Swift Kon-Tiki 2007. Are these just winter internal issues?

[Encantador]

Had the MH a few years and never come across either of these issues. This may be because we do not normally use the MH till Spring time.

Getting it ready to use for a few days just to sleep in on a relatives drive and found...........

1. The whole of the outside of the bed base is sticky. The van is a Tag with permanent bed.
Can't make out whether it is made of metal with some sort of plastic coating. Tried cleaning it with hot soapy water but does not seem to be helping much. Whatever it is does NOT transfer to your hand. The inside is Black and the outside is grey suggesting there is some sort of coating on the outside.

2. The other problem is the catches on the overhead cupboards appear to not want to work properly. When the button is pushed in it stays in. Have tried squirting WD40 inside but not sure what the mechanism inside is made of so it may not help.

Not had either of these problems before. The MH is stored with out any heating.

Any advice, suggestions welcome.

Steve

 

[Podney]

No idea about 1.

Those catches respond well to being a bit heavy handed in my experience,don’t be too nice to them! And wd40 is more of a water dispersent than a lubricant and once it’s dried out you are back to square 1. Try using a silicone based lubricant,that will provide a long term fix.

 

[The Coops]

The stickiness could be a reaction from the lacquer to a cleaning product used on it. Try a very very small inconspicuous area with thinners/nail polish remover and or methylated spirits to see if it cleans off, if it does its a reaction with something that has come into contact with it. Use lots of ventilation and use a cotton bud size test patch where it can't be seen

 

[Manic]

WD40 is not good for plastics

 

[HKF]

1. The whole of the outside of the bed base is sticky. The van is a Tag with permanent bed.
Can't make out whether it is made of metal with some sort of plastic coating. Tried cleaning it with hot soapy water but does not seem to be helping much. Whatever it is does NOT transfer to your hand. The inside is Black and the outside is grey suggesting there is some sort of coating on the outside.

If it's not absolutely necessary to make the bed base un-sticky while you use it for a few nights, I'd be inclined to leave it alone and see if it resolves itself in the warmer weather. If not, then you know something new is happening and can look into what it might be and how you can resolve it. If you try to resolve it now without knowing if this is a 'normal' winter problem, you could make things worse. Just my thoughts

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[maison]

Sometimes, depending on their type, locker catches can stick in cold weather. Usually, when the m/h warms up with the heating system they begin to behave again.

 

[Encantador]

Thanks for the replies.

I am inclined to leave the bed issue as suggested. The cleaning is not the problem as that was after we realised it was sticky. It is not an area you have to touch very often, especially over the winter so maybe it is 'normal'.
Anyone with a similar Swift bed also left a while without heat who fancies having a 'feel' of theirs, please let me know what you find.....

We can empty the cupboards that are not fastening properly so no problem for this trip and maybe heat in the van over the next few days might tell us something.

Thanks again for the replies.

Steve

 

[Wabs]

Had the MH a few years and never come across either of these issues. This may be because we do not normally use the MH till Spring time.

Getting it ready to use for a few days just to sleep in on a relatives drive and found...........

1. The whole of the outside of the bed base is sticky. The van is a Tag with permanent bed.
Can't make out whether it is made of metal with some sort of plastic coating. Tried cleaning it with hot soapy water but does not seem to be helping much. Whatever it is does NOT transfer to your hand. The inside is Black and the outside is grey suggesting there is some sort of coating on the outside.

2. The other problem is the catches on the overhead cupboards appear to not want to work properly. When the button is pushed in it stays in. Have tried squirting WD40 inside but not sure what the mechanism inside is made of so it may not help.

Not had either of these problems before. The MH is stored with out any heating.

Any advice, suggestions welcome.

Steve

Can’t help with the first problem,but as for the catches,I would use Ambersil 40, NOT a silicone, silicone will murder plastics, I would also leave the cupboards open when not in use,

 

[Encantador]

Found a couple of mentions of Swift caravan bed bases becoming tacky on a caravan forum. Only suggestion was to try cleaning it with isopropyl alcohol.

Won't do anything for the time being but at least we know it is not just us, although clearly not that widespread an issue it would seem.

 

[lbianca19]

Encantador, just wondering if you found any resolution for the sticky bed base?

We bought a second hand Kontiki in August and it arrived with a sticky bed base! Assuming it was just dirty, I have given it several good cleans with an array of cleaning products, including “sticky stuff remover” and alcohol. With each clean it seems to get stickier so I am thinking it’s likely a reaction between the coating on the panels and cleaning products.

I’m wondering if possibly spraying the panels with some sort of lacquer or spray paint light resolve the stickiness? X

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