The dreaded Damp !
So weve owned our Swift Challenger 550SE for about 6 years. its 2004/5 model.
After maybe 3 years of ownership I noticed it had an exterior repair in its past up at the awning rail on the back side, the rail has a scratch but there is a patch of paint faded about 18inches long and about 10inches deep, obviously refinished.
I checked about with a simple damp meter and readings of 11-12% all around..
Didnt check last year, got complaicent 
So i saw slight sign of mould and got my meter out and sure enough the meter readings are high in the celing panels, but not the walls
35% where the repair/chimney is, tapering down to 25% at the front and rear, not quite completly to front and rear but its 75% the length of the van passing through the bathroom. One tiny soft spot near the chimney which is adjacent to the repair all other panels are solid and not discoulered.
I'm thinking the leak is at the awning rail at the repair or the chimney and spreading from there. The other side of the celing is 11-12%
I ran a fan heater on the farthest front section in the locker where the radio is on low for 24hrs and readings started to drop straight off, down from 25% to 11% and holding there 24hrs later..
The best repair shop is booked out and said they cant take the van for a repair until the winter season, but we want to continue using it, we're booked for 3 weeks in france and then 2 seperate weekends ending halloween.
Even at that he said to re seal the awning rail & chimney, remove lockers, shower module, replace celing panels, refit everything could come close to or exceed the value of the van.
I'm planning to reseal round the chimney with Tec7 Clear, we use it plenty at work and find it very reliable while retaining some flexibility.
I am seriously thinking of sealing along the awning rail seams in place. It should stop further water getting in while we decide what to do
If the van dries out and with so little celing board soft, what would people think then of just removing the awning rail and properly resealing it over the winter ? I was encouraged to see the readings drop quickly, would it be foolish to wait and see regarding stripping the interior out...
Its stored indoors haloween to easter, and since the farm shed is my own, with a little more effort it could spend all its non touring time dry stored.
Ideally we're hoping to get another 5-6 years from this Van
Comments
-
Going back a few years an Abbey Lincoln that I had suffered from a leaking awning rail which I replaced, with Seelaflex. This seemed to work but doing the work it was apparent that the screws were into wood that was pretty rotten. I replaced inner panels myself (lack of funds for a professional job).
I replaced the van with another Abbey, but that suffered from damp pretty quickly too - hence I replaced with a Bailey Alu-tec nine years ago. All well so far with a year to go on my 10 year leak-free guarantee!
Don't know much about current construction, other than the Bailey, but sealing has to be a good start, and look out for other water entry points. I have been told frightening stories about how dealers 'solve' these problems. You sound as if you have the extent of the problems sussed out, so give it a go. Others maybe able to give some insight into the likely results of your drying out.
1 -
I did my 1994 swift ( from new ) awning rails of clean properly ,buy stainless screws , use tape ,sicoflex on screws ( drill new holes for screws ,find some good wood ) buy a winter cover ,all the best Derek
1 -
Thanks.
I’ll do a quick seal on the chimney and rail for the moment and monitor damp.
If that proves to stop the water ingress I’ll consider doing a more permanent job on the awning rail over the winter.
Question is would you recommend doing both rails or just the one giving trouble?
0
