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Happy Camper Repairs

North West & North Wales caravan, motorhome, static caravan, lodge & park home support

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Mobile roof repair · Touring caravans, motorhomes, statics & lodges

Caravan and motorhome roof repair, traced to where the water gets in

The stain on your ceiling is where the water came out. It almost never got in there.

Leaking rooflights, failed seams, lifted trims, sagging panels and ceilings marked by water, on touring caravans, motorhomes, campervans, statics and lodges, repaired where the vehicle stands. We find the entry point before we quote, because sealing the stain fixes nothing. Written price first, twelve-month guarantee.

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Start here

Which roof are we talking about?

Three completely different constructions get called “a caravan roof”, and they fail in different ways, on different timescales, for different money. Pick yours.

Touring caravan roofs

A bonded sandwich panel, not a covering you can lift off.

What it is made of

A thin aluminium or GRP skin bonded to an insulating core, usually over a timber or aluminium frame. It is structural: the roof helps hold the shape of the van, which is why water in it matters far more than water in a shed roof.

What fails first

Sealant, every time. The awning rail, the rooflight surrounds, the front and rear panel joints and the edge trims all rely on mastic that hardens and shrinks with age. Hail and low branches dent the skin, and a dent that cracks the coating lets water sit in it.

What we do

Trace the entry point with meter readings, strip and re-bed the failed joint or rooflight, and renew any framing the water has already reached. Small panel splits can be patched and re-sealed; a badly cracked skin is a panel job.

Most touring roofs are repairable long after owners assume they are scrap, and the deciding factor is the frame underneath rather than the skin you can see.

Motorhome and campervan roofs

Often GRP, sometimes with a dozen things screwed through it.

What it is made of

A moulded GRP or bonded panel roof, frequently carrying a solar panel, an air conditioner, a satellite dome, a roof vent, an aerial and a set of roof bars. Elevating roofs on campervans add a fabric canvas and a lifting mechanism.

What fails first

The penetrations. Every one of those fittings is a hole through a waterproof surface, and it is the bedding compound under the mounting foot that fails, not the fitting. Coachbuilt overcab joints and the seam where the roof meets the sides are the other usual suspects.

What we do

Lift and re-bed the fitting properly rather than running a bead of sealant round the outside of it, which traps water instead of shedding it. Re-seal seams, treat crazed GRP, replace perished elevating-roof canvas and check the timber around the aperture.

Roof bars and solar frames fitted with self-tapping screws into a bonded panel are the single most common cause of a motorhome roof leak we attend.

Static caravan and lodge roofs

A shallow or bowed sheet roof with a protective coating.

What it is made of

Profiled or flat sheet on a light frame, finished with a coating, with the joints, trims and every penetration sealed. Older vans may have a felt-and-bitumen or single-ply covering that has been over-painted more than once.

What fails first

The coating chalks, then crazes, and stops shedding water. Seams and trims open. Rooflights go brittle and yellow, and their surrounds perish. Gutters fill and push water down the wall instead of away from it, which reads as a wall problem.

What we do

Clean back, cut out and remake failed seam and trim sealant, treat corrosion, then re-coat the whole roof rather than patching one area. Rooflights and vents get replaced and properly bedded. Split or corroded sheet gets replaced.

Re-coating a sound sheet roof costs a fraction of re-sheeting, and the honest test is whether the sheet itself is intact once the failed coating is cleaned off.

Call Us0300 124 6982Contact UsSend an enquiryEmail Usinfo@happycampergroup.co.ukAreas We CoverNorth Wales & North West
Where it actually gets in

Seven places water gets into a roof

Water almost never enters where the stain appears. It gets in at a joint, runs along the inside of the structure and drops through at the first low point it finds, which is often several feet away and on the other side of the van.

  • 1

    Rooflight and vent surrounds

    The most common single source. The plastic goes brittle and yellow, and the surround perishes where it meets the roof. A gale then lifts it.

  • 2

    The awning rail

    A horizontal joint on a curved surface, taking load every time an awning is up. Water gets behind it and tracks down inside the wall.

  • 3

    Seams, trims and edges

    Where two panels meet, or where the roof turns down to the side. The sealant under the trim fails long before the trim looks wrong.

  • 4

    Anything screwed through the roof

    Solar panels, aerials, satellite domes, roof bars and air conditioners. The bedding under the mounting foot fails, not the fitting itself.

  • 5

    The front and rear joints

    On a coachbuilt motorhome the overcab joint flexes on every journey. On a tourer, the front and rear panel joints do the same at speed.

  • 6

    Gutters and downpipes

    Blocked gutters push water across the fascia and down the wall. It reads as a wall or window leak and gets chased in the wrong place.

  • 7

    The coating itself

    On a static, once the finish chalks and crazes it stops shedding water. The roof is then wet for longer after every shower.

This is why sealing the stain does nothing. We take meter readings across the ceiling and walls to map how far the wet area really extends, then inspect every joint, penetration and trim above it until the entry point is found. Only then is it worth quoting a repair.

Repair, re-coat or replace

Three honest options, and when each one is right

Owners are usually quoted one of these without being told the other two exist. The right answer depends on whether the structure under the covering is sound, and on how long the van has left where it stands.

Option one

Repair the entry point

When the roof is generally sound and one joint, rooflight or fitting has failed.

What it involves
Strip the failed joint back to clean surface, renew any timber or framing the water has reached, then re-bed and re-seal properly. On a tourer or motorhome this is the great majority of roof work.
How long it lasts
Done properly, as long as the surrounding sealant has left in it, which is usually several years. It is not a patch if the entry point was actually found.
Option two

Re-coat the whole roof

When a static or lodge roof has chalked and crazed but the sheet underneath is intact.

What it involves
Clean the surface thoroughly, cut out and remake every failed seam and trim, treat any corrosion, then apply the coating system properly with attention to each penetration.
How long it lasts
Years rather than seasons, and considerably longer if the gutters are kept clear so the roof is not sitting wet after every shower.
Option three

Replace the covering

When the sheet is split or corroded through, or water has been getting in long enough to reach the structure.

What it involves
Remove the old covering, repair or renew the framing and insulation underneath, then re-sheet and re-seal. On a touring caravan the equivalent is panel replacement.
How long it lasts
The longest-lasting answer and the most expensive. On a unit near the end of its pitch agreement it is often the wrong spend, and we will say so.
Read the symptoms

What the sign you can see usually means

Roof leaks are diagnosed wrongly more often than almost anything else on a caravan, because the evidence appears a long way from the cause. These are the seven we are called out to most.

What you can see
What it gets blamed on
What it usually turns out to be
A brown ring on the ceiling
The roof directly above it
A joint or fitting further up the slope. Water runs along the inside of the structure and drops at the first low point, often several feet from where it entered.
A musty smell with nothing visible
Damp bedding or poor airing
Water inside the sandwich. The insulation holds it, so the smell arrives long before a stain does. Meter readings find it while the repair is still small.
The ceiling panel sags or feels soft
A failed fixing or old panel
The board has been wet for a long time. Once it has lost its bond it will not recover by drying, so the affected section is renewed rather than propped.
Water appears only after wind-driven rain
A one-off, or a blocked gutter
A joint that is watertight under vertical rain. Wind presses water sideways into seams and drain slots that gravity alone never tests, which is why it seems random.
Damp low on the wall, roof looks fine
A window or a wall seal
Very often the awning rail or a roof trim. Water tracks down inside the wall and shows itself at the floor line, so the reading is taken low and traced upward.
A rooflight is cracked, yellowed or leaking
Just the plastic
The surround as well. The bedding compound underneath perishes at the same rate as the dome, so replacing the dome alone often leaks again within a season.
Water inside the window frame
A failed window rubber
Sometimes the drain slots. Caravan windows are designed to take in a little water and drain it out again; when the slots block, it backs up and comes inside instead.
What it costs

Roof repair prices

Every figure is a from price and excludes VAT at 20%. Roof work is quoted after somebody has been up and looked, because quoting a coating or a leak from a photograph helps nobody.

  • £89Call-out, from
  • £95Labour per hour, from
  • £179Damp report, from
  • £179.95Habitation check, from

Rooflights, vents, seam and trim resealing, gutter renewal, coatings and re-sheeting are all quoted by the job once the roof has been inspected. Where a leak has already reached the framing or the floor, that work is quoted separately so you can see what the water cost and what the roof cost.

Fastest way to get a roof looked at

Send a photo of the stain and of the roof

Two pictures do most of the work: the mark on the ceiling and the roof above it. That is usually enough for an engineer to say whether it is a rooflight, a seam, a rail or a coating that has come to the end of its life, and whether it is a repair, a re-coat or something bigger.

WhatsApp 07376 440065Or call 0300 124 6982
Recent roof jobs

Roofs we have put right

Photographed by the engineer on the day, on drives, pitches and parks across the North West and North Wales. Every job priced in writing first.

Static caravan roof and cladding work on a coastal park
Seams stripped and remade before a full re-coat on a coast park.
Moisture meter reading taken on a caravan ceiling
Readings mapped across the ceiling to find where the water really entered.
Storm damage repair to a caravan roof
Rooflight lost in a gale, made watertight the same day.
Habitation check being carried out on a caravan
Roof, gutters and every penetration checked at the annual visit.
Touring caravan roof and awning rail being resealed
Awning rail lifted, cleaned back and re-bedded on fresh sealant.
Flue and roof penetration being checked on a caravan
Flue terminal re-bedded after water tracked in around the seal.
Roof questions

What owners ask us about roofs

Taken from what people actually type into Google before they ring us, including the ones based on a misunderstanding.

How much does caravan roof repair cost?
Roof work starts at eighty-nine pounds plus VAT for the call-out with labour from ninety-five pounds plus VAT an hour, and the repair itself is quoted as a job once an engineer has been up and looked, because the same symptom can be a twenty minute reseal or a two day rebuild. What moves the price is not the make of the van, it is how long the water has been getting in. Re-bedding a rooflight or remaking a length of failed seam is a short visit with a modest parts bill. Tracing a leak that has been running for two seasons, renewing the framing it has rotted and making good the ceiling is a different job entirely. Re-coating a static roof sits between the two. We give you the figure in writing before anything starts, and where we find the water has already reached the structure we price that separately so you can see what the roof cost and what the delay cost. Ring 0300 124 6982 or see damp repair. The yearly inspection that catches this while it is still cheap is the habitation check.
Can a caravan roof be repaired, or does it have to be replaced?
The great majority of roofs we are called to are repairable, and replacement is the honest answer in only three situations: the sheet or skin is split or corroded through, the structure underneath has rotted, or the unit has too little time left where it stands to justify the spend. On a touring caravan or motorhome the roof is a bonded panel, so a failed joint, a cracked rooflight aperture or a dented skin is usually a repair. On a static or lodge, a chalked and crazed coating over sound sheet is a re-coat rather than a re-sheet, and that costs a fraction of the price. What decides it is what we find once the failed material is cleaned back, which is why we inspect before quoting rather than after. If replacement genuinely is the sensible answer we will say so plainly, including when the right advice is to spend the money elsewhere. Call 0300 124 6982, or read about static caravan repair. Anything the water reached before we got there is priced under damp repair.
Why is my caravan roof leaking when it looks perfectly sound?
Because almost nothing that leaks on a caravan roof looks damaged from the ground. The failures are in sealant and bedding compound: the material under a rooflight surround, behind an awning rail, beneath a trim or under the foot of a solar panel, none of which is visible until it is lifted. Sealant hardens, shrinks and lets go with age and ultraviolet light, and it does that long before the panel or sheet it is holding shows any sign of wear. A roof can look clean and even and still have three separate joints letting water past. The other common case is a roof that is watertight in ordinary rain and leaks only when wind drives water sideways into a seam or a drain slot, which is why the fault seems to come and go. We inspect every joint and penetration above the wet area rather than the area itself. See habitation checks or ring 0300 124 6982. A leak found late becomes a wall and floor job, which is damp repair.
There is a brown stain on my ceiling. Is the hole directly above it?
Almost never, and that single fact is why so many roof leaks get sealed two or three times and carry on leaking. Water enters at a joint, runs along the inside of the roof structure and drops through at the first low point or seam it reaches, which is often several feet away. Chasing the stain leads to a sealed patch of perfectly sound roof and a leak that continues. What actually finds it is moisture readings taken across the ceiling and the walls to map how far the wet area really extends, followed by an inspection of every rooflight, vent, seam, trim and roof-mounted fitting above it. Once the entry point is identified the repair is usually straightforward and it stays fixed. The ceiling board itself is dealt with afterwards, and if it has been wet long enough to lose its bond it is renewed rather than dried and painted. Call 0300 124 6982 or see damp repair. On statics and lodges the same tracing work sits under static caravan repair.
Do caravans have roof tiles?
Caravans, motorhomes and statics have no tiles at all, and it is worth saying plainly because people do look for caravan roof tile repair. A leisure vehicle roof is a continuous surface: a bonded panel on a tourer or motorhome, and a profiled or flat sheet with a protective coating on a static or lodge. That difference matters more than it sounds. A tiled roof sheds water through overlapping pieces, and a single broken tile is a local repair. A caravan roof is watertight because it is continuous and because every joint and penetration through it is sealed, so a failure anywhere along a seam can travel a long way inside the structure. It also means nobody can simply replace one section without addressing the joints either side of it. Park homes are the exception, since some carry a conventional pitched and tiled roof. See static caravan repair or ring 0300 124 6982. Roof, rails and rooflights are all checked during a touring caravan service.
My static caravan is leaking around a roof vent. Can that be fixed?
Vents and rooflights are the single most common source of leaks on a static caravan roof, and they are also among the most straightforward to put right, provided the surround is replaced rather than simply sealed over. The plastic dome goes brittle and yellow under years of ultraviolet light while the bedding compound underneath perishes at much the same rate, so running fresh sealant around the outside of an old unit traps water against the roof instead of shedding it and usually leaks again within a season. The right repair lifts the unit out, cleans the aperture back, checks the timber or frame around it, which is frequently damp by that stage, then beds and seals the new unit properly. While the roof is open it is worth checking the other penetrations, since they are all the same age. Gutters get cleared at the same visit. Ring 0300 124 6982 or see habitation checks. Gutters, cladding and skirting come under static and lodge repair.
Can you repair a motorhome roof at my home, or does it have to come in?
Most roof work happens exactly where the vehicle is kept, on a drive, in a storage yard or on a pitch, because resealing a rooflight, re-bedding a solar panel foot or remaking a length of seam needs access and dry conditions rather than a workshop. What does need to come in is anything structural: a roof that has to be opened up, framing that has rotted, or a covering being replaced, all of which need the vehicle under cover at a stable temperature so adhesives and sealants cure properly. Weather decides a good deal of it too, since coatings and sealants applied in the wrong conditions fail early, so exterior work gets booked to a genuine dry spell rather than squeezed in. We will tell you honestly which category your job falls into when we quote, rather than starting and stopping. See motorhome servicing or ring 0300 124 6982. Rails and rooflights get checked as part of a touring caravan service.
How long does a static caravan roof coating last?
A properly applied coating on a sound sheet roof lasts years rather than seasons, and on the coast it needs inspecting annually and usually attending to somewhere between year five and year ten, depending on the original finish and how exposed the pitch is. What ages is rarely the sheet. It is the sealant along the seams and trims, the mastic around every rooflight, vent and flue, and the coating itself, which chalks under ultraviolet light and then begins to craze. Once the surface is chalky enough to mark your hand white it has stopped protecting anything, and water sits on the roof for longer after every shower. Caught at that stage it is a clean and re-coat. Left another two winters and water is under a seam, along the structure and into a ceiling. Keeping the gutters clear extends the life of the whole roof considerably. Call 0300 124 6982 or see static caravan repair. If a ceiling is already marked, that is damp repair rather than roof work.
Is a leaking roof covered by insurance?
Storm damage is generally covered and gradual deterioration generally is not, so a rooflight torn off in a gale is usually a straightforward claim while a seam that has been quietly letting water in for three winters is usually declined as a maintenance matter. That distinction catches a lot of owners out, because the damage looks similar by the time it is noticed. What helps is evidence: an annual inspection with moisture readings recorded against fixed points shows the roof was maintained and shows exactly when a reading changed. Where damage is storm related we photograph it as an assessor expects, quote it itemised, and include the water damage that followed rather than only the visible break, since leaving that off makes it far harder to claim later. Report it to your insurer promptly and get the unit watertight first. See habitation checks or ring 0300 124 6982. Repairs to the unit itself are covered under static caravan repair.
What does static caravan roof replacement actually involve?
Re-sheeting means stripping the existing covering back, repairing or renewing the framing and insulation underneath, then fitting and sealing a new covering along with every rooflight, vent and trim that passes through it. It is the longest lasting answer and the most expensive, and it is the right call when the sheet is split or corroded through, or when water has been getting in long enough that the structure needs opening up anyway. Two things are worth settling before committing. First, what the park says about the age of your unit, because re-sheeting a van that has to be replaced in three years is money with a short life. Second, whether a thorough clean and re-coat would genuinely do, which on a sound sheet it very often would. We inspect, give you both figures and an honest recommendation. Call 0300 124 6982, or read about damp repair. Cladding, glazing and decking are quoted alongside it under static caravan repair.
Can I go up and look at the roof myself?
Please do not, unless you know for certain the roof will carry you. A good many caravan, motorhome and static roofs are not designed as walkable surfaces, and a foot in the wrong place puts a hole through the covering or through the structure holding it up. The repair from that costs considerably more than the inspection you were trying to save, and working at height on wet coated sheet is how people get badly hurt. If you want a look yourself, use binoculars from the ground or hold a phone up on a pole and photograph the surface. What you are looking for is chalky or dull patches, open seams, crazed or yellowed rooflights, lifted trims and standing water. Send us the pictures and we will tell you what we think before anybody climbs anything. Ring 0300 124 6982 or see habitation checks. Anything the readings turn up is dealt with under damp repair.
How soon can you come out, and where do you cover?
An active leak is treated as urgent rather than routine, because a roof letting water in for a fortnight causes far more damage than the original fault, so we will normally get somebody to you within days and often sooner where the weather is against you. We cover the North West and North Wales: Cheshire, Merseyside, Lancashire, Cumbria and across the Welsh coast and border counties, working on drives, in storage yards and on holiday parks. For park work we deal with the site office directly and you do not need to be there. Where a repair cannot be completed straight away, either because a part has to come or because the weather will not allow a coating to cure, we make the unit watertight first and book the permanent repair properly. Ring 0300 124 6982, or see the North West and all our areas.
Before you pay

Buying a caravan, motorhome or campervan? Get it inspected before you pay.

An independent engineer at the seller, dealer or park, anywhere in the North West and North Wales. Damp, gas, electrics and the rest tested, written photo report the same day, from £179 + VAT.

Pre-purchase inspectionWhatsApp us
What usually comes with it

Related work

A roof leak is rarely just a roof leak by the time anybody rings us. These are the pages owners need next.

Damp repair

Damp repair

Where a roof leak has already reached the walls, floor or framing, this is the work that follows.

Damp repair →
Habitation checks

Habitation checks

The annual inspection that catches a failing seal in the year it costs very little to put right.

Habitation checks →
Static caravan repair

Static caravan repair

Roofs, cladding, glazing, boilers, decking and damp on statics and lodges, on your pitch.

Static caravan repair →
Touring caravan servicing

Touring caravan servicing

Full habitation and running gear service, with the rails and rooflights checked as part of it.

Touring caravan servicing →
Motorhome servicing

Motorhome servicing

Habitation servicing for motorhomes and campervans, including every roof-mounted fitting.

Motorhome servicing →
North West

North West

Everything we do across the North West, for every type of leisure vehicle.

North West →
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