Collected van after service..not happy

[GeorgeandAde]

After emptying,washing outside and polishing inside,I took my 2015 Bailey Unicorn Cadiz for its service this morning.
Had a phone call to collect it after about 4 hours.
Wasn't prepared for the following.
Damp check.......
40% around shower tray
20+30%around toilet area
17-30%around nearside wheel box and locker door floor.
Slight scoring to n/s brake shoes and drum
RCD failed under test
Toilet flush not working.
Lounge double light switch works intermittently.

I had the service carried out by Bristol Caravans(one of the stipulations when storing it with them).
Anyway,took all paperwork to the Bailey dealer where we purchased it last July and as it has warranty left on it(MB&G),they are going to investigate the damp problems this Friday morning and take it from there.
They said hopefully, its just a roof strap which is reasonably straightforward.
In our ownership,we've never used the shower where most of the damp is so fingers crossed.

 

[Jcloughie]

Sorry to hear such bad news. It's odd to blame a roof strap when the damp is found around the shower tray.

Hope you can get it sorted without too much angst.

John

 

[Hutch]

I think your lucky to have the warranty, thats very high damp readings, lets hope it can all be dried out and the entry point fixed, the other stuff is easily done.

 

[GeorgeandAde]

Thank you.
It does seem strange that a leaking roof strap could cause this but as we've never used the shower,can't see any other reason.
Hopefully learn more on Friday.
As for the warranty,I've had a quick browse of the document,not really worth the paper its written on🤔
It came with the van when we bought it.

 

[Beachball]

Sorry it bad news i hope the dealer can sought out everything at reportedly at fault .Good luck

 

[GeorgeandAde]

Damp report.

 

[otherclive]

After emptying,washing outside and polishing inside,I took my 2015 Bailey Unicorn Cadiz for its service this morning.
Had a phone call to collect it after about 4 hours.
Wasn't prepared for the following.
Damp check.......
40% around shower tray
20+30%around toilet area
17-30%around nearside wheel box and locker door floor.
Slight scoring to n/s brake shoes and drum
RCD failed under test
Toilet flush not working.
Lounge double light switch works intermittently.

I had the service carried out by Bristol Caravans(one of the stipulations when storing it with them).
Anyway,took all paperwork to the Bailey dealer where we purchased it last July and as it has warranty left on it(MB&G),they are going to investigate the damp problems this Friday morning and take it from there.
They said hopefully, its just a roof strap which is reasonably straightforward.
In our ownership,we've never used the shower where most of the damp is so fingers crossed.

Doesn’t the Bailey warranty cover the damp ingress or was it just 5 years? I had an MBG warranty on mine but it excluded cracking of plastic body parts. Fortunately the cracked rear panel was covered by the last few months of its Swift warranty. Hopefully it is the roof strap. One problem drying out that area is the impermeable materials don’t readily allow the moisture out without good levels of heat and dehumidifiers. When my rear toilet shower had lower levels of damp than yours the rear panel ( a cracked one) was removed and the area dried from the outside. Hopefully yours is a simpler job.

 

[GeorgeandAde]

I think the water ingress was for 5 years otherclive.
Yes,I hope it is going to be a simple job.
Problem is,there is probably going to be a shortage of spares available.
The Bailey workshop told me the best would be sometime in July,the worst.....end of the year.😒
Looks like booked holidays may have to be cancelled depending on the outcome on Friday.

 

[Jcloughie]

I think the water ingress was for 5 years otherclive.
Yes,I hope it is going to be a simple job.
Problem is,there is probably going to be a shortage of spares available.
The Bailey workshop told me the best would be sometime in July,the worst.....end of the year.😒
Looks like booked holidays may have to be cancelled depending on the outcome on Friday.

You could get, (hire), a dehumidifier and it might be usable while you wait to get it sorted.

John

 

[otherclive]

I think the water ingress was for 5 years otherclive.
Yes,I hope it is going to be a simple job.
Problem is,there is probably going to be a shortage of spares available.
The Bailey workshop told me the best would be sometime in July,the worst.....end of the year.😒
Looks like booked holidays may have to be cancelled depending on the outcome on Friday.

Understand that spares or workshop time may delay the commencement of remedial work but my cracked panel was found during a service in November and the new panel supplied and fitted the following June. The dealership covered any suspect areas with weatherproof white tape which prevented further moisture ingress. The damp levels reduced only a smidgeon as that area doesn’t dry out readily. But we still continued to use the caravan whilst waiting for the repair to be carried out.

 

[GeorgeandAde]

Thank you jcloughie.
We do have a large dehumidifier but caravans in storage with no room to store at home.

It would be great if we could use the van whilst waiting for repairs.👍

 

[Beachball]

I think the water ingress was for 5 years otherclive.
Yes,I hope it is going to be a simple job.
Problem is,there is probably going to be a shortage of spares available.
The Bailey workshop told me the best would be sometime in July,the worst.....end of the year.😒
Looks like booked holidays may have to be cancelled depending on the outcome on Friday.

Hi GeorgendAde When Friday comes I would ask them if you could take the holiday already booked with the van then have the repairs completed?

 

[Jcloughie]

Thank you jcloughie.
We do have a large dehumidifier but caravans in storage with no room to store at home.

It would be great if we could use the van whilst waiting for repairs.👍

Perhaps have a couple of nights away somewhere local. Put the dehumidifier on and have a day out somewhere.



John

 

[Thingy]

Bad news indeed. Good luck with getting it sorted out. Hopefully you have caught it before any hidden damage is caused. Most of the work is minor, its just the water ingress. With a dry summer though, no reason why you shouldnt contine to use and enjoy the caravan until the repairs can be done.

I had some idiot damage my caravan last October, its only going in on 18th May for the repairs, though Covid has been a massive contributor to that delay. Try not to let it spoil your summer plans.

 

[Buckman]

As you are locked in to using their service centre I would be suspicious and take the caravan elsewhere for a damp check to confirm the readings.

 

[GeorgeandAde]

Yes we do have to use the storage sites workshop.(AWS,MCEA)approved.

When I take it to dealer this Friday,I will suggest they carry out their own damp test first.
Will report their findings on here on Friday.

 

[RogerL]

Thank you jcloughie.
We do have a large dehumidifier but caravans in storage with no room to store at home.

It would be great if we could use the van whilst waiting for repairs.👍

Using the caravan is the best way to reduce the internal damp.

Our last service revealed 44% damp in one of the front lockers - the AWS mobile recommended airing the caravan, continuing to use it and a retest - we've done that and it's down to 40% so it'll be booked for repair in July, September or November and we'll continue using the caravan in the meantime.

Caravans sitting unused for 18 months over lockdown make it a little difficult to diagnose exactly where the issue is - so using the caravan makes that easier.

 

[otherclive]

Using the caravan is the best way to reduce the internal damp.

Our last service revealed 44% damp in one of the front lockers - the AWS mobile recommended airing the caravan, continuing to use it and a retest - we've done that and it's down to 40% so it'll be booked for repair in July, September or November and we'll continue using the caravan in the meantime.

Caravans sitting unused for 18 months over lockdown make it a little difficult to diagnose exactly where the issue is - so using the caravan makes that easier.

Totally agree especially now the nicer weather is supposed to be arriving, but not it seems in North Yorkshire where we head to. Thermals and Goretex to the fore. But seriously there’s absolutely no need not to use the caravan, and if the dealer can identify the possible ingress sites a temporary might be feasible.

 

[GeorgeandAde]

Thank you Roger.

Actually,I've just been thinking🤔

We purchased van in July last year.
Our last trip was in September and after returning it to storage,it stood there for about 6 months(lockdown and work commitments).
We left the blinds open,curtains drawn and the skylight blinds closed.

My first trip to the van in about March,revealed lots of black mould spots in the skylight areas between skylight and blinds.
Obviously no air could circulate in these areas.
Thing is,we've always left our previous caravans like this and never had any mould problems before.
Just wondering if this does in fact point to the roof strap being faulty.
As suggested,I think the best outcome would be for Bailey dealer to carry out their own damp test,find out where the leak is,possibly a temporary repair if parts are a problem,fix the other faults so we can continue to use it until they are ready to repair permanantly(hopefully).

 

[Mel]

Hope it is a quick and easy solution. If it is the roof strap ( known issue on Baileys) then the good news is that the fix is a one day job with a bit of time for the sealant to cure. I know because ours was done yesterday. The bad news is that the part was ordered in August 2020 and came in April 2021. Thankfully the owner of our seasonal site has kept it under cover for us throughout lockdowns, otherwise, with the amount of water coming in, the van would be a write off by now.
The delay was blamed on Lockdown#1 when the parts factory shut down so there was a backlog of orders. There wasn’t a shut down during Lockdowns #2 and #3 so hopefully you won’t wait as long as we did.
Mel

 

[Dustydog]

Ade,

Has anyone checked the N/S rear locker door and its seal? There’s the seal and the fixing of the inner door panel to the outer section of the door. Both leak! Straight into the area of your high readings.I know yours is Alu-tech but it seems hard to see how the roof strap joint failure would result in the readings given. I’m not a Damian but experience tells me to always look for the simplest cheapest solution first👍👍

 

[GeorgeandAde]

Thanks Dustydog.
Yes,I suppose that is a possibility.
It would make sense given the high meter readings.
(Hope it is that....maybe an easier fix).
I just re-read the service sheet and the roof straps were checked and given a "green" for good.
Also,now you mention the door seal.....there's nothing on the check sheet report that mentions locker doors being checked.
On a previous Olympus we had that problem on the toilet locker door.
Thank you.

 

[otherclive]

Thanks Dustydog.
Yes,I suppose that is a possibility.
It would make sense given the high meter readings.
(Hope it is that....maybe an easier fix).
I just re-read the service sheet and the roof straps were checked and given a "green" for good.
Also,now you mention the door seal.....there's nothing on the check sheet report that mentions locker doors being checked.
On a previous Olympus we had that problem on the toilet locker door.
Thank you.

Toilet locker door leaks are not uncommon.

 

[Dustydog]

Thanks Dustydog.
Yes,I suppose that is a possibility.
It would make sense given the high meter readings.
(Hope it is that....maybe an easier fix).
I just re-read the service sheet and the roof straps were checked and given a "green" for good.
Also,now you mention the door seal.....there's nothing on the check sheet report that mentions locker doors.
Thank you.

Ade,
Not just the door seal rubbers but the fixing between inner and outer parts of the door itself. I had this seven years ago!

 

[Dustydog]

Clive
The pathetic structure of all exterior doors on caravans is poor. Never mind the seals the doors seem to be made in two sections that are merely”glued” together. They leak. People spend money and time changing the rubber seals when the culprit is the door itself!