hi,our 2 year old caravan has not been used except for 2 local trips in the sunshine the first year as my husband became ill. he died last week and my son has said now I must start to use the caravan and go to all the places we planned together My son plans a mid life break and will come with me and i can bring my dogs. Before he became ill my husband was going to UNDERSEAL the van as winter caravaning was a must with our original van and we spent many a day enjoying the rain and even some snow on a few sites
what would he have used and could i do it my self?
any hints etc welcome
Condolences first of all and good luck with what you are planning.
I would have thought that 99% of caravan owners wouldn't even think of undersealing and in fact many people have negative views. Water can get trapped behind the sealant and rot the floor.
I am sure you will get many more informed replies but if you do go ahead make sure that all ventilation holes are kept clear.
DaveS1
Absolutely do not underseal the caravan with anything. The underside of the wood floor needs to breathe & the wood is treated anyway. If floor does rot at corners it will be caused by damp in the caravan coming from above not anything that splashes from underside.
Sorry for your loss. Good luck & carry on caravanning...
The stone guard still allows the floor the breath.
When Swift had a problem with floors rotting due to having a plastic membrane on the wood their cure was to remove the plastic and spray with stone guard.
It’s only out of an aerosol so it only lightly covers.
The normal airflow under the van, even when parked is enough to keep it dry. Floor rot usually occurs either from internal leaks, or leaky window seals. No need at all for underseal which would be an unpleasant job. Waxoyl is best on any metal parts.
We also waxoyled the chassis on our caravan as was only 18 months old or so when we got it and wasn't showing any signs of going rusty, so did it to preserve it a bit.
In the past, I've always used Waxoyl to give the caravan a good coating every few years with the underseal. But recently whilst staying at Porthmadog I was speaking with a fellow caravan owner who insists Dinitrol is a better product. I've just found these 1-litre cans that say it forms a hard waxy coating. https://www.tiltrak.com/product/dinitrol-4941-car-underbody-underseal/ However how long does the underseal protect and last? Any feedback from forum members who've applied Dinitrol before is appreciated.
Stone guard (stone chip) is a rubberised compound for use on cars etc, I wouldn't use it on the caravan underfloor, maybe a wood preserver, but I would check with your dealer or the manufacturer if it was necessary or advisable.
I don't treat the floor on my caravans and certainly wouldn't use stone chip stone guard and we had an abundance when I was working.
I worked for Swift one of the warranty jobs was to remove the plastic coating on the ply flooring and we were given stone guard and stone chip to spray on the bare wood as opposed to the blackboard paint we used before..