Caravelair water ingress in

[TShep]

Hi everyone, apologies if this conversation has been talked about before but we are new to caravan life. We purchased our 5 year old Caravelair Anteres 480 about 3 months ago, we had done quite a bit of research on caravans and this one seems to fit us perfectly. Not knowing exactly what we were buying, on the face it looked perfect, a few minor cosmetic things that are easy to fix. On our first trip away we noticed that there was a small section of flooring that was a bit spongy and immediately suspected some kind of rot was occurring. Being quite handy wit tools etc we decided to pull up a section of the floor covering and found the ply below was rotten and spreading. We have now removed athe section of the ply that is rotten and also the soft wood timber that was rotten too. This will all be replaced when everything else has dried out.
When all the rot was removed we started to investigate with a hose to find where there water coming in, checking the usual places around the window and roof line but nothing, then we moved to the plastic wheel arch!! Hey presto there is a gap about 20mm x 10 mm between the wheel arch and the caravan floor, water was just pouring in. This has now all been sealed very securely with MS polymer and no further intrusion of water coming in.
The problem we have now is although all the rotten timber has been removed to a point where the timber is sound this timber is still wet from all the previous water that has come in and still sitting around! We have had a dehumidifier in the caravan now for 3 days and so far it has removed approximately 6 litres of water from within the caravan. I’m hoping that this will eventually draw the remaining water out of the timber before we lay new ply and re lay the vinyl flooring.
My question is has anyone had success wit a dehumidifier drying out wet timber in a caravan?
On going from this we have now removed all the mastic from all the windows and hatches etc and renewed with MS polymer which now looks like new.

 

[Buckman]

Congrats on your purchase. Just a shame you got caught by an unscrupulous seller which is why it is normally best to buy your first caravan from a reputable dealership.

The dehumidifier removing the 6 pints is no indication of moisture inside the caravan. As the air inside the caravan is dried it is replaced with moisture from outside as the caravan has numerous drop holes.

 

[Mr Plodd]

Having had a flood in my caravan, that was an overnight thing so very little water soaked into the floor, I can advise that it took in the region of 7 days for a dehumidifier to dry the floor out to 15% water content. So it's going to take a fair bit longer I think in your case. I woukd advise you to remove all (or as much as you can) of the vinyl as tge damp will have tracked across pretty much all of the floor and if it's covered it cannot evaporate out of the wood.
Is that visible floor actually plywood covering foam? I ask because it looks like OSB not ply and caravan floors are not manufactured from OSB. (OSB Opposing Strand Board surface looks like large flakes of wood, not veneer

 

[Buckman]

As the Caravelair is a French caravan, I wonder if the door is on the offside. Not many of them in the UK.

 

[Mr Plodd]

As the Caravelair is a French caravan, I wonder if the door is on the offside. Not many of them in the UK.

What has that to do with a damp floor repair??

 

[Buckman]

What has that to do with a damp floor repair??

Nothing to do with any damp floor repair and the question was one of interest as I am not aware of the caravan and its build quality. I also was not aware it was against the rules of the forum to ask general questions so maybe I need to apologise?

 

[otherclive]

As the Caravelair is a French caravan, I wonder if the door is on the offside. Not many of them in the UK.

Some had their door on our side of the caravan. It coincided with a large marketing campaign a few years back.

 

[borderbilly]

As the Caravelair is a French caravan, I wonder if the door is on the offside. Not many of them in the UK.

2nd. Picture looks like offside and no door.

 

[toad a caravan]

If you can check the "sills" underneath at the lowest bottom edge of the panel next to wheel arch as this is where the floor meets the sides it's usually a piece of timber 35mm X 50mm (1 1/2"" X 2"") and runs the full length from back to front..I hope all goes well...keep updating..Gary

 

[TShep]

Having had a flood in my caravan, that was an overnight thing so very little water soaked into the floor, I can advise that it took in the region of 7 days for a dehumidifier to dry the floor out to 15% water content. So it's going to take a fair bit longer I think in your case. I woukd advise you to remove all (or as much as you can) of the vinyl as tge damp will have tracked across pretty much all of the floor and if it's covered it cannot evaporate out of the wood.
Is that visible floor actually plywood covering foam? I ask because it looks like OSB not ply and caravan floors are not manufactured from OSB. (OSB Opposing Strand Board surface looks like large flakes of wood, not veneer

Hi, the flooring is 9mm Garnica plywood with blue foam insulation panels below and seems to be bedded on an aluminium sheet forming the underside to the chassis. I have very carefully removed the ply surfaces layer by layer leaving just the thin veneer before the blue insulation so no damage to insulation.

 

[Mr Plodd]

Nothing to do with any damp floor repair and the question was one of interest as I am not aware of the caravan and its build quality. I also was not aware it was against the rules of the forum to ask general questions so maybe I need to apologise?

Had a bad morning?
No mention was made in your post about not being familiar with that make etc, just one sentence about the door position. Of course it's not "against the rules" as you well know, so why ask such a puerile question?
The original post asked about damp, so the position of the door has no relevance whatsoever.
A bit like asking the price of diesel and being told what sausages cost

 

[Buckman]

Had a bad morning?
No mention was made in your post about not being familiar with that make etc, just one sentence about the door position. Of course it's not "against the rules" as you well know, so why ask such a puerile question?
The original post asked about damp, so the position of the door has no relevance whatsoever.
A bit like asking the price of diesel and being told what sausages cost

How much do sausages cost?

 

[borderbilly]

How much do sausages cost?

Well Richmonds are dirt cheap, should be as they are absolutely carp! Now butchers sausages are well, varied, depending on what part of the country you are in.

 

[otherclive]

Well Richmonds are dirt cheap, should be as they are absolutely carp! Now butchers sausages are well, varied, depending on what part of the country you are in.

As I mentioned in a recent thread on Greggs Sausage rolls you can't go far wrong with a genuine Cumberland sausage with PGI status. 🌭

 

[ProfJohnL]

As with Air conditioning units, Dehumidifiers only work on the air passing through them. To get best benefit from either an AC or a Dehumidifier, you need to just recirculate the air in the space you are trying to treat. Any holes that can allow treated air to escape and or allow fresh untreated air in will counter the effect of the AC or DH. It doesn't take much air a exchange to totally defeat the purpose of running them or even crystal systems.

Caravans are are designed to be living spaces, and a such they must have a certain amount of "free unrestricted ventilation" to be safe for human habitation. How much ventilation is provided is determined by local regulation in the intended sales market, and being a French design It may well be different to a UK design.

I am on record for suggesting the use of dehumidifiers for long term storage is a waste of money, as usually just normal air circulation will stabilise moisture levels in a caravan. Open cupboard doors and bedding lockers to allow free movement of air within the caravan.

However your situation is not normal, and a dehumidifier can help, but you have got to ensure minimal air exchange with the exterior air.

The prefered way in my view is to find a garage or shed you can seal up with the whole caravan inside. Open all the doors and windows of the caravan. A dehumidified in the shed will then would tackle the whole caravan inside and out in one go.

Others have already expressed the need to expose and remove all the affected area of wood. Certainly with UK built caravans, the wood used for structures like in wall bracing, and furniture usually wasn't treated, so dry wood exposed to spoors from rotten wood could still become affected after a repair has been completed.

Another concern you should be aware of, The construction of caravans could often fools repairers, becasue the point of water ingress could be a distance away from the location the dampness appears inside the caravan due to capillary action. The leak does not always have to be directly above the site of the damage! So you can see trying to track down the cuase factors for leaks in caravans can be quite tricky. IF your not sure about a part its best to consider it to be at risk and deal with it accordingly.

Good luck

 

[TShep]

As the Caravelair is a French caravan, I wonder if the door is on the offside. Not many of them in the UK.

The door is on the near side, we researched this and Marquis are importing them specifically manufactured for the uk market with the door on the near side. 👍🏼

 

[TShep]

Hi all, quick update with on ongoing water ingress investigation 😫. currently starting to dismantle the bathroom to start trying to sort out this mess, seems this caravan hasn’t been built with any care looking at all the problems it’s having now!!! the seems easy to avoid with just a bit more attention to the amount of sealant used around holes going through the bodywork, the rear ingress issue was the bike rack not sealed enough around the bolt holes.
Think the next few months will be taking up with this one. Thinking that the toilet will have to be removed and possibly the shower😲. Well learning a lot about caravans with this one and if we get another we will know what to look for before being duped into buying one like this again.

 

[TShep]

 

[ProfJohnL]

I can't comment about French Caravans in general, but part of the reason fo what you have found, is the wall boards used , have a vinyl "paper" which of course is impervious, which means a lot can be going on behind the covering well before you get any visible signs. hat alert you to it.

 

[Dustydog]

A sad story Tshep.
When you purchased the caravan did you try and have the water ingress warranty transferred to you? See below

At CARAVELAIR, all our caravans are guaranteed for 2 years on parts and labor. We pay special attention to our products, which is why we offer you a 7-year waterproof warranty (according to Caravelair warranties: see conditions in our network).

I haven’t investigated the Ts&Cs.
Whilst I have read your reports I can’t see where the origins of the water ingress are?
I am sure you have identified the leak areas and suitably resealed with caravan approved sealants from either Sikaflex or Soudal (RV61) ?

 

[TShep]

Hi Dusty Dog,
Thank you for your reply, unfortunately we haven’t been able to obtain any previous service history despite trying to contact the previous owner to see if there has been any, there are 2 stickers on the chassis cover for 2021 & 2022 but no paperwork. Sadly assuming that the 7 yr warranty is void.
We are using a hi quality MS polymer adhesive sealant to re seal all the windows- skirt rails - light casings. Practically everywhere. I believe this adhesive is used for bonding boats and is flexible and uv resistant.

 

[TShep]