Damp by front window.

[Morecambe Dave]

I apologise before hand if this has been talked about before , but im a new member... we have a coachman pastiche caravan 2007 and we have discovered some damp below the middle window. Being new to caravanning im unsure were to check to solve the issue. I'd much appreciate any advice regarding the problem. Many thanks..

 

[toad a caravan]

The ingress of water could be from anywhere,it just happens to be showing up at that place,I would scrutinize all places that use a sealant, especially on the roof to side panels,has this just shown up and have you been towing the caravan in heavy rain recently in case the window frame rubber seals are failing..Gary

 

[toad a caravan]

To test the rubber seals efficiency trap a piece of writing paper or similar between the seal and window,once the window is open then closed trapping the paper you shouldn't be able to remove it

 

[ProfJohnL]

You have an 18 year old caravan, and frankly you are lucky that you haven't been aware of damp sooner.

Unfortunately by the time you can detect damp inside a caravan, it often means the cause had been letting water in for some considerable time, and rather like an iceberg, what you can see is just a small percentage of the actual damage which is hidden from view.

The cause is invariably a seal which has deteriorated, and is likely to be the window seal in your case, but the repair does require that all the affected material needs to be stripped out (even the hidden material) to assess the damage, which involves a strip down around the affected area. There have been repairs which are fully successful, but so often the extent of work necessary might render it financially unviable - only you can decide if it's worth it or not.

There are a number of Youtube video's where people have undertaken similar types of repairs.

A competent DIY'er can do this, otherwise you will need to seek professional help, especially if the work requires moving any gas appliances or pipe work.

Only replace the affected material with properly damp proof treated wood, otherwise the rot is likely to return hidden away, and doing more damage over the next year or two.

 

[toad a caravan]

By coincidence yesterday I posted an image in the Technical Section with regard to this subject

 

[toad a caravan]

Make sure you use a suitable timber such as muranti, roofing timber is ok if your putting slates on it

 

[Morecambe Dave]

Hi all we've actually only had the caravan about 8 months we paid £2,900 for the van, its a shame as the van is excellent other than the small bit of damp. I will check the window seal as soon as I can.

 

[izzy]

I had a similar amount of damp in exactly the same place on our Elddis
It turned out to be the window hanging rail that had sprung a couple of screw at that end
I resealed the rail at the end and refitted new screws with a few extra with full intention of removing and resealing the whole rail but found this not to be needed as the damp dried up with a bit of heat and has not leaked since.
May be worth a look!

 

[ProfJohnL]

Make sure you use a suitable timber such as muranti, roofing timber is ok if your putting slates on it

This is a touring caravan - why would he want to hang slates on it?

 

[Len W]

I recently had a similar problem after opening the front window which is large and one piece . because we do not as a rule open the front window the rubber was attached to the inside window pulling the rubber seal away from the body of the van when I opened it . Quick squirt of Sikaflex, problem sorted. My caravan is 15 years old and not damp, the way to ensure it stays that way is to spend time ensuring that there is no or little water ingress. Not such a big problem with an older van as the unit has by this time had a good shake down and if any problems arose they were dealt with by the previous owner - happy days . Stay on top of it and It should last a good few years. This summer replaced herzim strip all around on our van Probably should say the water was getting in behind the rubber seal at the top of the frame rolling down inside the rubber seal and appearing at the bottom of the window ledge.

 

[Beachball]

Hi Morecambe Dave Welcome to the forum sorry i cannot help but you should get plenty of advice from others what to do,