Water ingress is a term used by Caravan and Motorhome manufacturers, as well as workshops and engineers to guage the amount of moisture/damp within the vehicle walls, floors or ceiling. The test is calculated and shown as a percentage (%).
Your Engineer Aftercare warranty includes water-ingress on vehicles up to 7 years, even if your vehicle has missed a previous year Habitation service we can cover you.
Why is Water Ingress so important?
Knowing if a vehicle has low, high or any water ingress at all is very important to owners. Because excessive damp in a vehicle can affect family health and the safety of the vehicle for things such as electrics, sensitive digital controllers and lighting, appliances can also be affected. The composite body of a caravan or Habitation section can also have wood in the construction, this wood can be badly damaged by being consistently damp. In addition, if a vehicle has a high level of water ingress, it will dramatically reduce the value of the vehicle when it comes to be sold.
How do I test and how often should it be checked?
It is NOT really possible to test for water ingress yourself, it might be possible to buy a metre as an owner but where and how the reading is taken is very important. Also, if you think that not seeing any damp or evidence of damp is sufficient, you would be wrong. Water Ingress can be a slow creeping issue that if not found can have terrible consequences. Testing for damp is recommended to be done by a competent AWS approved engineer, this will give an accurate percentage value of any reading.
Testing for a Caravan or Motorhome Habitation section should be undertaken annually, according to manufacturer recommendations, and as part of an ‘Annual Hab check’. This is the equivalent to a car ‘Service’ to maintain the vehicle, however in the cars of a Caravan or Motorhome it also includes a CORGI gas safety check to the gas, heating and cooking systems.
If you would like to find out more about the important and affects of not having an annual Habitation check, go to the Approved Workshop Scheme for more information and advice or to find an qualified and approved engineer near to you. You can also contact us at Engineer Aftercare Warranty to find out how a Habitation check can affect warranty claims, or give us a call on 01243 264056.