i have unknowingly bought a very damp & rotten caravan. repairs are costly and i wondered if it was possible to do it myself. it is a 1997 swift baronette, the damp is abot 1/2 of the side

cheryl rumsby, September 2006

Hi, I have a 2006 Senator indiana and Im going to need a new front and back panel along with wall and roof board but i can't seem to find anywhere online that lists the wall board as Bailey Senator wall board etc. Also, i have come across one place that lists the back panel but I'm not sure if it is going to be long lasting as i don't want the cracks to reappear after going to the bother of fixing /replacing the original. Did bailey release a "modified" front and back panel to replace the ones that cracked on the early senator series 5? I will also replace the bedroom window seal while I'm doing the work so would need to locate one of these also.

Any help would be appreciated.

Alano

Alano, November 2013

We have just found the wood under the front corner of the caravan to be rotten. is it possible to replace this section under the caravan.

Sue p, August 2012

hi i have a 2000 van 1 of the walls are rotten with damp due to a leak how do i get a replacement or fix it thanks the wall is made of some type of compressed matterial

paul, March 2012

I bought a small (11ft) pop-top caravan and found out it leaked badly. The vinyl skirt was sound and all the outside joins in the aluminium sheeting seemed watertight but the water kept getting into the walls, running down around the windows and then leaking out at the bottom of the window frame and running down the surface of the wall, making bedding etc. wet.
I had a few goes at sealing but only bits at a time.
The fix was to take the whole skirt off where it attached to the caravan roof lip by removing all screws. I the saw there was a lot of mud & dirt etc. where the water had been capiliary seeping up and over the lip, hence then getting inside the wall. It must then run along beams to windows. Anyway, I cleaned all surfaces and then used marine grade silicone sealant (Sicaflex) to run 2 continuous beads (about 10mm diameter) around the base and top of the roof lip. I then inserted countersunk screws with sealant into the existing holes to position the vinyl, working side at a time so the silicone did not dry prematurely. I then had strips of 20x2mm aluminium already cut and drilled and then screwed through these strips into fresh holes in the roof lip so the strip squeezed the edge of the vinyl securely against the side of the lip. Bingo - no leaks!

John Egger, January 2012

its possable to do but not easy find the place where the damp is first then tackell the job with care

shaun, October 2011

ive just treated myself to a swift 1984 caravan to do up,im striping it,it as damp and the wood beams need removing and replacing but how?The wood is wet,black and very soft.

Rachel, September 2011

My family and I had bad damp problems in our static caravan due to it being left uninhabited for long periods of time. Damp used to take hold while it was vacant and the whole caravan would smell stale. It used to take us 2 days of cleaning to get the caravan habitable again. We tried a few different remedies but have found that a system called SolarVenti was a great help. It’s a solar panel that pushes warm air into the caravan its almost eliminated our damp problems in no time and because its solar powered you don’t need mains power.

Hope this helps. Damp is definitely not a fun thing to deal with, i know better than most!

All the best!

Andrew, February 2011

what do i use for damp caravan roof

kevin, July 2010

rather greenly i just brought a 2003 bailey pageant mossele the lady i brought it off says the seal on the toilet or seal on filler had gone she says they didnt relize so kept filling it up and when they kept pumping nothing was coming out she says it was pumping into the walls anyway the pump was replaced receipt provided she said wall was bubbly just round toilet and that it had dried out and it had me being a novice didnt really know what else to check anyway got van home and the wall were side dinnette is is spongy is this all caused by the problem with the toilet or has she been telling porkies and somewere else its leaking plus any ideas how i can dry the walls out table rail hanging off how can i refix this thanx any advise would be good wayne

wayne, July 2010

I removed the window blind to retention the spring on the casette. When I tried to reattach the blind to the caravan there was nothing to secure it. how can I over come this problem.

Gareth Scott, June 2010

I have an '88 sprite musketeer XL, i believe it has damp rot in the back 'bathroom' offside corner, and was just wondering if drying the van out like some people have suggested with a heater would solve the problem, or whether it needs treating professionally for safety reasons. I have used the van for many years on the continent, but havent used it in 3 years and wanted to make sure it was safe for the occassional use on weekends in the lakes etc.

James, August 2009

Yes it’s doable just a bit messy, I have just fixed our ABI 380 2 birth, it’s our first van and I got it from a dealer really didn’t know what I was looking at got stitched up big time, anyway coroners of both front top rail and centre roof join were leaking, I took off the rail cleaned and resealed it now it’s drying out I found it obviously been bodged as the screws were rusted steel and they had also used a few nails!, it will need some interior panel work doing but that will be for the winter. Top things I found that you will need to follow are.

1) Cleaning joint and rail, used white spirit then meth’s or Acetone, reason is white sprit leave a film than mastic wont stick to. Be very careful with Acetone it’s highly flammable and can attack some paints and plastic it also makes rubber brittle if contact is to long wiping with a rag soaked in it is ok, but unlike meth’s it doesn’t leave a thin layer moister behind.

2) Electric drivers are a godsend but use a hand driver to bed down screws.

3) Make sure you have some form of wood plug to push into screw hole, I found the new stainless self tapping screws were a bugger to bed in, next time I will use a good countersunk wood screw as they have better deeper threads, Screwfix do a really good one called Turbo ultra and it’s made from stainless steel.

4) Make sure that when you reattach the rail you have everything to hand, screws drivers rag tissue etc as it has to be done in one go.

5) Don’t worry about applying to much mastic if you get mastic coming out from behind the rail then this means you have a good very coverage. Better to much than to little.

6) Before putting screw back in mastic the threads all along the screw.

7) REMEMBER Mastic dries unlike the grey putty you get on a roll, the hotter the weather the faster you will have to work.

8) Keep a good eye on the weather have plastic sheet and tape incase you need to cover up work in the event of rain, use electrical type tape rather than Gaffa tap and I found it doesn’t come off easily and leaves it’s sticky back on your van body and is a bugger to get off

9) Don’t do it on your own get help and explain what you are going to do before refitting the rail, it’s got to be well planned out.

10) Do a dry run to make sure rail is up the right way and all things match up before you apply mastic as you don’t want to take it off and re-do it trust me!.

11)Use proper mastic, I used the Sikaflex 512 caravan sealer as recomended by people on here.

Mellish, July 2009

This is my new website for people who are looking for information on caravan damp repairs
http://www.1carpc.co.uk/wcdr/

Wizard, April 2009

I had problems with my caravan, which was a 1999 Elddis, just inside the door. After searching the internet I found a company www.caravan-parts.org who sold me a kit so I could fix the problem myself in 45 mins. Regards Lyn

Lyn Worrall, July 2008

Look here
http://www.caravanbuyersguide.co.uk
will give you a guide of where to find damp + all sorts of help in there forum. Helped me loads when my caravan had damp

Dave Little, June 2008

We have a 1976 Baronnete and had some damp at last service. Bottom of door and all round main side window plus partial around two rear window. Cost £250 at main dealer. Money
well spent - won't attempt to do this myself. Get a quote - you may be supprised.

Richard, May 2007

Have a look at this website http://hp-h.com/p/wizard41/

Wizard, February 2007

search on ebay for 'caravan damp' where you will find a guide on how to fix the problem !

PJ

PJ., December 2006

I live full time in an old caravan. On several occasions I have bought very damp caravans 30+ years old and made them very dry and cosy. The secret - fit a woodburning stove. The warm dry air will soon dry out your `van. I make wood burning stoves, for caravans and boats, from old bottle-gas cylinders.
No doubt an electric fan heater left running for several days would achieve the same effect. Most damp in caravans is caused by the use of gas for cooking and/or heating. Gas produces 50% of its weight as condensation. Once dry a caravan less than 10 years old is unlikely to leak. Hope this helps.

Kith, October 2006

You can do it if you have moderately good woodworking and interior fitting skills, plus all the toos required to do the job. If so, it won't look as it did originally once you have gone to all that work.

Juan Skinner, October 2006