Floor bad under water heater

[Barryamo]

Hello All,

I have rotted wood under my water heater. I want to pull the water heater and replace the rotted section. I also am not at a place where I can drop the belly pan. So that being said...

Is there a step by step guide in the forum for removing a water heater and gas lines for a 1968 Safari? If so please point me to it!

Other wise I would really like some help here. This is my first A.S.;
a 22 ft 1968 Safari.

I have removed all the beds, and 1 street side cabinet. I found rot along the wall. I have not removed all the cabinetry around the water heater yet. The photos show the rot on the outside of the water heater cabinet and the close up is inside next to the heater. ( I stuck my camera in and snapped a shot for recon) So I hope this makes sense what your seeing. ( in the long shot of the interior the hose of the vacuum points to where the rot is ).

My plan is to remove the cabinetry around the water heater. Remove the heater itself, and patch the floor.

I also found a hole in the outside compartment that let water directly through to the wood floor. It looks like a manufactured hole too. Which surprised me ( i.e. not a rust hole). Dose anybody know if this hole in the metal is supposed to be there? The gas line runs through a hole similar to it , right next to it and it was not sealed either. Odd . Since when I drained the water heater I watched water run into both of these spaces. I'm guessing which lead to the rot. Picture of this to come soon.

I would also like to know about steps for removing the gas lines to the hot water tank. Tips & tricks? Don't do's.

The trailer is outside, and its raining, so I have my work cut out for me. Also is this an idiotic task to tackle in the winter? Freezing lines? Fingers Probably. I live in Seattle- always moisture.

My family is very sensitive to mold, mildew , smells etc so I am trying to get her water tight, cleaned up and dried out for spring travels.

I would love to hear from the 1968 Safari owners out there.

Thank you in advance folks.
Barryamo

PS: Anybody in Seattle want to come over and teach me how to do this?

[68 TWind]

The bath is like my 68 TW and I had the same issue. You will need to remove cabinets. Take your time and find all the screws and don't force anything. Be careful with the lav it is plastic. Be careful with the trim that covers the rivets around the lav. That trim is NOT available anywhere. I have been looking for 3 years for some so take care of it.
Once you have the everything out of the way yo will have to open up the lower wall section in front of the w. heater. There is an outrigger under the floor there and there is a bolt holding the floor to the c-channel. IMO you will have to remove the skin under the tank so you can get bolt. To do that you have to remove the lower wall all the way back to the hatch. Drill the rivets from the outside and slide the piece down and out. It is hard to get out and harder to get back in without damaging it. Another problem, is that the last outrigger is under the front part of the tank. Don't just go cutting because there is no support from there to the rear, only bolts holding the floor up to the c-channel. That part of the floor is held up by the last outrigger, the main rail and being bolted to the c-channel around the rear curve and back. I am getting very long here but tried to answer your questions. If you try to just do a very small patch, make the joint over the outrigger. You must bolt the new piece to the channel and that requires access from the bottom. Finally, one of the vibrating type saws from Harbor Freight is the best tool I found to cut the old floor out. You can walk it right down the rail or outrigger and is has a very small kerf.

If you need more info send me an PM. I hope I did not confuse you.