I would take the skylights out clean them and the surrounding hole and reseal them with the use of a sealant gun and plenty of sealant. Campervans number 1 enemy is water ingress it rots and rusts everything not to mention the black mould that accompanies it. Considering it has been out in the rain like this for many years I am quite surprised that it actually passed the mot. Wish you the best with your endeavour's to resurrect this once proud little home on wheels.
@@SocksWithSandals How about getting a tarp to put over the roof whilst you sort out the leaks. Then just take it off whenever you want to test your fixes, just a thought...might give the old girl a bit of time to dry out.
Tim it might be worth going to a proper roofing place and buying a big tin of liquid plastic and coat the whole roof and the upstands. That will seal the whole roof. They do various colours. Coming from a Roofer of 20 years. Hope you get it sorted
You need to remove the skylight completly from the roof.then remove all old sealant from the roof and skylight before resealing it and refitting the skylight.i had the same problem and stickoflix worked for me.good luck.👍
Hi Tim. You could always remove the skylights completely and get some aluminium chequer plate that is around 100mm minmum larger than the hole all around and glue it over the hole. I repaired some holes a few years ago by doing something similar. Just an idea. Take care.
@@SocksWithSandals you definitely have the right attitude just keep going and trying the best way you can and have a positive outlook, it's what's needed
Preparation is key. Take interior skylight plastic surround off clean it. I would take the ceiling down, you will find a wooden frame around the skylight it will most probably be rotten. You will have to rebuild this Then take sky light off clean it and I don’t mean a quick wipe with some tissue it must be spotless. Put it all back together and repeat for all skylights,window frames and anywhere there’s a join in the body work. That’s a lot of work, I would try and find one of the old fiberglass BT Luton boxes a lot have been made in to trailers. You could strike lucky and find one kitted out. They’re a bit shorter than your van but that would leave room for a large veranda to store your bike. Anyway you do it is going to be a lot of work. Lots of new caravans leek. Every bump you go over compromises the joints. Good luck.
It's not the appearance from helicopters that I'm worried about it's that I cannot make a bird in that place while a saucepan full of rain gets through every night.
Use flash band from B&Q. Ensure you also apply flash band primer prior to sticking the flash band down. Ideal for what you need it for, should last you 5 years or more. I've used it on my fibre glass shed roof on my skylight and seams, worked a treat.😅
Best to extend ladders so higher than the camper if they can go to that height , if they will go a few feet higher you can get up and down easier , don't know if anyone has already said this as not read other comments .
Might be an idea to park the mh on bricks or timber at the front to ensure the waterpooling on the roof runs off , now that it starts and can be moved ,
Hope you get it sorted soon and hope you get some dry weather..winters fast approaching and that’s one headache you could do without having leaky sky lights
It certainly has kept me busy attempting to get this old girl back on the road, but at least it makes for better content than being stuck in a broken down Pack it in, Stan.
@@SocksWithSandals be well worth it buddy can’t wait to see the finished product..yeah don’t buy of one of those again ay lol..again it makes for interesting content I’ve certainly enjoyed it mate
Hi mate, Try 'Sikaflex 522' (seen someone else metion stikaflex, think they mean Sikaflex as above, though there may also be a stikaflex or whatever). It's used by boaty making people originally, but van builders use it these days now too- boats and vans have to be pretty flexible to accommodate all the movement as opposed to houses/guttering which doesn't move too much, though i appreciate yours hasnt been too move'y for a while! I used it in my conversion and it's great compared to normal cheap sealants etc. you'd use for houses. Obviously as has been suggested - best to rip them out fully and clean all the old sh1t off properly for a perfect seal, but i can tell you'd rather just smash a load of stuff on top and hope that that works. I reckon this stuff may be your best option to try just bashing a load on top of your existing stuff. Buy a couple of (expensive) tubes and try it on one area and see how it goes? Get it off ebay, normal shops don't sell it. I'm far, far away- otherwise I'd buy you a couple and pop over and put it on for ya. And just buy another £5 gun for the tubes, most are fine, occasionally you just get unlucky and its a crap one that breaks straight away, as you've unfortunately experienced. Good luck to you, Sir
My first thought was to comment on the funny side and so I will 🙂 If the England flag was made in England (or indeed anywhere in the UK) then you could wash it and reuse multiple times, much like the old nappies 🤣 Slap a bit of disinfectant on and it will beat Izal apart from the eventual decomposition 🤣🤣 Having read the comments, I see that you are open to sensible suggestions at this point. My suggestion is to disconnect all electrics to avoid any problems if you cut through any wiring in the ceiling. Use a jigsaw or similar to cut a square hole about 6" larger than the rooflight. Replace the rotten battened frame underneath and reinstall using caravan mastic tape. Your roof is flexible and will distort for many reasons. Heat, cold and vibration will all play a part but if you reseal with thick and wide 'caravan mastic tape' you will solve the problem 👍 Mastic tape is immensely sticky and flexible and will solve your problem. You can also buy caravan mastic in tubes but that is only useful for small gaps 👍
@@SocksWithSandals Yes but you wouldn't biz on the Welsh flag, or would you 🤣I thought you would remember Izal, It's that greaseproof bog roll that used to be everywhere in '60's and '70's and it was shit🤣
Once you stop the water ingress you will have to replace alot of the floor i did a old hymer and ended up putting fresh wood in. Chalk is right you will have to take out the sky lights clean and reseal
You need to check the roof for corrosion pin holes and either fill them with good Metal filler or fibreglass over them. If you don’t get the rot out and replace with good wood like the side in the door way the whole van will become dangerous n drop in bits. You seem a decent guy but this restoration is probably too much for you to do properly
You could use some black jack ..bitumin paint to stop any leaks....its only £20 a tin..... Just paint it around the edges of the sky lights...to stop the leaks... You need some help from your friends?
I've reduced a badly leaking skylight down to a very occasional leak using flash band, someone suggested a few coats of varnish over that which may help
I completely sealed my skylights all 3 of them I had same problem my Talbot express 33 years old and completely painted the roof with a fiberglass flexible paint so it moves with the van when I'm moving and doesn't crank I painted it with just flat roof paint at first but soon as van moved it cracked I had to strip it all off and paint it with fiberglass flexibility paint 5yars ago not leaked since I can get the name of it if you want
disastrous, practice makes perfect spend more time on prep & clean area before applying sealant, the door requires a new piece of wood in place then you can reassemble the broken bottom door area ,im guessing you had alot of rain so the areas to address are obvious and no more found so persevere with the areas and if i was you really do a good job as a dry van is paramount for your health, with these issues resolved the rest will be a breeze ,lol,also yer not seeing much sun as solar didnt top up the batteries but its improving to get a good ignition to raise the spirits, you have tragically devalued the van putting a welsh flag on it 🤣,also puts stress on the bodywork which at mo not a good idea lol im not sure if you'd get anymore for it with the english flag 🤔 on that note all the best on getting these issues resolved ,i see you've had lots of suggestions all on similar lines so follow the advice and all will be ok touch wood cheers sam
I have used Cromapol fibreglass paint on my motorhome roof it's extremely good at sealing around openings. It's a good idea to thoroughly clean the area first buddy and also use some sandpaper to create a key on the fiberglass so that everything bonds nicely. If you really want to go belt some braces the best way to fix a fiberglass roof is to use fiberglass you can buy a kit cheaply with everything you need and it's not particularly difficult to do but you do need to give it a coat of Cromapol paint afterwards to protect the fresh fiberglass from ultraviolet. good luck. 100mm flahband from toolstation is good stuf too
for the step you're going to need to put an new piece of wood in, get yourself a couple of tubes of the original Green gripfill solvent based it's cheap a couple of quid in Toolstation pick yourself up a new gun while you're there! The gripfill will stick very well to the new wood the aluminium edging and the fiberglass just try and get everything as dry as possible it's sets like stone avoid getting it on your fingers it'll be there even longer than the gutter sealant!
There's a word to describe somebody like you.....'Resilient'
The walking Eisteddfod speaks.
@@SocksWithSandals it was the Ddraig goch that lured me out of the cave.
Standing proudly between the green grass and the rainclouds, like the spirit of the Welsh people.
@@SocksWithSandals And I'm even more chuffed to have a comment pinned. A real honour. Diolch Tim.
I enjoyed watching a few of your videos this evening, Daf, and admire your courage in speaking out the truth.
If your duct tape lets go. Get some flashband . I've used that on caravan roofs over the years. Highly recommended.
I'll see if I can get some. Thank you.
I would take the skylights out clean them and the surrounding hole and reseal them with the use of a sealant gun and plenty of sealant. Campervans number 1 enemy is water ingress it rots and rusts everything not to mention the black mould that accompanies it. Considering it has been out in the rain like this for many years I am quite surprised that it actually passed the mot. Wish you the best with your endeavour's to resurrect this once proud little home on wheels.
Judging by the past four MOT mileage counts, it has only been driven to the MOT test centre and back the past four years.
@@SocksWithSandals That is interesting was it the same mot centre each time?
Yes, there is only one MOT centre in the area that can deal with large vehicles like this.
@@SocksWithSandals How about getting a tarp to put over the roof whilst you sort out the leaks. Then just take it off whenever you want to test your fixes, just a thought...might give the old girl a bit of time to dry out.
Tim it might be worth going to a proper roofing place and buying a big tin of liquid plastic and coat the whole roof and the upstands. That will seal the whole roof. They do various colours. Coming from a Roofer of 20 years. Hope you get it sorted
The resin in the fibreglass is waterproof; it's only where the panels are cut or joined that the water can ingress.
You need to remove the skylight completly from the roof.then remove all old sealant from the roof and skylight before resealing it and refitting the skylight.i had the same problem and stickoflix worked for me.good luck.👍
Thank you for the advice, Gary.
Hi Tim. You could always remove the skylights completely and get some aluminium chequer plate that is around 100mm minmum larger than the hole all around and glue it over the hole. I repaired some holes a few years ago by doing something similar. Just an idea. Take care.
That is a very good idea, John.
Like ya videos great character and look forward to ya next ones ya so laid back and chilled about things
Life is just one big, difficult, fun challenge after another.
@@SocksWithSandals very true m8 keep ap ya great videos
My heart goes out to you really does, something needs to work out for you eventually
Wow, I'm not lacking in perseverance and tenacity, Gaz. DIY ability is sorely lacking.
@@SocksWithSandals you definitely have the right attitude just keep going and trying the best way you can and have a positive outlook, it's what's needed
Thanks, Coach!
Preparation is key. Take interior skylight plastic surround off clean it. I would take the ceiling down, you will find a wooden frame around the skylight it will most probably be rotten. You will have to rebuild this Then take sky light off clean it and I don’t mean a quick wipe with some tissue it must be spotless. Put it all back together and repeat for all skylights,window frames and anywhere there’s a join in the body work. That’s a lot of work, I would try and find one of the old fiberglass BT Luton boxes a lot have been made in to trailers. You could strike lucky and find one kitted out. They’re a bit shorter than your van but that would leave room for a large veranda to store your bike. Anyway you do it is going to be a lot of work. Lots of new caravans leek. Every bump you go over compromises the joints. Good luck.
No, I'm not buying a trailer.
cant beat a good cuppa tea on a cold rainy day
Hit the spot ☕️
Until recently, there was a Fiat Ducato motorhome with a felt roof local to me, look odd but did the trick
I can see the reason why the owner was pushed to put that felt roof on there.
Not the worst idea if you cut it tidy you woukd not notuce it from the ground @SocksWithSandals
It's not the appearance from helicopters that I'm worried about it's that I cannot make a bird in that place while a saucepan full of rain gets through every night.
Use flash band from B&Q. Ensure you also apply flash band primer prior to sticking the flash band down. Ideal for what you need it for, should last you 5 years or more.
I've used it on my fibre glass shed roof on my skylight and seams, worked a treat.😅
Someone else recommended that too in these comments. I'll see if I can get some from B&Q tomorrow.
Best to extend ladders so higher than the camper if they can go to that height , if they will go a few feet higher you can get up and down easier , don't know if anyone has already said this as not read other comments .
I must say I didn't really have a problem when it was three feet below the roof, but it was definitely easier having the ladder extended.
Might be an idea to park the mh on bricks or timber at the front to ensure the waterpooling on the roof runs off , now that it starts and can be moved ,
Now that it starts? Yes, great suggestion if I can fire up the motor.
Iam.sure some one around has jump leads to get. Ya going
Hope you get it sorted soon and hope you get some dry weather..winters fast approaching and that’s one headache you could do without having leaky sky lights
The weather forecast is threatening a couple of dry days tomorrow in the day after, but they have been wrong so many times this year.
@@SocksWithSandals hope they are dry for ya mate..enjoyed following you and this little project is awesome..
It certainly has kept me busy attempting to get this old girl back on the road, but at least it makes for better content than being stuck in a broken down Pack it in, Stan.
@@SocksWithSandals be well worth it buddy can’t wait to see the finished product..yeah don’t buy of one of those again ay lol..again it makes for interesting content I’ve certainly enjoyed it mate
I had no choice - it was all I could afford.
I will come out the other side smelling of roses and spitting canary feathers!
This is turning into a classic Top Gear skit - Clarkson has nothing on your spannering skills Sir.
Yeeeees!
Hi mate,
Try 'Sikaflex 522' (seen someone else metion stikaflex, think they mean Sikaflex as above, though there may also be a stikaflex or whatever). It's used by boaty making people originally, but van builders use it these days now too- boats and vans have to be pretty flexible to accommodate all the movement as opposed to houses/guttering which doesn't move too much, though i appreciate yours hasnt been too move'y for a while!
I used it in my conversion and it's great compared to normal cheap sealants etc. you'd use for houses.
Obviously as has been suggested - best to rip them out fully and clean all the old sh1t off properly for a perfect seal, but i can tell you'd rather just smash a load of stuff on top and hope that that works. I reckon this stuff may be your best option to try just bashing a load on top of your existing stuff. Buy a couple of (expensive) tubes and try it on one area and see how it goes? Get it off ebay, normal shops don't sell it.
I'm far, far away- otherwise I'd buy you a couple and pop over and put it on for ya.
And just buy another £5 gun for the tubes, most are fine, occasionally you just get unlucky and its a crap one that breaks straight away, as you've unfortunately experienced.
Good luck to you, Sir
I will buy a better glue gun tomorrow and the right chemical.
I did an old camper sky light with flash banding never leaked again😊
Next gap in the rain 🌧 I'll have another go at it, but this time armed with the knowledge of my amazing viewers.
If a job is worth doing it's worth doing twice or three or four times - you'll sort it one day Tim - you might need a few tools on this build.
It will succeed, despite my utter incompetence!
My first thought was to comment on the funny side and so I will 🙂 If the England flag was made in England (or indeed anywhere in the UK) then you could wash it and reuse multiple times, much like the old nappies 🤣 Slap a bit of disinfectant on and it will beat Izal apart from the eventual decomposition 🤣🤣
Having read the comments, I see that you are open to sensible suggestions at this point.
My suggestion is to disconnect all electrics to avoid any problems if you cut through any wiring in the ceiling. Use a jigsaw or similar to cut a square hole about 6" larger than the rooflight. Replace the rotten battened frame underneath and reinstall using caravan mastic tape.
Your roof is flexible and will distort for many reasons. Heat, cold and vibration will all play a part but if you reseal with thick and wide 'caravan mastic tape' you will solve the problem 👍
Mastic tape is immensely sticky and flexible and will solve your problem. You can also buy caravan mastic in tubes but that is only useful for small gaps 👍
Both the England and Wales flags were made in China. What is Izal?
@@SocksWithSandals Yes but you wouldn't biz on the Welsh flag, or would you 🤣I thought you would remember Izal, It's that greaseproof bog roll that used to be everywhere in '60's and '70's and it was shit🤣
Oh yes, fond memories of failing to wipe my bottom properly in public toilets!
@@SocksWithSandals It was a messy job!
4:55 yeah, for the renovation of the 36 year motorhome, I’ve imagine that you need to spend more times, days and money.
Not much money, as I intend to do all the work myself.
@@SocksWithSandalsare you sure about that?
Once you stop the water ingress you will have to replace alot of the floor i did a old hymer and ended up putting fresh wood in. Chalk is right you will have to take out the sky lights clean and reseal
Yeah, I've seen a better skylight that I want and will probably install that next summer..
4M mastic take skyłights out and do it properły
🚐☕️☕️👍🏼🏴🌈🙏🏼💙❤️💙❤️
Thank you, Chalky.
Dry it off and use CT1 you need to clean and prepare the surfaces properly….
I will look into that now, Paul.
SPF foam - not pretty but easy waterproof seal. Best insulation for your van too. Keep your weight off the roof.
Exactly. I'm off to B&Q now. See what I find there.
You need to check the roof for corrosion pin holes and either fill them with good
Metal filler or fibreglass over them.
If you don’t get the rot out and replace with good wood like the side in the door way the whole van will become dangerous n drop in bits.
You seem a decent guy but this restoration is probably too much for you to do properly
I have been wondering if the coachwork will eventually rip off the chassis and drag along the road. That will be game over for The Mansion.
You could use some black jack ..bitumin paint to stop any leaks....its only £20 a tin.....
Just paint it around the edges of the sky lights...to stop the leaks...
You need some help from your friends?
That is a good idea 💡
I've reduced a badly leaking skylight down to a very occasional leak using flash band, someone suggested a few coats of varnish over that which may help
Yes, there appears to be a lot of consensus around that approach.
I completely sealed my skylights all 3 of them I had same problem my Talbot express 33 years old and completely painted the roof with a fiberglass flexible paint so it moves with the van when I'm moving and doesn't crank I painted it with just flat roof paint at first but soon as van moved it cracked I had to strip it all off and paint it with fiberglass flexibility paint 5yars ago not leaked since I can get the name of it if you want
Yes, I have ordered dark green and dark brown flexible fibreglass paint so I can do a camo design on the roof.
And hopefully stop the leaks!
💧💧
🚐
Yer hands are quite waterproof now pal 😂
What a pointless exercise all that was!
@@SocksWithSandals I suggest you are not taking these repairs seriously Tim 😂😂
Incorrect suggestion.
Just a suggestion but you could look into a product called Marley deck that’s if it’s still available I used it quite a few years back
Top tip. I'll look into it.
disastrous, practice makes perfect spend more time on prep & clean area before applying sealant, the door requires a new piece of wood in place then you can reassemble the broken bottom door area ,im guessing you had alot of rain so the areas to address are obvious and no more found so persevere with the areas and if i was you really do a good job as a dry van is paramount for your health, with these issues resolved the rest will be a breeze ,lol,also yer not seeing much sun as solar didnt top up the batteries but its improving to get a good ignition to raise the spirits, you have tragically devalued the van putting a welsh flag on it 🤣,also puts stress on the bodywork which at mo not a good idea lol im not sure if you'd get anymore for it with the english flag 🤔 on that note all the best on getting these issues resolved ,i see you've had lots of suggestions all on similar lines so follow the advice and all will be ok touch wood cheers sam
What a long rambling sentence, Sam.
@@SocksWithSandals makes sense especially on health the water ingress has to stop and youll be fine
Yes.
@@SocksWithSandals sorry for poor grammar i failed 11+due to not going to school i even sought freedom at a very young age 😁
Just put a full stop at the end of each idea and begin the next sentence with a capital letter. Like I just did.
Ide scrap it
I'd spell "I'd" correctly.
Thanks for the correction you are quite right 👍
Obviously Tim has more vision and more grit and determination than most Men , he will take it in it's stride watch this space bob . ;)
❤️💙❤️💙❤️💙❤️💙❤️
I have used Cromapol fibreglass paint on my motorhome roof it's extremely good at sealing around openings. It's a good idea to thoroughly clean the area first buddy and also use some sandpaper to create a key on the fiberglass so that everything bonds nicely. If you really want to go belt some braces the best way to fix a fiberglass roof is to use fiberglass you can buy a kit cheaply with everything you need and it's not particularly difficult to do but you do need to give it a coat of Cromapol paint afterwards to protect the fresh fiberglass from ultraviolet. good luck. 100mm flahband from toolstation is good stuf too
Yeah, Brian, a lot of other people in the comments had similar suggestions.
for the step you're going to need to put an new piece of wood in, get yourself a couple of tubes of the original Green gripfill solvent based it's cheap a couple of quid in Toolstation pick yourself up a new gun while you're there! The gripfill will stick very well to the new wood the aluminium edging and the fiberglass just try and get everything as dry as possible it's sets like stone avoid getting it on your fingers it'll be there even longer than the gutter sealant!
On it.