Water Ingress, are some makes better than others?

Oct 19, 2017
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Mmmmm, I was looking to see which section/sub section this post would be best in & couldn't decide, so here it starts!

I have a friend who is looking to buy his 1st van. I've been wanting to pass on good advice to him. The very best being AVOID a DAMP van! I thought Bailey, with their Alu-Tec build had gone some way to achieving the banishment of damp ingress, but good old YouTube has taught me that they've just caused more problems, but in the floor corners.

Are there particular makes that seem to have less problems in this department than other makes? The wisdom of collective members is sought please!
 
Jan 19, 2002
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You might find the Owner Satisfaction Survey useful
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It is recognised that stocks of used vans are very low covid/staycations being the cause, and some new vans have a long lead in time. If your friend is not in a rush there may be a glut of vans for sale once covid has been crushed and foreign holidays once again become the norm!
You will find that newer vans are likely to be built timberless and glued rather than screwed together - although different brands use different terminology. If buying privately look for a good service record with frequent damp checks and perhaps you could accompany him as an extra pair of eyes to inspect anything that appeals. Although a while ago - we were told all sorts of porkies by private sellers. So we waited until the right van was available from a dealer with a known history and a good warranty.
Hope this is helpful and you will soon get loads of comments on here!
 
Nov 11, 2009
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From 2013 Swift group caravans progressively removed timber from most of the caravan apart possibly from the floor. So if you do get water ingress the potential fir damage is reduced. I thought Bailey did tackle the problem of Alu tech causing condensation to damage the floor. But don’t know when any modifications were introduced.

The CMHC have a members classifieds section where you may find sales due to ill health, bereavment or just getting too old. A lot will sell all of the kit too. They aren’t all trying to con you, but like any private sale you need to do your homework and check things out. When I sold my last two caravans I had a damp test carried out by an AWS technician so any prospective purchaser could see the results. Yet I still had one get cold feet with one area of floor at the nearside corner at 15-16%. The tester even wrote on his report nothing to worry about given we had been using the caravan for two weeks in cold wet weat her and two dogs too. The next viewer snapped it up within five hours of it going on autotrader.
 
Oct 19, 2017
20
0
4,510
Visit site
You might find the Owner Satisfaction Survey useful
Caravan Owner Satisfaction Awards - The Camping and Caravanning Club
It is recognised that stocks of used vans are very low covid/staycations being the cause, and some new vans have a long lead in time. If your friend is not in a rush there may be a glut of vans for sale once covid has been crushed and foreign holidays once again become the norm!
You will find that newer vans are likely to be built timberless and glued rather than screwed together - although different brands use different terminology. If buying privately look for a good service record with frequent damp checks and perhaps you could accompany him as an extra pair of eyes to inspect anything that appeals. Although a while ago - we were told all sorts of porkies by private sellers. So we waited until the right van was available from a dealer with a known history and a good warranty.
Hope this is helpful and you will soon get loads of comments on here!
Thank you!
 
Oct 19, 2017
20
0
4,510
Visit site
From 2013 Swift group caravans progressively removed timber from most of the caravan apart possibly from the floor. So if you do get water ingress the potential fir damage is reduced. I thought Bailey did tackle the problem of Alu tech causing condensation to damage the floor. But don’t know when any modifications were introduced.

The CMHC have a members classifieds section where you may find sales due to ill health, bereavment or just getting too old. A lot will sell all of the kit too. They aren’t all trying to con you, but like any private sale you need to do your homework and check things out. When I sold my last two caravans I had a damp test carried out by an AWS technician so any prospective purchaser could see the results. Yet I still had one get cold feet with one area of floor at the nearside corner at 15-16%. The tester even wrote on his report nothing to worry about given we had been using the caravan for two weeks in cold wet weat her and two dogs too. The next viewer snapped it up within five hours of it going on autotrader.
Thank you
 
May 7, 2012
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None of the build methods eliminate damp as they all rely on a perfect seal at the joints. What you will find though is that those without a wooden frame will suffer less damage as the frame cannot rot. Swift also use a composite floor, though wood could still be a problem on the floor of Bailey or Coachman models.
 
Mar 14, 2005
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Hello DavetheIV

Unfortunately the UK caravan industry has not learned how to consistently manufacture caravans that don't let water in. I cannot comment about other countries products, but some would claim theirs are also poor.

I think you could find examples of every make and model where water ingress has been a problem for some owners. but it also means that some owners are very happy, so it's not that the designs that necessarily always leak, as some owners will tell of their perfectly dry caravans, but the manufacturers simply do not put enough good effort into the consistency of their production methods.

Caravans have been around now for about 100 years, and in essence we are only on the third revision of generic constructions, First was wood frames with wood and metal panels applied, The second was a bonded construction still with wood frames and internal and external panels ( some are now mouldings) bonded with an insulator, and the current method are still bonded but many have lost the wood content and added some form of panel jointing system. - But still some leak.
 

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