Papering over the cracks

Caravan body repairs are unknown territory for many of us, but after Penny had a bit of a bump, Nigel Donnelly worked out how to repair a badly crumpled corner

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WE'RE ALWAYS HAPPY to lend Penny to friends when we’re not using her. The downside? The odd mishap.

Her recent trip to Glastonbury ended on a bit of a bum note when our friends accidentally backed her into a car while getting onto our driveway.

Fortunately, the damage isn’t too serious, but we were soon researching the best way to patch her up without having to spend a fortune.

Although I’m fairly confident with most maintenance tasks, I'll admit I’m not especially experienced with body repairs.

Yes, I've done my share of touch-ups on old cars - when I still had a fringe - but this damage to Penny was limited to the plastic rear panel.

I haven’t done much plastic repair and painting, so I began by looking into the various options for making repairs.

The simplest solution - if you ignore the cost - is, of course, to have it done professionally.

The friend who reversed the van even offered to pay for it, but with Penny being worth around £3000, spending a third of that on a small repair didn’t fit the spirit of the project.

I didn’t bother exploring insurance; given the van's age, it would very likely have been written off at a glance.

On inspection, the damage amounted to a smashed rear light lens and some heavily crumpled plastic around the light unit. This isn’t a £20k caravan, so perfection wasn’t the goal - just a tidy result that prevents water ingress. I figured I could manage that, so I took a closer look at the damage.

Assess, strengthen, fill and finish

My plan was simple: assess the damage, restore the shape, reinforce the structure, fill and finish. It looked easy on paper - as these things always do.