Buyer beware - look out for the first signs of damp

Our first caravan was a ten year old 2 berth 1998 Bessacarr Cameo, made at a time when the Bessacarr was the Rolls Royce of caravans.  We purchased it second hand, in showroom condition both inside and out, from a reputable dealer. It was clearly a much treasured caravan with its deep comfortable mattress cushions and top quality fittings and a radio with perfect sound quality. The shower tray had a few cracks and the floor was slightly soft but we did not mind because we never intended to use a shower in a caravan anyway with so many well appointed Caravan Club sites to choose from.

 We took it for its annual service and safety check at the end of the first year. There was nothing which needed attention but the service engineer did say that there was a little bit of damp under one of the windows which he recommended we got fixed. We were told this would mean taking out the window and resealing it. It was going to be a pretty expensive job.

There were no obvious signs of damp inside the caravan and no musty smell so we left it.

 The following year we were again told there was a bit of damp under the same window but no other problems. Although we loved the layout of our caravan, my husband did not really enjoy towing it so we did not use it as much as we had hoped.

 When we first decided to get a caravan, the big dilemma had been: Should we buy a caravan we could tow to a site and then have the freedom to explore in our car or did we push the boat out and buy a motor home.  We were advised against getting a motor home because, we were told, driving a motor home everywhere would be a real pain though you could tow a small car behind it.

Last year we got the chance to buy a Bessacarr E425 motor-home with a very similar layout to our caravan. It had the lounge area at the back with big windows all round, an extra double bed over the cab and an ideal sized shower room/toilet. Perfect for my husband and me and our Dalmation, Ladybird.

 We still loved our little caravan so decided not to trade it in until we were sure motor-homing was for us. We soon realized our second hand motor-home was perfect. Richard enjoyed driving it. Ladybird loved riding in style on the back seat and we were soon using it far more than we ever imagined.

 We decided we would give our caravan its annual service and check before advertising it for sale. It still looked in showroom condition both inside and out. Imagine our shock and dismay to discover that the damp under the window, which we had neglected, had silently rotted the mainframe of the caravan. There was still no smell of damp and nothing to alert us to the steady destruction which had been taking place. It could be fixed, we were told, but the interior of my beautiful cherished caravan would have to be stripped and the mainframe repaired and rebuilt. It would cost us a fortune. Otherwise it was only fit for scrap.

 Our still beautiful caravan now sits forlornly in the field, waiting for someone with time and patience to fix it. Because it looks so perfect inside and out I dare not sell it. I am afraid it might fall into the hands of an unscrupulous cowboy who might sell it on to an unsuspecting family and I could not bear to think of it falling apart while being towed down a motorway and causing a terrible accident.

 We were told we were very unlucky. A deep pothole could be enough to twist the frame of a caravan or motor home, breaking the seal and letting the water in. Had we known how serious ingress of water can be, we would have had it fixed as soon as we were told. My advice to anyone buying a second hand caravan, however new, is buy yourself a damp meter with prongs for about £12 and do your own discrete test on any caravan before you buy it.

Immaculate looks can be deceiving and the 'sniff test' for damp is not enough.