# Damp



## Sharon the Cat (Feb 9, 2015)

Phill noticed a specific condensation patch on Percy that hinted at a damp problem inside. I've outlined it in red.


When checking inside the van with the damp meter it goes off the scale in this area.
It is below where water was running (pouring) when we had a serious water ingress problem a year ago from the roof which is now fixed & Percy was all dried out. However, there is no sign of damp above this part of the van at all, so I'm hoping it isn't old damp.

Is it likely that the sealant needs renewing where the panels join? We thought we should look at this first, but I don't know exactly what sealant to use. Would the usual silicone sealant be OK?

Also, to get the damp meter to register you have to puncture the paper on the inside. I don't want to damage what looks as good as new by trying to take the paper off so would it dry out OK with the paper left in situ if we put a heater in there after we've sealed the leak?

Looking forward to hearing from someone who is happy to offer advice.


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## iampatman (Feb 9, 2015)

Hi Sharon,

Where is that point on the van? Looks like it's the rear n/s corner but there are no light clusters. I can't identify that area at all,

Pat


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## n brown (Feb 9, 2015)

don't use silicone ,get some stixall from toolstation . you can even apply it while still damp. silicone is a no no


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## Sharon the Cat (Feb 9, 2015)

Hi Pat, opposite corner. I've included another photo but the shadows aren't helping.

It is just behind the drivers door, where the flat side of the body is joined to the curvy bit that meets the cab. 
On the inside, behind the drivers seat, underneath the table where the floor meets the wall, by the 6" wide panel that goes floor to ceiling behind driver.

Ignore the second thumbnail!


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## Deleted member 5816 (Feb 9, 2015)

Sharon that looks awfully like a window leak to me do you park sloping forwards at home

Alf


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## iampatman (Feb 9, 2015)

Ok, know where you mean now. I've just looked at mine and the tall vertical panel on the outside is well sealed - cab to rear body. Any water getting in from the outside on the lower panel is just going to run out. Can you take off the wooden panel inside under the table and maybe the grey plastic seat belt holding panel and have a look? 
We've had serious water leaks recently on ours and I've resealed  the big glass panel above the windscreen and also the long horizontal joint on the roof where the cab joins the habitation area. Now we have water coming into the TV cupboard above the grill!! I reckon we've been over some rough roads over the last year or so and all the flexing and twisting just pulls the joints apart. As has been said before - that's why they're called flimsies!! Hope you get sorted. By the way, you have different decals to me?!?!
Pat


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## Debs (Feb 9, 2015)

n brown said:


> don't use silicone ,get some stixall from toolstation . you can even apply it while still damp. silicone is a no no



Can only agree, never take silicone anywhere near a van.:hammer:


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## n brown (Feb 9, 2015)

i agree with Alf- if that's a Seitz window above, i would whip it out,clean it up and re-seal it with non-setting mastic


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## Sharon the Cat (Feb 9, 2015)

Thanks Alf & Nigel. We've got the Fixall anyway as I caught Phill on his way into town & he bought some.
When parked at home Percy is on the level. That window had a new seal last year as the dealer who got the big leak completely wrong twice thought it was the window leaking at one point (water travels upwards????).

Pat, I'll get out again tomorrow and see what I can discover from the inside & take some more pics. I will report back.
Thanks guys:wave:

Watch this space.


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## antiqueman (Feb 9, 2015)

n brown said:


> don't use silicone ,get some stixall from toolstation . you can even apply it while still damp. silicone is a no no



Can you or someone else tell me why please Mr Brown?:bow:


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## GWAYGWAY (Feb 9, 2015)

It is probably water travelling along where the wooden frame USED to be after it rotted out with the first damp.:scared:


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## Sharon the Cat (Feb 9, 2015)

GWAYGWAY said:


> It is probably water travelling along where the wooden frame USED to be after it rotted out with the first damp.:scared:



Thanks GWAYGWAY I'll send the bill for the sleeping tablets to you :rolleyes2:


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## GWAYGWAY (Feb 9, 2015)

At least I will know there is somebody else that cannot sleep as well.


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## n brown (Feb 9, 2015)

antiqueman said:


> Can you or someone else tell me why please Mr Brown?:bow:


 i suppose it's because i've taken so many things apart that were smothered in silicone,which if the surface is even slightly damp,greasy or dusty, then water gets through.then when you have to remove it, any trace left behind stops anything else sticking. i just don't trust it .


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## jagmanx (Feb 10, 2015)

*So what do you recommend please*



n brown said:


> i suppose it's because i've taken so many things apart that were smothered in silicone,which if the surface is even slightly damp,greasy or dusty, then water gets through.then when you have to remove it, any trace left behind stops anything else sticking. i just don't trust it .



I agree with your thoughts on "silly cone"

How about sikaflex ? or ????

Thanks
Phil


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## n brown (Feb 10, 2015)

as far as i can see Stixall is as good as Sikaflex, but about half the price . great for permanently sticking things,like solar panels to roofs or lap joints, but imo it's better to use a non-setting mastic or mastic tape for things like windows and hatches,which may need replacing at  some point


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## jagmanx (Feb 10, 2015)

*Thanks*



n brown said:


> as far as i can see Stixall is as good as Sikaflex, but about half the price . great for permanently sticking things,like solar panels to roofs or lap joints, but imo it's better to use a non-setting mastic or mastic tape for things like windows and hatches,which may need replacing at  some point



For the info
phil


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## Sharon the Cat (Feb 11, 2015)

Went back into Percy yesterday for another poke around. 

The damp is at the bottom of the wall below but just in front of the side window. As I said before Percy is always parked level. The smaller red arrow points to a 240V socket where water leaked out when we had the bad roof leak last year.

This where the damp is in close up. The paper looks as though it has little lumps behind it & the damp meter goes off the scale from here down to the floor. The wood behind the paper an inch or so above the floor feels squidgy, as though it is rotten. 2 foot further back from the angle shown, the damp meter reads nothing at all.


Last year we were very grateful for a years warranty on Percy as the dealer only sorted a serious leak in the roof on the third attempt. Yes it was on this side of the van, something to do with the fridge chimney thingy. I insisted on a years warranty on the roof repairs. This expires on the 25th of this month. I have a damp report from a hab service carried out last September with no bad readings but I doubt they put a damp meter down in this corner. It is behind a sort of magazine rack type thing under the table which hides the hot air pipes.

Is it likely that this could be residual damp from a fixed (I use the word cautiously) repair a year ago, or more likely to be a new problem? We use the van once a month & had the heating on when we were last away at the end of Jan.

I have a guy coming round today who I hope will look at it. NOT from the dealer who sold it to us., they are too far away.


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## Wooie1958 (Feb 11, 2015)

I made some substantial wooden ramps out of a railway sleeper and when parked at home the front end is on them.

They are more than strong enough to handle any weight of motorhome.

They are only used at home and so stay there. I have separate Fiamma type leveling ramps which i take with us for use when out and about.

This lifts the front end just enough so that any water runs off the back end instead of collecting on the roof.

Cut to the length required then a nice angle to drive up them, there is a block at the front to stop the wheels going over the edge.

I roll forwards so the front wheels touch the blocks then put chocks in behind the wheels, it is also in 1st gear with the handbrake off.

Doing it this way the wheels sit on a level surface instead of being on a ramp / angle as when on leveling ramps etc.

The van is perfectly safe and even in the gale force winds we had a while back the van did not move at all.

It may be something you want to consider once it`s sorted.

It may not be suitable for others but it works for me and has done for the nearly 20 years we`ve been motorhoming


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## Sharon the Cat (Feb 16, 2015)

Caravan man said it's definitely not from the water filler, roof or window. We are fairly convinced that it is this side rail causing the problem.

Can anyone tell us how to get this side rail (Big green Xs) off?



Ta


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## sak (Feb 16, 2015)

Is the large vent to the left on your picture sealed to the panel or the smaller square that looks like the ehu flap, just hoping for an easy fix for you but I think you would have checked these out already.


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## Sharon the Cat (Feb 16, 2015)

Damp is very localised with nothing between it and the more obvious suspects.


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## hextal (Feb 16, 2015)

Hang on I've had a thought (they happen sometimes)

When working on my movano panel van conversion (I know totally different vehicle) I needed to track a leak into the right hand sill. Now one was from a window seal but the other was from the fuel filler cap surround. Essentially the filler itself was fine but water could get in behind it and then into the sill. The idea seemingly/bizarrely that it then drained out of the sill through weep holes (though I suspect someone just forgot to seal it).  Anyway I digress, I would imagine yours has been sealed OK but it might be worth checking.

Cos it would be a real easy fix.


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## Sharon the Cat (Feb 16, 2015)

hextal said:


> Hang on I've had a thought (they happen sometimes)
> 
> When working on my movano panel van conversion (I know totally different vehicle) I needed to track a leak into the right hand sill. Now one was from a window seal but the other was from the fuel filler cap surround. Essentially the filler itself was fine but water could get in behind it and then into the sill. The idea seemingly/bizarrely that it then drained out of the sill through weep holes (though I suspect someone just forgot to seal it).  Anyway I digress, I would imagine yours has been sealed OK but it might be worth checking.
> 
> Cos it would be a real easy fix.



Thanks hextal,
We'll definitely check that out, as it's very close to the problem.


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## Sharon the Cat (Mar 2, 2015)

*Update - Gutted*

Well, at the weekend we finally had the time to get to the rotten bottom. :sad:

Bottom arrow is where we are looking.






Raised floor support, completely rotten at the bottom.





Peel the flooring back. Rotting underneath.





Soaking wet & rotten wall.





Doesn't go all the way up to the window.










We can see daylight through here 





I couldn't sleep on Saturday night for worrying about this but Phill's son spotted the daylight on Sunday morning.

Phill has a bit of work to do.


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## jagmanx (Mar 2, 2015)

*Hi Is yor Camper a LUNAR*

It looks very much like it !


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## Sharon the Cat (Mar 2, 2015)

jagmanx said:


> It looks very much like it !



Yes, it is a Lunar Premier H592 on an 08 plate.
Iampatman has one too, although I know his has a different oven in it. Neither he nor I have ever seen another H592.


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## jagmanx (Mar 2, 2015)

*Thanks*



Sharon the Cat said:


> Yes, it is a Lunar Premier H592 on an 08 plate.
> Iampatman has one too, although I know his has a different oven in it. Neither he nor I have ever seen another H592.



I have a  lunar H622 Premier 2006

Just finished a very expensive roof reseal (£1300 plus VAT !)

I will be getting a good dampmeter ASAP


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## iampatman (Mar 2, 2015)

Oh dear. Phil's certainly got some work to do as you say. Have you discovered where the water was coming in?
I got my roof leaks sorted in Spain. Resealed the over cab window and a plate I'd fitted on the roof to cover the ariel outlet. Just in time, a week later it rained for 72hrs. No leaks. 
Hope you get sorted Sharon. 
Pat


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## hextal (Mar 2, 2015)

Any joy identifying the source?


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## Obanboy666 (Mar 2, 2015)

Sharon the Cat said:


> Yes, it is a Lunar Premier H592 on an 08 plate.
> Iampatman has one too, although I know his has a different oven in it. Neither he nor I have ever seen another H592.



What about the warranty ? Has it ran out ?


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## Sharon the Cat (Mar 2, 2015)

We had a years warranty when we bought  it and the dealer spent most of that faffing around trying to sort out a massive roof leak. They were useless and we would rather they didn't touch it again.

We think the source is a hole below the floor.  As it is behind the wheel water has been literally forced up into the body. Phill will be cutting away the rotted wood and we shall know more then.

Watch this space.....


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## hextal (Mar 2, 2015)

Apologies if its probably an obvious statement but it may just be worth checking that water tank and connection whilst your at it.

Last leak I had I think I was adamant I'd cured it on a couple of occasions only to find it was actually tracking from elsewhere.


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## Obanboy666 (Mar 2, 2015)

The more incidents I read about water ingress problems on C class motorhomes, mine included the more I'm considering changing to a panel van conversion.
Seriously going to consider it later in the year unless members tell me it's an issue with them.
What a sad state of affairs in the the modern era when they cannot build a motorhome that doesn't leak.


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## hextal (Mar 2, 2015)

They leak too,just generally not as much. 

I had a leak at the bottom corner of a window due to it not being sealed quite right and also the side door due to the idiot builder not spotting the seal had got pinched.

Fortunately, as the idiot builder in question, I gave myself a stern talking to and made sure I sorted it out good one proper.


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## Sharon the Cat (Mar 23, 2015)

Leaks fixed.
We have sealed the bit where we could see daylight.






We did a leak test with emulsion paint in water & found where the water was coming in, as expected where it pours down from the roof.






Now all sealed & waterproof. Phill also made ramps so that the water no longer pools on the roof - Thanks Wooie :wave:


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## Wooie1958 (Mar 23, 2015)

You`re very welcome ma`am  :wave:


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## iampatman (Mar 23, 2015)

Glad you got it sorted. 

Pat


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## Tbear (Mar 23, 2015)

Always good to hear a happy ending that did not cost a four figure sum. 

Richard


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## Mr D (Mar 23, 2015)

Damp, the curse every caravanner fears.

Yep, I had a similar problem, well sort of similar, okay, it wasn't similar, it was ten times worse. I ended up gutting the caravan and rebuilding it inside out. 

If I had the money I'd design a motorhome with the build structure of the older eriba caravans, but cosmetically more modern. Sod's law says mine would leak like a sieve.


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