Saxphil Posted February 1, 2021 Share Posted February 1, 2021 hi my side panels have a plyboard backing ..My question is why ply backing are they there to stop something what ,mine wet so the outside long lower trim must be leading in water when its raining ,,,confused what to do ?help please Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted February 1, 2021 Share Posted February 1, 2021 Phil, To help others, is this on your recently acquired elddis autoquest 400rl 05 reg? Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saxphil Posted February 1, 2021 Author Share Posted February 1, 2021 yes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted February 1, 2021 Share Posted February 1, 2021 Thanks Phil, Question, was this purchased from a dealer or a private seller? Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saxphil Posted February 1, 2021 Author Share Posted February 1, 2021 private,,,, why the third degree Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted February 1, 2021 Share Posted February 1, 2021 If it had been purchased from a dealer you would have had recourse to get it fixed under the sale of goods act but as a private sale no such protection, hence the question. You need to find an owner, or ex owner, of a similar aged Elddis to comment on the plywood backing to the side skirts. But like you I have to ask why put plywood in such a wet area. Cheers, Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saxphil Posted February 1, 2021 Author Share Posted February 1, 2021 thats why im asking on forum .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
globebuster Posted February 2, 2021 Share Posted February 2, 2021 Sadly this is all too common a problem with Elddis vans of this era - along with a few other manufacturers I could mention. The design is absolutely asking for trouble, and I've seen vans at two or three years old that you could pull chunks of sodden timber from. Until people realise that your average habitation check does NOT involve any inspection of the underside, many are likely to be caught out by assuming a satisfactory damp ticket covers those areas that are really critical and more importantly structural. The first place you should look with any pre-owned motorhome is underneath, and particularly around the rear panel and sideskirts. Here's hoping your problems are minor, and can be resolved without too much hassle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted February 2, 2021 Share Posted February 2, 2021 Phil, A search of the forum brings up several threads related to damp and side skirts in Elddis MH's. https://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/search/query.asp?action=search&searchforumid=all&keywords=elddis+side+skirts&author=&days=&Submit=Search The second, very long, thread is possibly worth reading in its entirety. Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saxphil Posted February 2, 2021 Author Share Posted February 2, 2021 thanks yep conned a bit but im pretty good at solving problems once i get my head around them,,Yep habitat check didnt cover it doh! thought it should..So marine ply or fire board replace then bucket of bitumen should sort it..summer job Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saxphil Posted February 2, 2021 Author Share Posted February 2, 2021 Saxphil - 2021-02-02 12:49 PM thanks yep conned a bit but im pretty good at solving problems once i get my head around them,,Yep habitat check didnt cover it doh! thought it should..So marine ply or fire board replace then bucket of bitumen should sort it..summer job solution tobe revised after reading more about under damp...! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
globebuster Posted February 2, 2021 Share Posted February 2, 2021 Good positive attitude Phil! You won't be the first to assume a hab check covers everything - as of course it should in my opinion. There is no NCC requirement to check for structural defects to the underside, although corner steadies, steps and underslung tanks should be checked. There are hundreds of owners who think their van has a clean bill of health, whilst in reality it's slowly rotting away. The NCC need to revise the criteria to cover this - but I guess that would frighten the life out of the dealers! So, it's worth you looking very thoroughly at the underside and in addition, all the seams and aluminium extrusions externally. Just make sure you use the right materials/sealants. I'm sure you'll do a better job than the factory - and good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted February 2, 2021 Share Posted February 2, 2021 In late-2019 there was a discussion on the MotorhomeFun forum about a 2007 Elddis Autoquest 115 model with the same problem. https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/threads/decayed-ply-inner-lining-below-floor-level.208910/ The bodywork of my 2005 Hobby motorhome had an aluminium outer skin, but that skin was quite thick. The Hobby’s side skirts were also made of aluminium, but of a really heavy gauge that needed no reinforcement. The bodywork of my 2015 Rapido motorhome had a GRP outer skin and its side skirts are made of ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrenewere) plastic. The skirts are less rigid than the Hobby’s, but still stiff enough to require no reinforcement. The bodywork of my first motorhome (a 1996-built Herald Templar) had an aluminium outer skin, but the skin was paper thin. There’s no doubt that, if the skin alone had been extended downwards to form a ‘skirt’, it would have needed strong reinforcement to stiffen it. In fact, the Herald’s sandwich-construction side panels continued below the interior floor and there were no skirts as such. I can’t remember what would have been on the inside of the part of side panel that was exposed to water and road muck, but it was probably plywood, as was the underside of the floor. However Heralds did not have a reputation for rotting wood, so I assume some care was taken during construction to use good quality materials. (I Waxoiled the Herald’s underside, which would have helped to repel water - that’s a task I swore I’d never repeat.) Anyway, as to why Elddis used plywood as a backing for the aluminium skirts, it was because the thinness of the aluminium demanded that there be reinforcement and plywood was cheap and easy to use. It’s the way the big UK motorhome converters tended to build in the Good Old Days and Elddis wasn’t the only culprit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
23addy46 Posted February 2, 2021 Share Posted February 2, 2021 Hi Saxphill - As Derek Says - MHs around that time (British at least) almost always use aluminium skirts backed with timber ! Our 1st MH -A 1998 Swift Royale Ensign 610Se, 'left our homestead' in 2009 once I had found the 'developing dampness' of both side & much worse the rear skirt ! The construction used by Swift at that time was to fold the thin aluminium sheeting over the plywood (approx 200mm x 15mm thick) then staple along both running edges before, from underneath driving woodscrews into the 'unprotected ply !! I found this out when one of the rear lamp assemblies actually started falling out, the rear skirt was so bad ? From our new replacement MHs purchase (2009 Bessie E695) I'm pleased to say Swifts mfgt methods would appear to have improved ! As my previous forum comments / info have printed - following a fair degree of investigation / testing re maintaining the sound underfloor timber from rot, I have taken to spray on an annual basis, the underfloor area with 'Cuprinol Clear' with to date, excellent results... Of note - This Model has Thick Aluminium Side Skirts, which did help with our purchase decision ! Good luck with the problem..& Take Care. Dave A Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saxphil Posted February 6, 2021 Author Share Posted February 6, 2021 thanks way forward Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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