Leaking roof (not canvas)

[holliers]

Hi

Went camping this weekend and it was quite blustery and wet, but nothing too bad.

In the morning when I went into the rear cupboard some of the contents were wet, not considerably, but nevertheless, wet. When I had a feel around it is apparent that there is water coming in from the very top left corner of the van. Apart from the the fact that clothing gets wet, the bigger issue is that the back of the electric hook-up isolator panel is also getting wet as the water runs down the inside of the panels in the van.

I was parked slightly back-left of the van downhill (1 degree according to the iPhone)

Looking up on the roof I see there is a gully with a drain that lets water run through and out into the rear boot door drainage system.

My question is .. is this a common issue with common solution, or is it back to the dealer? I'm reticent to do the later I'm sure they won't try very hard to find a leak and it'll be waste of my time. I'm considering getting the silacone-gun out and sorting it myself.

Any ideas gratefully received

Cheers
Mark

 

[SimplyDubs]

Hi there,

It's almost certainly to do with the drain that you've already identified, give the orientation of you van on the slope.

Very common for this to become blocked and leak back. (Simple enough to clear with a pipe cleaner) Alternatively it may be that the pipe itself was not sealed properly to the bodywork or indeed has a split or crack in it.

Personally, I'd try to isolate it myself with the roof up, in dry weather and the help of a small watering can.

At least then you can make the call to either do it yourself or take it to the dealers.

Rgds
M

 

[holliers]

Thanks M

The pipe definitely isn't blocked. I was up there on Sunday with some water and I let it run through, and then blocked it with my finger "boot side" to see if I could simulate a deluge of rain. It didn't leak through, but I'm figuring there is probably a difference between 10 hours of steady rain and me pouring water over the effected area for 30 minutes.

Nevertheless, good to hear I'm in the right area and there are other occurrences of this, so I think I'm going to try a little bit of silicone and see how I get on.

Do you know if the drain is a single piece (i.e. plug each end with a pipe between as a single moulded unit) or if it is three pieces (i.e. two bungs, with a pipe connecting them)? I'm reticent to start dismantling stuff in the event of a leaky pipe, so if the silicone doesn't work it maybe a dealer-job.

Certainly thought it looked like a candidate for clogging up though, so one item to check on semi-regualr basis.

Thanks very much for the post

Mark