Repairing SoLiD Motorhome for damp

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Cobnarowl

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My 4 year old Elddis motorhome has now been given authorisation for the warranty work on all 3 sides of the van.Has anyone experienced such major work?
All interior walls have to be removed plus timbers due to the dampness.How is this done with everything bonded together.Won't the outside walls be distorted when the timber is pulled away?
And what do I look for after the work is completed.Will everything be "as new"
 
Will it be as new? It rather depends on who's doing the work. Do you know how the water got into your van?
 
FM Caravans in Hull do warranty work for Elddis, mainly replacing the leaking incorrectly fitted rear panels. He corrects the way it was fitted at the factory. He also builds van conversations.
Might be worth ringing him (Steve) and see what he thinks.
01482 823330
 
Having seen the video of there construction don't see if it's that bad how a satisfactory repair could ever be made.
Where the sides are glued to the floor & rear there are untreated softwood timbers all around the edge, don't see how you would replace those without removing the wall. If the damp is as bad as you say & water goes with gravity they must wet and properly rotten.

You can remove interior walls and then glue new panels on and it's not a problem if the walls are supported on both sides, I've done it on a caravan.
Need to look for any curvature on walls as they bow outwards if only supported from the inside, a mistake a lot of repairers make.
 
Sorry to hear a put your damp issues, have you had the van from New?

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Cobnarowl said:
Will everything be "as new"
Click to expand...

As new it leaked so I'd make sure it's not quite as new.

Why Elddis use wood inside their leaky shells is beyond my comprehension, perhaps you could find a repairer that would replace that with something impervious to rot, perhaps galvanised stud framing they use in office builds or something?
 
So sorry to hear about your water ingress, which was supposed to be The Build bees Knees , I bought an Elddis caravan in 2012 just before they glued !!them together , so and so had water ingress in wheel arches and front at 3 and a half years old ,had it repaired then then sold it to a Elddis Main Dealer so whoever bought it would have a Warranty lost a fortune on it. No wonder Erwin Hymer who bought Elddis sold out to the Yanks
 
Get it fixed and while it is nice and dry GET RID of it. You will be forever looking for signs of more damage and wondering if they found ALL the rotten timbers or just covered it up.
 
Your van isn't the only one with wet. Talked to a worker from Elddis and the standards of build are totally unacceptable. Training consists of photos on how to do it and prayers after that. Very few staff are qualified to do anything regarding building motorhomes. Best get shot of asap.
New owners are addicted to profit with greed thrown in.
 
BEFORE!!!it goes away to be repaired, I would get the camera out and take a shedload of photo's showing along the sides at an angle so that, should it come back like a Cadburys Flake ie all rippled, you have evidence it didn't go in to be repaired in that state.

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Further to my above post reply If you know where it's going to be repaired ( make sure you do I suggest) .If they are a reputable Repairer tell them you want to see the vehicle when stripped out , again when they have renewed defective wood / framework , take someone with you for a second opinion, same when the repair is done, don't move it unless you are completely satisfied . I you are in employment it's worth having a day or two off , and good luck
 
What what the result with this??
 
Our philosophy is simple. We stop water getting in.

Friends have just had to replace all the timber and wall board in the front and some of the floor on a Buccaneer caravan, ? you would think giving a 10 year warranty, they would make sure the build quality was the best money could buy. ? Bob.

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Welcome to the Hymer quality. They are having a really good time this year with water ingress. I've a lot of friends who work there and they wouldn't use them for a dog kennel.
 
CazPaul said:
We live not far from the factory and do you know where we travelled to, in buying our motorhome from
Germany.
Click to expand...
Ditto. When I sub contracted for them we could get a massive discount on motorhomes. Never tempted. Poor Siddle Cook will be turning in his grave at there quality now.
 
The motorhome has gone to the dealers today.They reckon it will be 2 weeks work.They tried to tell me that an acceptable repair would be to put in extra horizontal joints in the internal wallboards as it was the lower sections with the high damp readings.
I told them it would be obvious to anyone with an interest in buying it that repairs had been made so all wallboards are coming off along with bed,shower room ,kitchen and overhead lockers etc
I am hoping they do a perfect job so the inside looks "as new" ..All external compartment doors are coming off too. I'm also going to ask for a new habitation check as all gas,electric and water will have had to be disconnected.
If there is any problem to the repair I have said I will reject the motorhome as "not fit for purpose" and ask for a refund as it was only 4 years old when problem was found (all 3 sides had 40%+ damp readings,one close to 90%)
 
CazPaul said:
We live not far from the factory and do you know where we travelled to, in buying our motorhome from
Germany.
Click to expand...
Nope, where did you travel to? And whilst you travelled there, did you meet Lenny (y)

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Although I'm still mentally scarred from working there as a Habitation Technician { ha ha }:-
crossleycoachcraft.co.uk

Crossley Coachcraft - C and S Caravans

So, it’s goodbye to the Caravan & Motorhome Repair Industry for me, I leave you in very capable hands here at C&S Caravans.
crossleycoachcraft.co.uk crossleycoachcraft.co.uk
Is a very good place to have major caravan & motorhome work.
New floor, New sides, New roof, No problem.
Damaged, damp they do everything there.
Leyland near Preston.
They have a large inflating curtain bag that pushes and holds a newly fitted side in position.
I'm self-employed now back home in Flintshire so no need to drive 60 miles to work Monday / Friday, good experience though.
They have a dinky, diesel tractor that is used for moving the caravans in and out of the purpose built workshop.
 
Cobnarowl said:
The motorhome has gone to the dealers today.They reckon it will be 2 weeks work.They tried to tell me that an acceptable repair would be to put in extra horizontal joints in the internal wallboards as it was the lower sections with the high damp readings.
I told them it would be obvious to anyone with an interest in buying it that repairs had been made so all wallboards are coming off along with bed,shower room ,kitchen and overhead lockers etc
I am hoping they do a perfect job so the inside looks "as new" ..All external compartment doors are coming off too. I'm also going to ask for a new habitation check as all gas,electric and water will have had to be disconnected.
If there is any problem to the repair I have said I will reject the motorhome as "not fit for purpose" and ask for a refund as it was only 4 years old when problem was found (all 3 sides had 40%+ damp readings,one close to 90%)
Click to expand...
I would seriously doubt that the work can be completed in 2 weeks. Sounds like a considerable amount of work. I have had very minor damage repaired to mine and that took 2 weeks.
spongy
 
2 weeks to basically rebuild a vehicle? I would ensure they are not just patching up and as the walls are manufactured as complete units, I would expect them to be replaced as complete units.
I had work done on our Autosleeper a few years ago. They took 2 weeks to repair a crease in one wall and replace a bathroom shelf!
 
Surely if it's damp it will take some time to dry out once all the boards have been removed.

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Been told today that the water heater at the rear of the motorhome has leaked allowing water to enter aluminium channels at the base of the three outside walls.It has then soaked into the lower wallboards.The SOLID system did not work.I'm amazed the water got round the 90 degree corners at the back then flowed along the sides.
I have photos of the floor being damp as the "lino" has been taken up.Do members think this will need replacing too?
 

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The plywood is stuck directly to the foam underfloor. I would suggest that the area that's showing black is all removed and replaced beyond the damaged areas. The ply is just basic ply, not marine ply and will delaminatate if just dried out, plus the stains will not go away. Seems odd that it's just in a couple of areas if the heater was leaking and dripping water along the base of the walls as you say. Looks more like a spill or an isolated leak.
 
Cobnarowl said:
The motorhome has gone to the dealers today.They reckon it will be 2 weeks work.They tried to tell me that an acceptable repair would be to put in extra horizontal joints in the internal wallboards as it was the lower sections with the high damp readings.
I told them it would be obvious to anyone with an interest in buying it that repairs had been made so all wallboards are coming off along with bed,shower room ,kitchen and overhead lockers etc
I am hoping they do a perfect job so the inside looks "as new" ..All external compartment doors are coming off too. I'm also going to ask for a new habitation check as all gas,electric and water will have had to be disconnected.
If there is any problem to the repair I have said I will reject the motorhome as "not fit for purpose" and ask for a refund as it was only 4 years old when problem was found (all 3 sides had 40%+ damp readings,one close to 90%)
Click to expand...
My understanding is once you accept and commence repairs you undermine your right to reject however after 4 years I don't think you would be able to reject it anyway.
 
Cobnarowl said:
Been told today that the water heater at the rear of the motorhome has leaked allowing water to enter aluminium channels at the base of the three outside walls.It has then soaked into the lower wallboards.The SOLID system did not work.I'm amazed the water got round the 90 degree corners at the back then flowed along the sides.
I have photos of the floor being damp as the "lino" has been taken up.Do members think this will need replacing too?
Click to expand...
That really does not look good. But an acceptable repair to me would be cut the affected area away and just replace that bit..though I do appreciate such a repair may not meet with others approval
 
Cobnarowl said:
The SOLID system did not work.I'm amazed the water got round the 90 degree corners at the back then flowed along the sides.
Click to expand...

I think you will find the Solid system did work, however when you build a motorhome or caravan with a wood frame (and not even treated wood) , damp and rot has to always be on the horizon no matter where the water comes from.

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