Our Elddis Wisp 450CT was in open storage for about 18 months owing to ill health.
Unfortunately there were cracks/splits in the ABS front panel and they allowed water ingress. The resulting damage was quite atrocious and saddened us somewhat.
This is how the underside of the front shelf looked when we opened the front locker. If you look carefully you maysee the drop of water ready to fall.
This photo shows one of the splits above the front widow
I started to examine the extent of the damage to decide whether I was capable of repairing it.
Notice the knife inserted into the spongy structure
Starting to remove the wallboard.
The junk removed.
There is no point in going any further with this repair unless I can permanently fix the splits in the ABS. The two major splits are above the centre window - one toward the offside and one toward the nearside. I've been told my many people this is very common on the old Elddis Wisps.
Offside split
I was told a new ABS front panel would be £450+.
I spent ages phoning dealers, searching the net and talking to others about the best method to repair ABS. Apparently the best method is welding, but the machines cost more than the front panel.
I discussed it with the dealer I bought it from and they suggested thin aluminium behind the split with plenty of sealant and fill the front with sealant too. Even gave me a bit of an old ally panel.
I found lots of ABS repair kits on the net but I couldn't help thinking about the welding. Any weld uses the same material as filler so how could I fill the splits with ABS filler.
Brainwave! --- What will dissolve ABS? I searched and searched the net and eventually discovered that the solvent for ABS is pure acetone. Where to get it? Well I got it in the local co-op and also from Boots, Incidenatally Boots would only sell one small bottle 50ml per customer as it seems this is an ingredient in bomb making. Edit I found out too late that acetone can be bought much cheaper - less than £5 a litre!
Anyway , now I needed some ABS and it's amazing how many plastic items are not. My test was to dip a finger in acetone and touch the material - if it immediately goes sticky then it's ABS. I found an ebay seller who put up a special sale for me for a sheet of ABS about 2mm thick (I needed some for a home project anyway). IIRC it was about £10 inc postage.
I cut some strips of ABS and covered them with acetone in a small plastic container not affected by the acetone. In a short time I had a pure ABS paste/glue.
My method of repair was to fix large pieces of the ABS sheet behind the splits using the paste and more acetone and then fill the void at the front using the paste. Fixing the patches proved to be a messy job but easily cleaned.
The two main patches fixed from the back (inside).
Nearside patch - messy but effective
Offside patch even more messy
Here is a view of the front with shelf removed, rotten framework removed and patches fitted.
Also weatherproofing fitted as the weather is very changeable.
Now all I have to do is fill the splits from the outside and fix the 3 or 4 minor cracks and then rebuild the framework, source and fit wallboard, Refit window seals & Blinds/flyscreens and then repair or renew the front shelf. Not much then, eh?
WARNING!
The centre section of timber above the fwindow was rotten but the ends were sound. I wanted to remove the remaining sound timber so I could replace it in line with the ends of the two remaining top frame pieces.
It is between the little top shelf with fabric front and the ABS front panel - very difficult to get at. I decided to use a 1' auger in my power drill and this worked very well. Unfortunately I went a wee bit to far and the outside edge of the auger touched the curved aluminium roof panel in three places - enough to leave 3 very small cuts just above the top front rail. Just a wee bit further and I'd have 3 1' holes in the roof to repair! My first mistake - TAKE HEED.
I've temporarily covered the cuts and I intend to fill them properly and perhaps cover with small decals.
I managed to source 4.8m X 120mm X 21mm thick dressed redwood at a local timber merchant, exactly the same thickness as the original timber. I cut this to the various lengths and widths of the original pieces and cut half lap joints where necessary. I screwed & glued the individual pieces, in situ, to finish the new framework.
Detail of new frame
The vertical timber with four screws is 70mm wide. The original frame had two pieces 32mm and 28mm with plastic T section tape between them to cover the wallboard joint (same as that at the left of the picture). I tried everywhere I could think of to source this tape but failed to find a supplier. Hence the use of 70mm timber. I'll show how I fitted the wallboard later
More photos of the new frame
I managed to salvage some of the polystyrene insulation as I could not get any in 21mm thickness. I also decided to cut and fit new corner pieces from 21mm plywood.
No doubt you have guessed that my next project is repainting the garage door!
After completing the frame I then temporarily fitted the wallboard and marked it for cutting.
Wall board cut and permanently fixed using No More Nails, and 15mm pins with nail gun.
Update edit - Got the caravan serviced and a few weeks later we went for five nights to Blackpool South CC Site.
Glad to say everything was great. Well tested as there were some very, very heavy showers.
As Willie Nelson sings...'on the road again'
