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Campervan storage

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  • 03-02-2007 1:23pm
    #1
    peasant
    Registered Users Posts: 17,819 ✭✭✭✭


    With my old VW that was never an issue, it just parked outside, got washed and waxed every so often, and that was that.

    With the more leakage prone motorhome I wanted to find a better, dryer solution for when it's not in use.

    Wasn't able to find (or willing to pay the exorbitant prices for) a shed nearby so I got myself a little hoody :D like this
    P1010013.jpg
    from here:
    http://www.van-protect.com/en/

    It wasn't cheap (1400 all included) but it seems to be well worth its price. It's up since January now, has survived all the storms since and the van is nice and dry.

    Where (if at all) do you store your yoke?


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    #2
    3ps
    Closed Accounts Posts: 723 ✭✭✭3ps


    I just store mine on the drive. I don't expect it to have any leaks... and if it does leak I will just fix it! that seems like an awful lot of money to spend... rain could hit it sideways and leak in the windows etc etc ???

    Will the cover not damage the roof with flapping and constant abrasion of the same areas?


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    #3
    peasant
    Registered Users Posts: 17,819 ✭✭✭✭peasant


    Yours is a comparatively young model and hasn't been as vigorously stress tested as mine yet ...I wouldn't expect it to leak either, if i was you :D

    Mine actually DOES have a leak somewhere, after prolonged rain the very bottom corners of the rear edge profiles are a bit soggy ...nothing much to worry about, but I don't want it to get any worse. I took the whole rear end apart, found a few dodgy holes and seams and re-sealed them ...but water is still getting in somewhere. I suspect it's somewhere on the roof and then it just runs down the edge profile on the inside and soaks the wood at the bottom ...I'll find it yet :mad: It isn't a lot that get's in either ...just like a spoonfull or so ...but it can do damage, especially over a long winter ...hence the investment in the roof. (The corners are dry now !)

    That roof is a pretty well engineered piece of kit. There are aluminum tubes every 60 or so cms along the length. These get bent, so the whole roof forms a tunnel shape.

    see here:
    bogen.jpg
    tunnel.jpg

    The roof only rests on the soft fabric straps (with an included edge protector) and is tied down both lengthways (via a strong aluminium edge profile) as well as sideways(with straps that are secured to rings at the end of the bows).If you pull everything tight, the roof is amazingly stable and strong. There is no flapping or chafing whatsoever ...even in a storm. Believe me, I've checked during the recent severe weather, as I was more than slightly worried ...for no reason, as it turned out.
    Plus you can leave the rooflights open in your van for better aeration.


    The front tarpaulin is standard, I got an extra rear tarpaulin as well. You could get tarpaulins for the side also, but the roof has generous overhang and most of the rain is held off (and I'm not really worried about my windows ...they're definetley sealed :D )


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    #4
    3ps
    Closed Accounts Posts: 723 ✭✭✭3ps


    well it certainly looks impressive!

    but again, would it not have been easier to have the van checked and professionally sealed in the first place. It would probably have cost less than what you spent on that tent!!!!


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    #5
    peasant
    Registered Users Posts: 17,819 ✭✭✭✭peasant


    I got it checked by one dealer here, who basically told me that there was nothing wrong except for a screw hole in the back which need to be filled.
    That didn't exactly fill me with confidence about him re-sealing the seams :D

    I'm gonna do that myself at some stage, at least then I know it'll be done right.

    As I want to hang on to my motorhome for a s long as is economically possible, I think that the "tent" was a good investment, as it might buy me another two or three years usage ... plus it keeps the damn cats from climbing up onto the roof :D:D:D


    as an aside ...I hope you park your alcove model on a slope, so that the water can run off the back of it? Because that dip in the roof surface where the alkove joins the main roof is where most alcove models leak first ...because of standing rain water finally seeping in.


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    #6
    3ps
    Closed Accounts Posts: 723 ✭✭✭3ps


    it's sloping from left to right.
    I must check it!


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    #7
    peasant
    Registered Users Posts: 17,819 ✭✭✭✭peasant


    The nasty thing is ...all it needs is a little pin hole where drop after drop of water can seep in. This then runs down inside the wall unseen until it reaches an obstacle, where it can't get out and slowly starts the rotting process.
    The really nasty thing is that even if you discover a problem in time, it is very difficult to find out where exactly the damn water is getting in ...it usually isn't where the wet patch appears:D

    The usual supescts for leakages are:
    -That "dip" on alkove models and there the seams either side
    -Any and all holes that were drilled to fit attachments (bike carriers, reversing cameras, sattelite dishes, etc)
    - rooflights, hatches, chimneys, windows, vents (for fridge and heating)

    As seams get older, they start to crack and loose adhesion, opening tiny gaps for water to move in.

    As the seams on my yoke certainly are old (or "repaired" several times), I don't want to take any chances ...hence the roof :D


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