'74 31' Rear end rot and PO fix

[cecreighton]

This is my first post so excuse my mistakes. I have found this forum incredibly valuable. A little information that might be useful, I don't plan on traveling in the AS. All it will do is move from the mountain in the winter, to a river lot 20 miles away for the summer.

So I recently purchased a 1974 31' center bath Sovereign. The PO had told me they repaired some of the rot in the rear end. Until doing a bunch of reading on here around floor replacement, I thought that they had some idea of how to repair it.

Now I think they didn't. I will try to attach pictures, but let me detail what I have found.

Firstly, the inner skins have never been removed. That was my first hint. There is a gap between the floor and the skin which has been filled with that spray insulation in a can.

From the outside I found that the rear part of the belly pan had been reattached. When I looked underneath I found it was framed with 2x4s as you can see from the pictures.

My questions are:

1. If they didn't take off the inner skin, then it is safe to say that the ply wood is not in the channel (I don't know if it is C or U). Is this a bandaid fix? Should I repair it correctly.

2. The second part that worries me is the 2x4 frame. Are there supposed to be cross members in the last few feet?

Image 1: Inside view of rear floor.

Image 2: Curbeside view of repair.

Image 3: Looking up at frame of the rear wall. I think you might be seeing the old floor still in the channel?

Image 4: Another view of the frame.

Sorry for the long post. Any help or insight would be greatly appreciated!

[perryg114]

That is not fixed. Pull it all out and do it right. Pull the belly skins and the rear inner skins and evaluate the frame. It will need to be repaired. There are tons of good posts on how to do this. Finish pulling it apart and take some more photos and we can give you more specifics or what you need to do. The good is that you have a center bath which makes it relatively easy to repair if the damage is confined to the rear of the trailer.

Perry

[Belegedhel]

Welcome to the forums!

Yes, this looks like a bandaid fix, though it would appear they put some effort into it. In the rear of your trailer, the curved channel that is riveted to the skins is a U-channel, looking up. Unlike the channels on the straight sections of your wall, the channel does not wrap around the floor, it just sits on top of it. The PO may have crammed his new subfloor into the gap between the channel and the frame, but at any rate, there is still a huge gap, suggesting the frame is rotten or just plane broken, and is sagging away from the shell. This would further suggest that the bolts that are supposed to be holding this sandwich together have rotted away as well. There should be a steel cross member that goes between the two frame rails and basically sits under the back wall of the shell. It is not unusual for this cross member to be mostly rotted away. Moving toward the front of the trailer, there should be cross members at 2 ft intervals. Also in the rear, anchoring the rear center panel of the shell to the rear cross members, is an angled hold-down plate. Again, this is usually extremely rusted, if not completely compromised.

So, do you need to do a shell-off to fix this properly? Does it need to be fixed properly, considering you don't intend to travel with it? Shell off is probably not required, but you will need to address it "correctly," as it will only continue to get worse. if the frame has been completelybroken, and is hanging unsupported by the shell, it may not even be safe to make you short move you describe.

good luck!

[J. Morgan]

I am going to look at this differently than the other posts.

You are moving the trailer forty miles a year.

I say stop further water intrusion and go camping.

The fix is no where close to being "right", but considering your use, if you can keep the water out it is good enough to leave alone.


1/2 Ton 4WD Truck, 72 Sovereign Hensley Arrow

[xrvr]

That short of trip and this repair should be fine, just stop the leak and go for it. Peace jim

[NavyCorpsman]

I agree. A house should keep out most of the wind, some of the rain, and all of the wolves.
Photographs can be hard to judge. From what I see, the PO put some effort into it. Question. Does the repair support the weight it carries without creaking or flexing? (like its going to fall through?) Is it in a high traffic area?
I have some soft spots up front in mine, away from high traffic areas that don't cause me great concern. Some of the forum members will tell you that what you have must be repaired right away. Then there are those that will suggest that what you have is doable, as long as YOU are happy. Peace comes with confidence.

If it's UGLY to you and the mere thought of it causes distress, fix it to factory specs.

If it works, and there will be no further damage from infiltrating water from the outside, or leaky plumbing from within, run with it.
As with anything there are compromises that have to be made. As long as it is safe, and you can finish it to where nobody will know but you, that would be my choice.
I would LOVE to do a frame off on mine, but I have decided that will best be left to the fortunate child that inherits it.
To me, Airstreaming is about peace and freedom. Its about the Joy we can find in elegant simplicity. Whether towed twice in a year or 250,000 miles, as long as what you have is enjoyable, that's what is important. Welcome to the forum, friend.

[m.hony]

Originally Posted by J. Morgan

I am going to look at this differently than the other posts.

You are moving the trailer forty miles a year.

I say stop further water intrusion and go camping.

The fix is no where close to being "right", but considering your use, if you can keep the water out it is good enough to leave alone.


1/2 Ton 4WD Truck, 72 Sovereign Hensley Arrow

What is the car in your avatar?

[NavyCorpsman]

Looks like a mid 50's Pontiac to me....a nice one too.

[cecreighton]

Thanks for all the advice and info. Whatever I am going to do is going to have to wait til spring time. Also give me some more time to do my research.