Hi all,
I visited a caravan repairer today where i used to know the owner however he has recently sold, anyway i spoke to the new owner earlier in the week in regards to mounting solar panels. After a while the conversation changed to construction of vans and since i said i owned a Jayco he offered for me to take a look at one which he had the back end panel removed on a sterling pop top. I was also able to see other makes with no cladding on the side so it gave you a good insight into the construction methods.
After checking out the vans he had, allot of problems were as a result of water damage and this was in all makes. They did give me some good tips however on preventing some of the causes.
1. Check the sealer on your wind up aerials both around the base and also apparenty there is a rubber boot which the cable passes through and after while with the aerial going up and down it can pull the boot out letting water in.
2. The clearance lights, most are now led but they can still get water in them and they recommended drilling a hole about 3mm in the bottom of the lens to let any water out so it doesn't go back in your van.
3. All the screws which are under the rubber strips on the outside should have sealer over the heads of them before the strip is put on, i know this is a pain to do but it's what they do if they have to remove any of the strips to gain access for removal of panels.
These are just a few of the less obvious areas that they have found that has caused damage and in these cases you probably wouldn't know untill it's too late. Food for thought anyway!
Cheers.
I visited a caravan repairer today where i used to know the owner however he has recently sold, anyway i spoke to the new owner earlier in the week in regards to mounting solar panels. After a while the conversation changed to construction of vans and since i said i owned a Jayco he offered for me to take a look at one which he had the back end panel removed on a sterling pop top. I was also able to see other makes with no cladding on the side so it gave you a good insight into the construction methods.
After checking out the vans he had, allot of problems were as a result of water damage and this was in all makes. They did give me some good tips however on preventing some of the causes.
1. Check the sealer on your wind up aerials both around the base and also apparenty there is a rubber boot which the cable passes through and after while with the aerial going up and down it can pull the boot out letting water in.
2. The clearance lights, most are now led but they can still get water in them and they recommended drilling a hole about 3mm in the bottom of the lens to let any water out so it doesn't go back in your van.
3. All the screws which are under the rubber strips on the outside should have sealer over the heads of them before the strip is put on, i know this is a pain to do but it's what they do if they have to remove any of the strips to gain access for removal of panels.
These are just a few of the less obvious areas that they have found that has caused damage and in these cases you probably wouldn't know untill it's too late. Food for thought anyway!
Cheers.
