We got our 2009 Triton 430 GT private sale in April. Previously we'd had a 'big white box on wheels' (i.e. a 2 berth Ace Brightstar) and hated towing it. Towing the Eriba is a dream even with our downsized towcar; a SEAT Ibiza. Small is beautiful! We love the look of the van and its efficient use of space

We took the Triton up to Orkney in August and had a great trip. Only problem was the lovely Scottish weather started to get inside the caravan: Damp appeared along the join with the floor under the rear seat and below the rear window. Having got home now and storing the van under its cover for a couple of weeks, I was shocked to find a pool of water on the floor between the rear seats yesterday... we have clearly got a leak. AAAGH

Could this be the rear window seal? How easy is it to fix? The caravan repairers don't seem to want to get back to me, so perhaps i could do it myself.

Has anyone here had similar problems and what was the solution?

Thanks Randa, The rear window seal doesn't look perished. I'll have a look at the posts on the forum and hopefully find the solution. Apart from the water the van is great !!

Hello Mr Whosisface (I presume you're a Mr as otherwise your mother would have named you Whoserface )

Anyway, to the point.

I've resealed and repaired the backs of a few Eribas with exactly the same symptoms as you describe. Water entering the wall structure soaks into the expanded polystyrene insulation, and over time will trickle down to the floor.

On the first van the ingress was due to faulty sealant around the inside of the rear window seal; water was entering the van at both top corners of the window at the joint where the rear panel that runs across the top of the window overlaps the main panel that's wrapped around from the side.

The junction of the two panels aren't flush, there's something like a 2mm step where the top of the rear panel overlaps the side panel, and the top corners of the window seal deform as they go over this step - if the window seal's internal mastic is missing (for whatever reason) in either or both these areas, then rainwater will run into the gap(s) and into the van's wall structure.

If your rear window seal has this problem, but is otherwise in good condition, then you could make good by injecting a non-drying bedding sealant behind the window seal. Seamseal CV is the correct stuff to use here.

In the other vans I repaired, water was entering through gaps in the awning rail caused by loose screws and shrinkage of the sealant, particularly around the rear corners where there was quite a large gap.

Have a look at the top of the rail to see if there's any gaps in there.

If you find it needs resealing the best approach is to unscrew the rail starting from the rear centre (where there is a join) and around passed each rear corner. You'll then be able to scrape the old sealant away and clean both surfaces. Apply a good non-setting sealant (I use Sika EBT+ from Screwfix, which is available in colours, various).

After the reseal is completed you'll need to remove the rear wallboard and the expanded polystyrene insulation panels in order to dry them out.

With the area now exposed you may find the internal steel frame has some surface rust; this will need to be removed and a coat of paint applied - Hammerite's as good as any for this.

Hello Pepe; thanks for the reply. I dont think the puddle is Orcadian water, but we first noticed damp patches under the window and where the rear wall joins the floor when we were on holiday up there. It is wet inside the white plastic finishing strip that runs along the bottom of the wall. There is only cold water plumbing, separate for kitchen and bathroom. The cover is in good condition, but there was some heavy rain before we covered the van up so water could have got in then.

I'd be interested to hear about your experience of water ingress and how you solved it.

cheers
Ian

Hello John,

Thanks for those detailed suggestions. I'll give them a try and hopefully they'll fix it

cheers
Ian

Tom &Margaret