How to seal outside of caravan

[welshti]

The cupboard is probably stapled to the wall/floor/roof as well as the screws you have found.

Finally got around to getting the cupboard out and it was finally held in place by another 2 screws coming down from the roof lining into the top of the cupboard :dry: ( could have been alot easier ) This gave me proper access to remove all the damaged battern.

 

[welshti]

Definately progress

Still got a bit of trimming around the door access to do but hopefully tomorrow the ply will get a coat of pva glue to both sides and left to dry before bonding in all the new batterns and plywood. I also had to replace a small section of the top floor ply and some of the timber at the bottom of the floor and wall. Choosing what wall covering / vinyl to have may be hard though.

 

[Jaydug]

That looks to be coming along nicely..

 

[welshti]

Cheers Jaydug

Not my first caravan experience i wanted, but i guess we learn from our mistakes when buying.
I can understand using the Soudal Ultra tack for sealing the outside of the caravan, rails, trims, access doors etc to give great protection against the elements but surely an adhesive which sets hard would be better for the interior bonding ? I know when taking old boards and batterns off they were stuck solid .

Thanks

 

[Jaydug]

surely an adhesive which sets hard would be better for the interior bonding ? I know when taking old boards and batterns off they were stuck solid .

Yes - I agree. I used Screwfix grab adhesive for the internal work, which does set hard. Since my repair didn't extend to the corners of the wall, I also used cloaking trim as used in upvc windows to cover the join between old and new. To attach that I used white sanitary silicone.

 

[welshti]

Thing about leaks in a caravan, is that the water maybe travailing some distance from were the damp is showing.
Playing the hose were the damp is showing may not show any results.
When I had a similar patch I removed the whole awning rail and sealed the lot. I found the the leak when the rail was off, some screws were rusty were the water had entered and they were a distance away from the damp patch.
I took the whole rail off, cleaned every thing, drilled new holes by the side of the old ones, then filled the old ones with 512 before setting the rail on a good thick bed of 512 sealant, using stainless steel screws. Cured the leak.

I probably know the answer, but is sealing the rails with sealant better than the mastic strip ? Only that i have just taken off my first rail, cleaned both surfaces up and put sealant to the back of the rail before refitting. I found it very messy to clean up after tooling especially when the sealant starts to cure or maybe i should be alot quicker lol.

 

[DaveA1]

Messy it is, the sealant gets everywhere, don't run your hand over your head when your working LOL

 

[welshti]

would you put sealant on the rail or to the caravan before refitting, gotta be an easier way lol.

 

[timhowarduk]

would you put sealant on the rail or to the caravan before refitting, gotta be an easier way lol.

I went for the rail, and the mess was glorious, but it was my first rail too!

 

[Damian]

Refitting rails is a two person job in the ideal as it is a long bit of metal which seems to have a mind of its own.
Always apply sealant to the rail, not to the van first.
The excess sealant should be still wet when removing, if it has set, you are working too slowly !!

 

[Gunny]

What would you use to clean the remains of old sealant off with ?

 

[Damian]

Use a plastic scraper followed by white spirit to remove the residue.