Puncture in caravan roof
Hi there. I'm looking for advice/opinions on what I should do and would appreciate any feedback.
I was washing the van, ready to wax it and put it away for winter, when I noticed a dint in the roof and a thin line that I thought might be a hole/puncture. We don't know when this has happened, since I last cleaned the roof, this time last year. Not aware of anything dropping on to the roof and certainly not while we've been away in it.
I took the van off to a service and repair centre - a one that I've used for years. The chap said it's definitely a hole and that he could repair it or replace the roof panel. He advised the whole panel. I'm fully covered by insurance, but just wondered if there's anyone out there who's had the same problem and have dealt with it either with a repair or whole panel/skin. There is no water ingress at the moment, but I wouldn't like to have a repair then find the water comes through at a later date.
So, any advice please?
Comments
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It's probably worth getting a quote for both repair and the replacement. Then look at how your insurance premiums work and how no claims bonus will be effected. I know with mine I have to stand the first £250 of any claim. Also, how long you intend keeping the van my have a bearing and if there is any warranty/guarantee with the repair/replacement work.
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Apart from aesthetic appearance (on the roof?) and potential effect on future saleability, from a practical point of view I would simply fix a patch of suitable material over the damaged area with Sikaflex type mastic. Even some self-adhesive products would provide a completely watertight repair.
Depending on location/size, you could even cover the damaged area with an aerial mount or similar to disguise it
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Now there's an idea, I've been thinking about a solar panel for some time to charge my leisure batteries and help keep then conditioned. I'd probably fit one over the damage if in the right place. That would use the money/costs to some gain then.
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If this is an insurance claim, the method of repair will be decided by the insurer.
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If claiming you should also factor in a possible loss of NCB. The claim itself might also be difficult to pursue, being unable to say Where, When and how the damage was caused. I too would recommend some form of external covering like the aerial mount or solar panel. Provided the area is not one subject to excessive flexing.
TF
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Hi when we were down in France last year with our two year old Lunar Cosmos we stayed a couple of nights on a site which was in a pine forest,unfortunately one night we had a bad storm and some pine cones fell onto the roof of my caravan and I ended up with three quite deep dents in the roof,fortunately none of them penetrated the outer skin.When we got home I took it to the local workshop approved dealer for advice about making an insurance claim after giving it a good look over his advice was to leave well alone as in his opinion they weren’t going to cause any problems, which couldn’t be guaranteed if the insurance company decides that the roof panel needs to be replaced.Although I was gutted at the time I have come to terms with it now and would prefer to live with it and have a dry van than face the potential problems that could occur if they started ripping the van apart
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Many years ago when we had a little Sprite 400 which we could store at home we had a piece of verge pointing fall off next doors roof and put a neat hole our caravan roof. The insurance company wrote it off and it was bought by a nearby caravan repairer who put a small vent over the hole.
He got a cheap van, we got more than we'd paid for it and everyone was happy.
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