Hi I'm hoping somebody might be able to give me some advice on this. I'm currently sorting out a small leak in the habitation cab of my Hymercamp 48 and have noticed one corner of the long narrow window at the front of the habitation cab is showing signs of a leak, although it is all dry and sound at the moment the wallpaper has watermarks. I'd like to reseal this while I'm doing the other repair but I'm not sure how the window is fixed in and don't want to attempt to remove it if I'm likely to damage it. The window doesn't have a frame and is a double layer perspex. It appears to be held in place by the rubber seal around the edge. I have contacted Brownhills and they were able to tell me they could supply a replacement seal but couldn't advise me how to remove the window. Has anybody out there done this repair themselves and can you give me some tips on how to remove and reseal the window please? Do I need to buy a new seal? Or can I seal it with some butyl tape and reuse the original seal? Any advice will be gratefully received. Thanks very much Sam
Thanks for the suggestion. I'm in a few different Hymer groups and have asked for advice but so far no one has replied. I'll keep my fingers crossed that someone out there has the answer.
Thanks again
Looking at the picture it looks as though it is fitted like car windows were years ago. There will be no sealant just the grip of the rubber. You will need to work round it to leaver it out with the window still in the rubber, as you do when removing a tyre. You will need a new seal and it is first fitted to the window. You then get a length of string inserted all round the rubber in the recess. As you work the seal back into the body the string is then pulled as you work round until fully fitted and string out. You will probably find a video somewhere like on YouTube.
------------- 2023 Swift Archway Woodford, MK3 Kuga ST Line X 190 ps AWD Auto
Now 52 years Caravanning completed.
Thanks very much that's really helpful. I did find a you tube video using that string method for installing a window with a rubber seal so I think I might be brave enough to give it a go. The only bug bear for me now is that the new Hymer seals are £235 from Brownhills (after vat and delivery) so I'm wondering if I need to use Hymer rubber seals or if a similar windscreen rubber seal would do the job? I suppose I should remove it first and see if it's anything specific to the Hymer and hope it doesn't rain too much while I'm doing it. Thanks again much appreciated! Sam
You could try contacting 'Seals Direct' to see if they can offer any advice as to what part number seal you need and if they have it in stock. Their phone number is at the top of the page in the link below.
Check if seal has a join. Normally these seals are a complete mould no join that is stretched to fit the window exactly and is fitted on the window first before installing in motor. That is why I think you will find it made specifically for that window hence the price quoted you. In my working life had a lot of these type of windows in machinery soundproofing guards.
------------- 2023 Swift Archway Woodford, MK3 Kuga ST Line X 190 ps AWD Auto
Now 52 years Caravanning completed.
Hi Thanks for that. I think I'm going to have to take the window out to really be able to see what's there and then I'll buy in the correct seal (with my fingers crossed it's the cheaper version 😊). Once I've worked out what it is and done the job I'll put all the info on the forum and hope it'll be of use to other people in the future. It sounds like I'll be ok to prise the window out with the seal though and there won't be any screw fixings anywhere? I think if there's a join in the seal I have to remove the 'filler' seal first, hope that sounds right to you? I'm going to attempt this at the weekend so I'll report back how it goes. Thanks very much for all the advice so far.
If you do happen to install a rubber seal with a join, just make sure that the join is half way along the bottom length of the window as any rain water will run away along the top and down the sides which will avoid any water ingress.
Hi everyone I thought I'd report in after an afternoon trying to remove my habitation cab window. I've learnt a few things today so that's good. So firstly once I got up to the roof I checked the seal and it did have a join running through it, positioned at the centre of the window along the bottom edge so I removed the filler strip from the seal it came out very easily, one tip I can give... I made myself a tool from a small vine eye on the end of a piece of wood and this was great for scooping out the filler strip. Next I had to remove the perspex window from the seal but the seal was still gripping very well and I found that the perspex was creaking and quite brittle and unfortunately I managed to make a small split on the edge of the perspex so I didn't want to force it anymore to get it out of the seal. I decided that as I was planning to replace the seal anywayI decided to cut away the part of the seal that was holding the perspex in with a Stanley knife along the bottom edge and around the corners. This was so much easier and obviously didn't put any stress on the perspex. Once I'd cut the seal off, the window came out very easily so I'd recommend doing that. Because I only cut the bottom section out I also still had a complete piece of the rubber seal that I could use make sure I was buying the right profile seal to replace it. Once the window and seal were removed I measured the panel that the window sat in and it measures 32mm. So my next request for advice is.... I can find a 30mm seal that is the correct profile for my window but do I need to look for a 32 mm seal? I'm assuming that the Hymer seal I can buy from Brownhills would be for a 32 mm panel but would a 30mm seal be ok? Also when I removed the seal from the panel opening it had been sealed with butyl rubber underneath, is this something Hymer would have done when they fitted the window? Or is this a sign that the window has been resealed before? When I eventually put my new seal in, should I put butyl tape under the seal or just use the seal on its own? I'm now going to make the window opening watertight while I get on with repairing my roof leak and once that's done I'll refit the window so I've got a bit of time to work out what this needs to be. Any tips or advice as usual will be much appreciated. Æ
If its fitted the same way as my Elddis, there will be a filler strip on the outside in the middle of the rubber, find the join and gently lever out the filler once you can grab it properly keep pulling working your way around the window, once this is out, the window can be pushed out from inside working it over the rubber lip, when the window is out the rubber seal can be removed (although it may actually come out with the window).
------------- Regards
Johno
VP and Librarian of the Renault Trafic MK1 Owners group