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Topic: Conway Countryman - Panel rot + TLC

Calcifur

via mobile 02/5/2024 at 2:18pm
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Hi all,
I'll start with a quick intro, I'm new to this forum, new caravans/trailer tents etc and we have just picked up a 2008 Countryman trailer tent. We bought it pretty well unseen for £600, so some TLC was to be expected. But as this was to be us dipping our toes in as it were we were happy with the risk. Just as well! 😂

Anyway, having bought it in the rain effectively unseen we took home and set it up to gauge the damage. Couple little niggles with slightly bent poles or missing C hooks and generally age related wear and tear. The biggest concern however has turned out to be damp. The passenger side rear corner has a hole in the aluminium skin which has allowed water into the panel, then on the opposite corner I can see the same damp. What is more concerning is the fact that there is a gap between the door and where it latches. Effectively looking like the trailer is folding in half, down it's spine. If that makes sense.

Anyway hoping to find some ideas on how to replace the side panels, how easy is it? What's the best way to remove the internals etc.

Thanks

Monty15

02/5/2024 at 3:39pm
Location: London
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Welcome

Not sure I can add much about the rot situation, it is what it is, generally requiring replacement of the rotten parts! ... but the door latch is far from an unknown issue and crops up here fairly frequently. Seems to be an issue with flexing/bent chassis when the unit is in set up state, often not noticeable when unit packed up.

Last post on the subject may be useful, otherwise use the search button above to find all the other posts on the subject.
https://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/chatter/display_topic_threads.asp?ForumID=10&TopicID=........

Good luck.

Calcifur

via mobile 04/5/2024 at 12:38pm
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Thanks at Monty15

Once the rain stops and I get some time I will be able to have a good look over it.

Calcifur

via mobile 08/5/2024 at 8:27am
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I think I have found the issue with the rear door. Most likely causes by my towing it behind a lifted Touareg! Looks like the spare tyre carrier has bottomed out and put a slight bend in the rear cross member. I have a wooden post stuck under the rear legs and a rope tied to the tyre carrier bolt and jacked it up and it's closed the gap in the door. Hopefully leaving it under tension for a while will easy the bend out.
🤞🏼

marg6

08/5/2024 at 8:57am
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how high up is the tow ball on your toureg? the center of the ball should be 450mm from the ground

Calcifur

via mobile 08/5/2024 at 11:25am
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A lot higher than that I think. My Touareg has a 50mm lift and 32" tyres on it, so it's about 6" taller than a stock one 😂.
The intention with the countryman will be to remove the spare wheel carrier and relocate the spare wheel. I will also look at the options for dropping the axel to bring the trailer more inline with the VW.

Calcifur

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Hi again. So I have managed to have a good poke around and unfortunately it looks like rot is a big problem, as you will hopefully see from the attached photos. The passenger side is by far the worst, but both side are affected.
As for the door gap. While I can not see any obvious flex or bend in the chassis, the tyre carrier has taken a big hit, this may be part of the issue. I have riggwd up a piece of wood and rope and by putting the rear stands down I can close the gap, so hopefully some gentle fettling will close it up.

Has anyone got any experience of fabrication of new side panels? I am looking at sourcing some 18mm marine ply, I then planned to skin the exterior with a sheet of aluminium, but not sure what thickness to go for. I am trying to find the balance between weight saving and rigidity. I was thinking 1.5mm??

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