dmcvit Posted July 27, 2017 Share Posted July 27, 2017 Hi, we have a brand new Apache 634. We have noticed a problem with rainwater pouring down over the habitation door. It seems to us that the shaped bodywork over the door doesnt defect the rainwater. When you open the door from the inside the mhome obviously tilts slightly and rainwater runs over the side. Same happens when you step on the step, tilt the mhome, rainwater cascades over the open door! Anmy one else had this problem? Any thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billggski Posted July 27, 2017 Share Posted July 27, 2017 It's a problem with a number of moho's, on my dethleffs the water runs well away from the door, but can run between the awning and the body, so I tilt it away from the awning side (when I remember). Your only remedy I reckon is to park on a very slight tilt to the rear, or use ramps, so that the water runs off at the back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted July 27, 2017 Share Posted July 27, 2017 This product may be of interest http://www.fiammastore.com/Fiamma-Bits-and-Bobs-for-caravans-and-motorhomes/Fiamma-Drip-Stop-Mini-Gutter http://forums.motorhomefacts.com/30-parts-accessories/103920-rain-guard-over-door.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmcvit Posted February 28, 2018 Author Share Posted February 28, 2018 Thank you for your responses and the idea of the stick on gutter. Obviously the way to go. My big beef is why should I have to do that in the first place? Having spent over 50K on a brand new, straight from the factory mhome I would have thought their wonderful designers would not have designed the roof of the mhome to (A) accumulate water in the rain and (B) make the water drain off away from the doors! hardly rocket science methinks. We had ten year old Autocruise before this brand new Auto-Trail and we are now beginning to think we should have stuck with the old, tired but reliable Autocruise. What with battery problems; flimsy cupboard and locker latches; lights switched in very strange places; poor build quality we are very unhappy. Thankjs for the opportunity to "unload" *-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EJB Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 It does seem that 'They don't make them like they used to'. 2002 Tracker owner B-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 Motor caravans are like Jimmy Choo shoes - ‘look’ takes precedence over practicality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 Motorhomes used to be designed by people who used them but now they are designed by corporate accountants miles removed and well insulated from the buyers who have to trust their decisions. The rain water off the roof issue is not a new one as it has been around for years as a security feature on some vans and the more I see of new vans the more I too think that we had the best years of design, build quality, durability and reliability in the late 90s and early noughties. None of which is any help to the OP and if it were my van I would not so readily accept such a design flaw and I would be seriously and courteously bending the ears of the dealer principle or CEO at the supplying dealer with whom the contract for supply of a vehicle of proper design and fit for purpose is, as well as the converter. You kept your side in that you paid the agreed price now let them honour their side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zydeco Joe Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 Again Don't make them like they etc... now in snow and rain in southern France rain running away no problem. Tracker 2005. B-) B-) B-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joka250 Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 dmcvit - 2017-07-27 12:48 PM Hi, we have a brand new Apache 634. We have noticed a problem with rainwater pouring down over the habitation door. It seems to us that the shaped bodywork over the door doesnt defect the rainwater. When you open the door from the inside the mhome obviously tilts slightly and rainwater runs over the side. Same happens when you step on the step, tilt the mhome, rainwater cascades over the open door! Anmy one else had this problem? Any thoughts? We have a 2015 Navajo and pleased to say we don't have this problem. I n conversation with an assembly worker at Autotrail he informed us that the new method of attaching awning to body leaves a gap for water to pour through. Could this be your problem. I understand a seal is available, If this is the problem I would push dealer to supply and fit. Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 Auto-Trail Apache 634 models used to have an ‘upstanding’ on both sides of the roof and, if an awning was fitted, the awning would be bolted to the motorhome’s left side body-panel. If the vehicle was parked nose-high, rainwater would run off the rear of the roof: if the vehicle was parked tail-high, rainwater would form a lake on the front part of the roof but should still not run into the habitation-area’s doorway. More recently the Apache 634 was redesigned to include an awning semi-integrated into the roof, with the awning replacing the left upstanding. Now, if rainwater collects on the front part of the roof and the vehicle tilts slightly as someone exits the habitation area, as Dave has found out there’s nothing to prevent the water from running under the awning and pouring into the doorway. The top two attached photos show right and left side-views of a current-model 634 and the gap beneath the awning is obvious. As Joka250 has mentioned, it might be worth exploring the practicability of sealing to the rear of the awning a section of the awning-to-roof gap so that rainwater leaving the roof missed the doorway, as this would be a tidier approach than the stick-on ‘gutter’. The 3rd attached photo is of a French Florium Baxter. The designer has lowered the roof-line to allow for roof-bars and rainwater pooling on the roof will have the opportunity to drain off harmlessly under the bars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laimeduck Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 I have learned a couple of things today:- A) I'm not alone with silly roof designs on motorhomes. My Benimar has a roof like a swimming pool for which I had to make bespoke exit spouts as otherwise the water cascaded into the garage.B) Derek seems to know a lot about Jimmy Choo shoesI don't know which is the more worrying? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 laimeduck - 2018-02-28 5:27 PM B) Derek seems to know a lot about Jimmy Choo shoe I don't know which is the more worrying? IIRC one of Derek's alter egos was Margret. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nasher Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 Hi there. If you go to b&q and buy some plastic mini trunking approx 1 inch wide. This trunking is self adhesive but might need additional adhesive to make sure it stays put. If you run the trunking front to rear it should divert the water off the roof. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuwsmith Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 nasher - 2018-03-01 12:53 PMHi there. If you go to b&q and buy some plastic mini trunking approx 1 inch wide.This trunking is self adhesive but might need additional adhesive to make sure it stays put.If you run the trunking front to rear it should divert the water off the roof. Good idea, but after paying £50K for the motorhome?.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 EJB - 2018-02-28 3:15 PM It does seem that 'They don't make them like they used to'. 2002 Tracker owner B-) Ditto..... 1990 Travelhome owner :D ...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 Stuwsmith - 2018-03-01 9:19 PMnasher - 2018-03-01 12:53 PMHi there. If you go to b&q and buy some plastic mini trunking approx 1 inch wide.This trunking is self adhesive but might need additional adhesive to make sure it stays put.If you run the trunking front to rear it should divert the water off the roof.Good idea, but after paying £50K for the motorhome?....I would say don't do this, but go up-thread to either of the products Derek links, and use one of them. The adhesive is specified for external use on motorhomes/caravans and should do the job properly. Mini trunking has only double sided tape for adhesion, and is not specified for external use. Adding further adhesive may result in the tape being degraded if the two products aren't compatible. Bits of mini trunking flying off a motorhome roof on a motorway seems to me highly undesirable, and possibly dangerous to following traffic. For the sake of a few quid, use the product designed for the job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmcvit Posted March 9, 2018 Author Share Posted March 9, 2018 Many thanks for all your comments and thoughts on this problem. All very useful. I am obviously loathe to retrofit anything myself after spending so much money. Auto Trail have suggested I purchase an additional guttering. Blood cheek! They say they have had no one else mentioning this problem. Round Objects. We are currently still in Spain, not returning until April. Just had another bad night of constant rain and got soaked when we opened the habitation door next morning. (It is raining as I write, another drenching coming). Our plan is to take the motorhome back to the dealer when we return. We will let you know how we get on. Suspect the best we will get is them fitting an addition guttering of some kind. Our dealer is Dolphin Motorhomes in Portsmouth. They supplied our orginal ten year old Autocruise Stardream and, as a dealer, were very good and helpful. They have, so far, been helpful with minor things on our new Auto Trail Apache 634 so it will be interesting to see what they say and do about this and I will come back to this thread with the results. I have a video of the problem. Not sure if I can upload it to this forum. It is a big file. I might try later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelmorris Posted March 9, 2018 Share Posted March 9, 2018 We had a similar problem with water running between the fiamma awning and the habitation door. Bought and fitted a special seal that fits between the awning and the bodywork and problem solved. (An absolute pig to fit though!) https://www.agentfiamma.co.uk/fiamma-rain-guard-water-seal.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bop Posted March 9, 2018 Share Posted March 9, 2018 I love the looks of the Autotrail Apache 634 but there are two reasons why I couldn't have one: a.) It's an Autotrail, and b.) The intrinsic payload problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted March 10, 2018 Share Posted March 10, 2018 dmcvit - 2018-03-09 3:22 PM ...I have a video of the problem. Not sure if I can upload it to this forum. It is a big file. I might try later. There’s a 100kB limit for attaching files to forum postings, so there’s no chance you’ll be able to attach a video, though you could put it on YouTube if you feel really aggrieved about this. It’s plain from the above photos of the current-model Apache 634 that the rainwater problem you are complaining about is a ‘characteristic’ of the 634’s design. This 2014 MHFun forum thread https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/threads/water-collection-on-roof.91001/ refers to rainwater collecting on the roof of an earlier Auto-Trail where the roof design had raised sides rather than the integrated awning your motorhome has. The older roof design prevented rainwater running down the sides of the vehicle but meant that - unless the motorhome were parked inclined at a suitable angle - rainwater pooled on the roof and cascaded off when the motorhome began to be driven. My Rapido’s roof has a distinct ‘lip’ across its rear and slightly raised sides. As a result, rainwater tends to collect on the roof and, if the motorhome has been on levelling ramps at the front and a cab window happens to be open when I take the vehicle off the ramps, whoever is sat in the cab seat by the open window may get an impromptu shower. This behaviour is a ‘characteristic’ of the roof design and, although I’d prefer it were not so, there’s really nothing I can do about it other than remember to make sure the cab windows are shut before driving off. As Billggski suggested above, the type of problem you are experiencing with your Apache 634 is far from rare and people generally tolerate it or combat it by deliberately parking on a slight tilt. The fact that Fiamma finds it worthwhile marketing a 'drip-stop gutter’ product should show that the problem is commonplace. I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing for rainwater collecting on an Apache 634’s roof to run off beneath the awning, but it’s obviously not a good idea for it to run off directly over the habitation door. If you encourage your dealer to fit the seal (free of charge) that Joka250 mentioned so that rainwater leaving the roof misses the door, that might be preferable to completely sealing the awning-to-roof gap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grumpy Grandad Posted March 10, 2018 Share Posted March 10, 2018 We had exactly the same problem on our Hymer. I got tired of getting wet every time I entered through the drivers door so I purchased a Fiamma drip stop which cured the problem. Because the drip stop comes as a coil, the hardest part was straightening it out. I solved that by taping it to a piece of 15mm copper pipe and leaving it in a warm place for a few days. It stayed on for four years,but have now sold the Hymer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keninpalamos Posted March 11, 2018 Share Posted March 11, 2018 Let’s face it, Derek is being polite to say it is a “characteristic” of this ‘van. In the motor vehicle design offices around the UK a few years ago it would be called a “b*##s-up because that’s what it is and if it were yours, you would be out the door. (Hopefully one with no bucket of water wedged on top of it.) You could add a “classic” in this case as it happens to often. Autotrial have been making motorhomes long enough to know better. This simple design fault should have been picked up on the very first prototype, no excuses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geeco Posted March 12, 2018 Share Posted March 12, 2018 My 2015 AT Tracker does not suffer with the water cascading over the habitation door. It must be a feature of the new location of the awning causing the problem. I do have pooling on the roof however it has never been an issue to be concerned about. I actually think the new location of the awning looks very streamlined and saw it as a better design than my model. If it was me I would use one or both of the Fiamma solutions mentioned above and move on. You can complain all you like but if that is what the new design causes then a redesign is necessary but that is no help to you. In MHO overall the AT is a very well designed conversion with very few shortcomings. A friend has a saying - don't sweat the small stuff! Cheers, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted March 12, 2018 Share Posted March 12, 2018 Thule offers several products that might be employed to address this problem https://www.thule.com/en-gb/gb/motorhome-accessories/awning-accessories/thule-epdm-sealing-_-productgroup_197100 https://www.thule.com/en-gb/gb/motorhome-accessories/awning-accessories/thule-sealing-rubber-_-productgroup_197098 https://www.thule.com/en-gb/gb/motorhome-accessories/awning-accessories/thule-gutter-_-307947 The EPDM strip may be the ‘seal’ mentioned by Joka250 in the posting of 28 February 2018 4:56 PM above. Fitting a suitable length of EPDM strip would appear to be a simple means of preventing the rainwater from coming off the roof above the Apache 634’s door, but still allowing the water to drain off the roof down the motorhome’s side further to the rear. Integrating an awning into a motorhome’s roof design is nothing new - Eriba/Hymer have done it so that the awning was near-invisible and Swift’s efforts with Kon-Tiki are fairly tidy. Auto-Trail’s approach is neat enough, but the potential for rainwater draining off the roof above the habitation door is very obvious. If enough owners complain, it’s quite likely that future Apache 634s will have a factory-fitted seal to prevent this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmcvit Posted April 15, 2018 Author Share Posted April 15, 2018 As a follow-up to my original, starting post....... Autocruise are sending my dealer a fix for the water coming over the edge and down over the habitation door, which will be covered under warranty. I am now waitng for the call. ALSO, we washed the mhome on return from Spain/France and when on a gantry high enough to sese the roof of the mhome we note that there is a roof join that aligns with he habitation door. and that looks to be the lowest part of the roof, which had a big pool of water on it, after washing. Why are mhome roofs flat(ish)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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