can this happen when a van as been towed badly ie cornering fast
snaking or jack knifing
thanks stuart
snaking or jack knifing
thanks stuart
side walls coming away from body
- Thread starter stuart_374330338
- Start date
Damian
Moderator
Stuart, the short answer is yes, it could be a cause, but the cornering would have to be so fast I guess the van would tip over first.
Any sudden sideways force could cause the body to stress in a way it is not designed to do.
Any sudden sideways force could cause the body to stress in a way it is not designed to do.
Beginning of last year I had the same thing happen to our van, the cause was water.
As I see it, the water heater had leaked at some time and the floor had not been dried out but left to it's own devices.
The consequence of this was a crescent shaped area of soft floor about 5ft long and 18" at the widest point. The bottom wooden rail of the wall on that side was rotten and the screws corroded away
This then left only the other side to hold the front end of the van to the floor as there is actually nothing attaching the bulkhead to the floor!.
All this was to much for the good sides screws and they had snapped under the strain, the result could be best described as 'the body was laughing at the floor like a tramps shoe'!!!
As I see it, the water heater had leaked at some time and the floor had not been dried out but left to it's own devices.
The consequence of this was a crescent shaped area of soft floor about 5ft long and 18" at the widest point. The bottom wooden rail of the wall on that side was rotten and the screws corroded away
This then left only the other side to hold the front end of the van to the floor as there is actually nothing attaching the bulkhead to the floor!.
All this was to much for the good sides screws and they had snapped under the strain, the result could be best described as 'the body was laughing at the floor like a tramps shoe'!!!
I have known of three vans where the "loo" wall transverse bulkhead has moved away from the side wall. All at the time relatively new vans and the damage was associated with towing on rough roads, two in Northern Portugal and one in Poland.
If it has happened to a relatively new caravan, I would definitely challenge the manufacturer for selling me a product that is not fit for the purpose. Every manufacturer must be aware that there are some bad roads about and must design the caravan to be suitable for use under those conditions. Only if severe abuse can be proved, such as continuous off-road towing, would responsibility be with the customer. Cornering fast, but still within legal speed limits, or snaking without any consequential accidental damage certainly doesn't amount to abuse.
To add to Lutz's comments,it would up to the manufacturer to prove this is what happened to van they cannot just say or assume
This happened with our caravan and it was permanently on a site. It had to be taken back to the factory for a refit. This seems to be a coomon problem.
When we took our caravan to Iceland, we covered quite a lot of mileage on unsurfaced roads that were a bit rough in places. However, they were major roads connecting towns so it could not have amounted to abuse on my part. A couple of cupboard hinges pulled out of their anchorages. Fortunately, the repair was a relatively simple d-i-y job so I didn't complain. More important, however, was that the overall caravan structure remained sound.
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