Rienza repairs

During our time away we had time to think about the repairs required to the Rienza. The main problem being the damp in the n/s rear corner. The step and cracked bumper are minor issues.
As we are both officially retired now we feel the damp should be tackled before it gets any worse pushing the cost up even more. The other repairs shouldn’t get any worse unless I back into another tree stump or run over something.
Hopefully curing the damp will extend the time we keep the Rienza. It is the motorhome we wanted and look forward to more trips out during our retirement.

As you may recall, we had a Rienza for many years. It also had some damp in the rear nearside corner. Our local Motorhome service centre resealed the vertical joint where the rear panel met the side panel. This seemed to solve the issue. Hopefully your problem will be as straightforward.

When we traded the van, the dealer did a damp check on the van. The rear corner was fine, but they discovered damp on the interior of the wall behind the fridge and hob/sink and oven. I had not expected that and there was no evidence or smell.

The dealer is highly respected and this was not an attempt to lower the offered price by dubious means. They had removed the external fridge vents and showed it to me. I was able to ‘poke’ around and confirm the diagnosis. We were not sure wether the cause was the vents, although I used winter vent covers and a full breathable Motorhome cover, so I was more inclined to think it was a leaking water pipe or sink drain, possibly even the fridge drain over a period of years. 

Might be worth removing the vent covers for a preventative check.

Davy

Hi Davy, I remember the damp issue with your Rienza. The damp was not mentioned for the first three years when checked by the sellers. It only showed up when it was checked by another motorhome repairer of my choice. That’s another issue but he showed us were the problem was. It appears to be the edge of the floor were it meets the walls. I mentioned the area around the fridge vents as you said but he said there was no problem in that area.
We have had a couple of leaks from windows that needed re-sealing and a high level brake light letting in rain that can’t have helped the damp problems.
We have found we can use the Rienza all year round and is very comfortable so a one off high bill for this problem will be justified in the end. Before it comes off the road for repairs we are going away for new year.

Another little issue has just appeared that may need looking into this year. The leisure battery was in the red this morning when I went in to get something out of the locker. I thought it would be a good idea to put heater on and boost the batteries on mains, it has been stood  longer than normal with us being out of country for nearly two months. 
The average life of most batteries is three years and the leisure battery has been on there nearly five years. Checking the price of batteries I was surprised to find the lower price batteries only had a two year life. We only sold batteries with a minimum life of three years at the roadside. 
At the moment the leisure battery is a Banner 100  amp. I think I will keep to the same. The second battery under the passenger seat was fitted when we bought the Rienzza so I think that can wait another year. 
More money going on the motorhome but batteries really need sorting before we get caught with complete failures.

Hi, good evening.

We have and love our Rienza and just having a forum catch up read and:

Ref "When we traded the van, the dealer did a damp check on the van. The rear corner was fine, but they discovered damp on the interior of the wall behind the fridge and hob/sink and oven. I had not expected that and there was no evidence or smell."

We had a similar problem shortly after purchasing our Rienza - our dealer had to remove the kichen unit and carry our repairs but all done professionably under their own warrenty and all good since.

However, I discovered by regular checks that items were getting wet in the small cupboard by the side of the fridge/hob/sink - the repairs had not cured the source problem. On investigation, whilst everything looked right, I discovererd that items like the top shelf basket and our fully laden wooden knife & fork tray placed on the on the middle shelf would slide in and float around to make contact with the Hot/Cold water pipe - right where the push fit connetor joined the plastic pipeing to the taps copper tails. Being struck during installation and transit caused the pushfit joint to be compromised and leak water and if left unattended it soaked the floor, dividing kitchen wall and surrounding woodwork. 

I cured this by making stops to prevent the top shelf basket and our fully laden wooden knife & fork tray making contact with the pipework when place on pushed in the cupboard shelf.

Hope all this is help in some way - the problem was not immediately visable but worth checking with a good touchlight and the water system under pump pressure.

So far so good during last three years and I also make checks underneath to ensure all remained sound.

Good luck finding & curing the damp source in your Rienza and Happy New Year.

Peter

Hi Peter, Thanks for the info regarding damp behind the kitchen cupboards. This sounds like the same area as Davy from Team Rienza mentioned. I will have a look when we get home, away for New Year at the moment.
The damp on ours is in the n/s rear corner and under the side locker door. This I hope this is from the Rienza being stood for nine months and the n/s and rear window requiring sealing when we bought it due to leaks.
Any way that reminds me I must phone the repairers next week. It will seem odd having a large empty space on the drive.
Thanks again Peter, all the best for the new year.

Hi Peter, I have had a look at the pipes at the back of the kitchen cupboards as you suggested. The hot and cold pipes are clamped to the side of the cupboard away from the cutlery tray and the basket above it. The waste pipe has a mark on it suggesting that has been rubbing on something. I will keep an eye on it. The area around the back of the cupboards and fridge seem dry so the damp may only be as reported.
Whilst we have been away over new year the water pump has been acting up. There’s no water at the taps and the pump runs fast and won’t shut off when you close the taps. After switching the pump off for a while it runs as normal and shuts off
when you close the taps.
I can’t see any leaks but when I get home tomorrow I will have a better look at what’s going on. The pump could be the original. I have a lot of paper work and bills and there is no mention of a pump being fitted.
Another minor hiccup was all my fault. Management kept saying the heaters gone cold. After a while I realised she was right. I tried all the tricks I could think of making no difference. Trying to smooth things over I put the kettle on. That was when I realised the gas had run out.

Things are moving on regarding the repairs. I phoned Bardney Garage on Friday. They were very helpful, explaining what they were going to do regarding the damp problem. They offered to have a look at the step electrics whilst it was being repaired and will do the habitation service as part of the cost of repairs.
I have done some sussing and boggling regarding the pump problems. The pump is easy to get to on the Rienza .Unlike the pump on the Duetto being under the cooker at arms length on the outer wall. There is quite a bit of room under the wardrobe even with the water boiler and zig charger.
Last summer the pump had a funny turn and stopped working, dirty connections on the pump. Now I have the pump off I can see the diaphragm has been leaking at the joint on the pump body. The connections are covered in white crusty corrosion hence the problems last year.
I bought a repair kit for the Duetto but I think it would be more sensible to change the pump this time. We use the Rienza a lot more and feel the extra cost would be justified.
On a positive note we made an interesting discovery when we’re away. After being stood whilst we were away the leisure battery was nearly flat. I did leave the switch on but we found the light for the cocktail cabinet stayed on with the doors shut. Adjusting the switch the light is off with the doors shut. One more little job done.

The water pump is changed and we have water at the taps and shower. The new pump is a lot smoother than the old one .Even though its still mounted on the bathroom wall items in the cupboard no longer rattle like they use to.
I dont think there is as much pressure as there was before at the kitchen tap. The screw on the bottom of the old pump is sticking out about 3/16". The new one is flush with the pump body. The old saying of dont fix what aint broke makes me reluctant to alter the new one.

A follow on from the water pump problems. As I said the pump is changed and working but during the last four days away it has developed an annoying  fault. 
When you turn the taps on, worst on cold, the water pressure is low and then you get a blast of water that tries to drown you. The only thing that comes to mind is the screw in the pressure switch on the old pump is sticking out as I mentioned unlike the new pump its screwed all the way in. The pump on the Duetto was a straight swap with no adjustments. 
There is a picture on the back of the installation instructions showing the adjusting screw but its not clear if this has any bearing on the water pressure. Has any one had to adjust a pump after fitting ?.

After a bit of sussing and boggling on the tinterweb I found an American RV web site with some useful information about Shurflo pumps. They are made in America and fitted to most of there RV,s.
Apparently  the filters have changed with the newer pumps. The old pump I took off had a round translucent filter housing fitted that I swapped to the new pump.. The newer pumps need the black filter housing with a steel mesh filter under the housing. 
The new pump is the same model and spec as the old one so I was a bit unsure about this curing the problem but I ordered the other filter.        Amazon delivered today and it has cured the problem. The amount of pressure  at the taps was enough to blow my tooth brush across the bathroom. Now the water pressure is back to normal and the pump is a lot quieter than the old one.

Thanks for the info Dave.

The Rienza is at the repairers and they have come back to me with the following report. The locker door frame is cracked at the bottom allowing water to creep in whilst travelling. A small section of lower frame around the locker door requires replacing and there is a small patch of damp on the edge of the floor. 
The step issue was a faulty new switch that was fitted when the problems first started last year. The old switch has been re-fitted and the wiring connected at the motor. 
The total cost for the repairs and drying out will be £650 including the habitation service. Not as bad as the repair costs for the Duetto so we will be a saving on our travelling funds.

To update the repairs to the Rienza. We picked it up Thursday repairs and habitation service completed, and step electrics sorted.
The damp was in the frame below the side locker door. The floor edge was damp but dried out with a little help and was treated to seal it against further damp. The section of the frame under the locker door was replaced and the panelling in the area was replaced. The locker door frame was repaired to prevent further problems.
For the age of the Rienza it is in far better condition damp wise than other UK built motorhomes . Hopefully if it is regularly checked we should not have such problems for a few years now.
The step required the switch wiring re-fitting correctly. Unfortunately the step retracted when the ignition was turned on before we left home. By the time we got to Norfolk the step works with the switch but stays out and the buzzer doesn’t sound. This is were we started after I ran over something in Scotland. I am reluctant to let the local caravan electrical idiot touch it again so it will have to go back to the repairers again or leave it and remember to retract the step before moving off. If the weather allows I might look at the switch on the side of the step, there was a lot of muck on the roads on route here.

I had forgotten about the step not going in when the ignition was turned on, it became habit to retract the step manually before we moved off.
Saturday morning the gas bottle needed changing. After I changed the bottle over I started the engine to clear the screen. The step buzzer sounded but the step didn’t retract.
This means the switch on the step is now working but the relay isn’t retracting the step. Having the wiring diagram for the relay I think it will be worth a further look. The people that repaired the step electrics are 40 miles away so it might save me a trip out.