrail floor had a black sort of sealant used, sadly none of them were sealed the sealant hadn`t actually adhered to the floor, some of the sealant had even fallen out of the holes.
Excellent quality control....NOT.

 

[rosalan]

I am so sorry to hear about you having discovered damp in the roof. As you indicate, drying it out and preventing any more water entering is of prime importance.
I am loathe to ask but is the ceiling spongy or soft? Does the van smell a bit off? These would be the worst indications of a problem. The leak, if it is recent and only causing stains could still only be cosmetic with no time for fungus to have grown. One problem I had in the past was in finding the leak, for water travels before being evident and can have travelled some way from the source. Roof vents or ceiling strips are the most obvious. What van do you have?
Alan

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[GWAYGWAY]

They can..................my van is 24 years old, 0ne-piece fibreglass top even extends over the original truck cab roof.....

View attachment 58185


and the frame is steel not wood

That is how it SHOULD be done overlaps work best the right way so that water has to run uphill to get in and not straight down or sideways from a lying puddle, which is what most roofs are like.

 

[big bertha]

Been away for a few days, sorry you've found some damp hope it's not serious and easy to fix.