Older VW buses rust at the front panel, the cab floor, the sills, the wheel arches and the seams round the windows. Later vans go at the arches, the sills and the bottom of the front panel. Either way, a camper is usually rustier than it looks, because so much of the body is hidden behind cupboards and panelling. A proper VW camper rust repair cuts the rot out, lets new metal in and seals the repair so water can't get back to it.
Here's where to look, why campers hide rust so well, and what fixing it involves.
Where do VW campers rust?
Wherever water gets in and stays. On the older buses, the usual places are:
- The front panel. The big panel across the front of the bus, under the windscreen.
- The cab floor. Under the driver's and passenger's feet. Water that gets past the door and windscreen seals sits under the mats.
- The sills. The box sections that run along under the doors. A box section is a hollow part of the body, closed in on all sides, so it rusts from the inside out.
- The wheel arches. Mud packs into them and holds water against the metal.
- The window seams. The rubbers round the glass hold water against the steel at the edge.
On later vans, it's the arches, the sills and the bottom of the front panel.
Those are the usual places, not the only ones. How a van has been kept, and how it was converted, changes where the worst of it is.
The front panel
The cab floor
The window seams
Why are campers rustier than they look?
Because most of the inside of the body is covered up. Cupboards, panelling, insulation and carpet hide the inside of the panels, so rust can work from the inside for a long time before anything shows on the outside.
Campers also get water inside them in a way most cars don't. Cooking, wet coats and people sleeping all put moisture into the air, and it settles as condensation on the coldest metal, often behind the panelling where nobody wipes it off.
Then there are the holes a conversion adds. Windows, vents, roof openings and hook-up points are all cut into the body. PPG, one of the big paint makers, lists bare metal left exposed, including drilled holes left untreated, among the causes of corrosion under paint. A cut edge that was never primed and sealed is where rust starts.
Roof seams and gutters are another way in once their sealing has gone.
How do I check a camper for rust?
Look in daylight, on a dry day, with a torch, and work round it in order:
- Outside, low down: the sills, the arches and the bottom of the front panel. Look for bubbles, blistering and brown stains at the seams.
- Round every window, along the edge of the rubber.
- Open the cab doors, lift the mats and look at the cab floor and the steps.
- In the back, lift the floor covering where you can, and look behind and under the cupboards, especially round the sink and anything with a water pipe. A musty smell, damp carpet or stained panelling means water has been getting in somewhere.
- Look up at the roof seams and gutters.
- Underneath, along the sills and the floor. Only go under on ramps or a lift, never under a van held up by a jack.
- Press anything suspect with a finger and thumb. Metal that gives or crunches isn't sound.
Will rust fail a camper's MOT?
It can. GOV.UK puts motor caravans in MOT class 4, the same class as cars. The MOT inspection manual looks hardest at the load-bearing parts that carry items like the brakes, steering and suspension, and at any supporting structure within 30cm of where those are mounted. Rust there fails if it has made a hole, if the metal doesn't feel firm under finger and thumb pressure, or if it gives way to a finger, thumb or the tester's tool.
Some older buses don't need an MOT at all. GOV.UK says a vehicle built or first registered more than 40 years ago doesn't need one unless it has been substantially changed, for example with a new chassis, body, axles or engine. It still has to be kept roadworthy.
What does it take to fix rust on a camper?
First the interior comes out, so the panels can be seen and reached from both sides.
Then the rot is cut back to clean steel. Where it's in one patch, a new piece of steel is shaped and welded in, which the trade calls letting in new metal. Where it has spread, or the panel is thin all over, a new panel goes on. See welding and rust repair for how we decide.
Cut back to clean steel
New metal let in
Seam sealer
The new metal is primed, and the joints are sealed with seam sealer, which closes the seam so water can't creep in. Once the paint is finished and cured, the sills and other box sections get cavity wax, a thin wax sprayed inside the hollow sections that pushes moisture out. Skip either and the rust comes back from inside.
The roof gets the same prep as the body, with its seams and gutters sealed so water stays out. Then it's paint. See campers for two-tones and full resprays.
How much does camper rust repair cost?
Nobody can price it properly until the panels are opened up, because the rust you can see is only the part that has reached the paint. We give a rough price from photos, and we'll show you what's there before the work is priced in full. See prices for how we quote.
Buying one, or fixing your own? Send us photos of the sills, arches, front panel and cab floor from the quote form.
