Here at Bristol Caravans, we offer servicing and repairs on Caravans, Motorhomes and Campervans. Included within our services is always a thorough damp report, inspecting a vehicles walls, floors, and the areas surrounding doors and windows.
Here is an example of a customer’s damp report, with high readings:
This customer had left personal belonging in the vehicles rear garage. This meant the technician was unable to get an accurate damp reading and complete a full, detailed report. Upon further inspection, damp was identified to the NSR and OSR floor.
Noted by the technician was,
– Damp around the front interface panels.
– Damp around the NS forward window.
– Damp to the NSR and OSR floor.
When completing a damp report, readings between 0-15% are dry. Looking at this report, the customer had readings between 20 and 90%, this indicated the Motorhome had serious signs of damp.
Exact Damp Readings:
Damp Readings recorded 19.03.21:
NSF Floor 90%
OSF Floor 90%
NSF Roof 65%
NSR Under floor ply soft
OSR Under floor ply soft
NSF Window 50%
Full-Service Handover:
Prior to handover, the director and technicians work together to complete an estimate for the work needed to rescue the Motorhome. Although the customer has been made aware damp has been found, a one to one was organised to explain the damage and repair in detail.
We built the following estimate.
Damp Repair Estimate:
Remove rear bumper, NS & OS skirts.
Reseal skirt and bumper brackets.
Replace sections of under floor ply to NSF and OSF corners and rear floor section.
Replace NSF window rubber and insert.
Remove NSF and OSF interface panels, investigate damage under interface panels.
Chemically clean parts, and re-build with new sealer.
Labour: 40HRS
Parts: Sealant / Panel Glue
Underseal
Window Seals X8
Plywood
Consumables
Although a large estimate, the customer made the decision to go ahead and save their Motorhome. The repair was completed over two weeks to ensure there was enough time to fully strip, clean, and repair the damp.
Damp Repair:
First, both front interface panels, and all lower skirts are removed to reveal the soft wood. Over time, water ingress has caused the wood to rot. Before any repairs can go ahead, all rotten wood must be removed and cleaned.
Once all areas had been chemically cleaned, the technician got to work replacing the old ply and timber. Using G clamps, new parts were glued using a specific panel adhesive and left overnight to dry. This was completed on the NSF and OSF interface panels, the NSR and OSR flooring, and the NSF and OSF floor.
After replacing all the rotten wood, a wood preserver and underseal is applied. An underseal is a additional product applied to wooden floor panels to giving a layer of extra protection to the surfaces you do not see.
As you can see in this photo, the ply is now black.
After everything is completely dry, all the motorhome skirts were re-secured and joints over sealed. The final stage was to re-attach the bumper and ensure all rear lights were working.
Forty hours later the workshop completed the repair; the owner of the motorhome agreed date and time of collection for a handover.
