Sealing Joints - Hymer

4806 Views 5 Replies 4 Participants Last post by jhelm, May 24, 2009

jhelm

Discussion Starter · May 23, 2009

We have a 2000 Hymer 644 C, the dealer we bought it from told us the exterior joints should be resealed every couple of years. There have been a couple of small leaks, but those have been fixed before they caused any damage. The camper is nice and dry and all the joints seem to be original and look tight. I don't really see how it could easily be resealed other than running some caulking along the edges, without taking the whole joint apart. So I'm thinking that if it's not broken don't fix it. But I wonder what the general practice is? I don't really trust what the dealer told us.

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teal

· #2 · May 23, 2009

Hymer resealing

Hi, i should think that resealing would be about five years unless there is a fault at the beginning such as in the caravan world where brand new ones have suffered ingress within few months. With yours has it got an awning rail around the joint if so its off with the rail and reseal . My Brother-law had a dealer apply sealer without taking the rails off when he bought it and 2 years on when i tested it the whole back had to come off and panels inside repaired as well ,cost £1500.The said years ago that Hymer do not have water ingress but when on a rally with them they use to damp test for us whilst on site and they found i had damp.Peter Hambilton at Preston done ours for Madisons under warranty which included one window out and door seals done. He done a good job and it did not suffer again. Good Luck.

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108777

· #3 · May 23, 2009

Hi, a handy way of getting at small breaks in the sealing is Captain Tolleys Creeping Crack Cure. The web site is at www.captaintolley.co.uk It is a small squeezey bottle of thin penetrating silicon sealant. I found a leak under the trim on the rear corner using this. You simply start at the top of a 'run' and squeeze a couple of drops in the joint, enough to get a droplet rolling. Whenever it finds a hole - capillary action causes the drop to disappear immediately. Just repeat in that area until the gap is sealed and the drop resumes its journey downwards. I bought mine at a boat chandlers and I believe some caravan dealers stock it

Mike

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jhelm

Discussion Starter · #4 · May 24, 2009

My main question is: is it necessary to have joints resealed every couple of years if there are no leaks?

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sprokit

· #5 · May 24, 2009

jhelm said:
My main question is: is it necessary to have joints resealed every couple of years if there are no leaks?

My Hymer is now 12 years old - recently I was at Peter Hambiltons (having a different job done) and he asked me if I'd ever had the sealing trim strips replaced - apparently they go brittle after a while and can cause leakage. To my knowledge they've never been changed - after he'd inspected them, he recommended that I have them replaced "sometime in the next couple of years" - so to answer your question - if my van is going to be 14 years old before the seals are refurbished - I don't think you need to do it every couple of years unless you've had a leakage problem - and even then I'd only entrust the work to someone like Peter and his workforce - not cheap, but at least the work will be done properly.

HTH

Keith (Sprokit)

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jhelm

Discussion Starter · #6 · May 24, 2009

That's the kind of info I'm looking for. Thanks,

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