leak in my westy hightop

[janieh]

Hi Guys

I've got a leak in my van, it's coming through a little hole just above the windscreen on the driver's side. We've got a Westy hightop and it looks as if the outside has got rusty around the edge of where the hightop joins the metalwork. (I don't know what the right name is for the ridge that runs around the top of the van?) I've stuck a few photos here:
https://picasaweb.google.com/1085847576 ... directlink" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I'm wondering what sort of job it is to get this sorted? Would the hitop need to come off to get at this sort of rust? and should the whole of this ledge be cleaned out and refilled somehow as I'm guessing there's probably water getting into this seal all along the ledge. It's not something that me or my husband have the time / skills to deal with as we have a new baby and don't really know what we're doing!

If anyone can recommend somewhere that could do this sort of work, preferably in London or the South East, that would be very helpful.
Thanks
Jane

[Plasticman]

a lot of this sort of corrosion comes from condensation within the roof void at bthe front , by the time its externally visisble it will have spread inside quite a bit, depends on wether you want a temp quick fix or the area making good sort of permanently,
mm

[janieh]

a lot of this sort of corrosion comes from condensation within the roof void at bthe front , by the time its externally visisble it will have spread inside quite a bit, depends on wether you want a temp quick fix or the area making good sort of permanently,
mm

I would rather it got fixed more permanently than just bodge it for now. Could you explain what the roof void is?

[Plasticman]

the void is what it says , a void,
you have your vans metal roof and a hitop has been bonded to the top of this and internally there are variaose fitments, these do not fill the space entirely so leave a void, this is bare fibreglass inside and condensation forms on it and collects on the lower points of the metal roof and causes the types of corrosion you see.
there are other reasons etc but we neednt go into that in this instance see
https://club8090.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.p ... therevagon" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
for what im talikn g about
mm

[..lee..]

There's a few posts with pics of the westy high top corrosion problems. I can't find them otherwise I'd post them up for you. I tried looking. As these high tops are getting older it seems to becoming more common to see the roofs rotted out. Some can be really bad. Try and find the posts. You could strip the inner roof panels out and have good look before you commit either way.

If you have to take the roof off its quite a pain and you'll more than likely ruin the westy gutter system that westfalia used to clamp the roof down. You'd need then to make this all good somehow.

Lee.

[janieh]

There's a few posts with pics of the westy high top corrosion problems. I can't find them otherwise I'd post them up for you. I tried looking. As these high tops are getting older it seems to becoming more common to see the roofs rotted out. Some can be really bad. Try and find the posts. You could strip the inner roof panels out and have good look before you commit either way.

If you have to take the roof off its quite a pain and you'll more than likely ruin the westy gutter system that westfalia used to clamp the roof down. You'd need then to make this all good somehow.

Lee.

Thanks, I'll have a look for those for some more info. Generally our van is in pretty good condition, the rest of the bodywork doesn't have too much rust so I'm hoping the roof issues aren't too major.

If anyone can recommend any suitable places that can do this work in London/ the south east I'd be very grateful.

[..lee..]

Get it assessed first. Hopefully it's nothing much to worry about. It until its assessed no one will know what's in store for them.

[AdrianC]

It's also worth checking if the water's coming in to the hightop elsewhere, but that's where it's emerging into daylight. For us, the major leak was the skylights, but it was actually emerging from three different places - the rim of the rear skylight, the rear lip of the above-bed cupboard and the grab handle on the front passenger's pillar - depending on angle.

However, I know that we've got another leak - it was peeing in good & proper yesterday morning, and dripping onto the duvet from that rear lip. I think it's the seal around the edge of the top.

[Hacksawbob]

+1 for checking the skylights first, the westys have VERY good insulation, heating and ventilation (through the skylights, so condensation is not usually a problem inside the roof. Unfortunately this glass fibre type insulation can also act like a sponge and retain any moisture that does get in from outside, if it does, when find its way to the bottom of the high top its anyone's guess where it will end up pooling, depends how you tend to park, nose up or down. it could be entering from anywhere even the back, you just have to keep going until you eliminate all the possibilities. I had a lot of micro cracks in the rubber sealant I used a rotary rough type disk on a grinder to cut out as much of the original and replaced it all with proper seam sealant http://www.olearymotorhomes.co.uk/olear ... e-50-p.asp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; I think from memory it took me three tubes to do it all, its a messy, time consuming job and difficult to get right. The rear where the rivets that join the top to the body is a known weak spot for capillary water entering. Also check the top for cracks in the gel coat.