Am I correct in saying that if you have a problem with water ingress along awning rail sections on a Alu Tech van that it has to go back to the Bailey factory. If so in later years when the warranty has expired how do you get on for DIY repairs.
A few years ago on my 2000 Arizona I had damp caused through water getting past the awning rail. Remedy simple removed affected rail cleaned and resealed.
Not so easy with Alu Tech
If they have to go back to factory for repair this would be expensive. Would this put people off buying a Alu Tech constructed van in later years.
There has been a lot spoken about this on a couple of threads.
Can't really advice about the awning rail setup on this design but going by the posts about Baileys Alu tech, it would certainly seem that the high tech design has taken a step backwards.
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I think Alu tech rules out any body work DIY. Hate to think what it would cost if a corner of the van was caught crushing the awning channel, not a weekend repair.
looking at the Bailey video of Alu Tech assembly the roof is lowered on by machine with suckers and sits on some kind of support the suckers are then taken away, then the outer aluminium profile cover/awning rail with the attached bolts have some sealant applied and then they fit it on and put the nuts on from the inside. I noticed that on the sides it is in 2 pieces from the front all the way up to about a quarter way along the top and buts up to the other piece which goes all the way to the back and joins up to a three way corner piece.
Looking at it if you needed to reseal could you not remove the covers inside undo the nuts on the bolts remove the anchor plates and remove a section at a time clean down apply new sealant and then reattach.
As these vans get older sooner or later they will need new sealant applying as all vans do and I cant see why they have to go back to the factory because they have a aluminium profile to join the side to the roof.
The leaks that I have read about occurring on these vans seems to be down to poor workmanship not applying enough sealant etc.
There is a video on Youtube showing a repair and the joining profiles were sawn through with a jig-saw to take apart, new ones are then needed to replace
I watched the video, is it the one where they are replacing the complete side panel.
On the profiles where they meet the panels i.e. sit on the roof and side is it sealant or adhesive they apply as one video shows them bolting up a section and sealant/adhesive oozing out. I can understand them cutting through the profile edge in the factory as it would be quicker that way for them as they were replacing a compete side panel, and it is far quicker to fit a new one than mess about getting it off a panel that was going to be thrown away. The profile was cut at the roof edge the side panel would be discarded with what was left of the attached profile,the flat piece of the profile that was left on the roof would have to be removed and the area cleaned to accept the new profile after they fit a new side panel. What I am trying to find out is once the profile plates are removed from inside the van could a section of the profile be taken off in one piece. It is the sealant/adhesive along the flat edges of the profiles that prevent water entering. I know the sealant sticks well to the van I found that out when I resealed an awning rail on a earlier van I cut between the rail and the van with cheese wire then spent forever cleaning the old sealant off. I service my own vans when out of warranty and do any resealing myself. When these Alu Tech vans are 8 10 15 years old can you imagine what the cost would be if you had a leak through the profile and it had to go back to the factory which makes me think will older vans sell in later years. It is not rocket science how they are put together they use a similar system on commercial vehicle's and on PUVC Double Glazing on a square bay where they use a aluminium profile to attach the front and side windows witch is then capped on the outside with cover to match. When I have read of van leaks through the profile being corrected by the dealer I don't think they would cut through the profile. It is either take them off and reseal or they have run a bead of sealant along the edge of the profile