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Contents: 1. URGENT ATTENTION Luton Water Ingress
All Autohomes Wanderers' even similarly constructed Motorhomes, if more than 4 years old should be urgently checked in the Luton area for water ingress. If this leakage is caught in time then, a carpenter assured me, the timbers will dry out and expensive remedial work will not be necessary.
This can be checked by pulling back the 'carpet'covering below the mattresses. In each front corner. This material, while glued in position, can be easily pulled back to inspect. Any black spots should be suspicious and checked with a damp meter. If the timber support looks black then you have water ingress and the trims on the exterior of the Luton should be removed and resealed.
I re-secured the internal covering material with carpet spray glue.
The renovation and removal of trims can easily be done by the confident DIY man. On my Motorhome the seal was similar to plumbers putty and was falling out like sand!
The procedure is to remove the trim around the Luton exterior.
Any rusted screws discard them and purchase non rusting screws. Where the screws have rusted, squeeze some sealant into the hole, or drill new holes and new screws. The old holes should be sealed with the usual sealants.
Clean off the surface as much of the old sealant as possible. I used a sharp edged ice scraper. This then did not remove any paint work.
Ensure the area is cleaned of any water residues.
While the trim is on the floor, place the sealant on it, then replace the trim on the Luton. Help might be needed for this. I manage by screwing the centre portion into an original screw hole, which then hung and allowed me to complete the rest.
Before placing the trim back in position, try and push a hole into the seal with a bradawl, in each screw position, to enable easy screwing in when in position.
At the front top corners, each side, you will find the Aluminium roof covering has been bent over the top and down to the front cross trim. Where this bend is, on the sidewall, you might find, as I did, that this bend is wrinkled and protrudes outwards. Try and hammer it gently, until it's as flat as possible, it will never be completely flat. this will ensure the seal leaves as little room as possible for water ingress.
This method of over the edge construction goes a long way to ensure water flows away from the interior.
On my Motorhome I found the 5 screws on the bottom front of the Luton, each side, had no timber supports behind them. This meant the screws were held by the GRP Luton covering only. This would account for the water ingress. The screws were not secured properly and allowing the Luton panel to expand then allowing water to get in.
I fitted in each of the 5 positions, a plastic plug, which expanded in the screw hole and behind the GRP panel, allowing the screws to be tightened and securing the trim. To do this meant enlarging the screw holes to accomodate the plugs.
When doing all this work it is a good idea to inspect the wall panels for pin holes, which can happen sometimes in Aluminium panels.
When the trim is tightened up the sealant will expand out. This can be cut off with a belt knife. Do not press to hard or you will cut into the aluminium panel. It is only 1mm thick, ONE mm thick!
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Trim with Sealant ready for Assembly |
Luton Showing area with poor assembly of trim at the lower left in the picture |
Luton Showing wrinkled Panel over roof, top left. |
Repair completed waiting for Profile beading. |
Replacing Trim Beading Profile |
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Showing Trim Non & Supported Areas in the Luton |
Typical Water Ingress Damage, in the Luton |
Having completed the side Luton trims it was time to check the two front trims.
I was surprised to find the trims had been given a much improved sealant and were in much better condition.
Having taken them off and confirmed their condition I had to re-install them using the same methods as above on the side trims.
Note the grab rope near ladder, for safety while up the ladder. Just because this was an DIY repair, safety proceedures were followed while using the ladder. A neighbour lasted a week in hospital when he fell off his ladder!
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Bottom Trim being removed. Note safety grab rope. |
Removing old sealant |
close up of the 3" Securing screw for the Luton |
3" Securing screw for the Luton |
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Side view of Bottom Trim being removed. Note safety grab rope. |
Top trim being prepared for renovation. |
Repairs complete |
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Additions to Motorhome pages:-
