2 year old caravan with .15% damp?

Cavalier Caravaners

looking for advice as we are searching for new/used caravan to purchase. Have found a compass camino that is just over 2 years old and both annual services 2019 and 2020 found variety of damp up to 10% each year. The service shows this in both services is less than 15%. The caravan has not been used for over a year.

Our old caravan we had from new literally had  0 zero damp ever in each service for 4 years no damp.

My questions:

-is 10% damp on 2 year old caravan normal?

-should we walk away from a caravan with any damp found or is there n acceptable amount damp?

-when buying a used caravan should we only buy one with 0 zero damp found in all services or if some small amount is found in the most recent service is that OK or will it j get worse?

-were we lucky having  caravan from new that had no damp in 4 years?

 

Phishing

This is really not an issue. You will not get zero damp reading in a caravan unless it has been parked in the Sahara for a while. The moisture in the air causes some reading, the same caravan on a sunny day will read 5% whilst on a cold foggy day will read 15%, this is just atmospheric moisture. 

it is not possible for you to get zero damp in your old van, even in summer with the windows open.

As a rule of thumb;

Caravan Moisture Meter Results. 0 – 15%: The surface is dry, no damp present. 15-20%: Make a note of the area, check again in a few months. 20-25%: Area needs further damp investigation. 25-30%: There would appear to be water ingress into the caravan. Above 30%: Immediate action needs to be taken.

As this van has not been used for over a year and assuming it is stored outside then it really is about a dry as it gets in the UK.

Cavalier Caravaners

Thanks for the reply Phishing.... odd that our annual service for 4 years literally found 0 zero damp and recorded as such. I'm not too worried about the under 15% damp since your response.

EasyT

Your annual service report was not accurate CC. It was no doubt an off hand way of saying zero damp problem. 15% moisture is not damp at all. It is in line with the moisture content of 'dry' timber

JVB66

As for "damp" it is a "trick?" that some dealers will try on when doing a PX deal ,they will find "damp" and try to reduce what had previosly been offered on your LV  it is normally  condensation and most modern LVs have very little natural wood it is normally now "man made" wood