Low spot in floor...

[T Man]

Hi all

In my 75' Tradewind, I've got this low spot in my floor just aft of the door and generally in the middle of trailer (side to side). Looking at the chassis diagram in my service manual I can see 2 possible reasons for this.

First, there is the cavity which contains the fresh water tank (item #30 in diagram). This cavity runs the length of 2 cavities to accomidate the tank and has a minimal cross member (see item #21 in diagram) at the top just under the floor half way between the 2 cross members forward and aft of the h20 tank. It could be that this crossmember is simply not strong enough and over the years the floor has sagged a bit.

Second, the cavity just aft of the one containg the H20 tank appears to also span the length of 2 normal cavities but lacks any cross member at all. The daigram does not suggest that there is anything in this cavity so I am wondering why thay did this...

Since I am not 100% sure where my h20 tank starts and begins I am not sure which cavity I am standing over...

The low spot is not that noticable but I am worried that when I put my new flooring in there will be issues because of it. My question is does anyone else have this low spot in this area of their floor?

BTW, I've got the flooring out and the plywood seems to be in good condition other than the low spot.

[Jim & Susan]

T Man, I might be able to help a bit. In my '73 Overlander, the same soft area existed before I replaced the floor. The reason for the soft or spongy feel was that the plywood over the water tank was not fastened to the cross member above the tank. That member is heavy guage "L" angle steel, so it's different than the other members, as you mentioned. The water tank in my Overlander sits directly below plywood sheet number 3, counting from the front of the camper. Yours may be the same. If you have your carpet up, and can view the entire plywood floor from the front all the way back to the axels, see if sheet number 3 is missing fasteners down the middle of the sheet, laterally. That would mean the placement of the water tank is directly below that sheet of ply.

Why was it not screwed down? Who knows. When I put the new plywood in, I went ahead and screwed it down. That may have been a mistake, but the screws don't look like they will interfer with or puncture the tank.

The cavity behind the water tank appears to be between the axles, again, like mine was. The frame in that area is very sturdy, so there is probably less need for cross members. Also, the electric lines for the brakes runs thru here, so Airstream may have wanted to leave that area open so that those brakes lines would not be interfered with.

Maybe that will help a little.

Jim

[T Man]

Thanks Jim.

I do have the carpet up so I will have a look and see it this is also the case with mine.


-T

[uwe]

T-man,
My 1971 TradeWind had the same symptom, sort of a saggy feel right in front of the galley cabinet. The water tank is directly in front of the front axle, under the galley floor. You can see the frame work for it under the trailer.
I had pergo flooring in the 1971, and it never caused a problem. We got used to it.
My 63 has it's water tank in the same location, and I used a half crossmember above it, with the same result. Slightly springy floor by the galley.
Better quality, 3/4 thick plywood would have prevented that. 5/8 will spring a little.