What is water ingress in a caravan?
Water in the walls is the fault used-van buyers look hardest for, and the one worth finding early.
Water finding its way into the walls, floor or roof, normally through a seam or around something screwed through the skin such as a window, a hatch or a light. Caught early it is a reseal, left alone it becomes structural.
Also called water damage.
- Gets in at - seams, windows, hatches, lights, anything screwed through the skin
- Early signs - staining, a musty smell, a soft spot under gentle pressure
- Left alone - a reseal becomes a structural repair
How water gets in
A caravan body is full of holes that were made on purpose.
Windows, hatches, vents, lights, awning rails and every external fitting are screwed or riveted through the skin, and sealant is what keeps water out of each one.
Sealant ages, and the van flexes every time it is towed.
Once a seal opens, water runs where the frame or the panel takes it, which is why the stain often appears a long way from the leak.
Where to look on a van you are inspecting
- Windows and hatches - the sealant line, and the wall directly under it
- Roof - around the vents, the air conditioner and the awning rail
- Corners - the join between wall and floor, front and rear
- Inside - under the bed, in cupboard corners, and behind the drawers
What it looks like and smells like
Staining on a wall or ceiling lining is the obvious one.
Press gently and a wet timber-framed wall gives where a dry one does not, and swollen or lifting trim is the same story a stage further on.
In a composite wall the tell is a bubble or a soft patch where the layers have come apart, which is delamination.
A musty smell in a van that has been shut up for a while is worth taking seriously even when nothing is visible.
Keeping it out
Sealant is a maintenance item rather than a fit-and-forget one.
The van's own service schedule sets when the seals are checked, and it is worth looking over the roof and the window lines after any run on corrugations.
What a warranty covers, and for how long, is set by the maker's own terms.
Read them before you need them.