Restoring an Elddis Earl Caravan part 2
****Please note before taking on a restoration, you should do as much research as you can, there are plenty of sites devoted to caravans being restored by their owners, and countless times I have used these when I am stuck, I by no means consider myself an expert and am more than willing to take someone's advice, so if you have a better way of doing something ,please let me know. Likewise I am always happy to give my help, but I cannot be held responsible for any advice that is given on this site, it is purely my own opinion****.
The photo that shows the cause of all the damp, proves that once the timber that holds the rail in place starts to leak unless caught early on, will do untold damage to the van itself, what made this worse was that someone had tried to seal the rail from the outside without taking it off, If you ever do a temporary repair just to seal a rail. only use sealant on the top of the rail, if you put it on the bottom as well and the rail starts to leak from the top the only place it can go is inside the caravan.
Removing a wall board and polystyrene. If you have damp that has affected the wallboard the ply should come away from the polystyrene quite easily, it will usually leave one thin piece glued to the polystyrene, this I cut a square out with a sharp craft knife and gently remove the polystyrene until I am down to the aluminum, then I cut lines in the polystyrene and gently push a wide bladed scraper between the polystyrene and the aluminum the polystyrene should come away quite easily, if it does not, do not lever it out or you will cause damage to the outside of the caravan skin (Yes I did on the first caravan I restored ) just use the scraper again, make sure the knife you are using is a not deep enough to touch the aluminum. When you find a timber cut along each side and when all the polystyrene is removed I use a heat gun to remove the ply from the timber, Solid wallboards I have also used a heat gun to remove, but you must be really careful as polystyrene gives off toxic fumes when burnt, so I use a real low setting on the board and gently pry's it away from the polystyrene.
****Please note before taking on a restoration, you should do as much research as you can, there are plenty of sites devoted to caravans being restored by their owners, and countless times I have used these when I am stuck, I by no means consider myself an expert and am more than willing to take someone's advice, so if you have a better way of doing something ,please let me know. Likewise I am always happy to give my help, but I cannot be held responsible for any advice that is given on this site, it is purely my own opinion****.
The photo that shows the cause of all the damp, proves that once the timber that holds the rail in place starts to leak unless caught early on, will do untold damage to the van itself, what made this worse was that someone had tried to seal the rail from the outside without taking it off, If you ever do a temporary repair just to seal a rail. only use sealant on the top of the rail, if you put it on the bottom as well and the rail starts to leak from the top the only place it can go is inside the caravan.
Removing a wall board and polystyrene. If you have damp that has affected the wallboard the ply should come away from the polystyrene quite easily, it will usually leave one thin piece glued to the polystyrene, this I cut a square out with a sharp craft knife and gently remove the polystyrene until I am down to the aluminum, then I cut lines in the polystyrene and gently push a wide bladed scraper between the polystyrene and the aluminum the polystyrene should come away quite easily, if it does not, do not lever it out or you will cause damage to the outside of the caravan skin (Yes I did on the first caravan I restored ) just use the scraper again, make sure the knife you are using is a not deep enough to touch the aluminum. When you find a timber cut along each side and when all the polystyrene is removed I use a heat gun to remove the ply from the timber, Solid wallboards I have also used a heat gun to remove, but you must be really careful as polystyrene gives off toxic fumes when burnt, so I use a real low setting on the board and gently pry's it away from the polystyrene.
Droopy floor
First repair I decided to do , In front of the wheel arch floor had drooped down, pushed up quite easily from underneath, this was due to the amount of damp that had crept under the plastic floor covering from the front.
First repair I decided to do , In front of the wheel arch floor had drooped down, pushed up quite easily from underneath, this was due to the amount of damp that had crept under the plastic floor covering from the front.
Jacked up
Looks a bit drastic the caravan was jacked on the jacking point then lowered onto the side of the caravan until the floor came level
Looks a bit drastic the caravan was jacked on the jacking point then lowered onto the side of the caravan until the floor came level
Brackets
I made these from old shelf supports as it meant they where quite lightweight but really strong, okay wont win best built but should do the job.
I made these from old shelf supports as it meant they where quite lightweight but really strong, okay wont win best built but should do the job.
Supports fitted
I used 2 holes that where already in the chassis then drilled another 2, I know Al-Ko say you should never drill their chassis but I had no choice, but made sure the holes where painted over all bolts used are stainless steel with sealant behind the washers.
I used 2 holes that where already in the chassis then drilled another 2, I know Al-Ko say you should never drill their chassis but I had no choice, but made sure the holes where painted over all bolts used are stainless steel with sealant behind the washers.
Top corner
I really wanted to avoid removing the cupboards, but due to the top corner feeling damp I decided to do.
I really wanted to avoid removing the cupboards, but due to the top corner feeling damp I decided to do.
Removing wall light
The screws for this are behind a covering strip see next phot.
The screws for this are behind a covering strip see next phot.
All the rot removed
Stripped all the front furniture out, stripped anything that was damp or rotted and began putting in new timber, my tip here is to take the screws out the rails on the outside remove the damaged wood on the inside, cut the new timber to size put glue/sealant on it, the get someone to hold it on the inside while using some smaller screws fasten them back into the rail. I always replace all the polystyrene panneling and timber before I actualy take of the rail for resealing, gives a lot firmer base and makes sure everything is in the correct position.
Stripped all the front furniture out, stripped anything that was damp or rotted and began putting in new timber, my tip here is to take the screws out the rails on the outside remove the damaged wood on the inside, cut the new timber to size put glue/sealant on it, the get someone to hold it on the inside while using some smaller screws fasten them back into the rail. I always replace all the polystyrene panneling and timber before I actualy take of the rail for resealing, gives a lot firmer base and makes sure everything is in the correct position.
The cause of all the damp
this is where the front fibreglass panel joins the fibreglass roof, it has had repairs in the past hence the large number of screw, pointless really as they where just going into rotten timber, all the screws will be removed and all the old sealent taken out. Its realloy hard to understand how one bad rail can effect as much as the caravan that has damp, but once the rails get damp they just get worse.
this is where the front fibreglass panel joins the fibreglass roof, it has had repairs in the past hence the large number of screw, pointless really as they where just going into rotten timber, all the screws will be removed and all the old sealent taken out. Its realloy hard to understand how one bad rail can effect as much as the caravan that has damp, but once the rails get damp they just get worse.
Half inch gap
This is where the fibreglass front panel meet the side panel, this had loads of sealant in it , now I know why this gap must have been there when the caravan was manufactured , I am going to fibreglass this together to form one piece, will be a lot stronger and less likely to get damp.
This is where the fibreglass front panel meet the side panel, this had loads of sealant in it , now I know why this gap must have been there when the caravan was manufactured , I am going to fibreglass this together to form one piece, will be a lot stronger and less likely to get damp.
Wire removal
All the wires I take off are labled using masking tape and writing info on them. I might remember now where they belong but a couple of months on and my age, you never know.
All the wires I take off are labled using masking tape and writing info on them. I might remember now where they belong but a couple of months on and my age, you never know.
Removing decor strip
The decor strip on the bottom of the wall unit has to be removed glued and pinned I used a heat gun on a low setting and gently eased it away.
The decor strip on the bottom of the wall unit has to be removed glued and pinned I used a heat gun on a low setting and gently eased it away.
Strip removed
My idea is to only take the bottom of the unit out because it may cause to much damage to remove the whole unit. Here the screws are visible with the strip out the way.
My idea is to only take the bottom of the unit out because it may cause to much damage to remove the whole unit. Here the screws are visible with the strip out the way.
Plastic lugs
Removed the caps to reveal screws into the wall, all screws removed and the base came off.
Removed the caps to reveal screws into the wall, all screws removed and the base came off.
Base removed
Now I can get access to the corner was not quite as bad as I thought.
Now I can get access to the corner was not quite as bad as I thought.
Repaired door frame
This is where the battery dox fits sides where solid just the top rail a little bit rotten
This is where the battery dox fits sides where solid just the top rail a little bit rotten
Roof stripped
Cut all the damp out of the roof panel had soaked up from the front, Fitted new timber frame to take the new roof.panel.
Cut all the damp out of the roof panel had soaked up from the front, Fitted new timber frame to take the new roof.panel.
New side
Started rebuilding the side, I am using 20mm polystyrene floor panels as used in underfloor heating, I used these in another caravan I did and I was really pleased how strong they make the wall, Quite a bit more expensive than normal polystyren but woth it in my opinion, the timber is treated and then glued on with Sikaflex 512 on any joints and serious stuff on timber not covering a joint.
Started rebuilding the side, I am using 20mm polystyrene floor panels as used in underfloor heating, I used these in another caravan I did and I was really pleased how strong they make the wall, Quite a bit more expensive than normal polystyren but woth it in my opinion, the timber is treated and then glued on with Sikaflex 512 on any joints and serious stuff on timber not covering a joint.
Removing the front windows
The windows will slide along the grove in the strip, If you undo all the screws in the rail and gently apply some heat to the strip you can just pull it a bit away from the recess and slide the windows out.
The windows will slide along the grove in the strip, If you undo all the screws in the rail and gently apply some heat to the strip you can just pull it a bit away from the recess and slide the windows out.
Props holding the frame up
All the strips on the caravan I had up to this removed had extra screws behind the rail holding the timber on the inside, fortunately for me the middle screw would not come out, so I took all the others out and went into the van to get another screwdriver, only to see the frame on the inside had nearly come away from the top, no extra screws behind this one, stuck a couple of props inside the caravan and removed the stubborn screw, Once the windows where out I put three screws back in the rail and removed the props, could have caused quite a bit of damage if it hadn't been for the screw.
All the strips on the caravan I had up to this removed had extra screws behind the rail holding the timber on the inside, fortunately for me the middle screw would not come out, so I took all the others out and went into the van to get another screwdriver, only to see the frame on the inside had nearly come away from the top, no extra screws behind this one, stuck a couple of props inside the caravan and removed the stubborn screw, Once the windows where out I put three screws back in the rail and removed the props, could have caused quite a bit of damage if it hadn't been for the screw.
Prop
This is where from the outside screws hold the window frame. If the top timber had not rotted away I think this maybe would have given aditional support to the top of the windows,
This is where from the outside screws hold the window frame. If the top timber had not rotted away I think this maybe would have given aditional support to the top of the windows,
Best laid plans.
Was going to leave the front window frame in ans just strip the ply off, trouble was I soon realised it was only the ply holding it together. So removed all the window seals undid a few screw that where behind the seals and took it out.
Was going to leave the front window frame in ans just strip the ply off, trouble was I soon realised it was only the ply holding it together. So removed all the window seals undid a few screw that where behind the seals and took it out.
Easier to work on.
At least with the frame removed I can get at the old sealant to remove
At least with the frame removed I can get at the old sealant to remove
My Elddis part 3
