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Water under plyfloor pvc x290 Boxer


trialsrider

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Hello and merry Christmas. I noticed some water sitting in one of the corrugations of the van floor at the rear of the van by the rear barn doors. It was where the edge of the plyfloor at the rear of the van finished.

 

On closer inspection I noticed that the metal finishing strip which was placed at the end of the plywood floor had been siliconed in and the water was where there was a break in the seal.

 

I had a bad feeling there may be water behind this finishing strip and that the finishing strip and silicone was acting like a dam and sealing whatever water was behind it

 

I removed the strip and yes water was behind it. The edge of the plywood feels soft too. I have no idea where the water is coming from. The inside of the van is all dry however I have not confirmed this with a damp meter as I don't have one. All roof lights and roof mounted accessories look sealed. I've looked under the van and any points of entry look sealed up such as pipe entry points etc.

 

The van is always parked on a slight incline on my drive so I'm not surprised any pooling has occurred here .

 

I have been keeping an eye on this water situation for some weeks and it only presents itself after driving. Even when it has rained for a week solid no water is present.

 

Could it be condensation that has built up in van floor between plywood and metal van floor that just couldn't escape due to ply being sealed to metal floor at the rear of the van. I have drawn a blank but clearly something serious is wrong . Any help would be appreciated.

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I had an X2/50 PVC with plywood floor. Due to a leaking shower over several years the plywood got thoroughly saturated, rotten, swollen, spongy, black & slimy. But when I took it up the metal floor was still in perfect condition with no rust to be found - even where self tappers had pierced the floor exposing bare metal around the screwthread. :-D

Apparently the galvanising works like the sacrificial anode bolted to the steel hull of a boat. :-D

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trialsrider - 2021-12-28 12:40 PM

 

I have no idea where the water is coming from. .

 

Could just be condensation. Not saying it is but it could be. Originally I had no insulation or heating in the van. When it was colder outside condensation formed on all the metal surfaces. At one point it was dripping down from the roof like rain. Then I covered it with 'Thermoliner' - just one layer of 7mm sticky backed closed cell foam with aluminiun foil facing which stopped all the condensation. Even now with my 5kw Chinese diesel fuelled heater. But if air can get to the metal floor of your van there is bound to be condensation at times. Could even be condensing on the roof or walls behind the wallboards and dripping down to the floor if someting is diverting it from running into the drainholes.

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John52 - 2021-12-28 2:43 PM

 

trialsrider - 2021-12-28 12:40 PM

 

I have no idea where the water is coming from. .

 

Could just be condensation. Not saying it is but it could be. Originally I had no insulation or heating in the van. When it was colder outside condensation formed on all the metal surfaces. At one point it was dripping down from the roof like rain. Then I covered it with 'Thermoliner' - just one layer of 7mm sticky backed closed cell foam with aluminiun foil facing which stopped all the condensation. Even now with my 5kw Chinese diesel fuelled heater. But if air can get to the metal floor of your van there is bound to be condensation at times. Could even be condensing on the roof or walls behind the wallboards and dripping down to the floor if someting is diverting it from running into the drainholes.

 

I agree it could be condensation. The floor of the van is the only part of the van that isn't insulated.

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I'm not sure of the layout and heating on your van.

On ours there is a large garage at rear, if we use an electric heater in the main part of van the garage can get wet with condensation, if it runs down the walls it can collect on the floor. Using the Truma with it's blown air, there is a outlet in the garage which keeps it warm and no condensation in there.

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There are drain holes in the bottom of the cills - they leave the factory with rubber bungs in which you can pull out from underneath

Problem is the floor is corrugated and water sits in the corrugations so you would have to drill holes in every channel. So the cure would be worse than the problem

What concerns me is when I have the diesel heater running fumes could rise up through the drain holes and get into the van, depending on which way the wind is blowing.

And since the metal is very well protected I don't think a bit of water sitting in the channels is going to do any harm.

So even though I started with an empty van, and drilling drain holes before laying the floor would have been very easy, I decided against it.

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I should also add that the exposed metal I observed was only a very tiny bit around the thread of the self tapping screws that had pierced the floor (which usually starts rust in ungalvanised steel)

If you were to drill enough holes to drain the water out of all the channels you would be exposing a lot more bare metal.

I doubt if the galvanising could protect all that for long.

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A web search for Ruddock Race Homes yielded lots of "hits" but none from Ruddock Race Homes themselves. Are they still trading, or don't they have a website?

 

The most likely source of condensation would be the walls and roof. More extreme temperature ranges, larger combined area, plus warm air rises and carries more moisture than cold air, so carrying its higher humidity into the areas where relatively rapid temperature changes take place.

 

It seems this is/was a small volume producer, possibly with limited technical resources, producing vans that, by their name, were intended mainly for short term occupation.

 

Insulation alone is insufficient. The outer, steel, shell of a converted van forms a perfect vapour barrier, so any moisture laden air that reaches it will condense out its moisture onto the inner surface of the steel as soon as the temperature of the steel drops below the dew point temperature of the air, just as it would on the inner surface of the glass in a single glazed window.

 

So the choice of insulant, and the provision of an adequate, unbroken, vapour barrier on the inside of the insulant, are both critical. The insulant should be, as nearly as possible, impermeable to water vapour, so that the transfer of vapour through the insulant to its outer, colder (in cold weather) surface is minimised. The inner vapour barrier then seeks to separate the inner, warmer, humid air from the insulant altogether (belt and braces if you will) so as to maintain the insulant in a dry environment, ensuring minimal humidity to transmit. When the presence of the inner, reinforcing, ribs of the bodyshell are taken into account adequately insulating and vapour sealing the walls and ceiling of a van bodyshell, and eliminating the cold-bridges created by the ribs etc. is far from straightforward, especially if wiring is concealed behind the wallboard inner lining.

 

In a van in which this process was not adequately executed, and which is in use in cold weather, the water vapour will, eventually, reach the impermeable, cold, steel, outer skin of the van, condense, and run down the steel behind the insulation until it reaches the equally impermeable cold steel floor, and gather in a growing pool until it finds an exit point.

 

Whether this is true for Gareth's van is impossible to say without more knowledge, the more so as Gareth hasn't said whether he is using the van in winter, what its specification or (probably minimally significant) layout are, or how it is heated - but a build up of condensation must be a possibility to consider.

 

The (much!) simpler to rectify problem would be leakage from around any openings, either cut into the van for conversion purposes, or around the original base vehicle doors and windows (perhaps that large sliding door, or the twin rear doors) that could be accumulating on the van floor. If the van is parked nose down on a slope (Gareth doesn't say, just that his drive slopes) water running down the rear doors and getting around the door seals (or past a window seal if the doors have windows) to gather on the rear extension of the van floor shown in his photos, and then running out of sight down the floor corrugations to eventually emerge when the van is nose-up on an incline would be probably be the easiest fault to fix. New door seals!

 

Gareth would be well advised to get himself (or borrow) a decent damp meter (Protimeter, or similar) and begin using it a soon as possible - and definitely before beginning any dismantling. A failed window seal is a much easier fix than taking up floors! B-)

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John52 - 2021-12-28 11:56 PM

 

There are drain holes in the bottom of the cills - they leave the factory with rubber bungs in which you can pull out from underneath

Problem is the floor is corrugated and water sits in the corrugations so you would have to drill holes in every channel. So the cure would be worse than the problem

What concerns me is when I have the diesel heater running fumes could rise up through the drain holes and get into the van, depending on which way the wind is blowing.

And since the metal is very well protected I don't think a bit of water sitting in the channels is going to do any harm.

So even though I started with an empty van, and drilling drain holes before laying the floor would have been very easy, I decided against it.

 

I agree with you. More holes drilled would attract more problems than it would cure. I did pull a few of the cill plugs at the bottom of each sill and both were bone dry. Van was parked nose up so I unplugged the last two on each side at the tail end.

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Brian Kirby - 2021-12-29 11:17 AM

 

A web search for Ruddock Race Homes yielded lots of "hits" but none from Ruddock Race Homes themselves. Are they still trading, or don't they have a website?

 

The most likely source of condensation would be the walls and roof. More extreme temperature ranges, larger combined area, plus warm air rises and carries more moisture than cold air, so carrying its higher humidity into the areas where relatively rapid temperature changes take place.

 

It seems this is/was a small volume producer, possibly with limited technical resources, producing vans that, by their name, were intended mainly for short term occupation.

 

Insulation alone is insufficient. The outer, steel, shell of a converted van forms a perfect vapour barrier, so any moisture laden air that reaches it will condense out its moisture onto the inner surface of the steel as soon as the temperature of the steel drops below the dew point temperature of the air, just as it would on the inner surface of the glass in a single glazed window.

 

So the choice of insulant, and the provision of an adequate, unbroken, vapour barrier on the inside of the insulant, are both critical. The insulant should be, as nearly as possible, impermeable to water vapour, so that the transfer of vapour through the insulant to its outer, colder (in cold weather) surface is minimised. The inner vapour barrier then seeks to separate the inner, warmer, humid air from the insulant altogether (belt and braces if you will) so as to maintain the insulant in a dry environment, ensuring minimal humidity to transmit. When the presence of the inner, reinforcing, ribs of the bodyshell are taken into account adequately insulating and vapour sealing the walls and ceiling of a van bodyshell, and eliminating the cold-bridges created by the ribs etc. is far from straightforward, especially if wiring is concealed behind the wallboard inner lining.

 

In a van in which this process was not adequately executed, and which is in use in cold weather, the water vapour will, eventually, reach the impermeable, cold, steel, outer skin of the van, condense, and run down the steel behind the insulation until it reaches the equally impermeable cold steel floor, and gather in a growing pool until it finds an exit point.

 

Whether this is true for Gareth's van is impossible to say without more knowledge, the more so as Gareth hasn't said whether he is using the van in winter, what its specification or (probably minimally significant) layout are, or how it is heated - but a build up of condensation must be a possibility to consider.

 

The (much!) simpler to rectify problem would be leakage from around any openings, either cut into the van for conversion purposes, or around the original base vehicle doors and windows (perhaps that large sliding door, or the twin rear doors) that could be accumulating on the van floor. If the van is parked nose down on a slope (Gareth doesn't say, just that his drive slopes) water running down the rear doors and getting around the door seals (or past a window seal if the doors have windows) to gather on the rear extension of the van floor shown in his photos, and then running out of sight down the floor corrugations to eventually emerge when the van is nose-up on an incline would be probably be the easiest fault to fix. New door seals!

 

Gareth would be well advised to get himself (or borrow) a decent damp meter (Protimeter, or similar) and begin using it a soon as possible - and definitely before beginning any dismantling. A failed window seal is a much easier fix than taking up floors! B-)

 

Hi Brian. Ruddock don't have a website as it is word of mouth on the Motocross and trials scene. They do about 12 vans a year.

 

Van is parked up with nose up tail down on drive. Water drained from van in October so I know it's not that. I do use the van for motorcycle use so the heater is used weekly. It is a Propex hs2000e but when away it is only the propane that powers it. I also regularly sit in the van to escape the mania in the house and put the heating on then.

 

I'm pretty sure the van has no moisture membrane fitted. Only rockwool insulation on walls, ceiling and doors. It's definitely there as I've checked.

 

Yes a damp meter could be a good buy to rule things out.

 

If you see a photo of the barevan floor with no plywood you would see why it pooled where it did when the van was parked nose up and the van floor at the back is essentially sealed. The garage of the van is not heated and is pretty airtight with all edges sealed and a rubber sealed door to the living area. It's sealed so that the living area doesn't smell of fuel and oil etc.

 

We are not talking a lot of water, probably no more than 20ml Was found. But even a small amount of water sat next to wood is not going to have a good outcome.

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This is the barevan floor. You can see a ridge in the middle at the rear which would lead to pooling and forcing the water to flow the path of least resistance to the sides where obviously it was sealed in. Then when driven and going up a hill it came over in the gap where the seal wasn't perfect.
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trialsrider - 2021-12-29 12:33 PM

even a small amount of water sat next to wood is not going to have a good outcome.

 

Would be far worse in a coachbuilt where the wood is structural, and rotten wood has some chemical reaction with the aluminium sides which rots them as well.

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trialsrider - 2021-12-29 12:33 PM

Brian Kirby - 2021-12-29 11:17 AM................................

Gareth would be well advised to get himself (or borrow) a decent damp meter (Protimeter, or similar) and begin using it a soon as possible - and definitely before beginning any dismantling. A failed window seal is a much easier fix than taking up floors! B-)

Gareth, I think this is the best place to start, to eliminate, as far as possible, any chance that the source is water ingress.

 

Hi Brian. Ruddock don't have a website as it is word of mouth on the Motocross and trials scene. They do about 12 vans a year.......................

That is what I was wondering. I think they may have missed, or didn't understand the need for, the vapour barrier.

 

I'm pretty sure the van has no moisture membrane fitted. Only rockwool insulation on walls, ceiling and doors. It's definitely there as I've checked.

That is what I was afraid you might say. Rockwool is a trade name. The product is similar to glass wool (often called fibreglass) but made by melting volcanic rock rather than melting glass. In use it is somewhat less irritant than glass wool, as the individual strands tend to be slightly coarser, which is probably why Ruddock have opted to use it (Health and Safety). Just as glass wool, it commonly comes in large rolls (other type are available) and is commonly used as pitched roof insulation and, just as glass wool, it is essential that either the roof space above the Rockwool freely ventilates to allow water vapour to escape, or the it is sealed from below to prevent water vapour from reaching the Rockwool. In pitched roof insulation it is usually assumed that the roofspace above will freely ventilate. The individual strands are very fine to prevent water vapour condensing onto them, and so saturating the insulating blanket.

 

Yes a damp meter could be a good buy to rule things out.

Agreed! :-)

 

........................We are not talking a lot of water, probably no more than 20ml Was found. But even a small amount of water sat next to wood is not going to have a good outcome.

No, and unless its appearance coincides with periods of rain, it seems quite possible that the source is condensation. However, I think I'd be more worried about finding the source than the actual volume found.

 

If you can't find any source of leakage into the van, as I see it, you really have three choices.

 

1 Don't use (i.e. occupy) the van during cold weather so that no humidity is created in the van. No humidity: no condensation.

 

2 Ensure high ventilation of the van when occupied, to prevent humidity build up.

 

3 Install the missing vapour barrier.

 

1 & 2 really hinge on practicality, and depend on the extent to which you cook and sleep in the van. Merely driving it shouldn't be too problematic, but if you're seeing condensation on the windscreen and cab windows, you're getting the "gipsy's warning"!

 

3 Retro fitting a vapour barrier would involve removing all roof and wall lining (including behind any built in furniture) to fully expose the whole extent of the Rockwool, and then installing a vapour proof membrane such as 1,000 gauge polythene with all seams and edges taped all around so that the Rockwool is fully sealed from the atmosphere in the van. If not already done, it would be wise to also foam fill the hollows behind the reinforcing ribs on the walls and roof so that they don't become cold bridges through the insulation. In effect, a complete strip of the van interior. This would be best done during warm, dry weather, so that the existing insulation and atmosphere in the van have ample opportunity to dry out before the vapour barrier is installed.

 

4 As a wild card, at least when the van is on mains hook-up, you could try keeping a dehumidifier running in the van to remove humidity from the atmosphere, and even, possibly, running that via a generator or inverter when not on mains hook-up. The worst time for condensation in all vans is when sleeping during a cold night, which is why the windscreen is so often running with condensation every morning! :-) I've no idea how well that would work, or how practical it might prove, but it might work.

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I was going to suggest that Ruddock Racehomes be contacted about the under-floor water issue, but this 2019 forum thread suggests that they may not have been responsible for fitting the floor.

 

https://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Peugeot-boxer-ply-floor/53126/

 

It may also be worth mentioning that Phil has done a fair bit of 'post-conversion' water-related work on his vehicle (eg. fitting a shower and a hot-water boiler) - so there's the potential for leaking water to collect beneath the floor.

 

Online videos of panel-van conversions show various approaches to insulating a plywood floor from the vehicle's original metal floor.

 

As the edge of Phil's vehicle's plywood floor feels soft, it might make sense to cut across the floor (say) about a foot from that edge and replace the damaged section, but to make the new section removable (or hinged up-able) and not seal the rear edge to the metal underfloor. At least then inspections could be made easily and regularly and - if condensation is the cause of the present problem - the condensate could be dried out, or could drain away when the vehicle was parked nose-high.

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Derek Uzzell - 2021-12-30 2:44 PM

 

I was going to suggest that Ruddock Racehomes be contacted about the under-floor water issue, but this 2019 forum thread suggests that they may not have been responsible for fitting the floor.

 

https://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Peugeot-boxer-ply-floor/53126/

 

It may also be worth mentioning that Phil has done a fair bit of 'post-conversion' water-related work on his vehicle (eg. fitting a shower and a hot-water boiler) - so there's the potential for leaking water to collect beneath the floor.

 

Online videos of panel-van conversions show various approaches to insulating a plywood floor from the vehicle's original metal floor.

 

As the edge of Phil's vehicle's plywood floor feels soft, it might make sense to cut across the floor (say) about a foot from that edge and replace the damaged section, but to make the new section removable (or hinged up-able) and not seal the rear edge to the metal underfloor. At least then inspections could be made easily and regularly and - if condensation is the cause of the present problem - the condensate could be dried out, or could drain away when the vehicle was parked nose-high.

 

Hi Derek. No in the end the converter did the floor.

 

I'm Gareth not Phil by the way.

 

I did fit hot water and shower in the van but both are 100% watertight and definitely not the culprits. The van has been drained dry since late October after the last trip. The water I'm convinced has happened since the van has been drained down for frost protection.

 

The van is used for motorcycle transport and having somewhere to eat, get changed and rest during motorcycle competitions when it has been very cold and the heating has been in for hours at a time. Possibly a good opportunity for condensation to form ?

 

I'm going on a long journey tomorrow to pick up a new bike in the van. This will be the first journey since removing the silicone so it will be interesting to see what comes out in case any water is trapped and needs a few hills and forward momentum to exit via the newly created gap. It's a shame the weather has been so wet otherwise I would leave the rear van doors open to get some air in there to dry it out. I have a good dehumidifier which I may put in the garage area of the van over the weekend to speed up any drying time.

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Good morning,

 

The first thing I would do is check the pipework and roof vents. and the fridge vents and the window seals I once had a pipe pop its connection during a very cold snap due to a dip in the pipework even though it had been drained down , just caught it in time and no damage

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Well a lot of rain has fallen here in South Wales this week. Van has not been driven since Monday nor has it been sat in or had any heater on in it. I have been checking the water pooling and it has certainly accumulated more after heavy rain. Because of this I'm convinced it is now not condensation and probably a leak.

 

As mentioned before my van is parked up nose end highest on drive with incline. There is also a tilt right to left on the drive. I only noticed the tilt on my drive tonight when curiosity got the better of me and I put a spirit level on the van. This is important as the water seems to only pool on the right hand side where I have circled. Would it be right to assume then that this leak is probably on the right side of the van as the corrugations on the van floor would stop it migrating left even with the incline.

 

On my the right hand side of my roof I have 1 solar panel which is sikaflexed and screwed. Half a mini heki with the other half being on the left side and a solar cable gland. On the right side of the van I have one domestic opening window. Any of these could be the culprits. I'm also wondering if water could get in via the plastic side guards which run the bottom length of the van as they are just popped on. Any other suggestions where it could come from ?

 

I've just ordered a damp meter which should come tomorrow so I can try and find the source.

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trialsrider - 2022-01-06 8:48 PM

Would it be right to assume then that this leak is probably on the right side of the van as the corrugations on the van floor would stop it migrating left even with the incline.

 

No because the corrugations don't run the full length of the floor.

(I still have my X2/50 which has started a new life as a garden shed after stripping out to use the inside in the X2/90, so have just been out to look at the bare floor)

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