We got our new caravan in February and have used it on several occasions in the UK before we headed to France a few weeks ago. In the sweltering heat of France, a dreadful smell appeared in the caravan. It was really really awful and we couldn’t work out what it was. At one point it was so bad that it was making me gag. When I lifted the top of the fixed bed, it was clear that the smell was coming from under the bed and a quick check, clarified that the smell was coming from the spare tyre which Swift put under the fixed bed. Our previous Bailey caravans had a spare wheel carrier underneath the caravan so the wheel was outside the caravan but on this Swift the wheel is inside the caravan, under the bed and in the heat, the new rubber developed a dreadful smell. Has anyone else noticed this and have you moved the spare tyre to a different location? I was thinking of taking it out and putting it under the caravan when on site but then I was worried about it getting pinched.
Hi, our last caravan had the spare inside, when on site we used to put it under caravan using a cycle cable lock to secure it to chassis near a corner steady as a reminder to put it back.
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Just another point are you sure it's the spare that's Smelling because if it's near battery box it could be battery gassing off if it smells like rotten eggs. Which could point to faulty battery or charger
No, it’s definitely the spare tyre. The battery was the first thing I thought of but it’s at the front of the caravan and the smell is definitely coming from under the bed at the back. As soon as the weather cooled down the smell went away and then appeared again on the next very hot day. I like the idea of chaining it to the chassis while on site. I might try that if it’s still very hot when we go away again in a few weeks.
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We had an under bed smell problem about 3 years ago in France, a real damp and dank cellar smell from under the bed. I turned out to be a defective under-bed internal door seal. Rain water had dripped onto the so-called 'wet locker'. Instead of being contained in the plastic tray it had slowly leaked down the 9 screw threads of the mounting screws, through the lino and into the wooden floor and rotted it. We hadn't noticed anything in the UK but in the heat of France it sure ponged.
Dave.
------------- Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day,
Teach a man to fish and you can get rid of him for a whole weekend.
Whilst googling how to get rid of rubber smell I came across a lot of sites which sell rubber mats. These sites are all giving advice on getting rid of the rubber smell from their mats and I am wondering if any of these might help get rid of the rubber smell from the spare tyre.
The first seems like a simple idea, just leave it in full sunlight for a few days. I don’t think this would damage the tyre if it’s only for a few days so I might try this first (if the sun ever comes back to the North West)
The second is to wash the mats in a solution of washing up liquid and white vinegar. Any thoughts on whether this solution might damage the tyre in any way?