URGENT - When did you last check the moisture sealing on your caravan?

Submitted: Thursday, Jun 06, 2013 at 15:04
ThreadID: 102618 Views:3294 Replies:7 FollowUps:7
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I recently found some damp spots in my caravan, and decided to take it to a repairer to get it re-sealed. This is re-sealing all the joints, screws that hold the van together - anywhere that water can get in. As it turned out, it was too late, water had been seeping in for what appeared to be a long time, and the front section and some of the rear section of the van was rotten. The repair bill is around $15,000, and because of a number of steps in their assessing procedure, it looks very much as though the insurance company is going to leave me to pick up the bill.

This post is not about criticizing the insurance company, or bleating about poor me. Although I thought I had been diligent in having the caravan serviced, as a newbie, and not knowing any better, I don’t think the topic of sealing the van ever came into the conversation when discussing what needed to be done. My van is 4 1/2 years old, is lived in full time, and has done many miles. Not once did I think that a new van would be a leaker. I certainly never saw any sign of it, but then again, I had no idea what I was looking for.

Many of our community service their own vehicles and caravans to save themselves a few dollars, and in most cases are probably extremely competent in what they do.

But have they CHECKED THE SEALS on their caravans. The insurance company told me that a caravan owner should regularly have the sealing checked every twelve months. Beyond that, there is a fair chance that your claim will not be accepted if you can’t prove that regular inspections or maintenance has been done.

My caravan repairer has told me that they have had another two vans brought into his establishment this week, and that on average they are getting one a week.

So there it is. If you own a caravan, and you haven’t had it checked for sealing in recent times, I suggest you do it. $10-20,000 is a lot of money to find if you don’t.

Laurie
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