In a static caravan or lodge the pipework runs in the void under the floor, so a leak shows as a soft or bouncy floor, a musty smell, or a drip under the van in dry weather. Close the stop tap at the pitch and see whether the damp dries. The park usually owns the supply up to that tap; everything from it into the van is normally yours.
The floor by the shower has gone soft. Or the pitch neighbour has mentioned a puddle under your van in a week without rain. Or the boiler in the lodge has been losing pressure since Easter. Static caravans and lodges on Cornwall’s holiday parks share one weakness: their plumbing runs in a shallow void under the floor, out of sight and out of the warm, with only a skirt and a bit of lagging between it and a February frost. This guide explains where the pipes are, how to tell a plumbing leak from rain getting in, a simple test at the pitch tap, and how water leak detection finds the split without lifting the floor.
Where the pipes run in a static or lodge
A static caravan sits on a steel chassis with a timber floor over it. The cold main comes in through the floor from a flexible connection at the pitch stop tap, and the hot and cold pipes to the kitchen, bathroom and water heater run in the void between the chassis and the floor. Modern vans use plastic push-fit pipe; older vans may still have copper. Either way, that void is where a leak lives.
A lodge is closer to a house. Timber frame, plasterboard walls, often a combi boiler and sometimes underfloor heating, but the same principle: the pipework sits under the floor, and the drains and supply go through the base to the pitch services. Some lodges are set on a concrete pad with the pipes cast in, which changes how a leak is found but not where it starts.
The weak points are the same in both. The joints under the bathroom and kitchen, where the most fittings are. The flexible connection at the pitch tap, which gets knocked by mowers and strimmers. The water heater or boiler and its pressure relief valve. And any run near the edge of the void, which is the first to freeze.
Signs it is a plumbing leak, not rain
Vans and lodges also let rain in, through roof seams, window seals and the shower tray, and rain damage is repaired differently from a pipe leak. The pattern tells them apart. Rain ingress appears after weather and dries in a settled spell. A plumbing leak carries on regardless, and often gets worse when the water is used.
| What you notice | Most likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Soft or bouncy floor by the bathroom or kitchen | A joint or split pipe in the void beneath | Pitch tap test below, then have the void surveyed |
| Puddle or lush weeds under the van in dry weather | Supply pipe or a joint dripping into the ground | Look under the skirt with a torch; pitch tap test |
| Combi boiler pressure keeps dropping | Heating pipework leak under the floor, or a valve | Note the pressure daily; see the boiler pressure guide |
| Damp only after rain, dry in a settled week | Roof seam, window seal or shower tray | Check seals; not a pipe leak |
| Hissing or running water with everything off | Pressurised leak on the cold supply | Turn off at the pitch tap and listen again |
| Water pressure lower than the neighbouring pitch | Leak or a partly closed valve on your connection | Ask the park to check the pitch supply |
If the lodge has a combi boiler and the pressure gauge will not stay put, our guide to why a boiler keeps losing pressure explains the difference between a heating leak and a faulty valve. If a laminate or vinyl floor is lifting, the water is already under it, and our article on a laminate floor lifting with water underneath covers what that floor is telling you.
The pitch stop tap test
Every pitch has a stop tap where the park’s supply meets your connection, usually a small tap or lever in a box by the base of the van. It is your best diagnostic tool, and it costs nothing.
- Turn off every tap and appliance inside, and make sure the toilet has finished filling.
- Read the sub-meter, if your pitch has one. Many parks meter each pitch; others bill water through the pitch fee. A meter that moves with nothing running inside means water is leaving somewhere between the meter and your taps.
- Close the pitch stop tap and leave it closed overnight, or for a dry day if you are not staying.
- Look again. A puddle that has dried up, a floor that has stopped getting worse, or a hiss that has gone: the leak is on your side of the tap and is fed by the mains. Damp that carries on unchanged points to rain ingress, a drain, or the park’s supply pipe leaking near the pitch.
If the van has a pressurised water heater or a combi, note its gauge before you close the tap. A gauge that falls overnight with the supply off is losing water from the sealed side, which is a heating leak rather than a supply leak.
Frost and the winter drain-down
Cornwall’s coast is mild, but the parks around Hayle and along the north coast still take a frost or two, and vans on higher ground behind Bodmin Moor take more. Most parks close for a period over winter, and a van left with water in its pipes through that period is the commonest cause of the spring leak. The split happens in January; nobody sees it until the tap goes back on in March and the floor gets wet.
A drain-down takes half an hour. Close the pitch tap, open every hot and cold tap and leave them open, flush the toilet, drain the water heater or boiler as its manual describes, and put a little antifreeze in the traps so they do not crack. Many parks offer a drain-down service for a fee, which is worth taking if you will not be there to do it properly. When you recommission in spring, turn the pitch tap on slowly with someone inside listening, and check the void with a torch before you trust the floor.
Who is responsible: you or the park
Ownership normally splits at the pitch stop tap. The park owns the mains network across the site up to that tap, and is billed for the whole site’s water by South West Water through a bulk meter. You own the connection from the tap into the van, and everything inside. Your pitch licence agreement is the document that settles it, so read that before you argue with the office, because parks vary in where they put the line and in whether they charge water by sub-meter or as part of the fee.
The practical consequence is that a leak on the park’s side, even one right beside your van, is the park’s job to find and fix, and the pitch tap test is how you show them it is theirs. A leak on your side is yours, and if you have caravan insurance, escape of water is commonly covered, though policies vary in what they pay for finding the leak and in their winter drain-down conditions. Check the wording before the season ends rather than after.
Finding the leak without pulling up the floor
The floor in a static is not designed to come up and go back down, and a lodge floor is worse. So the search is done from below and from above with instruments. A thermal camera through the skirt or across the floor shows the cold line of a mains leak or the warm plume of a heating one. Acoustic listening picks up water escaping under pressure at the joints. Where the pipes are cast into a pad, tracer gas is put through the line and detected where it surfaces. The result is one marked spot and a written report that says which pipe and where, so the repair is a small access panel in the floor or a section of skirt off, not a stripped van. We provide leak detection across Cornwall for owners and for parks with a pitch that will not stay dry, and most surveys are booked the same week.
Frequently asked questions
Why is the floor in my static caravan soft near the bathroom?
The bathroom has the most pipe joints in the van, and they sit in the void under that floor. A slow weep at a joint soaks the underside of the floorboard for months before the surface goes soft. Close the pitch stop tap for a day: if the damp stops spreading, the leak is on the supply.
Who is responsible for a water leak on a caravan pitch?
Usually the park owns the supply up to the stop tap at your pitch, and you own the connection from that tap into the van and everything inside. Your pitch licence agreement is the deciding document. The pitch tap test shows which side the leak is on before anyone argues about it.
Do I need to drain down my static caravan for winter in Cornwall?
Yes, if the park closes or you will not be using it. The coast is mild but frosts do happen, and a split pipe from one cold night sits unnoticed until the water goes back on in spring. Close the pitch tap, open every tap, drain the heater as its manual says and protect the traps.
Can a leak in a static caravan be found without lifting the floor?
In most cases, yes. A thermal camera through the skirt or across the floor, acoustic listening at the joints and, where pipes are cast into a base, tracer gas will locate the leak from outside the floor. The repair is then a small access panel or a section of skirt off, not a stripped-out van.
Van floor going soft?
We survey statics and lodges on parks across Cornwall, find the leak under the floor without stripping the van, and give you a written report that shows the park or your insurer exactly where it is.
