Nobby Posted May 27, 2012 Share Posted May 27, 2012 Having bought my Hobby new 10 years ago, I have been generally pleased with the overall quality. Being a fairly fastidious owner, I have maintained it well and carried out sensible preventative maintenance such as removing and reasealing my rooflights and windows a few years ago to keep out the dreaded enemy of all motorhomes and caravans - water. This has been succesful in keeping the upper part of my van bone dry through all conditions. I was therefore pretty disappointed recently to find a soft area of the lower floor which of course, gave me high damp readings. I knew that this area of floor was adjacent to where a length of trim strip was attached outside where the main side panels of the van join the skirt low down, so assumed that water must have been getting in via a screw where sealant in the screw hole must have broken down. I unscrewed the trim strip on the outside to examine the area and was to say the least pretty shocked with what I found and this can hopefully be seen in the image that I have attached. You can clearly see the smaller holes used by the screws for the strip but right in the centre of the picture is a larger drilled hole completely unused and unprotected, yet hidden by the trim strip. This hole must have been drilled for some unfathomable reason during manufacture and then just abandoned to allow water seepage during the intervening 10+ years. Due to the nature of the join of the two panels, it would appear that it is not necessary for the trim to be mastic bedded - unfortunate really as this would have effectively sealed the rogue hole. Quite shocking really that such a thing should happen and then be left unprotected with obvious consequences. I am now left with the task of cutting out a section of the lower sandwich floor and bonding in a new section which is nuisance enough but the bigger dent is to my faith in the product and manufacturing integrity overall. How can they ever expect us to trust their products? Nobby Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sshortcircuit Posted May 27, 2012 Share Posted May 27, 2012 Well, well, a German motorhome with poor build which is unbelievable and just proves they are no better than UK :-S Very disappointing to you Nobby as you appear to have done all the preventative but been caught out by poor manufacture, you do however appear able to rectify. My Swift Kontiki suffered from the same poor design, build and supervision that resulted in water penetration at the trim joint between wall and floor. I hopefully have resolved but have a eye constantly open. Good luck with your repair Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted May 27, 2012 Share Posted May 27, 2012 Nobby - 2012-05-27 9:01 AM ...but the bigger dent is to my faith in the product and manufacturing integrity overall. How can they ever expect us to trust their products? Nobby Mark Twain said, "Faith is believing what you know ain't so." Coachbuilt motorhomes are constructed using methods and materials that definitely should not encourage optimism regarding longevity. My own Hobby is now approaching 7 years of age. Its construction is 'old-tech' involving wood-framework, glue and screws. Someone who had built caravans in the 1970s would have no trouble understanding the underlying construction methodology of a 2012 Hobby. You are shocked by Hobby's lack of forethought when your motorhome was built 10 years ago, with the result that there's now a damp problem. When I found, within a couple of weeks of buying my Hobby, that there was a major fault with its heating air-ducting I was not shocked. I was mightily peeved, but I was neither shocked nor particularly surprised. And I wasn't shocked nor particularly surprised either when, later on, I had to perform major surgery on the vehicle's overcab storage area to address condensation and noise problems. You ask "How can they ever expect us to trust their products?" If you look at how motorhomes are made, I think you should be asking "Why ever should I trust these products or have faith in their manufacturers?" That way, when things do go wrong, you won't be too disappointed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crinklystarfish Posted May 27, 2012 Share Posted May 27, 2012 Nobby - 2012-05-27 9:01 AM...How can they ever expect us to trust their products? Nobby In answer to that simple point; I personally don't. There are only a handful of manufacturers I'd buy from currently and I can't afford any of their products. Selfbuilds aren't a viable option for many but unless you have actionmobil kind of money they are perhaps the only way to ensure there are no bodges. Trying not to be too negative, I can see how manufacturers simply have to speed through the build process to make their products financially viable - and building them quickly does not lend itself to building them well. Even comparatively well built 'vans are compromised and of course some manufacturers go too far along that continuum and clearly unethically knock out rubbish for fat profit. Good luck with the repair, and if it's any consolation, many other 'vans will have had many more failures, and much sooner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby Posted May 27, 2012 Author Share Posted May 27, 2012 Thanks for your comments. The post was intended as an advisory to others really, rather than a plea on my own behalf. Having previously owned four British made caravans, all of which eventually leaked at some stage, I am under no illusions as to the integrity of these vehicles. In actual fact, having reflected on things after my discovery, I am in many ways a little reassured, as the damage is as a result of one random act of stupid neglect that I can now remedy, rather than a general design or build issue that allowed all of the seam to seal. I did wonder how the leak could have gone undetected for so long, especially as the particular area has been regularly damp tested both commercially and by myself using a good quality meter. My assessment is that the hole enters the high density polystyrene (or whatever it is?) and moisture has taken a very long time to permeate through this to the outer plywood areas of the sandwich where it can give a reading and of course, cause rot. Having just spent much effort completely refitting my home kitchen and Utility Room, I was looking forward to enjoying some of the good weather and cooing over my new Granddaughter. Instead, I will be further engaging with my tools. Such is life. Being philosophical cannot prevent one from being p****d off I'm afraid. Nobby Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted May 27, 2012 Share Posted May 27, 2012 Threads like this are among the reasons we changed to a panel van... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crinklystarfish Posted May 27, 2012 Share Posted May 27, 2012 PVCs are equally likely to suffer from poor conversion quality but may have a slight advantage when it comes to the specific problem of water ingress. They are, granted, slightly more forgiving to the ham fisted builder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted May 27, 2012 Share Posted May 27, 2012 The best accessory you can buy any camper is a garage ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whiskers Posted May 27, 2012 Share Posted May 27, 2012 PVC's are not perfect either. Two and a half years old and two leaks around two roof vents. Sealant seems to be breaking down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted May 27, 2012 Share Posted May 27, 2012 pelmetman - 2012-05-27 3:09 PM The best accessory you can buy any camper is a garage ;-) Or build, with this set up the worst of rain and sun is kept off van and even so the solar manages to keep engine battery at least 12.5v and leisure at least 13v Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolandrat Posted May 27, 2012 Share Posted May 27, 2012 I think the best accessory that should be compulsory in every motorhome/camper is a top of the range damp meter and the new or secondhand vehicle should include an up to date damp test certificate which is given by the supplying dealer. If the dealer can't or wont supply one then walk away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolandrat Posted May 27, 2012 Share Posted May 27, 2012 I think the best accessory that should be compulsory in every motorhome/camper is a top of the range damp meter and the new or secondhand vehicle should include an up to date damp test certificate which is given by the supplying dealer. If the dealer can't or wont supply one then walk away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted May 27, 2012 Share Posted May 27, 2012 The best accessories by far for any motorhome owner are common sense and pragmatism, followed by patience and a large slice of mistrust of anything man made until proven correct and in working order! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby Posted May 27, 2012 Author Share Posted May 27, 2012 Just a short update..... Spent the best part of the day carefully cutting out the wet and rotten wood from underneath the vehicle back to good and dry timber. Will leave it for some time to ensure that it's fully dry and then treat it and scarf and bond in some new timber, insulation and ply before applying a sealant to all the new exterior surfaces. I'm pleased to be able to say that the structural integrity has not been compromised and am thankful that I found the problem when I did. Could have found something better to do on this fine Sunday though..... Nobby Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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