Well what can I say I bought a Conway camper in top condition then decided to sell up to buy a caravan reason behind this is we find it hard to get away with commitments so sometimes can only go for saterday nights that's cool with me but with a tend or camper I would leave it till the week before to get an accurate weather forecast but with a caravan there is no packing away so doesn't matter if it is raining ect so now to the point!!! I bought a 1990 compass omega shadow the chap told us it's bone dry well I've checked all over and to be fair he's not far wrong but when lifting the front hatch under sofa it had a dampness to it nothing soft just damp on the outside of the van I can see somebody has added some sealant . Looking around u can buy this sealing strips my question is would u recommend if not what course of action would u take ???
Also when buying older vans and even newer is this quite common ???
It's impossible to speculate or generalise on the condition of a random 25yr old caravan. You just have to go with the condition of whatever you have.
Fact is if you have diy skills, it's not difficult to reseal a caravan & you have to regard your 25yr old caravan as an ongoing project at all times. On a caravan that age I would suggest you get some PU sealant & seal the outside seams at the front.
PU sealant has brand names such as PU18, Tigerseal & Silkaflex 512.
Sealant strips are for doing a proper repair. You have to remove outside trim strips which can be difficult, clean everything completely & then refit trim strip on top of mastic strip using new screws, but of course the wood frame underneath the alloy skin needs to be not rotten or it won't take the screws. That is a proper repair & it takes time & a bit of skill.
The bodge is just to clean up trim without removing & apply beads of PU sealant. It should stop the wet getting in though.
Hi, if your external bead needs replacing there, it's likely that it needs replacing elsewhere.
Might be worth purchasing a couple of tubes and replacing the lot.
When I did mine I removed external with a plastic tool so as not to damage the sub straight, and dug out any areas where you could see cracks eating into and under the kit.
Carefully filled the crack areas, then when all dry re applied a full external bead to all joints around the van.
This included all awning rails, wet box entrances, loo box entrance etc.
About half a day to a day's work if you are handy.
New white external bead was great and it made the van look almost new Lol.
Quote: Originally posted by TonyB5249 on 25/2/2016
Hi, if your external bead needs replacing there, it's likely that it needs replacing elsewhere.
Might be worth purchasing a couple of tubes and replacing the lot.
When I did mine I removed external with a plastic tool so as not to damage the sub straight, and dug out any areas where you could see cracks eating into and under the kit.
Carefully filled the crack areas, then when all dry re applied a full external bead to all joints around the van.
When u say remove what bit are we talking about ??
This included all awning rails, wet box entrances, loo box entrance etc.
About half a day to a day's work if you are handy.
New white external bead was great and it made the van look almost new Lol.