Advise on Motorhome Damp

[lost in espace]

We have found a motorhome on ebay that is an ideal layout for us, however it has damp.

I suppose most older vans have it to some extent but this does seem pretty bad unfortunately. Sounds very risky that this can be fixed, or is it bread and butter to a motorhome repair shop.

The listing is https://shorturl.at/qHPXY it seems a comprehensive listing and talks about the damp in some detail towards the end of the listing.

Here are the relevant pics:

[geeks]

Don't do it would be my advice, if there really is enough head room in the price to resolve the issue I would want to know why they arent spending the money and getting full price. The issue with damp on anything like this is you could end up many bags of sand in the hole and forever chasing what is actually causing it.

I would suggest ringing a couple of specialists and seeing what they suggest though to be sure

[MattBee]

That would need to be really really cheap to be worth taking a punt on.
It’s very damp. Whether that makes a difference or your day to day using of the van is one thing but you would need to be prepared to basically get nothing for it if/when you decide to sell.
Personally I’d not touch that unless it was so cheap it was worth the risk.

[donaircooleone]

I'd let it go, the roof looks to have dropped (AC unit weight and a little damp!)?

The CI product is known to get a bit soggy and this one will want some serious labour time and parts sourcing to make it right (i.e. healthy and sturdy).

[Spuffington]

As per the other replies, I’d be very careful at going anywhere near that. From having seen threads and videos on other sites of remedial work required to advanced damp issues, I’d say that needs a whole new roof, rear and side panel. That of course means large portions of the interior removing.

Only pursue this if you want a great (big) project and know what you’re doing or have £15-20k spare, I would say.

Personally feel like there are much better bets at £30k which come without the damp issues. The van also looks very tatty in other pics. Given pictures generally are quite kind, I’d suggest this really could be unpleasant in the flesh.

How about this…
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/126026660861?mkcid=16&a...

Or this:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/354937184960?mkcid=16&a...

Or this:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/325759703097?mkcid=16&a...

Appreciate they’re more than the £15k list of the one you’ve posted but IMO it’s hugely overpriced for what needs doing to it.

Edited by Spuffington on Wednesday 9th August 22:09

Edited by Spuffington on Wednesday 9th August 22:12

[r3g]

Buying a camper via damp issues is like buying a car with rust issues. Would you? No, not unless the price was cheap enough to run it as is until it completely dies then scrap it, or you have the funds and time to strip it and restore it.

That said.. it's possible that it's nothing more complicated than the sealant around the roof vents/aircon unit has gone brittle and cracked (quite common at that age), which could be fully fixed up in a couple of hours if you have the access, tools and cleaning materials etc to remove them, clean them up and reseal them, but it might be much more extensive. I'd not want the hassle, personally, at any price.

If you really want it, I reckon with patience you could get that another couple of k cheaper. Most private buyers will immediately scroll right by when they see the water ingress pic and read the comments about the damp and no dealer will touch that with a bargepole.

[Spuffington]

I’d agree with you if the readings were in the 20-30% region, but at 100% levels, that indicates the wood is sopping wet and will need replacing. No amount of resealing the seams will correct that IMO,

Do agree with you that most will run a mile so a few k cheaper may be possible.

[spaximus]

Totally agree with others commenting. When they pull that back the frame will be dripping wet and it will cost thousands to put right.

At the right price to the right DIY person it will make a project but it would have to be very cheap even for them

[DirtyHands]

I'd be amazed if the repair bill for that damp comes in below 8k. Trouble is when a motorhome has been neglected long enough to allow that to happen, what else has been skimped on?

I'm a caravan engineer and at anything over about £10k i'd run a mile from that!

[nagsheadwarrior]

Ha just saw that van for sale for £8500 on a marketplace ad and the seller very convincingly answered explaining how it qasnt a scam that it obviously was!
Tbh it's worth about £8500 and whoever paid £17k plus has made a huge error, that damp is uneconomical to fix, Ci were rot boxes from near new back then sadly.
Tho today I took an 02 Riviera 100 in px which we will be trading out and found......no damp, seriously couldn't believe it!
Couldn't check it all as owners gear was in it and there must be some but all the normal places were dry which is incredible!
Almost all 06 coachbuokts will ha e some damp and it's nice to see an ad admitting to damp In a van bit that one's defo to be dodged.
BTW the seats went like that from a young age it's normal and not a sign of clocking