Pep talk needed please.

Polyurethane sealant should be used rather than silicon to form a bead around an existing item such as a rooflight.

I suggest that you need to gain access to the roof to examine the existing seal. Ideally the rooflight should be removed, the surrounding area cleaned together with edge of the rooflight, then reinstalled either with butyl rubber sealant as described above or a non-setting mastic.

As a temporary measure, cleaning thoroughly round the edges of the skylight in situ followed by polyurethane sealant should stop the leak.

You commented that the leak stopped when you moved the 'van. That should give you a clue as to where the water is finding its way in, depending on what slope, if any, there was before you moved and after you moved.
 
Lots of good advice above although some of it contradictory. Worth taking a look at these three Youtube videos to get an understanding of what and how.

Fixing campervan leaking rooflight
YouTube

How to change a rooflight part 1 – expert advice from Practical Motorhome's Diamond Dave
YouTube

How to change a rooflight part 2 – expert advice from Practical Motorhome's Diamond Dave
YouTube

Diamond Dave is Dave Newell, of Leisure Vehicle Services located in Telford, and has a good reputation.

If you decide a rooflight needs to be lifted and re-bedded the following may be of interest:

Dometic say for Mini Heki: Seal the mounting frame with a flexible non-hardening sealing compound (e.g.SikaLastomer-710)

Fiamma say for their Famma Vent 40: Recommended sealant: SIKALASTOMER-712 (but 712 no longer listed by Sika)

MPK don’t specify a make but say: Use only long-term flexible sealant, suitable for external use and also suitable for the material of the upper frame. Consult your sealant supplier

Sikalastomer710 Butyl Rubber Based Sealant. About £10 per cartridge
Hodgson Seamseal BR (Butyl Rubber). About £5 per cartridge
White Butyl Caravan mastic sealer tape - 20mm wide x 3mm thick x 9 metres. Remains flexible throughout its service life £11.46 at Leisure Lines /CAK. Other tape sizes are available.

Worth noting that all these rooflights are mechanically fixed so do not need to be stuck in place with an adhesive. The bedding acts as a gasket to seal the joint between the rooflight frame and the roof panel. The screws are tightened enough to close the joint but not squeeze too much sealant out.
Hope the above might be some help.

Sorry to hear about your dog, assume she was the pretty grey one in your album. I had to have my Border Collie put to sleep in January 2015, he didn’t quite make it to 9 years old. I still feel he is irreplaceable but give my wife’s Labrador some extra affection.
 
Well Lindsay you now know you are not alone when you come on here.
The wealth of knowledge and helpful people on here never fails to surprise me.

I hope you get things sorted out, and get some motor homing done.
 
Regarding the leaky skylight.

My mate has a 50 odd year old boat, he resealed his hatch about 7 years ago with Isoflex liquid rubber.

He sanded the surround to 2" from the edge & up the sides of the hatch, brushed the dust off & cleaned it with panel wipe or similar, he masked it up where he wanted the Isoflex to finish, then gave it 3 coats of Isoflex leaving 24 hours between coats & ripping off the tape after each coat.

Still no leaks & it's at sea for 7 months of the year, so must be good stuff but it's expensive!

Phill

Ps., only comes in black.
 
time4t said:
Regarding the leaky skylight.

My mate has a 50 odd year old boat, he resealed his hatch about 7 years ago with Isoflex liquid rubber.

He sanded the surround to 2" from the edge & up the sides of the hatch, brushed the dust off & cleaned it with panel wipe or similar, he masked it up where he wanted the Isoflex to finish, then gave it 3 coats of Isoflex leaving 24 hours between coats & ripping off the tape after each coat.

Still no leaks & it's at sea for 7 months of the year, so must be good stuff but it's expensive!

Phill

Ps., only comes in black.
Click to expand...

This is very helpful, thank you very much!!
 
Just wanted to say thanks again for all the kindness you've shown. The good news is, I've fixed my fridge!! Turned it off and back on again! Wish I'd tried that before chucking out all my food :lol-053:
 
I'm not involved in the maintenance of our van but Lee is constantly tweaking and fixing things in ours as well as others.

We organise the Hereford meet so if you are able to get there you will gave help in whatever problem still waiting to be fixed. It's a fairly well known fact that if a bonnet gets opened or vent removed someone will come along to have a loook and offer advice.....
 
Can't offer any practical help I'm afraid as my DIY skills are pretty non-existant, wiring a plug is about my limit. The folk on this forum are great though, lots of them do have skills in various motorhome DIY areas and are very happy to help others out with their problems.

I am so sorry to hear that you lost your travelling companion before your adventure even began; we all deal with these things differently but when I lost my old pal Jazz (Collie/lab cross) a couple of years ago I adopted Reg, :dog: my new companion, within a few weeks. Even when no-one else is around to listen to me, he is there.
 
Thanks Linda, I'm currently parked up near Ll drain rod wells and just popped on to check the details of the Hereford meet. I would very much like to get to meet some of the forum members in person. If I come, I'd better bring some beer with me!
Thanks Caz, I appreciate the kind words, especially from someone who understands what it is like to lose a furry friend x
 
If you can’t find an answer to your problem on this forum then there are others which are dedicated just to motorhome technical problems.
 
saxonborg said:
If you can’t find an answer to your problem on this forum then there are others which are dedicated just to motorhome technical problems.
Click to expand...

Depends how long you want to wait for an answer on some of them.
 
Losing a "hairy bairn" as we cry them up over the border is as tough as it gets really. Our whippets are curled up sond asleep at the moment as whippies are prone to do. Afer we lost our last two in very quick succession we were given this so I pass it on here.

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.
When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....

Author unknown...
 
Having been in a similar position. Chin up.. make it waterproof! I'd recommend getting a few cheap tarps to tie over the roof when it's raining (if possible without covering your solar panels). Just to keep things dry until you can sort the leaks properly.

Looking at the pics of your van there's a fair bit of electrical stuff going on. It could be a case of the batteries have had it or you simply need more power for the way you use things. I had use of a Winnebago several years ago in a field for a month with no external power. I had two 110ah batteries onboard for habitation and the single engine battery.

It was next to impossible to charge the batteries from the generator or jump leads from a car. I had to take the batteries to work and charge them on mains. That would give me about two hours of comfort before lights dimmed fridge knocked off etc etc. I was given a brand new battery which I put in and that worked for about 4 hours each time. I spent a long time working out the wattage of things I used and how it affected my overall run time. Send me figures and I'll do a few number crunches and let you know what I think you should get with everything running.... might help you work out where you can save battery run times or may need to re-think things.

How many amp hours are your batteries?
How many watts does each thing use? (Fridge, lights tv - include everything that runs off the 12v)
Do you have an invertor? If so what's it's rating and what does it power?

Most of all remember this is a tiny tiny setback on a fantastic journey of life!
 
Last edited:
jenks said:
Having been in a similar position. Chin up.. make it waterproof! I'd recommend getting a few cheap tarps to tie over the roof when it's raining (if possible without covering your solar panels). Just to keep things dry until you can sort the leaks properly.

Looking at the pics of your van there's a fair bit of electrical stuff going on. It could be a case of the batteries have had it or you simply need more power for the way you use things. I had use of a Winnebago several years ago in a field for a month with no external power. I had two 110ah batteries onboard for habitation and the single engine battery.

It was next to impossible to charge the batteries from the generator or jump leads from a car. I had to take the batteries to work and charge them on mains. That would give me about two hours of comfort before lights dimmed fridge knocked off etc etc. I was given a brand new battery which I put in and that worked for about 4 hours each time. I spent a long time working out the wattage of things I used and how it affected my overall run time. Send me figures and I'll do a few number crunches and let you know what I think you should get with everything running.... might help you work out where you can save battery run times or may need to re-think things.

How many amp hours are your batteries?
How many watts does each thing use? (Fridge, lights tv - include everything that runs off the 12v)
Do you have an invertor? If so what's it's rating and what does it power?

Most of all remember this is a tiny tiny setback on a fantastic journey of life!
Click to expand...

Thanks for this reply! Sorry I've been a while getting back to you I've been in deepest darkest Wales with no signal whatsoever.
It is important to put things in perspective sometimes, I'm not always good at this.
I have now replaced my two 115 Banner batteries with two 90ah Bosch's. This has improved things quite a lot but I still don't think I have quite as much power as I should. I try and be very frugal. I only use lights when I have to for cooking etc, relying more on candles in the evening. I do keep my phone and laptop charged (pref during the day) and I do run the Vitrifrigo fridge exclusively on 12v. I guess I'll have to see how I get on for a bit now I've changed the batteries.
 
cheap led lights from pound shop will help you out safer than candles extrta blanket help out with the cold put one undeneath you as that will keep you warmer been out in minus 12 the gas froze coffee froze lol iwas warm enough decent sleeping bag just charge laptop when driving that should help you out wit the electric and if your fridge works when driving turn it up to get it cold and when you stop turn it down to where you normally run it and then it wont take so much to run it
 
Last edited:
LindsayH said:
I'm really struggling. I've been full time for getting on for 2 months now. Quit job/career after 15 years so I could travel with my dog who died 2 weeks before I left the flat. I've spent my entire savings that I was hoping to travel for a year on fixing things on the van. Everything I touch breaks and everything I try and fix fails. I'm staying at Mum's for 2 days, just popped out to the van and the fridge isn't working (again) and the roof light is leaking. Quite a lot. This is on top of existing power issues that mean I've been managing without lights or any unnecessary power use for the last 2 weeks. Apart from checking a fuse, I have no idea what to do or much money to throw at it. I'm sorry for moaning, but I'm just so fed up. I have no one I can talk to in the real world about it, they all think I'm an idiot for buying the van in the first place. Maybe they are right.....
Can someone please just say something nice to me?
Click to expand...

Hi Lindsay

Hope the issues are getting sorted! If it's any consolation, have a look at the attachment. We paid £80,000 for a brand new MH (yes, really!) to live in full-time and that wasn't without issues. Everything can be fixed eventually! Hang in there.View attachment Snagging Issues (Edited).pdf
 
We have a 110 litre 12v fridge Lyndsey and manufacturer states this can consume 45 amps over 24 hours although we haven’t noticed anything like that yet. Hard to say what it does use but control panel during the day (no other lekky stuff running then) is usually showing around 0.4 and 0.6 amps being used.

We have two of the Bosch 90ah powerframe batteries but I am about to add a third which has been at the back of my mind since I fitted them.
 
Has anyone suggested keeping a couple of bottles of frozen water in the fridge when you first set off. Especially if it hasn't much in it. It helps keep temps down, and you can drink it when defrosted. Often get bottles of frozen water in France in the supermarket. And if you are staying in a site, they will refreeze your bottles.
 
oldish hippy said:
cheap led lights from pound shop will help you out safer than candles extrta blanket help out with the cold put one undeneath you as that will keep you warmer been out in minus 12 the gas froze coffee froze lol iwas warm enough decent sleeping bag just charge laptop when driving that should help you out wit the electric and if your fridge works when driving turn it up to get it cold and when you stop turn it down to where you normally run it and then it wont take so much to run it
Click to expand...

If my coffee freezes then it's all over right there, I'm out :lol-049:

You must be made of sterner stuff than me if you survived -12!!!

x
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who viewed this discussion (Total:0)

Back
Top