Leaking roof lights

[Mountainriversea]

Good afternoon, we have Hobby Vantana van conversion which is coming up 5 years old. All of a sudden we seem to have leaking roof lights/vents. The water seems to be coming from where the mosquito net and blind goes into the cassette but of course that isn't necessarily where it originates!!  

Can anyone suggest why this has suddenly started to happen. I know there's been exceptional rainfall but it has never done it before. Is it likely that we have neglected to carry out some maintenance? Or do these often need replacing or something?

Thank you

Lizzy 

[david lloyd]

As you say it may not be coming in at the place it is showing up inside but, as you have a panel van conversion, it is less likely to be a roof leak and the first place to look would be the sealant around the outside of the rooflight itself. This takes all the sun/weather and can, over time, become brittle and break up. All it takes is for the sealant to shrink and lift a little for water to seep in. 

If it is the sealant this can be reseated but for a good job that will last would necessitate the rooflight being removed along with all the old sealant and then re sealed with the appropriate sealant.

David

[Derek Uzzell]

I believe Lizzy's Hobby Vantana is an "On Tour Edition" model and was bought new in September 2019.

The relevant Hobby manual suggests that it has two roof-lights - a fairly large one with a winding handle just to the rear of the cab area, plus a smaller one with a push-up bar towards the vehicle's rear. I'm fairly sure that both roof-lights are Dometic products - a HEKI-Midi  at the front and a  HEKI-Mini at the rear.

Installation instructions for a Midi-HEKI are here

https://www.caravansplus.com.au/pdf/Midi-Heki_Installation_59-65-3.pdf

and, where sealant is concerned, Dometic advise as follows: 

Use a butyl based permanently elastic sealant to seal the Midi-Heki and the roof wall (available in cartridges or as a band – not included in the package). When choosing the sealant ensure that it guarantees small shrinking volume and good durability. Ask the sealant supplier for an appropriate sealant and the processing guidelines.

There's no knowing what sealant was used when Lizzy's Hobby was built, but (assuming that rain water is now finding its way through the roof-light-to-roof joint) either Hobby chose an unsuitable sealant or insufficient sealant was used during installation. That both roof-lights have begun to leak at much the same time suggests that a build fault is to blame.

It would be worth visually checking the external roof-light-to-roof joint for any flaws where water might be getting in and adding sealant if there's any obvious defect. As David has said, if adding sealant to the joint failed to stop the leakage, the roof-light would need to be removed and re-installed.

There's little an owner can do to guard against this type of problem and - as it's to be expected that roof-light leakage should not occur in a 2019 Hobby campervan - it would be worth Lizzy contacting the Hobby dealership from which the campervan was bought.

[onecal]

Hi

Contact your dealership if possible first and get their opinion , 

Regards

[Brian Kirby]

On the assumption that Derek's clairvoyant abilities are not letting him down 🙂 Lizzy's Vantana is not yet five years old.  We had a 2007 Hobby Van which, in 2012, developed a leak in its front, over-cab rooflight.  The timing was interesting, as it was then right at the end of its five years water ingress warranty period but, because of the wording of the warranty, and that I had notified the UK Hobby dealer (by phone only, only later confirmed in writing) immediately I found the leak, in compliance with Hobby's warranty conditions, Hobby accepted liability and met the repair cost.

So, the first thing I would suggest Lizzy does is to check vary carefully the wording of the Hobby water ingress warranty for her Vantana.

Ours was for five years, and was conditional on all annual damp checks having been carried out, by a Hobby dealership, within two months of the date of first registration of the van, and on water ingress being reported as soon as discovered.  So, taking account of the two months from date of first registration condition, the full warranty term was, actually, five years and two months.

If Derek's magical powers are still fully functional and Lizzy's Vantana was registered in September 2019, then, assuming a five year warranty came with her van, and that all damp checks have been carried out at the correct time by a Hobby dealership, I think her ingress warranty should be valid until November 2014 2024.

I discovered the leak while on a campsite near Milan, hence the 'phone notification to the UK dealership.  We didn't get back to UK for a further three weeks, but in the meantime I'd e-mailed confirmation of the leak to the dealership,  The leak was duly rectified a few weeks later by the UK dealership (Southdowns), albeit outside the stated warranty period, despite which  the cost was met in full by Hobby.

So, assuming the above is correct I'd suggest that Lizzy contacts her Hobby dealership a.s.a.p. to notify them she's just discovered a water ingress problem that should be repaired by Hobby under warranty.  Fingers crossed!

(Date corrected!)

[david lloyd]

5 minutes ago, Brian Kirby said:

If Derek's magical powers are still fully functional and Lizzy's Vantana was registered in September 2019, then, assuming a five year warranty came with her van, and that all damp checks have been carried out at the correct time by a Hobby dealership, I think her ingress warranty should be valid until November 2014.

with the greatest respect to Brian’s normal attention to detail I expect this is a typo and should read 2024.

David

[onecal]

Hi]

Again , I think it would be very prudent to contact your dealership if possible first and get their opinion , before doing any repair yourself ,unless on their advice . Hopefully they may repair it for you 

Regards

[Derek Uzzell]

13 hours ago, Brian Kirby said:

On the assumption that Derek's clairvoyant abilities are not letting him down 🙂 

No clairvoyance needed...

In a January 5, 2020 posting in this forum discussion

https://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/topic/48058-a-class-to-pvc/page/2/

Mountainriversea said

"...finally got our first van this September.." and "...it's a Hobby Vantana Ontour..."

This link is to a GB Hobby Manual (Version 10/28) for the Vantana range

https://www.hobby-caravan.de/fileadmin/user_upload/kataloge_und_service/bedienungsanleitungen/2019/KW/RM_Vantana_19_engl_kompl_bs.pdf

and brief details of the Hobby 5-year warranty against leaks can be found on Page 185.

(On reflection, I'm less sure that a 2019 Vantana "On Tour Edition" (being the entry-level Vantana model) would have a Dometic Midi-HEKI roof-light near the cab, though it should have a Mini-HEKI roof-light further back and it MIGHT have a Micro-HEKI above the toilet compartment. Anyway, however many roof-lights Lizzy's Vantana has, they will be Dometic-made.)

[Brian Kirby]

17 hours ago, david lloyd said:

with the greatest respect to Brian’s normal attention to detail I expect this is a typo and should read 2024.

David

Yep, guilty as charged!  Well spotted David.  😄  I used all my fingers and toes to work that out as well!  🙃

[Mountainriversea]

2 hours ago, Derek Uzzell said:

No clairvoyance needed...

In a January 5, 2020 posting in this forum discussion

https://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/topic/48058-a-class-to-pvc/page/2/

Mountainriversea said

"...finally got our first van this September.." and "...it's a Hobby Vantana Ontour..."

This link is to a GB Hobby Manual (Version 10/28) for the Vantana range

https://www.hobby-caravan.de/fileadmin/user_upload/kataloge_und_service/bedienungsanleitungen/2019/KW/RM_Vantana_19_engl_kompl_bs.pdf

and brief details of the Hobby 5-year warranty against leaks can be found on Page 185.

(On reflection, I'm less sure that a 2019 Vantana "On Tour Edition" (being the entry-level Vantana model) would have a Dometic Midi-HEKI roof-light near the cab, though it should have a Mini-HEKI roof-light further back and it MIGHT have a Micro-HEKI above the toilet compartment. Anyway, however many roof-lights Lizzy's Vantana has, they will be Dometic-made.)

 

22 hours ago, david lloyd said:

As you say it may not be coming in at the place it is showing up inside but, as you have a panel van conversion, it is less likely to be a roof leak and the first place to look would be the sealant around the outside of the rooflight itself. This takes all the sun/weather and can, over time, become brittle and break up. All it takes is for the sealant to shrink and lift a little for water to seep in. 

If it is the sealant this can be reseated but for a good job that will last would necessitate the rooflight being removed along with all the old sealant and then re sealed with the appropriate sealant.

David

Thank you 

[Mountainriversea]

Thank you everyone for your help. Much appreciated.

Have dug out the warranty details and will be back in contact with the dealer. We have had the annual checks so should be within the conditions of warranty, hopefully.

For information the two roof lights are of the same design just one bigger than the other.

Happy New Year to you all.

[onecal]

Hi

Yes it's the way to go, hopefully they will correct the faults for you 

Regards