water ingress...external doors.

[cruiser]

Hi assembled intelligentia....

We have owned our 2004 Rimor Europeo for over three almost faultless years with only a few minor problems and only one tiny spot of water ingress around a window.

However, yesterday on my weekly check, I noticed severe (soggy) damp at the bottom of the leisure battery door. Closer inspection showed damp stains to a lesser extent at the bottom of the gas door, and the very faintest of stains starting at the base of the habitation door.

I have drilled a small line of 'drainage' holes under each door and cleaned the areas involved....which, by the way, begs another question...why is the lining on the inside of the doors and internal walls covered with water-soluble paper? As soon as I wiped it with the slightest pressure, it started softening and dissolving...ending up looking worse than the original stain!

I can't see where the water is entering..is it just the excessive rain and damp weather?How can I cosmetically cover the damaged areas and how can I best prevent further damage? Thanks in anticipation etc.

 

 

:'(

[Guest Tracker]

If by doors you mean access hatches, you might be able to bend the latch or place a spacer behind it to pull it tighter shut against the rubber gasket - assuming the rubber gaskets are not missing, perished or damaged.

 

 

[Peter Highe]

Hi

 

With regard to covering the damaged areas, something like Fablon (sticky backed plastic to Blue Peter fans) would seem to be an option, though I wouldn't do anything until you are sure everything is dry and watertight.

 

Peter

[Guest JudgeMental]

I had a lot of problems with garage door on my camper...Many trips to dealer to get it fixed. it was a faulty door seal and hinges/locks not closing correctly.

 

seeing it was the garage, you could sit inside and with a torch on the outside see the gaps plus a hosepipe helped id the problem areas as well.

 

a bit odd that it has become soggy in a week......I would look underneath for problems as well

[Brian Kirby]

I have a nasty little feeling this is not what it seems! 

From your description, the water is soaking up inside the construction of the hatch panels from the bottom of the frames.  I suspect this will be due to a failure to seal the outer surface of the hatch panels to the frames during construction.  It may alternatively be due to failure to seal the joints in the hatch door frames (probably on the opening part, and not the fixed part - but it would be wise to check the inside wall just above the hatch frame).  This is, after all, an Italian van, and it never rains in Italy, so how could they know?  :-)

If correct, whereas you say you have drilled holes to let the water out, which is a good start, this will not cure the problem, since more water will merely get in by the same route and eventually rot the cores of the hatch doors.

For a permanent repair, I think you may have to remove the doors, then carefully dismantle and remove the panels from the frames.  The door panel will then need to be thoroughly dried and inspected for any rot, and repaired as necessary.  It can then be reassembled into its frame, bedding it into a good quality sealant (not silicone - preferably use one of the Sikaflex products) so that the outer skin is fully sealed to the frame, to exclude further water ingress.  If there is evidence of damp on the inside walls of the van just above the fixed hatch frames, you will need to repeat the treatment here as well.

In fact, it is fortunate paper veneer is used inside your van, because if it had been PVC, the rot would have continued unseen until far too late to be able to deal with it and probably save the panels.  You will need your van in the dry to do the above: alternatively, if this is not possible, I would suggest you attach polythene sheets to the side of the van to cover all the affected hatches and exclude any further wetting.  If the hatches have ventilators in them, remove whatever requires the airflow before sealing over the door (most probably gas cylinders or battery).

You will have to use a waterproof tape to attach the polythene sheet, so be careful about any transfers over which you have to attach the tape.  You don't want to start peeling them off when you remove the polythene!  The obvious fly in the ointment is the continuing bad weather and your need for reasonably warm, dry weather for the duration of the repairs.  I have no answer to that!  :-)

[Basil]

A freind had this problem on a McLouis Tandy which he had bought privately (got a very good deal on it wonder why!).

We decided that a slightly more drastic action was required to both repair the damage and ensure it could not happen again as this was the only problem on an otherwise good condition buy. We removed the garage doors disassembled and removed the alloy door frame from around the doors and using a router cut a groove the depth of the inner board in a straight line accross the doors at about 10 inches up the door and then removed the soggy ply (and the good ply above) to that level. we replaced it with aluminium alloy checkerplate of the same thickness cut to shape and size (the size was actually done at the shop where we got it) using silicon to re attatch it to the polystyrene core. We then reassembled the edging alloy ensuring that the joint and the bottom were thoroughly sealed with silicone (the whole bottom of the door was coated to ensure no future soaking up occured), as Brian Kirby said in his post. The join between the old ply and the new checkerplate was covered using standard wallboard jointing strip stapled onto the existing ply with the cover strip the finished job looks origional.

For the gas locker door we changed the complete inner ply panel to alloy checkerplate as it was smaller and much easier to do.

The end result looks neat and origional, in fact the McLouis garage is lined with checkerplate and the finished job looks like it is supposed to be like it.

Be aware that if you go down this route checkerplate is available in stainless steel which is very heavy compared to aluminium and some suppliers may try to sell you this as it is normally a stock item, easy check is to try a magnet on it and if it sticks it is not aluminium. The whole job took about a day and a half but was not at all difficult, cost was about £50.

Hope that helps

Bas

[Brian Kirby]

Just a footnote, but most grades of stainless steel won't hold a magnet either!  It will also generally knacker any drills or cutting tools you attempt to use on it!  Use aluminium if your repair will be this drastic.

[cruiser]

Thanks as always to all contributors........I think Brian has hit the nail etc. It looks like moisture is being soaked upwards, a bit like rising damp. Obviously it's been happening for a while and I just didn't notice it, or the recent spell

of bad weather (yes, it does rain now and then in Ireland, 40 shades of green etc) has highlighted the problem. There's definitely no water in the lockers, it seem to pool at the base of the recess i.e. on the outer side of the rubber seal...it must just sit there and seep up somehow. So I'll do my best to remedy the problem, but I'm still puzzled as to why Rimor (and others?) use a panel covering throughout the camper that dissolves in water, just like regular domestic wallpaper. If the surface was wipe clean, it would be simple to sort the damp and just give the panel a wipe. In the meantime, I've booked Winter storage in Death Valley. That might help.

Slaine! B-)

[Brian Kirby]

cruiser - 2009-12-04 10:41 AM .........it seem to pool at the base of the recess i.e. on the outer side of the rubber seal...it must just sit there and seep up somehow. ............

Sorry, but I think you are still barking up the wrong tree!  As I said above, I think the problem is water getting between the face of the trap infill panels and their surrounding frames, and then lying at the base of the frame where the door panel is seated into it, and soaking up the panel.  Have another look at what I said above - what you describe sounds like water that is within the frame rebate, not sitting beneath it.

As I said, if the inner lining was waterproof, and therefore wipe clean, you would have been unable to see the evidence for the damp until the panel disintegrated.  That is the reason some manufacturers give for using a paper based lining.  You can't have both!

[cruiser]

Eureka. The water is seeping in behind the plastic edging around the doors in question in tiny amounts over a period of time by the look of it, and only showing when the internal material is really damp. Thanks all, particularly Brian.

[peterrosey]

Separate point, but Brian is quite right about drilling stainless. You'll need to buy cobalt drill bits to do this (I'd recommend a decent brand like Dormer).

[Basil]

I can definately say that in the case of the McLouis the water was pooling in the gap at the bottom of the door and was high enough, as the frame in the side was slightly tipped upwards to the outside edge, to soak up into the drainholes and the frame joint that were at the bottom of the door. The water did not drain out of the gap between the door and the frame but stayed there (you could see the water actualy higher than the gap touching the door bottom but not draining out) and we believe it was caused due to the motorhome not being used during the winter months as when you drove it the water cleared out. So probably a combination of lack of movement and perhaps the position it was left parked in, allowing the build up of the water.

 

Bas

 

[Dave G]

peterrosey - 2009-12-07 11:45 AM

 

Separate point, but Brian is quite right about drilling stainless. You'll need to buy cobalt drill bits to do this (I'd recommend a decent brand like Dormer).

 

Couldn't agree more about decent drill bits, but also if you sharpen the drills leaving a cutting angle of about 85 degrees per flute, and about 170 degrees in total you'll find it a lot easier to drill stainless.

[747]

Dave G is right about drilling stainless but the most important thing is to drill at a very low speed with lots of pressure on the drill bit.

 

It is virtually impossible with a portable drill for those 2 reasons.

 

ps; plenty of oil based coolant as well.