Vans coming apart!!

[Gazza1]

Help,

Just noticed that the side wall of both sides of my van has come away from the Floor Panel 2-4mm , but only at the very front of the van for about 300-400mm in length! Pretty serious I guess. A local dealer has suggested this can happen if I have hit a bad pot hole, which has broken the screws that hold the van together. Simply put if the van is'nt damp, I can re-seal and fit new screws and re-fasten the lower rail back on?!?! I have never heard of this before and its got me worried. My van is a 1994 Elddis Jetstream XL1000 (single axle)

Has anybody else heard of or suffered this?!? and is the fix really that simple?!?

Thanks for any help

Gazza

 

[CliveV]

Probably yes but I would strip down the inside to see exactly what is going on.

This is not as hard as it may sound.

It may just be as the dealer says but I would suggest that the steel screws may well have rusted and allowed the wall and floor to part company.

Try to remove the rusted screws if possible or just file them flat so that the wall and floor can sit together properly and re-drill pilot holes for new screws (stainless I would suggest) between the original screws and re-fit using a good quality sealant.

Do not use silicone sealant - it splits with movement.

The Haynes caravan manual is a good guide to repairs like this.

My only really negative thought is that if these original screws have failed then what condition are the others holding the walls to the floor?

May be wise to try to reseal the whole 'van and put new stainless screws all arround between the original screws.

The thought of the whole thing "un-zipping" whilst towing is not an attractive one I am sure you would agree.

 

[carl_5081192]

Hi Gazza,

First, don't despair - us caravanners are a resourcefull and practical bunch but the van does need to be fixed as soon as you can as any towing whilst the fixings are loose will probably make it wose. I suspect that the repair is quite a simple job of removing the trim and re fixing. clives advice is sound - check for damp and check / replace other fixings as neccasary. we saw a van over the weekend on our way to wales. the tow hitch of the 4 wheel drive was very high and the van which appeared to be around 20 years old was pitching up considerably at the front and almost touching the ground at the rear. we kept on passing the van as we have to pull over quite often for our old dog to have a toilet break. every time we passed him gap had got bigger until when we passed him for the last time the front of the van had lifted from the base by around 3 inches and was flopping up and down as he went along. the driver appeared competely unaware. These things are sent to try us - we had a 1991 elddiss cyclone which split in half above the door whilst in scotland. I was in despair but the repair was actually quite simple and was fully detailed in the haynes manual - a book i would agree with clive is definatly worth while and has been a life saver on m any trips.

good luck mate!

 

[Gazza1]

Thanks for responding guys, I am on my way to get the Haynes Manual. I'll read up and dig in.

Thanks again.

Gazza

 

[Rod_5041370]

What tow vehicle do you use?

This happened to my Swift and it was put down to towing with a short wheelbase Shogun which had rear leaf springs. Apparently I should have fitted a device called a Shocklink.

I am informed that these should be fitted to current L200 models, Isuzu Dever/Rodeo, Nissan Navarra et al. These all have rear leaf springs, OK for towing Bobcats, cement mixers etc but not for caravans.

 

[PC_5119929]

I helped a friend repair an old Swift van using the Haynes manual. Sikaflex ( as used in the Hanyes manual ) was used to seal wood to metal before fixing with screws, the problems we had removing a piece of wood we had put in the wrong place without screws in place suggested to us that the sealant was a good belt a braces for failing screws and stuff.