'69 Safari bath floor repair

[Pariscope]

Hey, I used 3/4" pressure treated plywood to replace the damaged floor.
I don't know if I have to bolt it in yet but the attached shows the progress since last week.

[byamcaravanner]

Originally Posted by paris

Hey, I used 3/4" pressure treated plywood to replace the damaged floor.
I don't know if I have to bolt it in yet but the attached shows the progress since last week.

paris,

I hate to tell you this since you did such great work, but the chemicals in pressure treated wood will eat right through aluminum over a rather short time. If you don't want to replace the patch you could put some sort of gasket between the base of the wall and the plywood before you bolt it down.

[byamcaravanner]

Originally Posted by fotochop

if you have access to something like a front end loader like Pizzachop you can use it to press down on the entire back frame to slip your un-cut floor in.

I took a cue from Pizzachop and rigged up a pull-down strap to accomplish the same thing.

[Lothlorian]

Foto:

When you put your floor in. I noticed you put it in using two pieces. How did you do your butt plate to hold the two together. The other question I have was how easy or hard was it getting those two pieces in. My template pieces did not want to slide in. I had to force them in.

SIU Bound

Brian

[fotochop]

The two halves fit so tightly together that I didn't use biscuits or dowels. I did use two splice plates on the bottom which can be seen in the photos. These were put on with liberal amounts of woodworker's glue then shot on with a brad gun (air). I also feel pretty confident about the Interlux Marine Epoxy on the topside as this product has held a previously recalcitrant split in a wood door that no other product has been able to hold together. Keep in mind that my aft floor support steel was intact and all frame members were good so the floor is well bolted down too.

re: getting them in. the aft-most edge of my frame sagged 1/8 to 1/4" before the new floor was bolted in so it wasn't a problem fitting. also, I removed everything, hot water heater, etc. but I didn't want to pull out wheel wells so my curbside half was actually a big "L" instead of a square. I used a floor jack to snug up the frame before bolting it all together. I used 1/4 luan for the template but still had to flex it quite a bit when cutting/fitting. The actual subfloor went in without much problem. I think the pull down straps shown above are a pretty clever solution if you have some driveway or road you can drill or pour concrete into..

[fotochop]

wow, 72 degrees, clear as a bell.. we don't get days any nicer down here..figured I'd go ahead and mount the repaired blackwater tank BY MYSELF! like the song sez: "ain't no hill fer a stepper..":



harbor freight to the rescue once again...and some leftover thompson's water seal ;-) hey, this may not look like much to you but that is a REAL "Sealand" type toilet flange there, all screwed in correctly and everything...well, it looks like HEAVEN to me!



one more thing: since I also got my new Intellipower 9200 mounted in today (thanks VTS!) can anyone tell me if this door:



looks like an original mounting? I'm just wondering why it's not HINGED like the other ones..?.. and what about those funky little tension wings on each side holding it on? that looks like some PO stuff to me, but fill me in eh? wouldn't it be better to find an aluminum piano hinge and rivet it to the bottom? there ain't no rivet holes down there so maybe it came this way...

[goransons]

looks upside down, should mount just like your refrigerator door cover, the J channel hinge should lock into the top of the frame and latch at the bottom. The little side twist latches are definately an add on. I'll take a closer picture tomorrow if I get home before dark, but this kinda shows it.

[CJ of Okla]

The door is definitely upside down. The hinge should be under the hangover or rain guard. I am sure the side latches were added by PO to keep the door from falling off.

[Pariscope]

I am not one to fall in love with this end of the project so I figured a wood that will hold up to moisure would do. I hadn't thought of the aluminum factor. I will replace it rather than take any chances of problems down the road. Shuks! Removing the old damaged wood was the most work. Do you think the wood has to be polycoated too if I use exterior plywood?

[TWaugh]

DANG!, I just thought you were just holding the trailer upside down.

[fotochop]

Originally Posted by paris

Do you think the wood has to be polycoated too if I use exterior plywood?

the rationale is that its not much work to slap a few coats of plastic on before replacing and it can only help if/when a leak may (*will) develop further on down the road ;-) we amateur woodworkers usually have a few half-empty cans of poly-u laying around the garage and this is a perfect way to mix 'em together and participate in some 'creative recycling' for the environment!

and THANKS for the door tip...upon closer inspection the only rivet holes I can find are two in the rain cap above the door so the hinge must have originally been riveted into the cap and not the door frame, as there are not rivet holes in the frame. ya learn something every day, nice to accumulate all the myriad details of bringing something back to its glory days.... gracias amigos

[fotochop]

ahh, a J-channel hinge...hmmm...not crazy about those but there must be a reason for them (there is: to keep the door from bopping you on the head ;-) and certainly no harder to rivet on than a piano hinge... but I could take the shortcut and simply hold the trailer upside down ;-)

I think I'm up to about 48 or 49 DIFFERENT KEYS for this trailer... I'll have to bar code them... I do have a great old-school locksmith in the hood who can probably reset them for just a couple different keys for cheap..

also: I've been using this "epmd" grey gasket material on some doors and it seems like pretty nice stuff, but not cheap ($7 for 10 feet). seals up good and is the right size. the aft battery compartment had a couple yards of river sand in the door channel before I changed the gasket...I think that's what caused the rear to droop a bit ;-) seriously, it was a SPARE TIRE mount that had been welded onto the bumper. if you are considering doing something like this: DON'T!!! put it under your tongue (and count backwards from one hundred..zzzzzzz)

[CJ of Okla]

We took our lock in and had all the outside compartments keyed to one key. The front door is different so we ended up with two keys. Better than a dozen.

[Wabbiteer]

Sealing the end grain is first importance - sealing the faces is good in a general way but there is enough interference grinding on the faces while fitting that one should thin out the sealer and load up the grain over a couple of days. It would be the same teaspoon of water that never dries that ramps up the pressure treated metal rot or accelerates up softening the plywood.

[Pariscope]

Today I was thinking how good the floor looked and my work fitting it in so nicely. However I know there are a few of you guys more experienced than me out there who can predict a outcome based on the materials used. So I will take the hit and do it right. That means new exterior grade 3/4' decking.
After all, I am only talking about a 48'X21" piece of material here. Poly the end grain is also a great tip.
Thanks,

[Jim Clark]

Originally Posted by CJ of Okla

We took our lock in and had all the outside compartments keyed to one key. The front door is different so we ended up with two keys. Better than a dozen.

I found some compartment locks at Harry's Ace Hardware, this was a few years ago. The locks were cheap. It was easier than dealing with worn locks and keys. I would think compartment locks would be easy to find on the web.

[Aerowood]

Try here for cam locks Woodworker's Hardware® - Kitchen Cabinet hardware, clamps, cabinet drawer slides, knobs, pulls, hinges, abrasives, adhesives, cabinet organizers.

[Zeppelinium]

I got my cam locks at Vintage Trailer Supply, $6-ish, and they fit perfectly. The plus here is that you'll also be tempted to order Vulkem and a dozen other things in the same package for one shipping fee!

Seriously, the plus is that they will check the locks and make sure all of them are keyed the same.

Zep

[fotochop]

- thanks Butch and Sundance for the lock info, man those numbered camlocks are so sweet I might have to spring for a set and just throw the dang keys away...

- got the wiring hooked back up and some of the plumbing...enough to start putting the floor in anyway...oh, and I went under and slapped some insulation on the belly and around the tankbox..just randomly putting pink foam board and Reflectix...whaddoo I know from insulation here anyway, it's usually like a hundred and twenty degrees in the shade...



-I think the real issue is to try and get the tank box sealed up as best you can since if'n you have a two inch gap somewhere(even if the rest is sealed) guess where all your beloved heat is gonna go when it gets real cold: right out of that two inch gap! .....

so I tested the hot water heater and it held pressure real nice-like...couldn't find any leaks so I POR'ed the rusty edges and slipped it back in with butyl tape all around...that stuff is like abc gum and you want to trim it off around the edges...its funky:



- I was out there havin' me a chaw and my sweet lil Judi came by and gave me a kiss so I made her do it again for the camera... our cranky old 14 year old four legged man wouldn't come outside so he din't get his pitcher took...special thanks to the signif-other-wife-partner-babymomma for lettin' me make such a gawdawful mess back there...one day I'll clean it up...



I decided to use this industrial type linoleum-lookin' vinyl tiles since they look almost exactly like the OEM tile and are incredibly cheap (like me) and come in nice retro colors...stuff called 'Azrock' by Tarkett...they use it in hospitals and stuff..supposed to last forever. I took Inland Andy's advice and laid it with the seams to match the splices in the subfloor cuz supposedly it'll show any cracks a lot less if they develop later...you put it on with a contact glue called Parabond. nice stuff, doesn't stick much but you gotta let it dry an hour or so before stick-down..



'so what's up with the flange stickin' there anyway?' you're wondering...here's the deal: the only flange I could find locally only had like a half-inch of threads (for the tank) so once I got that puppy threaded in the tank I'm terrified of backing it out since it might be REAL HARD to thread up again...so I backed it out just enough to slip the tile under then I'm gonna tighten it back up when the tile dries...have a swingin' weekend...lookout beaches...I'm gonna be landing soon....

[Lothlorian]

Looking good!

I got my Nyloboard floor into today. and I plan on bolting down tomorrow. I am following your lead.

SIU bound
Brian