Swift Challenger 2013 Damp around Window, Whats best to do?

[Nksky]

Hi All,

I am very new to caravaning, I bought a 2013 Swift Challenger 585 last year, in very good condition with service history and damp check. We had a very wet summer in Ireland, the caravan was then put to indoor storage in November, to my disappointment in late December I noticed the dreading "pimpling" below the front right window. The damp readings are about 35% from half way down the window to 65-70% at the bottom of the window, 3 inches in and the wallboard is 8% on average. Is this a window seal that has caused this or would it becoming up from the battery box? Do I just need to re-silcone around the window seal or do I replace the whole window seal. I will also need to replace some of the wallboard. As the van is based in Ireland, there is not many repair shops and the prices are extermely high.Should I fix the van myself or just trade it in? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I can add photos if they are any help to people.

Thanks in advance.

J

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Nksky

Welcome to the forum.

I'm sorry to read of your problems. I can understand your suspicion the window is responsible for the raised readings, but without being able to see and test the area its simply not possible for anyone on a forum to know exactly what has failed. Someone might get lucky and suggest the correct reason, but there is no certainty.

What I find worrying and perplexing is that you tell us you discovered signs of damp after you put it into indoor storage, and the signs continued to get worse. There is something very amis for that to happen.

Until you know what's wrong and what might be done, you can't weigh up the pros and cons of repairing or replacing the caravan, however if it is a bespoke parts that has failed like a window frame, you have to consider if one has just failed, how likely will it be that other frames might go the same way fairly soon.

If you can't accurately diagnose the cause yourself, then you need to involve a competent repairer to investigate and advise.

You imply you purchased the caravan less than a year ago. If you purchased it from a retailer then if your within the UK you should have some formal protection against the supply of faulty goods through the Consumer Rights Act, but you mention Ireland, so its possible you meant the ROI, but as part of the EU the ROI should have similar legal protection for customers. I advise you to review your relevant Consume Rights laws to see if your seller might still be liable.

 

[GaryB]

In 2012 and 2013 Swift used the wrong sealant to bond the front window rubbers (this was discussed a lot on the now defunct SwiftTalk forum). The failure of the sealant allowed water to reach the structural wood behind, sometimes this could be dried out, sometimes it was too severe and necessitated structural repair. Only drying it out and examining it by removing the windows and trim will determine the extent of the damp. If you can get it back undercover and remove the windows and trim it will help the drying process. Removing and resealing the rubbers will prevent future reoccurrence.

 

[Buckman]

Trading in you will lose a massive amount of money as it will be picked up. If doing it yourself, the area needs to be dried thoroughly first before sealing anything.

 

[Nksky]

Thank you very much for your replies. There was a 1 year warranty from the UK dealer, but this has now run out, plus there would be alot of expense in bringing it back to the UK for repair.

1. So is it best to replace the window seals or remove and reseal them?
2. Should I redo all the front windows while I am at it?
2. Is there matching Wallboard still available to buy for these models?

John.

 

[Buckman]

Are you in NI or ROI? Get a professional AWS technician to give you a quote for the repair. May be worth bringing it back to the England for the repair?

 

[Nksky]

I am in the ROI and there is only a couple of independent repairers available. I have gotten a quote of €3000, (£2600), but that was just from pictures and from damp readings I had taken. It seems an excessive price. I am quite handy, but have never tackled a caravan before!!.

 

[GaryB]

Someone posted photos of this on one of the forums (could have been Swift Talk or even CT?). They did it themselves and removed the entire front panel, a big and daunting job but straightforward if tackled methodically. I'll see if I can find it on CT.

 

[Nksky]

I appreciate your help, thank you.

 

[Buckman]

I am in the ROI and there is only a couple of independent repairers available. I have gotten a quote of €3000, (£2600), but that was just from pictures and from damp readings I had taken. It seems an excessive price. I am quite handy, but have never tackled a caravan before!!.

Can I suggest that you send the pictures to Premier Towing Company in Birmingham? They come highly recommended.

Tell them that you are struggling to find a decent repairer near your location in ROI, but you would consider bringing the caravan to England depending on cost of repair.

You could do a holiday, then leave caravan with them and return to ROI to collect caravan at a later date.

Just a suggestion?

 

[GaryB]

I appreciate your help, thank you.

Sorry but I cannot find the post anywhere, I THINK it was on the old Swift Talk forum that is now closed. As others have said, get a second opinion before tearing it apart, if the damp is minimal it can be dried out and resealed. Personally I'd remove the windows etc to expose the timbers and see if they're soft, if not, let it all dry and and replace everything with the correct sealant. Not ALL 2012/2013 caravans had the wrong sealant used, but quite a few were caught out.

 

[Deejuk]

To be fair I agree with everything all the other commenters have said here, especially on a van of significant value.

I mean if it was mine on my drive I would have a go myself but thats not the case so I would make sure you get a proper job done by a pro so you know it's done right, hopefully they could also guarantee the work.

With regard to what Buckman said

AWS technician

What is an AWS tech

 

[Buckman]

To be fair I agree with everything all the other commenters have said here, especially on a van of significant value.

I mean if it was mine on my drive I would have a go myself but thats not the case so I would make sure you get a proper job done by a pro so you know it's done right, hopefully they could also guarantee the work.

With regard to what Buckman said

What is an AWS tech

Approved Workshop Scheme technician. See https://www.approvedworkshops.co.uk/find-approved-workshop

 

[ProfJohnL]

Thank you very much for your replies. There was a 1 year warranty from the UK dealer, but this has now run out, plus there would be alot of expense in bringing it back to the UK for repair.

1. So is it best to replace the window seals or remove and reseal them?
2. Should I redo all the front windows while I am at it?
2. Is there matching Wallboard still available to buy for these models?

John.

If as Gary B suggests it was the wrong sealant, then it's the sealant might be the only thing that needs replacing, but it all depends what damage might have been caused thats not visible. Unfortunately, becasue the caravan manufacturers have tended to use vinyl covered wall boards, it takes quite a long time for damp to be come apparent by which time it can have caused a lot of unseen damage inside the walls.

We cannot know the extent of any damage just from looking from the outside or the inside, the area has to be exposed to find any damage. Because its invariably rot, all affected material has to be removed and replaced to prevent reinfection.

I suspect if this has happened on one window, its most likely other windows will also either be already affected or are significant risk of becoming affected.

Because manufacturers seem intent on making changes for the sake of change, you may have trouble finding exact replacement wall boards.

So for you three questions, until the damage has been exposed and fully understood you will not know the extent of work to repair. Forum members simply cannot know predict what you will need to do.

As you are in the ROI, I don't know what consumer rights you have, but with regards professional repairers, I'm sure there must be some in the ROI and if not there will be some in the north, you should not need to export the caravan to England.

 

[Buckman]

Just to add to the above post, if the incorrect sealant was used then the fault was there from day one and the dealer is still responsible. It seems fault was there from time of manufacture?

 

[Nksky]

I totally understand, its hard to know without seeing it and throughly inspecting it. I was more looking for opinion of what path to take without breaking the bank. If it is too expensive repair and due to my location I may have no choice but to tackle it myself, but definitely would prefer it to be done and done right by an expert.

 

[Nksky]

Just to add to the above post, if the incorrect sealant was used then the fault was there from day one and the dealer is still responsible. It seems fault was there from time of manufacture?

Is it Swift's responsability, even if I bought it secondhand? The dealer I bought from has basically said my warranty was for a year and this has expired. No longer covered by him anyway.

 

[Nksky]

Approved Workshop Scheme technician. See https://www.approvedworkshops.co.uk/find-approved-workshop

There is no AWS dealer in North or South of Ireland. I dont think the same demand is here for them.

 

[Buckman]

Is it Swift's responsability, even if I bought it secondhand? The dealer I bought from has basically said my warranty was for a year and this has expired. No longer covered by him anyway.

Oops my apologies I forgot you are in ROI. However have a look at the consumer law in ROI as it will be very similar to the UK as a lot of our consumer law came from the EU. It will be the responsibility of the dealer that sold the caravan to resolve the issue even if the caravan was second, third hand etc.

 

[Gafferbill]

.......beware here!
Where the damp/leak shows itself is not necessarily where the water enters the structure.
I have a 2012 Challenger 586 and I have had a leak that showd itself in 2019.
This was also at the bottom of one of the small front windows.
The water was entering from the panoramic window above where the sealant had failed.
I removed this window, cleaned off the old sealant and resealed it.
This stopped the leak for a couple of years.
Since had another leak in the same place.....this time the mastic had to be renewed above the small front window as this was now the point of entry for the water.
Water has the ability to track unseen!
The timescales you report would likely preclude serious rot and sealants are relatively cheap if you are able to go the DIY route.

 

[Nksky]

.......beware here!
Where the damp/leak shows itself is not necessarily where the water enters the structure.
I have a 2012 Challenger 586 and I have had a leak that showd itself in 2019.
This was also at the bottom of one of the small front windows.
The water was entering from the panoramic window above where the sealant had failed.
I removed this window, cleaned off the old sealant and resealed it.
This stopped the leak for a couple of years.
Since had another leak in the same place.....this time the mastic had to be renewed above the small front window as this was now the point of entry for the water.
Water has the ability to track unseen!
The timescales you report would likely preclude serious rot and sealants are relatively cheap if you are able to go the DIY route.

Thanks for this update, the damp report from February 12 months ago showed all good readings, so thats why I hoping its not serious rot.

 

[Buckman]

Thanks for this update, the damp report from February 12 months ago showed all good readings, so thats why I hoping its not serious rot.

Who did the damp readings and did you buy from a caravan dealer whose business is caravans?

 

[Nksky]

Bought from a dealer in Wales who did Caravans and Motorhomes, I paid an independent guy to go and do a check over of it, he sent me the damp report.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Bought from a dealer in Wales who did Caravans and Motorhomes, I paid an indep endent guy to go and do a check over of it, he sent me the damp report.

As the caravan was purchased from a a UK based seller, and I assume exported by the customer and not the dealer, The UK CRA will apply as it relates to the contract of sale. However it is clearly a far more difficult situation becasue the caravan is no longer within the UK, and its over seas getting it returned to the seller may not be economically sensible.

But it all depends on Nksky's consideration of costs vs convenience once the scale of the work is revealed.

 

[Nksky]

As the caravan was purchased from a a UK based seller, and I assume exported by the customer and not the dealer, The UK CRA will apply as it relates to the contract of sale. However it is clearly a far more difficult situation becasue the caravan is no longer within the UK, and its over seas getting it returned to the seller may not be economically sensible.

But it all depends on Nksky's consideration of costs vs convenience once the scale of the work is revealed.

Thanks for your input, I don't think I have much recourse because of the van now been in the ROI, at this stage I just don't want to get ripped off and hopefully get back on the road for the summer!!