rotten floor by door

[colin57]

hI all, newbie here ,I replaced my 67 globetrotter with a 69 overlander & a 70 overlander .Bought the 70 before selling the 67,& then found the 69 after selling the 67.Anyhoo both trailers have rotted floors by the doors .Ive heard certain years are prone to leaks in particular places .Anyone know if this is true & if so what is the likely source of the leak.Door gasket,trim above the door?.Thanks for any insight.Ian

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by colin57

hI all, newbie here ,I replaced my 67 globetrotter with a 69 overlander & a 70 overlander .Bought the 70 before selling the 67,& then found the 69 after selling the 67.Anyhoo both trailers have rotted floors by the doors .Ive heard certain years are prone to leaks in particular places .Anyone know if this is true & if so what is the likely source of the leak.Door gasket,trim above the door?.Thanks for any insight.Ian

Warped doors and/or bad door gaskets.

That applies to any year.

Andy

[colin57]

After peeling away the wood by the floor I discovered there is a lot of expandable foam between the belly & the floor.Is this normal? I also discovered the inside panel of the step has rotted away ,exposing the underside of the floor .I can see the foam from this hole so I have a feeling the po didnt or couldnt fix the side & so sprayed the expanding foam in to fil the void.When I repair the floor do I have to make sure the foam is replaced for insulation purposes,I,m assuming some kind of insulation was put in place when built.Thanks Ian

[CanoeStream]

Hello Ian. You're completely right that the foam was added by the po. Originally 2" or so fiberglass was laid over the frame and the floor was attached. This compressed the insulation at every frame contact. There obviously is little insulation value to this. Insulation on the walls and ceiling are going to do more for interior comfort but 2" isn't much and the ribs all conduct heat/cold to the interior skin. Aluminum is a better conductor than most anything except precious metals -- better than copper and iron. The cumulative effect of floor insulation is low but provides a little protection if pipes are attached to the floor as in my '74 Argosy. I don't think you'll notice any benefit from insulating under this small section of floor. I did use stainless staples and some fiberglass batt when I had my Argosy belly skin off.