I have owned many older caravans & I’ve never come across all the issues that seem to crop up now with water damage. The caravan industry has gone backwards with their designs. Thanks for highlighting this issue. When checking out used vans I will now be checking underneath 🤨
One of the best videos on floor repair on the who net that I have come across Would be good to see it done on an alter where maybe the outer frame timber has rotten as well. syou have such a mixed bag of videos you should have and deserve more subs thank you as always
This has helped me massively. Doing both rear corners on my 2008 sterling europa 530 this winter as it’s very similar to the one in the video. Couldn’t find for the life of me a decent guide/video anywhere. It’s pretty much how I planned I would do it, but seeing this just confirms my procedure. Excellent channel thanks again.
Thanks for this - taking ours to be checked next weekend and will no doubt need it doing (Bailey 2017). Love the channel, keep the content coming. Steve
Had two bailey caravans( 2019 unicorn) and a (2024 pheonix) both had damp floor issues (yes 2024). You need to check the underside of the caravan after heavy rain, particulary the side edges and corners. This is a design issue which Bailey have not addressed, rain water runs down the sides of the caravan gets behind the skirt rail and enters the floor edge and rots the floor. There is also an issue with the awning rail drain which allows water to drain in the corners and enters the floor edges. I found an easy and quick temporary fix was to stick white electrical tape along the top edge of the awning rail and the wall. there is a good you tube video by I think Vagabond caravanner, showing how he cured the damp issue.
Thanks for this. I noticed this on the rear corners of my 2011 Lunar. Rain water was running down the gutters and hooking under. To greatly reduce the problem I have awning rail protectors and leave them hanging about 6 inches too long. Seems to stop 95% of the water hitting the wood. It also helps to keep the caravan level (side to side) and nose slightly down when in storage.
Hi, thanks so much for this - really interesting video - I've just had my 4 year old Bailey back from the dealers after doing this, but it still leaks! - I noticed this video doesn't seem to show them actually fixing the leak where the water is coming from in the first place - I presume you would do that before replacing the board?
Great video, I've got underneath water damage on my Bailey vigo, going to repair it myself after watching this video, didn't know it was so easy to do.
At last - a video that actually shows how to repair the rotten ply. Thank you. I have known about this issue on my 2014 Bailey for years. I took the preventative measure of painting the underside of the prone areas with bituminous paint a few years back and it seems to have slowed down the damage, but it is now getting to a point where I need to take further action before the damage spreads much further. I am going to attempt doing this repair to one front corner this weekend and this video has given me the confidence required to start cutting and making good.
@@atlanticcaravansUK Well, I’ve completed the repair. I started the job thinking that only one front corner was require but in the end did both front corners, one much worse than the other, and a strip along the the rear about half the width of the van. I think the perished bumper gasket (which I replaced at the same time) was letting in a lot of water, so much so that the ply was holding water like a sponge! Thankfully no damage to the insulation or timber frame. The job was a lot easier than I imagined and wouldn’t hesitate doing it again. The only slight difficulty was removing some of the floor fixing bolts, most had to be cut out. Fortunately all the fixings I needed to remove were very accessible. Had I needed to remove others that were less accessible, such as around the shower tray, this would have added several hours to the job, which I guess took me around 12 - 16 hours to do 3 areas. I can appreciate why this costs so much for professional repairs but really there is nothing involved that most DIYers can do. Removing and refitting the corner stay was surprisingly easier than I expected, although had the mounting bolts rotated it would have been much worse as the floor covering runs over the top. Clearly the job gets much harder the more extensive the repair area and more fixings that need to be removed. Slight variations to the method including treating the new ply with bituminous roof paint (that skins rather than penetrates) and painting the top, bottom and sides before fitting, then a second layer post fitting. Time will tell, but I’ll watch it closely and if it starts to deteriorate again it will be quite an easy job removing and replacing the repair panels. A multitool is very useful in removing stubborn plastic floor fixing and ply under timber frame components. I’m really pleased with the result and would post photos if RU-vid allowed. My advice is do this job early before the damage spreads and take your time. Again thank you for this excellent video.
If you have a Bailey with an Alutech body you will have to remove the bolts which attach the body to the side walls and drill holes in the correct positions on the new ply. These bolts can be a problem as they rust
Great video..I have a 1994 Bailey Discovery Maru 2 berth..the underneath is as solid as the day it was made..I've lived in it for the last 4 years without any issues..I'll give it a coat of preservative when I get a chance..luv the channel 👍
Not as difficult as I first thought.The hardest part would for me,getting the electric for the tools and the fact I don't have a work pit,but it doesn't look impossible.Thanks for an informative video(Bailey Orion 430/4,2012)
Need to add a lip or similar so the rain drips off rather than tracking on to the ply. I now have a 1994 Elddis which the ply is dry 16:47 and solid. Previously had a 2014 Bailey Pursuit with similar probs as the video
Glad I’ve come across this video, given me the confidence to have a crack at my Bailey! Can I ask what the sealant was you used and the thickness of the on please?
Great to see that this can be repaired. Not cheap but cheaper than a new caravan. A couple of questions: What are you screwing into? What about the strength after? What paint did you use? Thanks for another interesting video.
Great question, I am also interested about the strength of the repair especially in the area where the steady is attached. Just inserting a small piece of ply makes it look nice but it will have very little structural strength. The last repair that was shown going back to the chassis leg extension was much better but I still have reservations. If it were mine then I think I would be looking for a much larger repair patch going the full width of the caravan.
The screws are going into the wood towards the rear of the caravan, the ones in the front just go into the insulation just to hold the ply in place until bond and seal goes off. These is no real strength in that part of the floor, re bonding ply in that area will strengthen it to a higher degree than the damaged wood would be doing.
Hi, We have a swift, it's only 3 yrs old but will check it. Great advice for all and informative. Can't believe that bailey are still producing vans with this issue ongoing. Thanks Paul.
Absolutely right I had the van serviced and the engineer tools the 2 damp crystal containers out of the sink the liquid inside is intact Hydrochloric acid so I moved the van after it was serviced and didn’t realise then2 containers were now on the worktop the containers slid off and filled the CPU fuse well upnwith Hydrochloric acid which with 12volt on it filled van with acid fumes and the Sargeant CPU was aright off my fault lesson learned don’t use damp control dessicant containers Keith
Another great informative video. We have a Swift, I normally store it nose down so the water runs forward away from the rear roof strap. Any advice about front or rear water shedding for storage?
On the Baileys the skirt rail is in two sections you can remove these and put a 40mm piece of 1mm strip of plastic between the outside wall and inner core to form a 15mm drip strip, when you re-fix these rails both need to be trimmed to clear the drip strip. You can get suitable plasti from B+Q or Eurocell.
One thought. Why don't dealers include a refresh of wood preserver as a part of an annual service, or as an option add-on to a service? IIRC Hymer used to make it mandatory on Eribas that the floor was reproofed every year with a product they supplied in order to keep the warranty valid.
Great video, awful music 😉 I guessing this was a Bailey Alutec? If Bailey saw sense and used plastic coated flooring like Swift & Elddis do nowadays would that resolved the issue? I've seen your video on the Coachman with it's longer panels and how it diverts the water away from the floor, so if a van was built combining those 2 technologies, along with plastic wood framing would that resolve a lot of damp issues?
I took ages picking that music! No, it was a Swift fairway.. it seems like it would be a good idea to use a GRP floor, I’ve not seen the 2025 vans yet, fingers crossed.
@@atlanticcaravansUK Hi Darren, funnily enough I was at a VIP show at my supplying dealer (thats caravan dealer 🙂)yesterday and was looking at their Coachman, Elddis & Swift offerings. Rather taken with the new Swift Exclusive but the dealers, like mine, who supply dealer specials are a bit miffed that Swift has potentially taken away their exclusivity, and I believe this has been fed back upline. As, like you, I like to keep up to date with who's doing what I also like pouring over the 2025 manufacturers brochures. On the Bailey site I noticed this hiding in the Details section under the Alutech section: "Floor panel built using a plywood skin with a vinyl covered underside, timber frame and a high-density Styrofoam insulation core (2025 season models onward)" So I wonder if Bailey have finally had a dim light bulb moment and realised that one of their achilles heels with the rotting floors is due to the bridging with the lower skirting and water running down soaking the plywood base? Does this mean they've finally adopted a base which will be water resistant? I'll be crawling under one at the NEC to check it out!! As an aside a few decades ago I worked as a Rep for Wurth. One of the products I sold into many Car Repair Bodyshops and Restoration Workshops was a thick black wax. It was applied using a schultz gun, and not to be confused with the more common underseal. I wonder if that was applied to a wooden underside if it'd create an effective barrier against the demon water saturation? Another of my ideas was to utilise a L profile UPVC extrusion bonding it to the lower skirting and creating a diversion for the run off water. If done correctly it should avoid the underside ply altogether. Just an idea...
Yes but that’s not the point. As a builder by trade I was taught to prime all exterior timber before assembly even if it was H3 treated. I certainly wouldn’t be happy if this was my van.
@@allantaylor3288 fair enough, I’m sure it’ll last a good ten years with regular treatment, and it was sealed in as you saw in the video, so not quite sure how water could get into the areas you mentioned. But I’ll mention it to the guys.
Can not believe they use untreated plywood, that is asking for trouble. H3 treated should be the minimum. It appears the repairs were done with untreated material and no attempt made to seal or protect the outer edges, so it will rot again. Metalex is a very good product for sealing edges against rot, if they can not use H3 treated for some reason at least do that. I wont be buying one, that's for sure.
@@atlanticcaravansUK I hope I'm not being rude, but you said the job took about 4 to 5 hours and so would cost about £750, does that mean your rate is about £150 or more per hour?
Glad I’ve come across this video, given me the confidence to have a crack at my Bailey! Can I ask what the sealant was you used and the thickness of the on please?
