Damaged wood?

[micsday62]

Hi all. I have been using my trailer for about a year and thought the floor was good until yesterday when I found damage in the rear compartment. I have been in this compartment dozens of times to dump and never noticed the damage until now. I didn't find any damage in the bathroom when I put down new flooring last year so I thought I was good.

I looked in the back compartment where the dump valve and bathroom plumbing are located really good. The rotted wood is along the left side only and the right side is in good shape. I tried poking it with a screwdriver and it is solid on that side. The damaged area runs about 1/4 the way around the left side and the wood is missing and wet after a couple stormy days. I did some reading here about replacing flooring but those messages seem to refer to a lot of damage and replacing a big part of the floor. Other than this small area all the rest of the floor looked good when I put in vinyl flooring last year - even at the front when I removed the front couch. I opened the other compartments and don't see any other damage.

I have a huge lump in my stomach because I don't know how I will get this fixed. Right now the bumper does not move when someone stands on it and there is no gap so I don't think there is any rear end droop yet. I store it inside and have no other signs of leaks. I am open to advice.

This site is so helpful and I have been reading all morning.

Mic

[Splitrock]

Originally Posted by micsday62

I store it inside and have no other signs of leaks. I am open to advice.

Welcome! I suspect the damage has been there a long time but I may be wrong. It seems to me a couple days of rain won't destroy a wood floor. A couple years will. It's good it's stored inside.

When I uncovered my trailer's hidden defects, the only thing I really lost was my delusion of a better trailer than I had. Repairs have been simple and expenses still have me at a lower investment than a new trailer.

I'd advise, keep it inside, find the leak, and repair the damage. :-)

[micsday62]

Originally Posted by Splitrock

Welcome! I suspect the damage has been there a long time but I may be wrong. It seems to me a couple days of rain won't destroy a wood floor. A couple years will. It's good it's stored inside.

When I uncovered my trailer's hidden defects, the only thing I really lost was my delusion of a better trailer than I had. Repairs have been simple and expenses still have me at a lower investment than a new trailer.

I'd advise, keep it inside, find the leak, and repair the damage. :-)

Would you splice in the repair? What about using some wood rot doctor after it dries?

After reading here for a few hours I believe that the leak is the bumper cover. Found some fixes for that problem but they seem over my head. I'll keep reading and studying.

Oh we had a lot of driving rain - a lot! I know it wasn't wet when I was previously in that area because it is super obvious now. But I agree that it has probably been wet on-and-off for years. My brother stored it outside.

Mic

[Mr & Mrs S]

Well first off what year and model are we working on? Pictures are always a HUGE help to give people an idea of what you are up against. I just replaced the front and rear sections of flooring in my AS. I even paid a travel trailer repair shop to fix my floor and still had to rip that out because they didnt do it right. But with the help of this site I was able to fix it and fix it right. I know all about the lump in your stomach your talking about, I got it when I opened my rear compartment under the bed area and the floor was falling through. OSB cannot handle any moisture. I pasted my thread so you can take a look and see if theres any info there that can help you. As far as trying to patch Id just fix it right so it doesnt bite you later on. Feel free to ask questions you will find miles and miles of info and people willing to help. Good Luck!

O one other thing the most important thing to do is find the leak and fix that and then fix the flooring.

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f205...ses-73362.html

[Splitrock]

I sectioned some of my floor replacement and epoxied other parts. I've sort of made a religion of finding and mitigating leaks to minimize, if not eliminate, future leaking. I also applied Spar varnish to concealed wood floor areas to minimize damage caused by potential future occult leaking. I have not taken a restore approach to my trailer. Rather, I have replaced components, finished deferred maintenance, and repaired any damage I have found. I want a safe, clean, dry, usable trailer, not a remanufactured one.

I've gone quite a ways farther than I intended, but I was led by discovery and my quest for a very functional finished product. My trailer is still a work in progress.

[micsday62]

Thanks for your help. I will try to photograph the area tomorrow afternoon to see if that helps. I saw someone posted the repair for the sag problem by Inland RV that is welding some brackets in place at the back. I think I can get a friend to help with that but haven't asked about the work to remove portions of the shell to replace the damaged wood.

My trailer is a 1972 27' Overlander. All the appliances work and it has been great fun for us. My brother decided it was going to waste and gave it to me a year ago. He had bought it in the early 90's from an Airstream trailer park that had been closed. He started its restoration but didn't do much other than replace the axles. Before we started using it I took it to a trailer shop and had it checked for safety. We got new tires and have been using it pretty often. It is loads of fun and I want to keep it useable for a lot longer. I read about how to reseal the panels, windows and vents. I know I can do that work. But I am not sure how to proceed with this wood damage at the back.

Again, thanks for the ideas and I will try to get my friends to look at some of the messages that I printed and also at my trailer. Maybe we can put together a plan!!
Mic

[Ganglin]

Mic - how much work are you willing to dive into - none of which involved the proper repair for bad damage - pulling the bath and and replacing the rear section of floor. Our bumper/frame did not move either. I had a similar problem in our 71 - not as bad with the rot but dampness in both corners and dead center that took me 2 years to finally find. I'll be happy to bore you with the long story if you want.