had a 2011 Swift 565 3 days ago. Its rained for 3 days and theres a leak in both rear top corners. Boards feel cold but solid, slight bulging in the areas, my damp meter shows quite high readings (over 30) right in the corners and gradually falls to about 10 half way down the wall, seems to only be affecting a few inches from the join with the back panel.
Got up on my ladder to take a look at the top rear corners outside, off-side looked fine, nothing obvious bar the awning rail slightly away from the body, revealing a 3mm gap with a loss of sealant, just where in curves around, seems to be in the exact area where the bulging is inside, remainder of the rail is flat against the body.
Near side is similar with the awning rail having a 3mm gap right on the corner. but this side also has a 3" crack right on the top corner, it was hidden under a piece of white tape so i didn't spot it.
I've resealed the awning rails in the immediate areas and slightly beyond, filling in the gaps, and also sealed the crack and applied new tape.
In theory that should have rectified the problem as theres nowhere else other than the seal strip which goes across the roof at the back and that looks just fine. The side lights are below the affected areas but i will reseal them as well.
Now theres no real way of knowing if my 'fixes' have worked unless i note a drop in the damp levels with my meter, time will tell i guess.
I've got it booked in to a specialist but not until september as they are stacked at the moment.
Have you experienced caravaners got any advice for me as to what else i could do/check. I understand its going to take some time to dry out.
The last time it was damp checked was around June 2018 where there were no levels of concern.
So lets say the leaks started around that time, would 2 years be enough for serious rot to set in, or now that the leaks are hopefully fixed should i just not worry about it and keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't get any worse and regularly check it with my meter to see if the levels are dropping?
Many thanks!
Got up on my ladder to take a look at the top rear corners outside, off-side looked fine, nothing obvious bar the awning rail slightly away from the body, revealing a 3mm gap with a loss of sealant, just where in curves around, seems to be in the exact area where the bulging is inside, remainder of the rail is flat against the body.
Near side is similar with the awning rail having a 3mm gap right on the corner. but this side also has a 3" crack right on the top corner, it was hidden under a piece of white tape so i didn't spot it.
I've resealed the awning rails in the immediate areas and slightly beyond, filling in the gaps, and also sealed the crack and applied new tape.
In theory that should have rectified the problem as theres nowhere else other than the seal strip which goes across the roof at the back and that looks just fine. The side lights are below the affected areas but i will reseal them as well.
Now theres no real way of knowing if my 'fixes' have worked unless i note a drop in the damp levels with my meter, time will tell i guess.
I've got it booked in to a specialist but not until september as they are stacked at the moment.
Have you experienced caravaners got any advice for me as to what else i could do/check. I understand its going to take some time to dry out.
The last time it was damp checked was around June 2018 where there were no levels of concern.
So lets say the leaks started around that time, would 2 years be enough for serious rot to set in, or now that the leaks are hopefully fixed should i just not worry about it and keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't get any worse and regularly check it with my meter to see if the levels are dropping?
Many thanks!