Snow damage?? (1 Viewer)

[Spenders]

On Friday 8th February I took delivery of my first motorhome, a 2006 Auto Trail Scout SE..... and I was a very happy bunny. Having arranged the insurance, storage etc, Mrs Spenders and I began getting it sorted with all the bits and bats to go on our first weekend away trip today.

Imagine my surprise then when I went to collect the vehicle from storage and found the rear lounge to be literally flooded with water. The water had clearly been dripping down from around the rooflight surround. The vehicle has been rained on a number of times since we picked it up with no problem, and as we had visited it most days since collection would have noticed water ingress. I even slept in it for the first two nights and it definately rained, but no problem at all.

The only thing different was that the afternoon/evening before had seen a fairly heavy snowfall, which would have lain heavily on the roof of the van. After getting to approx. 4" depth, over a period of about 6 hours, the weather warmed and turned to rain, and by the following morning (Friday) the snow had just about fully disappeared.

The van has been taken back to the supplying dealer who have agreed to totally re-fit and re-seal the rooflight.

Am I just unlucky, or is this the sort of thing that happens often?

 

[aba]

hmm Autotrail oh:

 

[alfandM]

sorry to read of your bad luck,get the supplier to check the rest of the seals around your motor home,if the roof light seal as failed you do not need any more misery,also when you purchased the MH was there any certificates for recent Habitation checks, lastly,perhaps buy your self a dehumidifier and have that running before venturing out on your trip,we always put ours on after a long stand up over winter if not used, it help keep every thing in good shape,Alf

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[lorger]

Just a thought if it was ok with rain then maybe seals are ok and there is a problem with the rooflight like a crack in it and only notice due to depth of snow. If bought from dealer I would head back and see him.

Good luck

 

[Stephen & Jeannie]

Out of warrenty !

I had the same problem ! Took it to Dave Newells in Telford, he said the screws fixing it had been overtightened by Autotrail, hence the problem ! He supplied and fitted just the frame, no problems since ! Thanks Diamond Dave !!!

 

[Spenders]

Thanks for the answers folks... gives me something to think about.

I'm intrigued by your comment Andy..... have I made a booboo by going for Auto Trail?

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[Geo]

Thanks for the answers folks... gives me something to think about.

I'm intrigued by your comment Andy..... have I made a booboo by going for Auto Trail?

They have had a bit of stick as of late
but it was Swifts turn before that, and it will be another Manf next month
Dont worry :thumb: Enjoy your choice when its sorted
For what its worth I would buy Autotrail
Geo

 

[Chris]

For what it's worth I have just ordered a new oneoh:

 

[Chris]

Scouts have a fantastic layout though I think.

Just hope I don't get the U shaped paddling pool

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[Scout]

snow can do funny things, and melting snow can get up and under/over the lips on rooflights if the winds in the right dirrection, if theres a leak in the seal it will show up when you take off the inside roof light covers, the board will be wet around the edge.

Had my scout 4 years, no problems other than general maintanance

 

[Jim]

The seals around those large Heki skylights need checking regularly. We had an Autotrail Arapaho and ours leaked, but it really was unavoidable as i was on the roof a lot. I weigh well over 9 stone :Blush: and I had two canoes up there that weighed 70kg. When you are up there you will see the work that the sealant has to do when the roof flexes. Before winter i would loosen it, scrape out as much seal as i could and then reseal it, if i didn't it would leak, guaranteed.

Maybe that snow weighed as much as me and two canoes and flexed your roof and broke the seal. Bonus for me was I live in Wales so once fixed I could check my seal was working most every day

 

[aba]

i was initially going to buy an autotrail and had set my eyes on a tag.
we went to i think lincoln show to have a look and see if it was what we wanted so started looking at used vans to see how they had stood up to wear and tear over a couple of years use.
initially they looked good but 1 thing stood out with the examples of used vans we looked at on different dealers pitches around the show and that was how soft the floor had gone in the main heavy traffic areas like just in the doorway , infront of the kitchen and the area just infront of the rear seating area where you would walk in to sit down.

we looked at around 6 different vans from different dealers at about 2 to 3 years old so were looking at 2007 /8 models but with a view to buy a 2009 / 10 model.

on discovering this common thing i looked under one of the vans and could see there was little if no support to the floor under these areas..

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[1948]

had a cuppa inside same MH as yours with owners only recently It was subzero outside snow covered , lovely and warm inside, owner had it 4 years, no problems travelling all over Europe.
why not get an independent damp check, or get a damp meter and check for yourself , peace of mind

 

[JSH]

My last house had a flat roofed bay window. It could rain biblically and nothing would get in but.... A bit of melting snow and it was pi$$ing in . Never did fathom it (or fix it)

 

[Minxy]

The problem with snow is that it sits higher than rain does - snow can easily 'pile up' and reach a good few inches in a short length of time and therefore it can sit higher than the raised areas on roof lights etc, additionally it can creap up underneath them too, which could be what happened in this case. Rain, on the other hand, whilst it can puddle, doesn't normally pile up like snow does ... unless the whole 'van is submerged!

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