# water ingress problem



## bazzal (Apr 15, 2006)

Hello all, Please can anyone tell me if the insulation between the inner and outer floor layers on an Autotrail Cheyenne 840D absorbs water.

I have had a major water ingress without knowing about it until finding mould on the inside of the cupboard under the cooker and on pulling all carpet up from the kitchen and through the lounge found the floor to be soaked. 

I have tried to dry the floor with heaters and dehumidifiers but cannot dry it as the wet keeps coming back up through the floor.

I have no idea as what to do to cure this problem as I have fixed the leak but the water keeps coming as if I have got a spring.

If anyone can tell me what needs doing as its doing my head in. 

Thankyou for any info given,

Cheers Baz...........................


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## brillopad (Mar 4, 2008)

Do you think its water from your on board plumbing or from the outside, if its not stoping then there must be a source, empty all water from the van, and check. 

Dennis


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## Happycampers (Mar 11, 2008)

Hi,
If as you say that you have fixed the leak it must be that the floor insulation is soddend, can you gain access under the van where the wet area is and see if the outside wood is also wet? if it is it would indecate that the insulation is infact soddend.

If that is the case is it possible to drill some small holes in the external floor boarding outside to allow the water to drain and the insulation to dry out, then fill the holes with a sealing mastic.

Just an idea but may solve your problems

Nigel


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## bazzal (Apr 15, 2006)

Cheers for the replys fellas,

I have checked the floor outside and is not wet.

I have drained the water from the pipes and have also drilled some 10mm holes into the floor at the middle of the wet patches and this seems to be doing some good as the area around the holes is drier, may be it is allowing the wet to evaporate from under the floor, if it is this I will plug them up when dry.

Thankyou for your input, Baz......................... :?


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## bazzal (Apr 15, 2006)

Hi all, 

Just an up date with the on going problem, well the floor inside is still getting wet and now with a scaled damp meter have found that the outside floor panels at the rear wheel axles are soaked. These panels are not wet by driving as I have not used it for months.

I have put removable sealer around all joints( wheel arch, beading along body/skirt, and all other inlet points on kitchen side to see if I can stop the water coming in but still the floor is wet. 

Could the water be coming from the roof area (beading between roof and side wall or roof to back panel joint) without showing on the ceiling or inner walls as these read only between 2 and 8 on the damp meter, all roof vents are sealed.

If I can fix the leak what will be the best way to dry out the floor.

Also does anyone know where I can buy an inner hab door open lever (the big chrome one) as my one snapped off (cheap thin cast).

Thankyou for your time and hopefully help. Baz..................


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## locovan (Oct 17, 2007)

Please go to an expert as my friends Motorhome was found to have a leak through the back window and the whole of the back was so pappy and sodden they could push the back wall where the sink was, which was just clinging on.
He had to have all the back rebuilt as it just soaked in all the way through. 
Water travels so much and does a lot of damage.


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## bazzal (Apr 15, 2006)

Cheers for the reply mavis, 

I have been in touch with the experts but I have to wait for an ok from the insurance company before anything can be done.

I did get in touch with Brownhills about the problem 5 weeks ago and they took all the details and said they would get in touch with the MB&G and I should wait for them to call me.

After waiting for a call for 4weeks and after talking to Autotrail they said to ring MB&G myself so I did only to find out that Brownhills HAD NOT been in touch with them so they knew nothing about the problem. Damn Brownhills!

So for now all I can do is try to find where the water is coming from and try to prevent it until I can have it fixed.

Baz................. :evil:


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## locovan (Oct 17, 2007)

bazzal said:


> Cheers for the reply mavis,
> 
> I have been in touch with the experts but I have to wait for an ok from the insurance company before anything can be done.
> 
> ...


Ahh well then its just a question of keep looking.
Is a seam split on the roof and check around the chimney if you have one on the roof.
The ceiling in the cupboard under ours had changed colour and when Ray really looked the wood was rotting so he had to take the chimney right out and re- mastic it. on our Autotrail
Check all the seams for Sealent missing.
Try the shower base if thats cracked anywhere it really is a case of checking everything get a Damp Meter you might be able to trace back like that. :wink: 
Come experts on here help me out ---what other ideas :lol: :lol:


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## Carl_n_Flo (May 10, 2005)

Something is not quite making sense here......

You say you have fixed a leak - but you dont say where....

The 840D has a shower compartment next to the cooker - have you / do you use the shower recently? Maybe there is a crack in the tray or the waste outlet has become disconnected. This would allow water to soak through.....

If your van is like ours, it's natural stance is to sit slightly 'nose down'. Any leaking from around the shower area will gravitate forwards and soak through the carpet into the lounge.

I cannot see how you would miss water ingress any higher up the van (roof to wall joint or windows) - the evidence would be very clear on the inner wall boards if the volume of water is as you describe.

You say you havent driven the van for months - is it in storage / parked outside? Have you completely emptied the onboard water tanks (both fresh and waste)?

Sorry - i cannot see how water can ingress past the wheelarches if the van is stationary. The body to skirt joint is purely cosmetic - the main joint is between the body and the floor and you would need a considerable amount of water leaking in there to soak your carpets.

My suggestion would be to get the van under cover, dry it out completely inside, then sit and watch whilst you put some water in the tank and operate all the taps one by one. If you have a leak in either the supply or waste system it will become apparent very quickly.

If no water appears, then take the van back outside and play a hose over it whilst someone watches very carefully inside - especially under the cooker - it should become evident after a while if the area is getting wet again. It may take a while, but it will conculsively prove that you have a body leak......and they can only leak at joints, openings or seams - so that will mean that all joints, openings and seams will need rectification. ALL of them!!!!!! Play safe......

Carl


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## locovan (Oct 17, 2007)

Im not stalking  but on checking your profile you have been saying
Hi all, 
can anyone tell me which is the best sealant to put around the outside edge of the windows on my unit to stop the water ingress that I am suffering due to the factory fitted sealer failing. Cheers for any info given. Baz....

Also a dripping tap you asked about so you do seem to have water problems.

Really go and buy a damp meter and check just how bad and how far the damp is. good luck


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## bazzal (Apr 15, 2006)

Hi Carl n Flo, 

I thought I had fixed the leak for when checking the wheel arch as told to by Autotrail found that the sealant around the wheel arch to body joint had gone hard and cracked off, the open pockets were just letting water in onto the inner part of the arch then into the van, after putting some new sealer around this joint it stopped the flooding.

I still have it coming in from somewhere as when it rains the wet patch on the floor in the kitchen gets bigger.

There has not been any water on board for months also we have never used the shower so both these points are out!

The van is kept outside and there is no sign of damp on walls or ceiling according to my damp meter.

Hi Locovan,

I asked for info about sealant for around windows due to being told that the fitted sealants often fail and cause ingress so I'm better being prepared just in case as it happened on an Autocruise we had.

The dripping tap was just the seal inside the tap which has now been fixed.

I do have a damp meter.

All,

I have been intouch with Autotrail today regarding the hab door lever and have had to buy the complete unit as they do not sell spares so £93 for a piece of cast alloy!


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## DJP (May 9, 2005)

Hi
You do not say how old the van is. As it is an 840D it could be 4 years old. However if it is less than 3 years old it will be covered by the MB&G warranty.
Chase both Brownhills and MB&G and let them sort it. The floor is made of dense foam sandwiched between plyboard and should not retain any water (as a sponge). I would suspect there is a serious leak at either the bathroom window or bedroom windows. The floor area under/around the bed is a hollow space and water will run freely in that area from any of the rearward windows. If you live in the Midlands you could pay a visit to Cannock Resprays and let them check it out. As I said, under 3 years warranty job. Same applies to interior handle. They have been a number of failures on those due to lack of lubrication from manufacturer. Not Auto Trail, they buy them in from outside sources.


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## locovan (Oct 17, 2007)

bazzal said:


> Hi Carl n Flo,
> 
> I thought I had fixed the leak for when checking the wheel arch as told to by Autotrail found that the sealant around the wheel arch to body joint had gone hard and cracked off, the open pockets were just letting water in onto the inner part of the arch then into the van, after putting some new sealer around this joint it stopped the flooding.
> 
> ...


Can you not trace back with the damp meter then to where it is the wettest. :wink: 
One of them seals somewhere is leaking water it can run down inside the skin and insulation and find a way out.


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## bazzal (Apr 15, 2006)

Cheers DJP, 

The van is Oct 2008 and is still under warranty but it was Brownhills that said the problem would not be covered by it but they took all the details and told me to wait for a reply regarding the problem as they were going to contact MB&G for me. BUT they did not contact them so I was left for weeks waiting for nothing. 

I have been intouch with MB&G myself and am now waiting for them to decide what happens next?

I live in the Isle of man and have no motorhome service areas here only car repair shops.

The area under the bed which goes down to the lower floor reads 10 on the damp meter so no problem there.

I put a soft sealer around the outside edge of the kitchen and bedroom windows to see if they were the cause but still the floor gets wet.

I have found when it rains and I get under the van (I get wet) but there is water dripping of the inside of the skirt on the rear side of the wheel arch but where water from the outside cannot get to, so possible area to look at.

Locovan,

The wet/damp is only in the floor and when checking with a meter I can only check the outer floor as the inner is under a raised floor into the bedroom only the kitchen is checkable.

Cheers Baz..........................


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