Caravan wet through

I think the main thing to learn from this is not to buy rotten caravans.
I can see where you are coming from but I'm fairly experienced and I wouldn't touch this with a barge pole.
Why not buy a decent caravan and spend your money and effort making it the most stylish caravan or the quirkiest or the most technically advanced rather than trying resurrect a corpse.
I've restored a Landrover and it's not that hard if you have the tools and you can buy a chassis but you're trying to replace the skeleton of a snail without killing the snail and not having a new skeleton.

 

Will this be expensive to fix? Probably not. Why not? 'Cos materials - timber and screws and glue and stuff - are not expensive.

But it will be a lot of hard work, and will take a lot of time.

I presume the outer skin is aluminium? In which case this part at least won't be rotten, so you don;t have to worry about that very tricky part.

Instead, I'd guess you'd be stripping the inside panelling off to gain access to the timber frame, and rebuilding that from the inside. In which case this is LOTS or work but probably not a huge amount of actual cost.

First issue, tho', is where did the water get through to the frame? If you don;t sort this, then you'll continue to have problems.

And if any steel components - chassis, etc - is rotten, then that will be beyond the wit of most home DIYers. So, for this, get ready for a multi-£undred bill or have a friend who'd be happy to replace chassis members for you - bearing in mind that gaining access to the chassis might be a body-off job...

So, perhaps sit down and have a cuppa and a good think through?

 

That Ukcampsite link gives a good idea of what to expect. There must be other similar sites too, I'd have thought?

I think the gist of it is - don't hold back, just start stripping the inside with abandon. If you do it in small sections, hoping that the rot will stop soon, then you'll end up with a lot of patching to do. It'll probably be easier to fit complete nrew internal panels afterwards.

But, first, I'd get a welder fellow in to quote for sorting the chassis/A-frame. That could be a defining moment...

I see you've joined that site? Good move, but chust a shame that the thread seems to have petered out. Widen your searches for caravan renovations - you don;t have to stick with the exact same model. There must surely be lots of info out there?

Curved timber? I suspect you'll have to do that yourself... If you can, remove the old bits as intact as possible and use it as a template. But expect to have to jigsaw and then plane solid blocks/timbers to get the profiles you want.

A couple of excellent products you'll undoubtedly benefit from - one is polyurethane wood glue ( http://www.screwfix.com/p/geocel-joiners-mate-liquid-wood-adhesive-500ml/44485 ) which is a sticky liquid which foams up after being applied (so will fill gaps) and sets with ambient moisture to a rock-hard adhesive. I think this sticks well to other materials too, so could be ideal for fixing these curved timbers in place, especially if they aren't - cough - a perfect fit.

And then there's 'StixAll' by Everbuild (other makes too...). This adhesive comes in cartridges that you use with a skeleton gun. It'll stick chust about anything to anything else. It sets to a tough rubbery finish, so is perfect for sticking down and sealing external weather strips (faaaaar better than silicones or frame sealants), and panel joints etc.

You could practically build your new frame from these two products...

 

You forgot to add Masonry Paint DA to your list of best loved materials

Once all the remedial works are completed on the van, slosh 20 litres of masonry paint over the whole thing and it will be good to go for another 50 years

 

If you are looking for a good wood glue then this stuff is brilliant, wear gloves though and get it right first time http://www.constructionchemicals.co.uk/Wood-Weld-PU-Wood-Adhesive-10-Minute-Cure-310ml.html

 

DA has given you some good advice, but and this is a big but, as a caravan owner, do yourself a favour and walk away, patching up a bit of timber is one thing, but a knackered A frame is a totally different kettle of fish, this is potentially very dangerous and should really be scrapped, put it down to a bad experience and move on, making sure you take someone who know vans before you buy another.

 

That's the kind of stuff I was thinking of, Chippie. It's greeeeeaaattt.

I agree, Phil. I did suggest checking that out - along with the rest of the chassis - and getting quotes for repair before going any further. The job might well have to stop right there...

 

I really don't know.

But I suspect strongly that if the chassis is rotten to any great extent, then you are talking a big issue - body off to get access, etc.

So, absolutely find that out first before possibly wasting any time or money on the 'van itself.

Not sure what you mean by 'half moons' and 'hinge-type', but there is no limit to what fixing methods you can use provided they actually do the job

 

That's a really nice looking 'van .

(Good decision, I suspect...)

What exactly do you mean by 'sealing the outside'? What are you trying to seal?

 

I would use Crystal clear stixall to seal any leaks