Replace interior front window "sill" on touring caravan

[stevejones42]

I need to replace the board that is under the front windows, as it has suffered from water damage.
It is a 2007 Omega compass tourer.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to the best option to replace.

Thank you

 

[ProfJohnL]

I can't tell you how to do it, but I am very much aware that if you have had a significant water leak for any length of time, its highly likely that hidden behind the surface your can see can be a real mess of rot. All affected timber will need to be replaced with treated timber to prevent reinfestation. Consequently what might seem a simple job on the face of it can easily become a major deconstruction, clean and rebuild job.

Because we cant see or touch the project we cannot tell you the full scope of the necessary work, you would be better served having the caravan inspected by a Approved Workshop Scheme engineer, and they may be able to give you a better estimate then we ever could over a forum.

 

[birdman101]

Rot is usually like an iceberg you only see a small proportion of it,so be prepared for a bigger job than it looks

 

[IanB1485]

I have done several repairs on various caravans with a similar damp issues, as prof john and Birdman says the damp will most certainly have rotted the framing around the front windows, and may even one or more of the side walls.
To remove the shelf(what you call the sill) there will be a lip ate the front, sometimes glued, sometimes small thin staple type 'nails . Removing this will reveal the screws holding the shelf to the front vertical wall. From inside of the gas locker there will be an aluminium sheet or two underneath the shelf ( this is part of the firewall), remove this and it will reveal the underneath of the shelf and here you may see a lot more damp/fungus growth.Also at each side and rear there will be small pieces of wood which support the shelf. The way the caravan is built now presents a problem, the interior is built up from the floor upwards , then the side walls assemblies are attached to caravan floor and from the outside, forward of where the aluminium skin finishes , the wall framing protrudes forward, screws are driven in through the wooden side wall frames into the shelf .Then the front ABS/GRP panel is attached, hiding the screw heads!!!, the the awning rails are attached hiding the join between the side wall(s) and the front panel.
To remove these 'hidden /unaccessible screws I use a diamond coated blade of a multitool to cut the screws . Once the front shelf is removed you will see the front framing for the windows/gas locker hinge and I would put money on this framing also being wet/rotted, A mobiler engineer will probably charge in excess of £1000 to repair the damage , if indeed they will touch it and workshops even more. If you are really lucky and the front framing is not damp/rotted . B & Q stock 15mm thick vinyl covered mdf - oak furniture board and this can be cut to size to fit inplace of the old . I use expanding PU glue to help attach and secure the board to existing framework and firewall, you can also a nice piece of corner trim to provide a lip for the new shelf and hide the screws( it gets glued on with PU glue). Take lots of photos of the caravan at various stages of stripdown as this will aid you when coming to the rebuild.attached are two photos of one of the repairs I did in 2024 the front shelf was rotted where it touched the front wall of the caravan , the other photo shows the upper front framing piece which supports the window hinge (this was an Elddis Xplore with a single front window) the areas highlighted in red are not timber but lumps of fungus growth which only became visible once the window and window rubbers were removed to expose the wooden framing. The whole of this caravan's front interior and two more like it in that year, had to to be replaced entirely.