hi i bought a caravan and it as full service history??????? D...

[jeff_374543278]

hi i bought a caravan and it as full service history .the problem i have we tested the caravan with a protimeter damp meter for damp and it as high readings of damp over 50% the lowest being 30% i a few places in the van ..i just can't under stand its as not long had a service at a reputable dealers ,for a caravan that as not had any problems with damp as now got damp really bad it was only out curiosity a friend with a protimeter checked it he said for damp to get to this stage it been getting in for some time it makes me think if the caravan as ever been serviced right in the first place .anyone help me on this where would i stand with the manufacturer warranty on this as its all up to date the reading we are getting the caravan will need resealing or a possible total strip down ,will they have to repair this ?????????is it possible that this damp was already there and the and it was not being reported as the caravan is still under warranty ?,because the manufacturer would have to foot the bill is this possible ,i read a lot of others saying that they have got full history with no damp but after the warranty ends and you trade the caravan in for a new model all of a sudden your caravan as damp ?something just don't had up sound a bit fishy to me backhanders may be .i mean people are paying good money to have a servise yet they miss this ,and if this is the case whats the point in paying for a servise if they can't see damp or take a blind eye to it .

regards jeff

 

[blu]

Hi Jeff

Firstly can i say i am by no means an expert but i have my own damp meter but by my experience with it i wouldnt worry.

I have had had my van for 4 years now and know it it is dry.Your van is open to the dampness in the air and this will show on your damp meter at this time of year,i can get between 30 and 50% easily at this time of year at 20 differant points over the van.I recently went with my friend to look at a van and got 30% in most of the van and 90%in the shower area.To be honest you could smell the van had a problem.

I would say that i wouldnt worry as your figures dont seem excessive,check it again in may and i would say as i do you will see completely different readings.

Check with your fingers at obvious points,shower area,above the kitchen area,and most obviuos i think a damp van smells damp.

Good luck

Regards

Sean

 

[jeff_374543278]

Hi Jeff

Firstly can i say i am by no means an expert but i have my own damp meter but by my experience with it i wouldnt worry.

I have had had my van for 4 years now and know it it is dry.Your van is open to the dampness in the air and this will show on your damp meter at this time of year,i can get between 30 and 50% easily at this time of year at 20 differant points over the van.I recently went with my friend to look at a van and got 30% in most of the van and 90%in the shower area.To be honest you could smell the van had a problem.

I would say that i wouldnt worry as your figures dont seem excessive,check it again in may and i would say as i do you will see completely different readings.

Check with your fingers at obvious points,shower area,above the kitchen area,and most obviuos i think a damp van smells damp.

Good luck

Regards

Sean

hi getting a soft feeling in one part of the van and this is high ,the person that tested this as said it damp .and should have not been missed you can't see damp and these reading should not be this high ,in may your readings will get better on your van but the damp is still there but over time it will just rot away. i had a Bailey ranger for 5 years and in all weathers even in all the snow and ice we had its was no damp in it regardless of this.and to rule out this my friend tested a brand new caravan the other day that was out in this weather and it was damp free all over .and where the damp is there are obvious signs of seal failing out side .and around this part .

thanks jeff

 

[jeff_374543278]

hi getting a soft feeling in one part of the van and this is high ,the person that tested this as said it damp .and should have not been missed you can't see damp and these reading should not be this high ,in may your readings will get better on your van but the damp is still there but over time it will just rot away. i had a Bailey ranger for 5 years and in all weathers even in all the snow and ice we had its was no damp in it regardless of this.and to rule out this my friend tested a brand new caravan the other day that was out in this weather and it was damp free all over .and where the damp is there are obvious signs of seal failing out side .and around this part .

thanks jeff

i also want to say that the other side of the van is reading perfect so if a caravan is responding to the weather conditions is should be the same there and all over the van ,not just in a few places .

 

[TD42]

Hi Jeff Firstly Protimeters need to be checked regularily & recalibrated Secondly you need to know how to read it subject to conditions ect,

 

[TD42]

Hi Jeff Firstly Protimeters need to be checked regularily & recalibrated Secondly you need to know how to read it subject to conditions ect.

you should explain your concern to the sevicing dealer re the damp readings you have.He should have issued you with a Damp test certificate at the time of service. Dependant on whether you warranty is close to expirery or not,you could call in a NEC approved mobile fitter to carry out an independant damp test

If the van is damp then your warranty should take care of it.

incidently there is nothing done in a service that will prevent dampness,it will only detect it in time for minimum repairs to be carried out

 

[jeff_374543278]

Hi Jeff Firstly Protimeters need to be checked regularily & recalibrated Secondly you need to know how to read it subject to conditions ect.

you should explain your concern to the sevicing dealer re the damp readings you have.He should have issued you with a Damp test certificate at the time of service. Dependant on whether you warranty is close to expirery or not,you could call in a NEC approved mobile fitter to carry out an independant damp test

If the van is damp then your warranty should take care of it.

incidently there is nothing done in a service that will prevent dampness,it will only detect it in time for minimum repairs to be carried out

hi tony first of all my damp meter is fully calibrated i check every time before i use it ,i will be posting a video on YouTube in the next few days showing how to use these and introduce this meter to others that don't know they exist to others that are getting caught in these services .you don't really need any experience with these meters the calibration charts in them give you this ,any damp up to 15% it dry wood any reading over 16% is cause for concern and as to be checked in the next service anything over 25% up is evident that damp is present .the sad thing here is loads are getting services and the caravans are not being damped checked just because the warranty is present on them ,i think its a farce and its all to do with money .if damp is caught it only costs about

 

[Robtel]

Hi Jeff,

You say you bought the van with a full service history. Did you buy it privately or from the dealership who did the servicing?

What evidence do you have that the servicing and damp checks were carried out? The reason I ask is that, with the dealership I use at least, the paperwork for the damp check is separate to the service checklist. The damp check record shows a line drawing of a caravan with the meter readings at various points.

Just wondering if you have anything like that.

If you bought privately there is always the possibility the seller did not pass on the damp checks if he knew there was a problem.

 

[Martin_E]

Blu....Sean,

Most damp vans don't smell!!! Unless its in the carpet or other soft furnishings.

I looked at a van the other day and the offside rear corner wall board had disintegrated and the rest of the back nearside quarter was going the same way, there was no smell whatsoever, I was even able to wiggle my finger up trough soaking wet floor from outside.

In fact the first most people know about damp is when the wall starts to bubble or they put there finger through it or when they have a damp test done.

 

[Robtel]

I would agree with Martin "E" 's comments about the lack of smell with dampness sometimes.

Many years ago I owned a Swift Corniche which was totally free of any odour but had a serious damp problem which I only discovered when part of the interior wall started to virtually disintegrate. More recently I had a damp problem with a toilet wall in a Lunar, this was picked up at annual service. By that time the wall board was covered with small "bubbles", because of the pattern and contour of the board this was practically impossible to see unless you were close up or ran your hand over the wall. Again there was no odour present

Robert

 

[jeff_374543278]

Blu....Sean,

Most damp vans don't smell!!! Unless its in the carpet or other soft furnishings.

I looked at a van the other day and the offside rear corner wall board had disintegrated and the rest of the back nearside quarter was going the same way, there was no smell whatsoever, I was even able to wiggle my finger up trough soaking wet floor from outside.

In fact the first most people know about damp is when the wall starts to bubble or they put there finger through it or when they have a damp test done.

hi we have all service history including papers to say its no damp in it ,this was done about a few months ago .also further to inspection today the mastic on both sides at the front of the caravan have a small gap and the mastic along the window rail out side also a crack in the mastic and it is not bonded tightly to the caravan ,also the reading at the back there is also a crack in the mastic to this verifies to me the meter is working and as found this damp easily so why have not the service centre not reported this ,because when you have a damp check these should be broken down in stages using the percentages on the meter .my advise to anyone to get a proper damp check these days take your caravan and make out you want to trade it in then see if they will tell you its damp free and if they tell you its damp in it say well its under warranty so leave it and get it done .

 

[forestgump]

jeff not all servies have damp test with it.it is a part that ypu can have done mostley at cost.

 

[jeff_374543278]

jeff not all servies have damp test with it.it is a part that ypu can have done mostley at cost.

hi when you pay over

 

[Martin_E]

When you book your service make sure you ask what you are getting for your

 

[jeff_374543278]

When you book your service make sure you ask what you are getting for your

 

[trucker]

If everyone is missing the point talk to the dealer. watch them do the damp check, they are the ones who can sort this out not the contributers to the forum, if your not going to take advice from the forum members dont ask for opinions!!!

Kevin

 

[Robtel]

Hi Jeff,

In your reply to Martin E in the comments box you say the

service and damp test was done a few months ago. Could it be that the caravan was damp free then but the problem has developed over the winter months? Same with the broken and cracked mastic you mention.

If you bought it from the dealer get back on to them.

If you bought it privately... sorry but I guess you are stuck with the problem- buyer beware! Pity you hadn't thought to do a damp check yourself before buying.

A lesson to us all not to take for granted a service and damp test history as being cast iron proof all is as it should be.

Good luck

Robert

 

[jeff_374543278]

Hi Jeff,

In your reply to Martin E in the comments box you say the

service and damp test was done a few months ago. Could it be that the caravan was damp free then but the problem has developed over the winter months? Same with the broken and cracked mastic you mention.

If you bought it from the dealer get back on to them.

If you bought it privately... sorry but I guess you are stuck with the problem- buyer beware! Pity you hadn't thought to do a damp check yourself before buying.

A lesson to us all not to take for granted a service and damp test history as being cast iron proof all is as it should be.

Good luck

Robert

hi if the caravan was under warranty what would they have done to fix this would they do a total reseal .because most of the mastic is not that good on it .is there any good products out there that i can apply to the seal on the out side to reduce and stop the water getting it with out doing a total strip down or diy job .a friend told me to buy and use a good silicone sealant on the rail .anyone got a few tips to share on this .

 

[Damian]

Jeff, silicone sealants are no use on caravans, and in certain circumstances can cause even more costly damage as it reacts badly with aluminium.

If there is a damp problem, the only long term solution is a removal , thorough clean off all old mastic and reseal with fresh mastic which is designed for use on caravans.

 

[jeff_374543278]

Jeff, silicone sealants are no use on caravans, and in certain circumstances can cause even more costly damage as it reacts badly with aluminium.

If there is a damp problem, the only long term solution is a removal , thorough clean off all old mastic and reseal with fresh mastic which is designed for use on caravans.

anyone got any good sites on resealing a caravan .is this hard to do .

 

[Sproket]

You can try here

Good luck )

 

[Parksy]

Or maybe even Here

 

[Parksy]

You can try here

Good luck )

I think that to post from that url you needed to log in to the other forum Steve

 

[readcaravans]

Jeff,

Did you buy private or from a dealer/trader? the answer to this question will determine what course of action you take next.

 

[gary]

It's been said you do need to know a few fundamental things or you fool yourself with a damp meter.

First the sort of weather, if it's damp and you simply place the probes on the surface you may well get a reading.

For the same reason if you take a cold van into a warm workshop and straight away give it a damp check, all the reading will be sky high due to warm moist air condensing on the vans cold surfaces. (this little 'stunt' has to my knowledge been used by one dealer checking a trade-in!)

Surface moisture though is not important, it's what's underneath that matters, so deduct any surface reading from any higher reading after the probes are pushed through the surface.

Having said that, given this van has alleged 30% to 50% readings, I'd expect to find plenty of evidence without the use of a meter. It cannot go from 0 to 50% in various paces and in only a few months, therefore the structure will have suffered.

Soft areas, blebs or other tell tale signs should be clearly evident to collaborate the meter readings.

My thumb can find the common damp areas at a lot less than 30% and often without even setting foot inside?!