New to caravans and need restoration advice

[Alan1087]

Hi all,

New to the forum and a newbie within the caravaning world.

Having always been on caravan holidays as a child I love caravans and the freedom they offer. I was offered a 1992 elddis typhoon for a steal. It has a few issues, although I can see past them and am happy to put the effort in to make it something that the family will enjoy and be proud of.

The main issue is a leak on the centre roof rail, the one that runs from front to rear. I know how to reseal a rail, however can't figure out how to do that one, as it is unreachable. Can anyone adviseen how I'd go about working on the roof rail?

Any advice would be most appreciated.

Thanks

Alan

 

[LizziePope]

Hi Alan and a warm welcome to the Practical Caravan forum. I'm sure there will be people with advice to share.

 

[Mel]

Hi Alan. Welcome to the forum. I am sure that someone will advise. Posting photos can help people understand the problems
Mel

 

[paws]

Hi Alan, In my view this is one of the more tricky things to deal with effectively and in a safe way...
Its quite a difficult job to do, so it usually either gets "bodged up" or just not done at all, and either of these approaches just tends to make matters worse.

1 With a caravan of that age the roof should not be walked upon or asked to bear any weight....

2 Access to a suitable sized "hole in the ground" with appropriate entry/exits and deep enough to allow a robust platform to be used for working from ("bridging the hole") just clear of the roof are probably more scarce than hen's teeth!

3 At the factory or in a very well equipped workshop there will be gantries that will provide the sort of access required, but its still a difficult job!

4 Folks sometimes resort to all sort of pretty dangerous methods, but I would be inclined to keep well clear of pairs of steps/ladders and scaffold boards or trying to use a garage roof or embankment or similar contraptions....

5 You could bite the bullet, take a week or so off work and hire a firm of professional scaffolders to erect some secure working platforms, across the caravan to provide safe access.... It will cost you, and the job will still be a tricky one as you might end up with having to take off the whole roof to effect an effective repair....( there will be a lot of lying on your stomach on whatever platform you choose, operating at arms length) that is daunting work ( even at the factory) and undoubtedly would mean that the actual cost of repair would not be economic... however it would make a good project.

If you do undertake it then a few photos of the arrangements you made and a brief narrative, posted here on the forum, would be of great benefit to other folks with similar issues.
Good luck

Regards
paws

 

[mealsonwheels]

Welcome to the forum, Alan.
If you post your question for help about fixing the leak in 'Technical' you will probably get more helpful advice, as not everyone on the forum reads 'New members' and will miss your question.
Good Luck with fixing your caravan.

 

[Alan1087]

Thanks for the warm welcome and thank you Paws for taking the time to explain my predicament. I appreciate it is a daunting task, but I feel that if I don't ensure the roof is 100% sealed, which if I had to guess just now it's about 80%, there would be no point continuing with my restoration, as any effort I put into the interior would be pointless until I have fixed the main issue. So with that in mind, I'll get planning project roof seal.

Once I have that sorted I can move on to replacing the front end! What have I let myself in for? I'll try and document the progress and pray it goes as my imagination has forseen.

Hard work, blood, sweat and tears = daunting, but satisfaction one complete = Priceless!!

 

[Beachball]

Hi Alan
This is a belated welcome to the forum..............