RogerC Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 Cliffy - 2014-01-04 10:51 PMavensis - 2014-01-04 1:41 PMCheck if the damage area could let in water,if only surface damage flat with 80 grit p/ paper. Apply a thin layer of polyester filler ( plastic padding pp50) flat when dry. You then have an option prime & gloss or apply a fine pp gelcoat, this has a white hardener and will blend into the white grp surface.I have been down to check the van today and found it is letting water. :-{ I have taped it up temporally whilst I decide on a course of action. Does that mean I can not use this process you have suggested? I looked closer at the damage today and it is as if the gel coat has been quite cleanly ripped off exposing the glass fibre underneath which has very little damage.What is the process you would recommend in this case? To my mind, considering what you have now found regarding water ingress the quote you had for a professional repair doesn't seem so outlandish. IMO the MH is a sizeable investment and getting anything other than a 'proper' repair is not the way to go. If it was mine I would not hesitate in going down the 'professional' repair route. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 globebuster - 2014-01-05 2:34 PM..............I might just be that the 'seam' behind has cracked - I can't really tell from the photo if that is a one piece or jointed pod mould? If it is a seam, it will depend on how those two moulds are joined - but I would at least expect a powder-bound mat to have been used It LOOKS to me like a joint in which the upper section sits over the lower, which is slightly smaller and extends up behind the upper, where it is presumably bonded on. There appears to be a shadow line right across the joint, suggesting this kind of joint. I note that the line of the joint seems slightly irregular, suggesting to me it has been hand trimmed once de-moulded. It is that which makes me wonder if careless trimming of the lower section may have left insufficient lap at this point for a proper bond to have been achieved. All pure speculation, of course, but I have seen similar on an Eriba caravan we once had. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peter Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 Keithl - 2014-01-03 6:18 PM Cliff, Look at it another way, say your MH is worth £30k, the cost of the repair is then less than 1% of its value. If the repair is done well it should not be visible and will not detract from the value. If done poorly and hence visible it will reduce the resale value by far more then £280. That's my view on things! Keith.O.K then, make it £500.00. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 Brian Kirby - 2014-01-05 4:11 PM It LOOKS to me like a joint in which the upper section sits over the lower, which is slightly smaller and extends up behind the upper, where it is presumably bonded on. There appears to be a shadow line right across the joint, suggesting this kind of joint. I note that the line of the joint seems slightly irregular, suggesting to me it has been hand trimmed once de-moulded. Absolutely spot on Brian! The overcab moulding is part of the entire roof moulding and is the last part fitted during assembly. And as you rightfully surmised it fits over the 'undercab' moulding and is sealed with a sealant and is not bonded with resin (from memory). If the impact on the lower moulding has caused it to be pushed in and spring back out then this could have broken the seal across the front of the overcab joint. This may not be fully evident until driven in rain when water will be forced into the joint. Cliff, I suggest you investigate the damage further before making hurried repairs. One possibility may be to return it to the factorys repair workshop at Grimsby. Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peter Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 I have blown up the pic' of the damage and it looks like the whole seam has sprung away from its mating surface and is not gelcoat damage. It would appear that the sealant has failed along the whole joint. Take it back to the dealer and get them to effect a proper repair. I would imagine that being bent on a radius it's difficult to get it to bond well to the panel below without pressure to hold it in place whilst the adhesive sealant sets. Crap design in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliffy Posted January 5, 2014 Author Share Posted January 5, 2014 I am getting worried now. :-( It is throwing it down at present and I can imagine a waterfall in the cab. I am going to go to the storage tomorrow and bringing the van home to do some more in depth investigation as suggested. There is a joint just behind the damaged area and it has a thin bead of sealer along it, which is a little black with age. If I take the internal cab head liner off will I be able to see the mouldings and the joint or will I need to start taking cupboards out of the over cab? I must say that looking at the damaged area the glass fibre behind looks like a very open weave and I could imagine that water would be able to peculate through it and then down to the the spot on the head liner were the water is gathering before dripping on to the floor. Considering the amount of water that runs off the roof and down the windscreen even in a light shower there is not that much coming through. I have parked on ramps now so the roof water will run off the back and I have taped over the damage but in the current weather that may well have come off by now. :-( I am really grateful for the advice and suggestions, even though it is not cheering me up. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peter Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 If I were you, I would make sure the whole seam area is dry, then I would put packaging tape all along the seam. Then when the weather gets better in the spring I would scrape out all the old sealant and reseal the whole seam. I don't know how old your van is, but have you considered contacting your selling dealer regarding repairs? as in my view this is an unacceptable fault and smacks of shoddy workmanship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliffy Posted January 5, 2014 Author Share Posted January 5, 2014 peter - 2014-01-05 8:28 PM If I were you, I would make sure the whole seam area is dry, then I would put packaging tape all along the seam. Then when the weather gets better in the spring I would scrape out all the old sealant and reseal the whole seam. I don't know how old your van is, but have you considered contacting your selling dealer regarding repairs? as in my view this is an unacceptable fault and smacks of shoddy workmanship. Peter I think you are right about the seam but if there is another problem other than the damage visible so far I will probably claim on my insurance and have it professionally sorted and if I want to do that I will have do claim very shortly as the damage was first spotted on the 28th December. I don't know how quickly they would expect the claim to be made. I have a £250 excess an a non insured NCD so I reckon if it gets up to £500 I will be worth claiming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 Cliff, the weather forecasts show improvement over the next few days. I can't comment on what you'd need to strip/remove to get at the back of the joint, as I don't know your van. However, re insurance, my suggestion would be that you keep the insurer fully informed as to what you have found, and what you are doing to try to identify the cause. That should please them, as it is normally expected that one should mitigate damage so far as possible, to keep claim values low. Take plenty of pictures as you go, and you will then have the evidence of the scale and nature of the problem. Tell the insurer that you can't yet say whether you may need to claim for this damage, or say what caused it. If you find the cause is fairly straightforward, and the repair equally so, then all you'll need to do is advise them that the damage was minor, the repairs completed, and you will not be making a claim. If the problem is more complex or extensive than you feel you can/want to cope with, at least you will know what is wrong and what needs doing, so can advise them you will be claiming, show them the evidence, and ask for authority to get repair quotes - unless they have an arrangement with a particular repairer to do all their work. If you have the choice, I think I'd probably look for a GRP specialist, rather than a "plain vanilla" caravan repairer, but depends on what you find. If your insurer is a motorhome specialist they should understand what will be required. If they are merely a re-cycled car insurance firm, you may have some fun trying to convince them that a bit of filler and a quick "blow over" won't quite cut the mustard! :-) In the meantime, Peter's suggestion to tape over the joint is good. Once the exterior is dry and you have the van at home, just Gaffer tape along the whole joint. It is reasonably weatherproof in the short term, and is readily available. Then, if the bad weather returns at least further ingress should have been eliminated. Good luck with the investigations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 Cliff, Have you talked to the repair workshop at the AT factory yet? If not they are probably the best placed to advise on the repair. Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 Good idea Keith! I'd forgotten that possibility. They're at Grimsby, so about 85 miles from Middlesborough as the crow flies. Not convenient, but probably the best source of repair of any, if they'd take it on. Definitely worth asking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliffy Posted January 6, 2014 Author Share Posted January 6, 2014 I have got the van home, there was no more leakage overnight even though over the rain was torrential so assumed the tape patch over the local damage had worked. We took the interior head lining off but there was no access to the back of the damage or seam, it needed to have the over cab cupboards removed. With the lining removed water could be seen around the windscreen seal right above where it was dripping in to the van, so before getting in any deeper thought I would check the sealing of the newly fitted windscreen and carefully sprayed the windscreen only with a hose pipe and it poured in to the van in two or three places along the windscreen to cab seal. So I am off to Autoglass in the morning to have a new screen fitted FOC. When that is done and leak proof I will revisit the damage area. I checked the seam between the two parts of the pod from the outside and it looks as tight as the day it was made. I will check it with the hose pipe when the windscreen is watertight. I have emailed AT about the colour shade of the Pod but have not heard back yet, if I go the insurance route I will try them for the repair. I am insured through the CC with AXA insurance so they will know about costs of repairs. Thanks for the advise, keep it coming, I will keep you updated as I progress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RogerC Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 Depending on the age of the vehicle the 'original' paint code might not match due to UV etc degradation of the original which is why I suggested Caravan medic(or similar) as they have colour analysers. These give the correct code for mixing the paint for an exact match of the 'current' colour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 Cliff, If you don't have any joy with AT then you could possibly try contacting 'Lamplas' directly Link. They are the manufacturers of the mouldings and are based in Consett so possibly nearer to you, although I don't know if they have any facilities to do repairs but always worth asking. Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 No response from the owner of the storage site? :-S......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Cliffy - 2014-01-06 7:55 PM I have got the van home, there was no more leakage overnight even though over the rain was torrential so assumed the tape patch over the local damage had worked. We took the interior head lining off but there was no access to the back of the damage or seam, it needed to have the over cab cupboards removed. With the lining removed water could be seen around the windscreen seal right above where it was dripping in to the van, so before getting in any deeper thought I would check the sealing of the newly fitted windscreen and carefully sprayed the windscreen only with a hose pipe and it poured in to the van in two or three places along the windscreen to cab seal. So I am off to Autoglass in the morning to have a new screen fitted FOC. When that is done and leak proof I will revisit the damage area. I checked the seam between the two parts of the pod from the outside and it looks as tight as the day it was made. I will check it with the hose pipe when the windscreen is watertight. I have emailed AT about the colour shade of the Pod but have not heard back yet, if I go the insurance route I will try them for the repair. I am insured through the CC with AXA insurance so they will know about costs of repairs. Thanks for the advise, keep it coming, I will keep you updated as I progress. That sounds like good news if the water was just coming from a badly fitted screen. Hopefully if it is just surface damage should an easy repair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pampam Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Autotrail advertise that they have a workshop for repairs and habitation checks I should imagine they would be good : I have noticed fine cracks in my bulkhead so am watching this thread closely. (Probably a repair by a previous owner) good luck and hope you get it sorted hasn't your storage got an indoor option (ours has) just while you get it sorted? Pp{:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pampam Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Sorry I don't know why that green devil got therePP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maggyd Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Cliff why don't you go to Middleton St George and let them take a look they have a good repair department, they will give you an estimate for the work and then you can decide whether to put it through the insurance or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peter Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 It's just a seam needs that needs re-sealing, so no big deal. Certainly not an insurance job. But I would certainly be sending the installers of the windscreen a bill for any damage as a result their incompetence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliffy Posted January 8, 2014 Author Share Posted January 8, 2014 Update. Windscreen is now water tight and no leakage from anywhere else. Have been in touch with CFS (http://www.cfsnet.co.uk/) in Cornwall. They say apart from getting the colour match it is an easy job and the materials will only cost £15 delivered. So I am going to DIY it. If the colour match is too bad I will put a vinyl or paint stripe the full width of the over cab. I have not been able to talk to anyone at the storage they keep saying someone will ring me. Another storage site with .24hr guards is offering the same price per year (£280). So it looks like a change in June when the next fees are due. Thanks for all the advice and putting up with my depression over it . To those who thought that the damage being caused by a wind carried trampoline was a "flight of fancy" please see. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2524139/Tank-smashes-home-pushed-TWO-MILES-storm-winds.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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