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Old 06-14-2010, 06:41 PM   #1
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1986 34' Excella
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Floor Rot '86 Excella

Well after reading a ton of threads I decided to check under the beds in the rear bed Excella. Whaa-Laa, to my surprise I have the dreaded floor rot. I pulled the carpet and the bunks to expose the extent of damage. The curbside is pretty bad needs major work, I thought I could toughen up the road side area with some Rot DR, but the floor still felt soft so I decided to fix that also. The floor was a little more than punky. I put my finger through it in one place. I have the elevator bolts ordered and am waiting for them to get here. In the meantime I took the water heater out and rebuilt it.
I did find the cause of the floor rot and you can see what I did to repair it here http://www.airforums.com/forums/f456...ded-65035.html it is abut 12 posts down.
Here are some pics of the floor rot.
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Old 06-14-2010, 07:21 PM   #2
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WOW! The top photo looks rough. Close to what we had across the rear from the trunk leaking into ours. Wonder why they used particle board instead of plywood. Would be less damage by the water with regular plywood I would think...
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Old 06-14-2010, 07:31 PM   #3
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WHAT? A rotten floor in a 34'! NEVER....um, wait...it seems I remember somthing like that...
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f36/...oor-54952.html
Good luck...
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Old 06-15-2010, 05:13 AM   #4
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I'm still pulling carpet, hope I don't find any more surprises.
I am repairing with plywood. The hardest part is getting the old stuff out of the C channel under the floor. When it gets damp it swells. I was lucky to be able to get the elevator bolts out without cutting them. All of the self tapping bolts came out too with vice grips after digging all the puke board from under them. I plan on painting the floor with a good oil base paint when done with the repairs. Laminate floors are next on the agenda.
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Old 06-15-2010, 05:38 AM   #5
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Vernon,
I feel the pain you went through. I must say that was a wonderful idea to use a lap joint. Very strong. I have not pulled the carpet in the front of the unit yet. My fingers are crossed not to have those problems, but if it is, I will fix it also.
You did an impressive job repairing all the floor in your unit.
Al
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Old 06-15-2010, 06:17 AM   #6
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Same Spot In An '87

Archersfin,
We have an '87 34' double door Excella 1000 and had a softball sized soft spot in pretty much the same location, just aft of the compartment access door. But I traced mine to an exterior partially covered "hidden" rivet where the side panel meets the lower rear panel. The spot was small enough to tackle with some wood hardener and I was able to fix the leaking panel seam with Acryl-R. Other than that we had no other soft spots or leaks in ours. Prior to us owning the trailer it must have lived inside becasue when I ripped up the ugly mauve carpet there was no evidence of leaks (swollen / roten OSB board) around the perimeter.

Hopefully you will find no more surprises during your remodel.
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Old 07-05-2010, 03:53 PM   #7
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We have exactly the same problem with our 1990 Excella 29 with rear twins. Have taken the beds out to get to the floor, but can't figure out how to get the center cabinet out. Took out the side screws on both sides but it is still firmly anchored. How did you get yours out?

Is Marine Plywood the best way to go for resistance to moisture or is there something still better. Has anyone tried the artificial boards used on some porch decking?

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Old 07-05-2010, 04:47 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dcasr View Post
We have exactly the same problem with our 1990 Excella 29 with rear twins. Have taken the beds out to get to the floor, but can't figure out how to get the center cabinet out. Took out the side screws on both sides but it is still firmly anchored. How did you get yours out?

Is Marine Plywood the best way to go for resistance to moisture or is there something still better. Has anyone tried the artificial boards used on some porch decking?

David & MaryAnne
1990 Excella 29
1999 GMC Suburban 2500 4x4 454"
Pull the drawers out & look in the very back of the cabinet under or on the drawer glides. There probably are a couple more screws in the back there to remove.

We put marine plywood as replacement where our floor was rotted. It seems fine so far!
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Old 07-05-2010, 09:34 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dcasr View Post
We have exactly the same problem with our 1990 Excella 29 with rear twins. Have taken the beds out to get to the floor, but can't figure out how to get the center cabinet out. Took out the side screws on both sides but it is still firmly anchored. How did you get yours out?

Is Marine Plywood the best way to go for resistance to moisture or is there something still better. Has anyone tried the artificial boards used on some porch decking?

David & MaryAnne
1990 Excella 29
1999 GMC Suburban 2500 4x4 454"

I took that table out of mine and I finally took the saws-all and cut side, top, and side about three inches from the wall so I could get at the screws and rivets. That thing was built to stay together forever. It's the only thing I broke a sweat taking out.
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Old 07-06-2010, 03:44 PM   #10
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dcsar: the above posts are right on. Just take the drawers out so you can get a screwdriver in there and you will find 2 screws in the rear and one on each side holding the unit to the floor.
Not much to it once you find the screws
Al
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Old 07-11-2010, 08:30 AM   #11
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Archersfin: thanks, I found the 4 screws and removed them, then gave it a great heave. It turns out that there were two screws on each side into the floor rather than one. Oh well, a minor repair.

Now I am taking the inside skins off to get to the C channel better, but the side skins seem to go behind the bathroom, and won't come off with all of the rivits drilled out that I can see. I'm simply not up to removing the bathroom to remove the side skin if that is the answer. I'm perplexed.
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Old 07-11-2010, 07:50 PM   #12
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dcasr:... I had the same problem in removing the lower skins. You will find some rivets behind the skins where they overlap. There are only a few. I also had to remove the window trim to get the skins off. It is just a plastic trim around the inside of the window with Vulcem sealer. They came off really easy. All screws. Just look for hidden rivets behind skins and under window trim and the panel will slide down as you pull it out. I did not have to take the skin off up to the bath though. Just the bedroom area, yours might be a little different.
good luck!
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Old 07-11-2010, 07:56 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dcasr View Post
..Now I am taking the inside skins off to get to the C channel better, but the side skins seem to go behind the bathroom, and won't come off with all of the rivits drilled out that I can see. I'm simply not up to removing the bathroom to remove the side skin if that is the answer. I'm perplexed.
I just pulled back the side skins as far as they would go, rolling them away from the wall in an attempt to not form a kink.

I was able to work behind the rolled back interior skin and get the bolts back thru the floor.
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