rolandrat Posted September 25, 2013 Share Posted September 25, 2013 Has anyone owned a van conversion that has suffered from water ingression that has caused the vinyl floor covering to stain due to the wooden floor overlay being saturated underneath. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted September 25, 2013 Share Posted September 25, 2013 rolandrat - 2013-09-25 6:54 PM Has anyone owned a van conversion that has suffered from water ingression that has caused the vinyl floor covering to stain due to the wooden floor overlay being saturated underneath. Come on...less mystery more facts? Me..no, have never heard of the problem. How could it happen, its a steel box, OK window and door seals could fail, or a tank leak but water from below like you can get with CB unlikely? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolandrat Posted September 25, 2013 Author Share Posted September 25, 2013 If some one can advise me how to transfer a photo onto this thread there won't be a mystery and I won't keep you in suspense. There's obviously a way to do it but just now it's beyond me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepe63xnotuse Posted September 25, 2013 Share Posted September 25, 2013 ..you could just name the make/model/age..and the location of this "water ingress"... ;-) (..which could just be a loose pipe fitting...?) As it is, it's a bit like asking if anyone has had their car break down... (lol) To post a photo.. write your post.. .Click.."Attach a file after posting"... select your photo from browse box(it has to be under 1kb I think?).. Click "submit" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted September 25, 2013 Share Posted September 25, 2013 rolandrat - 2013-09-25 6:54 PM Has anyone owned a van conversion that has suffered from water ingression that has caused the vinyl floor covering to stain due to the wooden floor overlay being saturated underneath. What model of van? Without this info any answer might well be meaningless, take for example ourselves, had water ingress in a T25 due to panel damage, does this in anyway relate to your van? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolandrat Posted September 25, 2013 Author Share Posted September 25, 2013 JudgeMental - 2013-09-25 7:17 PM rolandrat - 2013-09-25 6:54 PM Has anyone owned a van conversion that has suffered from water ingression that has caused the vinyl floor covering to stain due to the wooden floor overlay being saturated underneath. Come on...less mystery more facts? Me..no, have never heard of the problem. How could it happen, its a steel box, OK window and door seals could fail, or a tank leak but water from below like you can get with CB unlikely? [/ QUOTE] How could it happen it's a steel box ! I thought the same as well. Right now it's a mystery to me, may be some time I will get to know and I'll pass it on. Steel boxes have windows, fridge vents and other things attached with sealant and screws just the same as coach builts and some times they can fail. It could have been caused by an internally fitted water pipe as mentioned as well. My motorhome is a coach built AutoTrail and although it is bone dry I'll always be vigilant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolandrat Posted September 25, 2013 Author Share Posted September 25, 2013 Attempting to post a photo, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolandrat Posted September 25, 2013 Author Share Posted September 25, 2013 Not successful, if I get any further info I'll post it. The point I was making is that water ingress can affect all makes of motorhomes and campers including steel based versions. Condensation for instance seems to more prevalent with steel based versions than coach built due to insulation properties. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted September 25, 2013 Share Posted September 25, 2013 Bit of a streeeeeeeech there!lol FYI I have have no condensation in mine..don't understand what your getting at, vans pretty well insulated these days..but ventilation like anywhere a good idea when cooking.... Maybe change your name to secret squirrel......, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted September 25, 2013 Share Posted September 25, 2013 Are you absolutely sure that the water has not come from a leak within, from hidden pipework maybe? Push fit connectors are in common use and can fail or not be properly connected as several on here have found. Plastic pipe can also mysteriously and suddenly spring a leak part way along a run as I recently discovered. What convinces you that it is water ingress from outside? Others have asked what van it is - why do you not answer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero boy Posted September 25, 2013 Share Posted September 25, 2013 Yes, a bit confused, I thought we were trying to understand da,p in a panel van. Roland, as you have a coach built, I assume you are asking the question re a friends van, perhaps, or one you are looking at? Still a bit Miss Marple at the mo, lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolandrat Posted September 25, 2013 Author Share Posted September 25, 2013 Yes I have seen a van and I have taken a photograph of some vinyl flooring which has been badly stained which had been removed. my immediate thought was that the owner had spilt some red wine or beetroot on it and had used the wrong method to clean it off. I looked on the internet for stain removal and there are various products that can be used. I think there must be a time limit before it's successful. Since then my view of the cause has changed and it's a pity I can't post the photograph for you all to see. It's no mystery but I'm not saying which conversion it is because it could have been caused quite innocently. As said the photo is of a piece of vinyl flooring that had been removed from a van conversion, not the van itself. Would I buy one of these van conversions knowing what I have seen? You bet I would. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowie Posted September 25, 2013 Share Posted September 25, 2013 Hi Roland Sounds like a water leak from inside, into the underfloor void, I'd check your plumbing! regards alan b Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolandrat Posted September 25, 2013 Author Share Posted September 25, 2013 Hi Allan, you are probably right, I would imagine some one will have sussed it. It would be interesting to know the cause. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted September 25, 2013 Share Posted September 25, 2013 Ridiculous ....without knowing make or layout, how do you expect us to help. I would hazard a guess at leak from kitchen or tanks depending on where they are in relation to damage! As water ingress in a van more unlikely than a CB. Anyway another nonsense thread and in the words of dragons den...I'm out of here! :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolandrat Posted September 26, 2013 Author Share Posted September 26, 2013 On reflection I think Alan could be right. When some owners complain of a funny smell in their motorhomes they think of a problem in the waste water outlet pipes or storage tank and resort to using bleach or Miltone to kill it off. No problem doing that as long as all the pipe work is intack and the bleach can be flushed away after. But and its a big but what happens if the pipe work is faulty and the bleach ends up along with the contaminated water trapped beneath the timber floor lining and the steel floor for a considerable time, lets say from brand new for instance. Eventually the timber flooring will rot along with corrosion damage to the vans steel floor. Major work will then have to take place to remove all the fitted furnishings to be able to replace the damaged floor and vinyl covering. Some job and very expensive to return the camper to as new condition. I don't know what sort of timber is used, could be plywood, mdf or chipboard. So much for van conversions and the importance of making sure that all the plumbing work is leakproof before it leaves the production line. The same applies to concealed electrical wiring. One good thing about coach built motorhomes, most of the services are much easier to get at when things go wrong. Bleach is Sodium Hypochlorite which can be fairly toxic if not diluted and be a strong irritant to tissue. Our road tankers carried it in bulk rubber lined tanks as it isn't suitable in stainless or mild steel tanks. If an over spill occurred it had to be hosed off straight away. So the lesson here is if you suspect a leak of any kind get it sorted as soon as you can or the consequences could turn out to be very expensive if its in a van conversion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted September 26, 2013 Share Posted September 26, 2013 Dear oh dear ignorance is bliss........about 1.08 mins into this construction video you will see the thick, well insulated. complete one piece floor being installed in a van. there are no wires/pipes underneath, just where waste/heater pipes exit. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5H4m8B4bLY all through the video you will see the good standard of insulation and some winter camping at end to demonstrate. another video available showing temps inside panel vans during tests in deep winter presuming the waste tank is underneath, surely a serious leak of heavily bleached water (why I wonder!) would be noticeable if enough water forthcoming to damage floor. and how would it get under floor..Surely pretty unlikely that break in pipe underfloor where it exits steel floor...possible I guess in a manufacturing fault if installed badly where waste pipe passes through floor, but unlikely. I mean if you put a bucket of water in the sink you would have to see it coming out somewhere... Now as you have not shared anything about said vehicle how do you really expect members to participate in a meaningful way :-S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted September 26, 2013 Share Posted September 26, 2013 Take no notice of the rudeness Roland, it is par for this particular course. Yours was just an unfortunate case of the frustrating lack of info confusing the picture and making it difficult to answer the question. As stated the general consensus is that an internal leak is more likely than an external and as long as the floor beneath the vinyl is now bone dry as far as you can reach or see with no rot evident, the 'event' was probably a while ago and it is likely that no structural damage was done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolandrat Posted September 26, 2013 Author Share Posted September 26, 2013 Judge, it's a good film and very informative, if all van converters worked to those principles then it can only instil confidence in the product but in the real world it isn't always like that. You ask about the make of camper, to me it's of no consequence what it is other than it has a steel floor which is ribbed and covered with a timber and vinyl overlay that for what ever reason has failed. At this moment in time I don't know why other than there was a strong stench of bleach/sodium hypochlorite. For all I know the manufacturer could be unaware of the problem and it would be totally unfair at this stage to name them if at all. There are no winners in naming but I don't see anything wrong in drawing forum members to a particular problem when it arises. Is anything perfect when it comes off the production line? In my experience with brand new motorhomes that I have owned apart from one the answer is a big no. The only one that was 100% trouble free was a rear lounge Elddis, a budget motorhome that took us far and wide, the build quality was spot on and it never had to go back to the supplying dealer for anything during ownership. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolandrat Posted September 26, 2013 Author Share Posted September 26, 2013 Thanks for that Rich, I don't mind him having a go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs T Posted September 26, 2013 Share Posted September 26, 2013 A very-very slow dripping joint over time (2 years!) can accumalate into a large soggy area. Perhaps the drip is only when water is emptied from say the sink and would never be noticed otherwise. You will have to check everything. A very simple leak finder is strips of dark coloured kitchen roll paper tied loosely around every joint that has water passing through it. The smallest leak will show after a few days, provided you are USING THE VAN AS NORMAL and not just parked at home! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted September 26, 2013 Share Posted September 26, 2013 fine, don't name...but we need to at least know layout. position of kitchen, tanks and more importantly where the damage is.....sorry but its a frustrating thread...like playing cards with half the pack missing :-D I'm not having a go its simple banter..would say no different to your face.... ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs T Posted September 26, 2013 Share Posted September 26, 2013 Roland, the impression is that you don't have a water leak at all but are just drawing on forum info if there was one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolandrat Posted September 26, 2013 Author Share Posted September 26, 2013 Mrs T, it is very true, my AutoTrail coach built doesn't have any water leaks what so ever but I am aware of a van conversion that I don't own that has. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepe63xnotuse Posted September 26, 2013 Share Posted September 26, 2013 We had a slight "mishap" earlier in the year.. I was filling the water tank at home(we were going to be staying on a festival field, with poor access to water,so needed it full). Whilst I was tattin' about loading, I forgot all about the hose still being on... Not long after turning it off, I noticed a "finger" of water poking out from under the dinette seat.. 8-) I lifted the cushions and seat base...and the recessed access "cap" in the tank had water in it... Now I had assumed, wrongly, that they'd be an overflow from the inboard tank but there isn't..and it was just making it's way up/out through the cap, dripping down the side and making it's was across the "lino" ! (..luckily it wasn't laid on top of carpet or it may've been a while 'til we noticed it). On checking the gauge, it indicated 128L..and I've never run it up that "Full" before..as it's only a 120L tank! (lol) I did have every intension on fitting an overflow pipe...but it's the only time in 4 years I've overfilled it, so it'll do for now... ;-) Water "Ingress" eh!?... (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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