Hi all, hope you can help with some advice please. Have just had our coachman VIP 1994 serviced for the first time (only purchased last August) and the damp report showed damp up to 44% on both side wall sections! The service man said that it is probably coming in through the awning rails and that we should reseal them. My questions are :
a) Do you think it is worth doing in a van this age (although the rest of the report was very good, i.e. running gear etc and no damp in the back or front sections) and
b) Do you think my hubbie (who is very capable at DIY) could undertake this? He says he thinks it should be no problem - but I have heard that before LOL!
Feel a bit silly as we didnt damp test the caravan when buying - naughty I know - but theres a lesson learnt! It is a lovely caravan though and we have already had a couple of wonderful weekends away in it.
Anyway I would be grateful for any advice/points of view. Many thanks.
If you don't do it you will soon have a rotting caravan,if it has not already started.I think you have two choices,either do it and save the van and also make it re-saleable or leave it and when it gets to bad scrap it .Hope this helps.
Hi happy 143 ---- I did my offside rail on my 1995 Bailey Champagne Pageant last year, and my advice is tell your hubby to NOT put too much sealant on the rail. I did, and spent the next 2 days trying to remove the sealant I had used. Also be careful to NOT let any sealant touch the bodywork of the 'van, it's murder to remove. Finally use new screws when replacing the rail.
Hi happy 143 ---- I did my offside rail on my 1995 Bailey Champagne Pageant last year, and my advice is tell your hubby to NOT put too much sealant on the rail. I did, and spent the next 2 days trying to remove the sealant I had used. Also be careful to NOT let any sealant touch the bodywork of the 'van, it's murder to remove. Finally use new screws when replacing the rail.
Or get someone else to do the job.
Best of luck Jethro.
best tip got was to use a good 2 inch decorators tape and fit it under the rail before removal and it can be removed easy after the job is finished.no cleaning required.dont use cheap stuff it will not come off.
------------- the only silly question is the one you do not ask.
It's a more of a labour intense job than a difficult one, need a lot of patience. Take off rails carefully so they don't bend. Clean all traces of sealant of 'van and rails with white spirit, then clean over with meths. Use mastic tape, W4 is good stuff, put some on both rail and caravan. These screws from screwfix are good for fixing rail back.
yes you can do it we had to practically rebuild the whole inside of our coachman vip ,we started on the outside and resealed every rail and screwhole ,then we stripped out seating then started on windows and walls ,we had to redo rotten floors ,toilet and shower room it took ages but we finally done it ,its not easy but if you have the correct tools a dry place to do it then you should be able to do it no bother good luck on your repairs