New to Site and Touring and needing help with damp?

[Becci]

Hi everyone.

Im new to this site and also new to touring. To give you an idea I will briefly explain what has gone on.

My husband and I have recently (7 weeks ago) had a child and also have another one thats 3 years old.) and having not had an holiday due to lack of funds, we decided that getting a caravan would be a good idea. We did a bit of reasearch and then saw a caravan on Ebay for a resonable price (or so we thought) So we armed ourselfs with a damp detector and headed of on a 4 hour round trip to see this "dry" caravan.

We got there and looking at the caravan it seemed typical of a 1983 clubman 414 caravan. Checked it with damp detector and all was good (or so it seemed)

We have now had it home 4 days and have stripped it down, painted it then today we started pulling up the old flooring and emptying the toilet area which the guy was storing the wind breakers and awning in ( so we never got to really see it)

Sooooooo moving swiftly on, under the 3 layers or lyno and a manky carpet then carpet tiles on top there was some seriously water logged wood, staining, the distinct smell of urine and black dots that looked like mould!!!

We carried on the hunt and traced it to the other side of the toilets wall (in the main van) and under the sink (which is located next to the toilet wall area) However the rest of the van is dry.

So my question is can I fix this cheaply? is it maybe just damp from condensation or someone who cant hit a toilet or do I need to worry more? Also any ideas on how I can sort it would be great as I really do not have the money to pay out to have it professionally done.

Thanks in advance for any advice,

Becci

 

[Damian]

From your description it would seem that the problem is confined to just one area of floor, as long as you are sure the walls are dry.

This would lead me to think it is either a leaking toilet, or leaking pipe, or both.

Removing the floor covring is always a good start, it needs to be washed with a bleach solution to kill any mould spores and bacteria and give a more pleasant starting place.

Check to see if the wood is rotten or just wet. If it is rotten, then you are looking at replacing the affected area. If just wet, drying it out will be sufficient.

Once you have checked the wood, come back with your findings and more detailed advice will be given on what can be done.

Good luck

 

[Damian]

Sorry, in my earlier posting , referring to floor covering, I meant the wood floor needs washing, not the old covering,,just bin that.

 

[Becci]

Thank you for your response Damian. The floor does seem to be drying out quite well now and the floor seems quite solid and not soggy or soft. However theres a panal that slopes on the bottom of the wall made of thin ply or something like that and that is rotten. I'e checked where the panel starts and finishes and it starts at the floor and goes halfway up the wall then half way across the van. However the damp detector only goes mad in the corner that has given way and looks rotten (I can take pics if needed?) Is there a way of cutting a small section out and just replacing that?

Also I tried to check if it was a leaky sink pipe and when I connected the water drum to the inlet and the pump to the plug bit and tried to turn on the tap, it didnt work! So now Im starting to get even more worried.

Thanks again for any advice,

Becci

 

[Parksy]

Hi Rebecca

After you connected the water inlet hose to your Aquaroll did you turn on the caravan 12v electrics? The pump operates on 12 volt electricity.

Your caravan should have a 12 volt leisure battery which is charged via an on-board charger.

It could be that the leisure battery is missing or has become discharged, try the 12 volt lighting in your caravan (the awning light is 12v) and if nothing happens check the battery, switches etc.

 

[TD42]

Hi Rebecca,with respect to Parksy & all members of PC website.

can I point you to http://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/chatter/display_forum_topics.asp?ForumID=31

& to a group who call them self The Fixed it Club these are a group of people who have carried out exstensive damp repairs to their caravans

post your problem in the caravan repairs section possibly for the attention of the Wizard Im sure you will get all the advice & help you might need

 

[Becci]

Hi Parksy,

The leasure battery is in and I had the caravan linked into the mains at the time but the connectors were on the battery. I dont think there is any charger on built is and I dont think there is any swich to turn the 12volts on is there? Also I dont have any 12 volt lights because the guy who had it before wired the lights up to run 240 volts only as he said 12volts is pointless.

TD42 - Thanks for the link I will be sure to check it out. x

 

[Parksy]

Most caravans have both 12 volt and 240 volt lighting fitted, if the previous owner has been messing around with the wiring it might be a good idea to ask a qualified electrician to have a look to be on the safe side.

The 12 volt lighting isn't pointless if there is no hook up available which suggests that the previous owner didn't know what he was talking about.

Have a look around the caravan, there will probably be some switches with car / caravan or some sort of graphic representing this. The switches might be near to the wardrobe or near to the doorway.

If you find the switches connect the caravan to an electric hook up (you can use a domestic extension lead with a suitable caravan plug on one end if you are at home)and switch to 'Caravan'. Then try the water system.

Your best bet would be to ask someone who owns a caravan or a local service engineer to have a look and to show you where the switches are to find out exactly what is fitted to your caravan.

 

[Becci]

Most caravans have both 12 volt and 240 volt lighting fitted, if the previous owner has been messing around with the wiring it might be a good idea to ask a qualified electrician to have a look to be on the safe side.

The 12 volt lighting isn't pointless if there is no hook up available which suggests that the previous owner didn't know what he was talking about.

Have a look around the caravan, there will probably be some switches with car / caravan or some sort of graphic representing this. The switches might be near to the wardrobe or near to the doorway.

If you find the switches connect the caravan to an electric hook up (you can use a domestic extension lead with a suitable caravan plug on one end if you are at home)and switch to 'Caravan'. Then try the water system.

Your best bet would be to ask someone who owns a caravan or a local service engineer to have a look and to show you where the switches are to find out exactly what is fitted to your caravan.

Hi ya,

We found some connectors taped to the underside of the van so we pulled them back through and connected them (so now we have connectors on both batteries) However, there is definatly no switch.

Conecting the other batter seemed to work as the pump started to work, however no water is comming through the taps. we bypassed that by using a hose and everything seemed fine so I dont have a clue why the pump isnt forcing the water through?

On the plus side, the damp has dried out and the damp detector isnt picking any up now.

The van has the 12v lights still in but like I say the guy disconnected them so they dont work. He also said that the car battery has to remail charged but the leisure battery is allowed to go flat and we can just trickle charge it as and when we want. is that correct?

Thanks,

Becci

 

[Becci]

Hi ya,

We found some connectors taped to the underside of the van so we pulled them back through and connected them (so now we have connectors on both batteries) However, there is definatly no switch.

Conecting the other batter seemed to work as the pump started to work, however no water is comming through the taps. we bypassed that by using a hose and everything seemed fine so I dont have a clue why the pump isnt forcing the water through?

On the plus side, the damp has dried out and the damp detector isnt picking any up now.

The van has the 12v lights still in but like I say the guy disconnected them so they dont work. He also said that the car battery has to remail charged but the leisure battery is allowed to go flat and we can just trickle charge it as and when we want. is that correct?

Thanks,

Becci

 

[forestgump]

same as damian pull up floor if the frame work in the floor is rotten you need to see the spred of this .It can be sorted easily any diy bod should be ableto do this now ply and insulation and a spray with anti fungle spray.All this is subject to a leak that needs to be sorted see if its up the joining wall dose it have a floor vent?dose it need one put in .I have done a few old vans and one had a lot of damp when got it home but dont let it scare you it looks worse than it is when striped down .

 

[paul_374577286]

same as damian pull up floor if the frame work in the floor is rotten you need to see the spred of this .It can be sorted easily any diy bod should be ableto do this now ply and insulation and a spray with anti fungle spray.All this is subject to a leak that needs to be sorted see if its up the joining wall dose it have a floor vent?dose it need one put in .I have done a few old vans and one had a lot of damp when got it home but dont let it scare you it looks worse than it is when striped down .

hI BECCY.

WHERE IN THE COUNTRY do you live ?,most of us caravaners are quite handy with 12v electrics, I am sure you put out a request for help one of us would pop over and have a look for you no promises ,

twevle volt electris are easy to rewire, or reconect,

good luck ,

regards Paul