2006 Starfire water ingress in shower at rear

[Maggieanne]

We are getting very small amounts of water in the shower tray of our 2006 Autocruise Starfire when it is parked up at home after rain showers. There is no sign of where it has come from, no drips from the shower head or overhead skylight, but the shower panels hide the rear and side walls of the van, so difficult to see where it could be coming from. Can anyone advise how best to investigate the cause and whether anyone can recommend a damp investigation/repair company within reasonable distance of Ferndown near Bournemouth. We are hoping it would be cheaper to mend the Starfire rather than change the van as we probably not be motorhoming for many more years due to age ☹️😢

[Brian Kirby]

When you say water in the shower tray, do you mean just in the shower tray itself, with no water drops visible around the shower tray? 

Is there an upstand around the tray with a horizontal lip surrounding that.  Or does the upstand around the shower tray simply extend up behind the shower panels, so that there is no horizontal lip? 

If the latter, are you assuming that water has penetrated through the roof/rear wall, and is then running down the backs of the shower panels and draining into the shower tray - which is what it kind of sounds like?

If that is the case, I think you'll need to remove the shower panels to see what is going on behind them.  Autocruise seem to have been a Swift brand, although they no longer feature Autocruise on their website.  Unless the attachments of the panels are visible, I think you're going to need specialist assistance for their removal.

You could try contacting Swift to see if they can recommend a dealer/workshop near(ish!) your home who can undertake the work.  It'll be a bit of a gamble, as the full extent of leakage and any resulting damage will not be possible until at least one panel is off, and so will estimating repair costs.  Alternatively, there are numerous advertisements for Autocruise vans on-line, so if Swift can't help, maybe the nearest of them can.

If the above scenario is correct the repairs may be extensive and costly so, if you find someone claiming the necessary know-how, I'd suggest you authorise only the absolute minimum of exploratory work sufficient to see what's been going on.  Then the workshop should be able to make a preliminary estimate of what needs to be done and give an indication of repair cost.  Once given that, you can decide whether you think repair worthwhile and, if not, what your next step should be.  Good luck.

[Derek Uzzell]

Attached is an overhead view of a 2006 Autocruise Starfire's bathroom.

I'd investigate by putting something across the floor to try to reveal where the water that collects in the shower-tray might be coming from - a piece of white sheeting might be suitable, or white paper. Then, after it has rained, if the water has dripped from above, or come in from the sides or from underneath, an inspection of marking on the sheet/paper should provide a clue to the water's origin.