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Topic: Soveriegn Supreme (poss Sterling)

paul29690

28/12/2015 at 4:59pm
Location: NW France
Outfit: None Entered

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Hi everyone,
Joined this forum to answer a query regarding a Freschor 'air-con' unit for someone. Thought I may as well ask the question - has anyone got, heard of or have any information regarding an old beat up caravan we bought recently. It is a Sovereign Supreme, we have been told it may have been made by a company call Sterling. I cannot find any information on it, mainly in order to do repairs a little more easily/quickly. I need to replace all the back end timber frame. Thus far I have removed the bathroom and some of the lining. As far as I can see it appears possible to replace the bottom frame from the inside thus not damaging the aluminium covering. The floor is rotten in the bathroom area and the opposite corner although this isn't really too bad it is where the back frame fastens to the side frame so I thought it would be better to replace it in one piece for maximum strength.
If anyone has drawings or can point me in the right direction I would be grateful. Please post here or contact me directly at paul29690 at hotmail.com
Thank you in advance, Paul

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Just starting to build a straw bale house and a second somaller one in the Limousin (30 mins SW of Limoges) We bought a beat up old caravan which we are now renovating and adjusting to our needs

Opensauce

28/12/2015 at 5:35pm
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Repairing an old caravan does not necessarily need to mirror how it was originally constructed. Obviously you are competent with carpentry so just repair in the easiest way.

Useful for extensive repairs is IsoponP40 which is glass reinforced car body filler & also PU sealant for sealing outside joints & can also be use as adhesive for sticking wood to ally, etc. This is polyurethane sealant/adhesive. Various brands available, Sikaflex 512 etc.

paul29690

28/12/2015 at 7:43pm
Location: NW France
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Thank you for that advice Opensauce, I will try to get some PU sealant, it may be available in our nearest town 21km away. If I can't find PU could I use something such as a gutter/roofing sealant, a bit like a black, bituminous silicon. It may well be PU based anyway.

The bottom frame at the back is completely rotten mainly due to leakage from the bathroom/shower which has gone unnoticed because it is hidden behind a vinyl wall covering. The water has condensed in the insulated space and gravitated down to the cross members, ditto for the topmost cross member too. I wouldn't have touched this van with a bargepole if the intention was to take it touring but for our building site purposes it has allowed me to hack it about a bit to install a double bed across the back. The water heater was recent and had been drained, everything else worked including the carver heater. I calculated that if it wasn't worth repairing I could scrap it and cover my costs, maybe a small profit so nothing to lose!

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Just starting to build a straw bale house and a second somaller one in the Limousin (30 mins SW of Limoges) We bought a beat up old caravan which we are now renovating and adjusting to our needs

Opensauce

29/12/2015 at 8:23am
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You may well find PU sealant in a boat shop but if not you will have to use whatever you can get hold of. If caravan is not being towed then roof/gutter sealant may do the job. In that case for gluing the wood to ally use exterior grab adhesive suck as Evostik Serious Stuff.

paul29690

29/12/2015 at 9:23am
Location: NW France
Outfit: None Entered

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Thanks once again Opensauce,

I used normal silicone sealant for the roof lights, I'm not sure whether this was a good thing to do although I made sure the roof area was clean and grease free and didn't go mad with the silicone. I would be prepared to remove them all one by one and reseal them if this was a terrible mistake? My main concern is the level of damp between the plastic sheeting and the insulation, the condensation is dreadful. I have tried to air it out as much as possible and have removed all insulation around the area I have been working, dried it and the cavity as much as possible before replacing it. The carver heater has been on the lowest setting for a fortnight and I will continue to heat and air the caravan interior until all the work is finished to get the best possible result. Presumably this is not an uncommon problem with old caravans, I'm guessing ours is at least 30 years old.

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Just starting to build a straw bale house and a second somaller one in the Limousin (30 mins SW of Limoges) We bought a beat up old caravan which we are now renovating and adjusting to our needs

Opensauce

29/12/2015 at 11:49am
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Silicone sealant is not much good for caravan repairs, but if you have done it already you might as well see how it goes.

paul29690

29/12/2015 at 3:14pm
Location: NW France
Outfit: None Entered

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To be honest all the skylights were leaking badly and I have replaced the Freschor 'air-con' unit with a skylight too on the basis that a skylight would be lighter and of more use. I was aware of the silicone sealant being less than ideal but thus far all the leeks have stopped. I am now in the process of replacing the entire rear end framing from the inside, I will use gutter/roofing sealant if I can't find the proper PU sealant tomorrow in Morlaix which is about an hour from us. Being in the sticks in France is a little like the difference between USA and UK DIY places, no real comparison! We do have a caravan rsales and repair place but they won't sell the sealant and quoted 2400€ to re-frame the back end without interior finish and 4000€ for a finished job!! Yes you can laugh but we have to live with this rip-off situation every day - answer is to do the best we can with what we have or can get reasonably locally. Once the van is in place in the Limousin it won't be moving again and will be covered with something waterproof and hopefully breathable when we're not there.
As always though your thoughts and suggestions are of value to us so thank you.

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Just starting to build a straw bale house and a second somaller one in the Limousin (30 mins SW of Limoges) We bought a beat up old caravan which we are now renovating and adjusting to our needs

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