Help!!!!

[beckiesgran]

Hi people. Sorry if this is the wrong place but I've read so many of the other pages I've got confused.

We managed to fit (after some adaption) the door we got off Shaz,( seems ages ago). Put our old lock on it, doesn't work! take it off, it works! after doing this several times and OH getting more and more stressed we went out and got, then fitted a star lock, hurray it works, the old lock is still on the door, and getting in the way, but if we remove it we are left with a hole in the door!

BUT....that is not our only problem. When we got the van out of storage for Easter...it was full of mold. We thought it was because the door had just been patched up through the winter, and so cleaned it up and off we went. Had a brill time!:so happy:

Got the van out of storage last weekend and went away...On Saturday afternoon our toilet/utility tent completely blew away leaving the toilet standing just a few feet from the camper::.(Good job no-one was using it!)

On Sunday morning it was raining and windy and OH woke up to find a puddle on his sleeping bag...the carpet on the roof was dripping...we have no idea where it's getting in. Last year when we had this problem OH sprayed some sealing stuff all round the skylight, but the leak doesn't seem to be there, it's further down the roof. How does a fiber glass moulded vehicle get a leak!
Help us please, I'm so fed up now and OH is talking about getting rid of our little roma and getting a VAN

[peterholden]

Leaks have a nasty habit of running along the inside of the lining and appearing somewhere far away from the entry point. (It happened to us in the south of France one February and it proved to be a rooflight about 2ft away from where the water appeared, we found a wall and parked alongside, I stood on the wall and made a temporary repair with gaffer tape until we got home.)

The only sure way to seal a leaking rooflight is to remove it and refix on new sealant

Peter

[jayjay]

Oh dear! You have had a bit of trouble. Take heart as its only teething problems!

Agree with Peter re the water ingress. It is usually the skylight and you probably need to take it off, clean the old sealant off both sides and re fit and seal it with sikaflex sealer, which is a dual adhesive/sealant. It could be a crack in the roof somewhere (very unlikely) but have a very close look and see if there is a crack in the skylight or on the roof somewhere. Same remedy in that case, sikaflex.

Well done for fitting a new door, that's not easy! I would just put up with the old door lock being there.

Re the mould: yes it might have been damp from the skylight which caused it. I used to put bowls of salt around all winter and on good dry days, open the door and let in some air and let it circulate. Also leave the fridge door propped open, they will always go mouldy if you dont. I also used to lift the seats and prop them up against the luton and open the lockers so that the air vents under the seats were letting in air.

Got the van out of storage last weekend and went away...On Saturday afternoon our toilet/utility tent completely blew away leaving the toilet standing just a few feet from the camper::.(Good job no-one was using it!)
I have a horror of this happening with me on the loo!! Always put your awning in the lee of the wind if poss, with your van facing into the wind and the awning behind it or on the lee side. Storm straps will help as well, and extra guy ropes.

Eventually you'll look back and laugh!!

[beckiesgran]

Thanks

Thanks for your replies, we are bringing the camper out of storage, maybe tomorrow, to have a go at the skylight.

Jay Jay - OH says he is looking forward to fixing a new lock - so he can hit the old one with a very very BIG hammer.

Now - does anyone know how to clean the carpet on the roof, without getting soaked through.

[jayjay]

Thanks for your replies, we are bringing the camper out of storage, maybe tomorrow, to have a go at the skylight.

Jay Jay - OH says he is looking forward to fixing a new lock - so he can hit the old one with a very very BIG hammer.

Now - does anyone know how to clean the carpet on the roof, without getting soaked through.

Wait first to see if you can cure the leak before fixing the roof carpet. I never cleaned mine as it wasn't dirty, but if it had been, I think i would have used some dry foam stuff that you aerosol on, rub in, leave to dry and hoover off. Seems to work, lot easier than water based stuff. Or a steam cleaner thingy perhaps?

[AGING HIPPY]

having just fitted new lock {well the one from the fuel cap}and replaced that with a lock tha works just from a micra. ON th old lock there is a rod wich goes into a holeon a plate on baclk of lock usaully held on by plastic clip the plastic clip wil push off the rod,enabling the rod to be removed ,the back of my lock there was a larg clip best descrbeas u shaped flickthat off ,then lock was removed on the back of the lock was a circlipholding a plate which the rod goes into.took off circlip and plate on damaged lock and swapped plate onto fuel cap lock refitted lock,
{note unlock drivers door just in case it lock and u cant unlock it from outside}
took two attemts to get it line up and working ok the keyhole is sideway on but does work refit as before don forget to put plastic clip back on rod as that hold rod in place

[beckiesgran]

sky light - done?

Hi all, we brought the camper out of storage on Thursday and spent all day doing the skylight. OH said when he took it off as well as sealant there was also some pop rivets, so the skyight has obviously been repaired before, which is not surprising when you think of it's age.

We got new sealant from the camping accessory shop and used sh.. loads of paper towel and white spirit to clean the skylight. So now we just have to wait and see what happens.

Aging Hippy....did you use a petrol cap lock on your door? or have I (as usual) gogt the wrong end of the tale?

[beckiesgran]

Hooray!

Hi people, we got the camper out of storage last weekend.....and it's dry

We bought an awning from auction (outdoor handi) and had a great weekend away.

Thanks for all the advice about how to fix the roof, hopefully we'll be getting a bit more use out of the camper now.

Please move if this is in the wrong place.

[jayjay]

Hi people, we got the camper out of storage last weekend.....and it's dry

We bought an awning from auction (outdoor handi) and had a great weekend away.

Thanks for all the advice about how to fix the roof, hopefully we'll be getting a bit more use out of the camper now.

Please move if this is in the wrong place.

:so happy: Yay! Glad you got it fixed ok. :so happy: