Water ingress on Carthagos (4 Viewers)

[wiljoy]

Discovered water in my van garage a few weeks ago but finding the entry point is challenging. Rang a dealer for a set of rear bumper bar clips as I need to remove it.
They said the water ingress is a common problem and Carthago have released a repair procedure.
Just check your garage UNDER the actual floor as the water travels up the wall fibre.
I've now got a full house of problems with this shed. I was bragging that it was watertight but obviously not .

 

[SteveandSue]

Hi Wiljoy
Never heard of this before? Our garage has been fine so far- you have found water in your garage - but you are saying it gets in under the floor? that is the outside then? How do you check this?
The water ingress check is only a visual inspection - will take a more careful look when we get back home - thanks for heads up on possible problem

 

[Lenny HB]

They said the water ingress is a common problem and Carthago have released a repair procedure.
Just check your garage UNDER the actual floor as the water travels up the wall fibre.

Dealer is talking out of his rear end. Ask him how water travels up an aluminium panel, not possible in my book. The wall is aluminium on both outside & inside the core is PU foam, it can't happen.

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[Blue Knight]

Discovered water in my van garage.

Where in the garage is the water pooling (rear wall, front bulkhead or doors).

 

[wiljoy]

Dealer is talking out of his rear end. Ask him how water travels up an aluminium panel, not possible in my book. The wall is aluminium on both outside & inside the core is PU foam, it can't happen.

Sorry but I would never let a dealer touch my vans. After receiving information I've now found the source of the leak. Once I remove the rear bumper all will be revealed. It appears to be running from the side panels under the van and entering the floor area.
Once again bodged workmanship .

 

[wiljoy]

Where in the garage is the water pooling (rear wall, front bulkhead or doors).

Under the garage floor. The only tell tale was a damp wall at the floor base. It's entering at the rear corners.

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[Blue Knight]

Under the garage floor. The only tell tale was a damp wall at the floor base. It's entering at the rear corners.

I'm pleased that you've found the location. A bit of tape and chewing gum and you'll have it bunged-up in no time

 

[haganap]

I feel your pain brother...

 

[awg]

May not be relevant but I had a little water appear in my garage when the van was new. It turned out to be the clean water tank leaking.

The valve on the top which you use to drop the tank the 20lts or completely empty leaked so when I filled the tank (until it overflowed from the filler) it leaked from the top of the tank and ran into the double floor space and then into the garage. A temp fix with A-tape worked until I got a new valve under warranty.

As I said, may be completely different from your problem but might be worth a check.

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[wiljoy]

May not be relevant but I had a little water appear in my garage when the van was new. It turned out to be the clean water tank leaking.

The valve on the top which you use to drop the tank the 20lts or completely empty leaked so when I filled the tank (until it overflowed from the filler) it leaked from the top of the tank and ran into the double floor space and then into the garage. A temp fix with A-tape worked until I got a new valve under warranty.

As I said, may be completely different from your problem but might be worth a check.

Thanks. I've found my problem and it's happening on many Carthago models. Bad workmanship has left an entry point for water at the bottom rear corners of the garage floor. This is next weekend's job to strip off the rear bumper and repair properly.

 

[wiljoy]

Leak source found. The dealer said it was a small hole on each side but this wasn't the case. The adhesive foam they has used to create a seal for the garage floor hadnt been fitted correctly allowing water to enter. If this is supposed to be a quality build we are doomed. There was a gap 300mm long mainly on the nearside. I made a proper seal from ally plate and bonded it on.
The worst part was removing the rear bumper as the space was very limited to lift it up. Overall it was a relatively straightforward job. Fully tested and no water ingress occurred. Ready for the next thing to drop off or leak.

 

[Chris]

Should I buy a Swift then?

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[CazPaul]

Should I buy a Swift then?

Yes one of these though, they are fully waterproof.

 

[f6c]

Wiljoy have you any pics?

 

[tonka]

Hate to hear all these stories on water ingress..

Only plus for me is that it makes my Autotrail on an equal with a Carthago.

Sorry, could not resist. Frustrated AT owner

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[wiljoy]

Wiljoy have you any pics?

Sorry no photos. To busy curing the problem. Once bumper was off it was a mess of foam and filler. Totally disgraceful workmanship.

 

[wiljoy]

Should I buy a Swift then?

Yes, Swift cannot claim the prize for water ingress. I think Carthago owners need to keep a close eye on these garage areas as mine will not be the only one leaking. They will all have been fitted with this foam seal which is now causing a problem.

 

[TinaLes]

Yes, Swift cannot claim the prize for water ingress. I think Carthago owners need to keep a close eye on these garage areas as mine will not be the only one leaking. They will all have been fitted with this foam seal which is now causing a problem.

Glad you have sussed out the problem and carried the work to rectify it.
I haven't as yet read any reports of water ingress on a Carthgo MH until yours. I am now wondering if its either year of manufacture, or model specific?, can you shed some further light on what model and year your van is please.
We cancelled our 2017 Swift Bolero ordered at NEC, purely because of the build defects being highlighted on The Swift Talk Forum. We felt we could not take delivery of a new MH with so many known build defects, looked at most other model reviews and could not find any negative reports against Carthago.
Ours is now 12 months old,I have had the van stripped down to its carcass to fit my additional toys (via cables & pipes) have been very impressed with what I have found thus far with the way its been put together, no problems noticed so far, fingers crossed.
I know that my experience does not in anyway deflect the severity of your water ingress problem, and I am sad to read of your disappointment. Hope your future travels are all good ones.
Les

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[Manxcat]

May be a silly question but is it worth getting concerned about a small leak in the garage?

 

[Lenny HB]

May be a silly question but is it worth getting concerned about a small leak in the garage?

Any water in a Motorhome where it is not supposed to be is bad news.

 

[old-mo]

May be a silly question but is it worth getting concerned about a small leak in the garage?

I would worry about any leak anywhere...

Can only get worse and rot other wooden or absorbent parts..

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[CazPaul]

May be a silly question but is it worth getting concerned about a small leak in the garage?

Yes, definitely.

 

[wiljoy]

May be a silly question but is it worth getting concerned about a small leak in the garage?

Yes when it's has travelled 2 feet up the garage wall lining and smells like a grey waste tank.

 

[tinkerbell]

I’m looking at maybe purchasing a 4 year old carthago m/h, what should I be looking out for on it, it’s hopefully our last purchase and don’t want to get it wrong, help appreciated

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[SteveandSue]

Hi tinkerbell
We went from a Burstner to a second hand Carthago -because we believed the build quality to be a step up - even though we were happy with the Burstner.
With regard to this leak mentioned in this post in the garage being as a known problem - we have never heard of it before - further - Carthagos are not known to have any water ingress problems that we are aware of, on the contrary - they have a good reputation but of course they may be odd vans/build that can have a problem.
We bought ours second hand and had some problems initally with the CBE panel - so electronics are not part of build quality but check the controls out as they can be expensive - the dealer replaced ours at no cost.
Hab door stays - design for this changed a few years ago - but ours is an older type and is crap as it rubs on the door seal and nut works loose on stay.
I think generally look at the supplying dealer - Camper Uk are excellent but a long way from you - also any Carthago warranty work will probably only be carried out by supplying dealer - so be careful how far you go to get one.
All water ingress checks/stamps should have been sent/copied to Carthago - so check this out so you know it is correct.
Would we buy another Carthago - yep - .

 

[wiljoy]

This water leak is definitely a known problem. It goes back to 2014 and as with all faults the customer is kept in the dark. As I said in an earlier post I repaired it myself.

 

[CazPaul]

I haven't looked at later Carthagos but seen a few 2003 and 2004 vans, absolute top quality, wonderful build.

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[Wagoneer]

Apart from the leaky garage mentioned above, I've only heard of 2 other Carthago's with water ingress problems.

Chablis, an ex fun member, had water leaking in at the front lateral mastic joint between roof and front cowl. His van was a 2008 model.

The other was reported on the Carthago Owners UK forum. The leak would appear to have come from the joint between the roof and vertical side panel. Water staining was present on the internal fabric lining over a significant area. This van was only about 6 months old. The OP didn't offer any feedback on what rectification measures were necessary.

Other reported water ingress problems on the COUK forum have been the drivers door seal on A class vans and the door seals on the garage doors.

Fortunately, my 2010 van seems ok, fingers crossed

 

[Lanerboy]

@wilko could you please confirm what year your carthago is just curious and how old it was when you 1st noticed the water leak

 

[jongood]

I wonder which factory it was from? I've heard a few moans about the c tourers which afaik are built in Slovenia.

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