Damp Advice. 2003 Sterling Europa

[A12]

Hi all,

So recently we had a damp check carried out on our van and there were sky high damp readings (99% in places) in the rear O/S floor. Never picked up before, even on the service 6 months ago! Anyway because of the age of the van. The cost of repair was not worth it... so I thought I'd have a look myself.

I've cut out some sections where there are damp readings of 30+ and so far everything seems okay. The batten on the side is readings below 20% and the ply under the polystyrene is dry. It just seems to be the top bit if ply? Most of which I've removed.

Question is... there is a tiny part I can't access to cut out and it is located right behind the toilet. Will a small bit like this dry out? If not... any advice on how to deal with this? I've circled it in red in the picture.

We're unsure where the damp is coming from, the engineer suggested the low rail on the O/S but wouldn't that mean the batten would be damp too?
The toilet hasn't been used at all... so maybe the cassette locker?

Any ideas or he'll greatly appreciated as always!

Thanks all

 

[Mr Plodd]

The first, and absolutely vital thing is to identify where the water is getting in, and fix that BEFORE doing anything else. If not yiu will have the same issue I a few months time.

The toilet cassette door could well be the problem. First off they often have two position catches, so make sure it clicks twice when you close it!
Secondly you can get an "Eyebrow like this" that sticks to the caravan side that diverts any water running down the sidewall away from the top seal of the cassette door. A worthwhile investment.

 

[A12]

The first, and absolutely vital thing is to identify where the water is getting in, and fix that BEFORE doing anything else. If not yiu will have the same issue I a few months time.

The toilet cassette door could well be the problem. First off they often have two position catches, so make sure it clicks twice when you close it!
Secondly you can get an "Eyebrow like this" that sticks to the caravan side that diverts any water running down the sidewall away from the top seal of the cassette door. A worthwhile investment.

Thanks alot for your help. Yes I'll definitely invest in one of those.

The rails and cassette door area will definitely be resealed but unfortunately due to lovely weather today I was confined to the inside so thought I'd make a start but I'll definitely be identifying and hopefully fixing the leak tomorrow (fingers crossed for no rain)

When I open the cassette door, there's a tiny gap in the join inside where I can literally see inside the van so if water is getting past the door... its easy access.

I'm reluctant to take the low rail off if it turns out to be the cassette door but I suppose I won't know for sure so belt and braces and all that.

Hopefully I can dry that tiny bit out that's too difficult to cut out.

Thanks again!