# Oh God Its Damp! Help!



## 112808 (May 29, 2008)

Hi Guys & Gals 

We are complete newbies to all this but have been bitten by the bug you Guys have ----The Motorhome !!! We love it and the life it offers us and still makes me smile the waves we get from the people in this elite club (Thank you) only wish we had done it years ago !

We have just purchased our first motorhome a 1994 elddis autoquest 6 berth 400 model which is fab and we love it but it stinks down by the cab area which after pulling it completely apart curtains etc and steam cleaning the whole thing we have identified it as old consensation smells round the windscreen carpeting bit of the cab and no amount of scrubbing is shifting this smell ! Does anyone have any advice at all please as I cant stand to sleep in her again which is such a shame !!! ????

I am getting a quote for the floor delam tomorrow ( 3bits 1 where ladder goes , 1 kitchen bit & 1 bathroom bit) and new carpets but there is no sign of damp /black mold or anything.
Apologies if I am being a little too green on all this -Am not usually an airhead honest !!!!

Thanks for listening and apologies for the waffle !

Debbs x


P.S Does anyone alos know where I can get a 3 point seatbelt fitted so my babies car seat can go in the rear and not me !! (Have 4 lap belts in the back already)


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## gaspode (May 9, 2005)

Hi Debbs

Welcome to MHF.

I don't want to alarm you but usually smells of this nature signify the dreaded damp ingress, not condensation. I assume that yours is a coachbuilt van with an overcab bed? If so I think you should make a very careful check around the inside skin of the overcab section using a damp meter if possible. As this area of the bodywork is often subjected to driving rain at speed, leaks into the seams are common, especially on older vehicles. A small leak at the seam will allow water to enter the area between the outer and inner skins and can cause some very awkward problems.


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## 112808 (May 29, 2008)

Hi

The smell seems to be coming from the windscreen curtains and the felted/carpeted bit directly round windscreen -no apparent damp from cab.


Thanks very much for taking the time to reply as you can tell am very new !!


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## gaspode (May 9, 2005)

I do hope you're right Debbs, damp ingress repairs can be very awkward (and expensive). I'd still recommend that you get it checked out though, if there is any damp, the longer you leave it untreated the worse it will be.

If you suspect the soft furnishings, why not just rip them out and see if the smell goes away?


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## 90487 (May 1, 2005)

debbs07 said:


> Hi
> The smell seems to be coming from the windscreen curtains and the felted/carpeted bit directly round windscreen -no apparent damp from cab.
> !


The carpet lining material and glue is easy to get online. Pull the old bits off use them as templates to cut new pieces and stick back on.

You will find that when you start you end up replacing more than just the windscreen as it makes a big difference :lol:

Carol


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## 112808 (May 29, 2008)

Hi ,

Thanks very much it is off in a mo to a professional co (I hope=East Coast Leisure!) for a full damp check as panicking so fingers crossed !!!

Will take all carpets etc out when its back

Thanks for your advice will let u know later!!!


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## geraldandannie (Jun 4, 2006)

Hi Debbs

Good luck for later. Well done for subscribing - it's a great investment  

Gerald


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## chrisblack (Sep 10, 2007)

i'd been concerned about an odour in my van for a while and I finally tracked it down to my grey/waste water tanks....

the cure ... some cheap biological washing powder and a few tablespoons of bicarbonate of soda, followed by rocking the van, or a short drive to swill the solution aound the tank.

chris


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## 112808 (May 29, 2008)

*OH MY GOD ITS DAMP !!!!!!!!!!*

Hi Guys

Thanks for all your replies -My Husband has just called me and basically it is DAMP and seems the front end is rotten or something and advising about £4k to put right !!!!! So thats our motorhome life over before its begun.

God I feel so stupid -It was a private "Sold as seen sale!! -Mechically she's fine but .......

Thanks alot -Am off to cry and shout and then have a drink !!!!!!!

Debbs x


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## maddie (Jan 4, 2006)

Hi Debs don't give up yet! If you are any good at diy I did a complete van / everything out new boards etc for about £400 and about 50 hrs work for two of us including a rewire.Did not fancy doggy electrics where the damp had been. :lol: Remember this was a full van you are only looking at the front,it may not be that bad.
terry


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## vardy (Sep 1, 2006)

Think I might cry too. Had fingers x'd after reading the advice and comments.

-It's a first estimate, maybe there's cheaper options. There are enough really helpful people on here who would know where to go for reputable comparisons. Might be worth a try.

Bodywork and conversion on my small van was well kept, but have just done a mental arithmetic and my 'mechanicals' added up to a figure creeping up to fright level too.


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## johng1974 (Jan 17, 2007)

Hi Debbie, agree with Maddie..
I have same problem.. it can be fixed I am sure, by yourselves.

You will learn things, and now is a good time of year to start.. get somewhere warm and sheltered from the elements, and spend a few weeks...


good luck
John


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## badger (May 9, 2005)

Oh dear Debbs I am sorry,  

I know what a dissapointment and upset this will mean to you after being on such a high over your new van. 
But.....and its a big but.....just maybe its not as black as painted, just maybe you can still get a good few years out of her if you can get rid of the smells, and in that time you can be saving for another van having learned some usefull lessons about buying private.

I sincerely hope it all works out for you.


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## 112808 (May 29, 2008)

Hi
Thanks alot Everyone -- We are truly gutted have been saving for ages . We wouldn't have the first idea where to begin to do it ourselves but may well look into it later.

Thanks


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## Wizzo (Dec 3, 2007)

Hi Debbs,

Don't despair. I have a friend who bought a caravan off a friend of his which had a terrible damp problem at the front. He fixed that with the help of a joiner for not a lot of money and now its as good if not better than new. He sent me at the time an article written by someone who went through the whole process of repairing rotten panels in caravans. I still have the article on my computer at home. Will have a look when I get home.

There is also an excellent blog on the Autohomes Wanderer on the net. This is the van I have but is to all intents and purposes an Elddis. He deals in part of this with a repair to the front panel to stop water ingress. Apparently it can be a problem where the trim attaches on the side of the overcab. Again he details the whole process he took to repair it. If you search for "my wanderer" or "autohomes wanderer" you should find it quite easily.

Will post again when I get home later.

JohnW


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## vardy (Sep 1, 2006)

Don't you go away now! - The van's driving isn't it? If no ones said the rot is a deathtrap. 

Did they tell you where it's leaked? after reading about other peoples vans, even new ones. a small problem on the outside seems to let a lot of water in.

If it's sealable, (and I watched whilst the menders I go to stuck a whole seam down with fixative in 20 mins!) - maybe sealed and with a lot of Fabreze it's innards will wait and you can still use it until there's some better fixing options.


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## maddie (Jan 4, 2006)

Hi chances are vardy is right, could be that the seal between the sides and roof may have gone in which case it is a case of unsrewing clean off old sealent then renewing seal and fixing/self tapping trim back on.Only a mornings work per side for a novice :lol: 
terry


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## Wizzo (Dec 3, 2007)

Hi Debbs,

This is the blog on the Wanderer:

www.ourwanderer.org

JohnW


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## 112808 (May 29, 2008)

Hi

I dont want to go away we have/had huge plans and found some great sites to visit--- Hubby has just taken it somewhere else for a quote first to see if first one was ridiculous price if it is we will look into other options we are hopeless DIYers thou! 

Really appreciate all your advice -The damp report shows alot of places but u are right the main ones are on the trim and under the front cab roof bit 70-90% and a few bits elsewhere but not as major apprently.

What am I doing with a motorhome ??????-Am not really hopeless in other areas honest !!

Thanks Guys x


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## gaspode (May 9, 2005)

Hi Debbs

What a disaster, I know it doesn't help you but it does show what a good idea it is to join MHF and get some advice before you buy. As soon as you mentioned a smell around the cab area the cause was almost certain to be dampness - but you didn't know that before you paid over your cash.

So what can be done?

Firstly, the vendor almost certainly knew about the damp so there's always the possibility of taking him to the small claims court for the cost of repairs, even if you bought it "as seen" if he didn't disclose a known serious problem he may be liable in law for deception.

What about repair?

If you can't consider doing the repairs yourself (and although there's no rocket science involved it is a substantial job) my advice would be to take it to a caravan repairer for an estimate. This is a common problem in caravans and they will probably be cheaper than a specialist motorhome repairer. If you can tell us whereabouts you are perhaps a member will be able to recommend a local repairer?

Use it anyway?

If you can tolerate the smell why not? Obviously it depends on the extent of the damage but it may be practical to get some use from it as it stands. First thing is to locate where the leak is, seal it and then try to dry out the damp section by using heaters/dehumidifiers. Bear in mind that the leak may be a long way from where the damp is showing up. If there hasn't been too much damage caused it may be possible to remove the inner skin and dry it out sufficiently to get rid of the odour, the important thing ATM is to stop any further water getting in.

Good luck anyway.


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## johnc (May 1, 2005)

*Don't give up. everything can be fixed.*

We had a similar problem with our first van which was a 1991 coachbuilt Holdsworth.

I could smell dampness and when I investigated, I found that the entire front corner was rotten. When I removed the rotten plywood, I found that the wooden battens were so rotten that I scooped them out in handful's. Like you I was pretty gutted but as I said, everything can be fixed if you just work through a means to do it.

In my case, I cut away all of the soft plywood with a pad saw and removed all the rotten battens and soaked everything in wood preservative. Then went to timber yard to get new wooden battens and fitted them into the corners such that I could connect them to the part of the van which was not rotten. Once they were in place, I screwed on new thin plywood. The next things was to give it some strength so I drilled a series of holes in the plywood and injected foam from a can slowly moving up the height of the wall. When the foam had cured, I simply cleaned up the area and then wall-papered the side and to be honest it looked as good as new. Smell had gone and the van passed a dampness test when we came to trade it in 3 years later.

In all it took three weekends and cost less than £100 for all material.

Don't give up, there are a lot members like myself who have learned all about motorhome the hard way and will help you. You say that you don't know where to start, well here is a suggestion.

1.	Take a photograph of the area where the dampness is.
2.	Work out how much has to be removed 
3.	Post the photographs on MHF with some comments 
4.	We can then see what needs to be done.

Regards

JohnC


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## johng1974 (Jan 17, 2007)

thanks JC

given me some confidence now 

John G


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## johnc (May 1, 2005)

*Forgot to add.*

Sorry, just read my post and reaslied i had ommited a step.

When you have removed all of the rotten stuff and are through to the outer aluminium skin, you should be able to locate where the water has been getting in and as Gaspod said it may be somewhere away.

Regards

JohnC


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## teckie (Feb 25, 2007)

Hi Debbs...Last year a friend of mine also bought a 1991 Fiat Ducato Motorhome with a Elldis Body on it and like you he also had damp round the over cab bed area and when I checked it for him my damp test meter nearly blew up with the needle hitting the other side so hard...so he asked me what I suggested and I checked the outside and it seemed pretty solid to me and nowhere near ready to blow apart... so I said to him leave it with me for a week and I went to my local caravan centre bought 2 bottles of Captain Tolley's Leak Sealer and I put my Dehumidifier inside the van left it running for 3 days and emptied the catch bottle 3 times (almost a gallon of water !) The days were dry and i went over all the external joints with a very stiff Nylon bristle brush to clean all dirt and green mould from the joints and then went over all the joints with Captain Tolley's Leak Seal several times.

It did the trick and he had many weekends away last year in the M/H and he has recently traded it in for a later model and he was offered £1000 more than he originally paid for it :lol: 

Perhaps you could do the same !, But first make sure the outside of the panel area is solid and not ready to blow apart... Good Luck.

Teckie


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## Superk (Aug 22, 2005)

gaspode said:


> What about repair?
> 
> If you can't consider doing the repairs yourself (and although there's no rocket science involved it is a substantial job) my advice would be to take it to a caravan repairer for an estimate. This is a common problem in caravans and they will probably be cheaper than a specialist motorhome repairer. If you can tell us whereabouts you are perhaps a member will be able to recommend a local repairer?


East Coast Leisure are caravan repairers and do insurance work for all the major companies. They're good at what they do. They provide a two year guarantee (if you go back for a six-monthly damp test so they can rectify any further problems quickly). This is a 1994 van - 14 years old - an estimator won't be sure what they will find and if I know East Coast Leisure they will always invite the customer down to see what they have found and if it's not as big a job as they thought they'll charge less - they want to keep their reputation intact. They're charging for the labour and VAT and will use the correct materials. But as Debbie has realised investing in an old van can bring expensive problems if you're not a DIY type.
 
Keith


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## 112808 (May 29, 2008)

*BETTER THAN THOUGHT ! I hope !!!!*

Hi All

Husband has just returned from elsewhere who believe THANK GOD that it is not as major a problem as the panels DO NOT need replacing and it needs resealing  and one window needs taking out and resealing so we are going to try Teckies idea with the dehumidifier now and Captain Tolleys stuff and will let you know how we get on ! 
And am definately going after the seller with the Sale of Goods act !!

Thanks for all your advice really apprecaite it

Debbs & Paul


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## johng1974 (Jan 17, 2007)

also look at 'eternabond' (?spelling) tape 

pretty good stuff for sealing.... 

John


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## bill (May 10, 2005)

teckie - I've been watching this thread and am pleased I have. I've never heard of the Captain Tolleys crack finder before and it sounds just what I need to try and cure damp around my rear window.

So thanks for bringing it to our attention.

bill


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## teckie (Feb 25, 2007)

Here is the link to Captain Tolley's web site if any of you want a read about it... you can purchase it at most local caravan accessory shops and boat yards...

Teckie

http://www.captaintolley.com/

Good Luck Debbs... if you need any more advice PM me.


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## maddie (Jan 4, 2006)

Hi again Debs, you say / And am definately going after the seller with the Sale of Goods act !! 
you may be wasting your time there because if you did not ask about DAMP the seller is not obliged to tell you.The seller may be as suprised as you to know it had damp.Why not ask he seller how they feel to contribution to the cure? It could be they agree to refund in part or tell you to get stuffed.It also does not sound to me that the seller knew about it as you did not notice it untill you inspected after you bought it.This may not be what you want to hear but may save you a few sleepless nights and make you a lot more aware of things when you buy again.Not too sure on the catains stuff as I have never used it but only read on here about it & it seams to want resaling every year ??????? You may want to get it sealed properly with a sikaflex type sealer and forget about it for a few years
terry


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## looby1 (May 1, 2005)

I had a leaking window in my house that drove me crazy for years. It only occurred with a particular combination of heavy rain and wind direction. I tried all kinds of fixes which never worked until I came across that Captain Tolley stuff in a boatshop. It cured it straight away. Just be sure to apply it daily for several days, it needs to build up in layers where the fault is.


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## chrisblack (Sep 10, 2007)

i'd agree on the captain tolleys - it's like a very diluted wood glue - penetrates into the cracks and sets - it should be in everyones tool box.

chris


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## 112808 (May 29, 2008)

Thanks for all your advice Guys -Dehumdifier is going now so fingers crossed please !

Not usually so stupid-Honest !

Debbs


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## teckie (Feb 25, 2007)

Hi Debbs... put the Dehumidifier in the middle of the van close all windows and doors..just leave one roof vent open about an inch and carefully observe the amount of water collected in the catch when the level stops increasing let it run for one more day and it should be ok to start sealing then subject to it having kept dry outside... DON'T do the sealing till after. When you start the sealing process with Capt Tolley's go over the upper side of all joints on the roof and the sides if any several times at about 4 hour intervals...The more times you do it the better  

Now it is impossible to seal the underside of any SIDE joints with Capt Tolley's... so what I did was smear a slight film of clear Silicon sealer along the underside of the joint strips to prevent water ingress while travelling when it is raining.

Aluminium panels on Caravans and Motorhomes are subject to excessive vibration whilst travelling and as the years go on the original sealer develops lots of hairline cracks which allows water to seep into the joints and eventually inside the van resulting in damp.

It is a good idea for everyone to go over all the joints with Captain Tolley's Leak Seal after the first dry week at the beginning of the season each year (It's only an hour's work) and could prevent water ingress or damp to your pride and joy !. :wink: 

Cheers and happy Motorhoming.... \/ 


Teckie


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## Wizzo (Dec 3, 2007)

Hi Debbs,

I've sent you a PM with a copy of the Caravan damp repair document attached. This may go into more detail than I hope you will need but keep it for reference anyway.

What I think may be a lot more useful is the link to the page where the Autohomes Wanderer man deals with the water ingress in the overcab luton area. I suspect this is the same problem that you have.

Hope it all proves to be of some use.

JohnW


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