Extra protection for the Winter

The New Seal has Arrived

I went to have a look at the new 2018 Motorhomes at a local dealer. All very good but nothing to replace our Iona that would fit on the drive. What is apparent is that there have been a lot on minor improvements.

One that caught my attention was a new rubber seal on the top of garage doors. Obviously a good move to stop water collecting in the frames of the garage doors. However , Auto-Trail only put the seal along the top of the door and about 15cm down each side instead of around the whole door.

The new seal is on the left

New seal in position

Further research and a phone call to Auto-Trail I got the part number and price. After measuring the door an order was placed for 4mtrs of the seal to fit the whole door. The only problem is the hinges but on the new vans Auto-Trail don’t cover them.

Once I received the seal I set about trimming it so the seal protected the hinges as well, unfortunately on a practice run it became apparent that the door would not shut so my idea was abandoned and I reverted to the Auto-Trail method but I went around the entire door. The door shuts and the seal certainly covers the gap around the door.

I did a Hose test and horror of horrors the door leaks by the hinges at the top and because of the great seal the water could not escape and flooded the garage.

I have now removed the seal from along the bottom of the door and water can now leave the frame without flooding the garage so I am almost back to where I started and this is all down to Auto-Trail mounting a door upside down and not fixing the hinges which stop the seal along the top. I have added some foam seals by the hinges to limit the water ingress into the frame surround. If water does get past the seals it will run down the frames and exit under the door.