79 Safari surprising

[Totoro]

I am in the process of cleaning out the prior owners Bamboo flooring. I was surprised to see that the first and second pieces of plywood at the front of the trailer share a seam that runs right down the first strip of bolts. In other words, the first row of bolts don’t run through any plywood. They are between the first sheets. I’m not sure how this provides any structural integrity, but here it is, 2021, and aside from a couple of small soft spots, the floor is surprisingly stable. Has anyone else made this observation?

[dbj216]

Certainly strange. I suspect there are rows of elevator bolts (flat heads) at each cross member which are about 24" apart in the frame. There may be other plywood seams in the floor that are not right on top of a cross member. Maybe someone figured the head of the bolt is big enough to clamp both pieces of plywood. Maybe the answer is visible if you could see the frame with the belly pan down.

David

[DremStremer]

Originally Posted by Totoro

I am in the process of cleaning out the prior owners Bamboo flooring. I was surprised to see that the first and second pieces of plywood at the front of the trailer share a seam that runs right down the first strip of bolts. In other words, the first row of bolts don’t run through any plywood. They are between the first sheets. I’m not sure how this provides any structural integrity, but here it is, 2021, and aside from a couple of small soft spots, the floor is surprisingly stable. Has anyone else made this observation?

The elevator bolts are the same way in my '70 Safari. The head of the bolt straddles both sheets of plywood at the seams. What gives the seam strength is the plywood splice underneath. It is a six inch wide strip of wood that is glued and screwed to both edges of the floor sheets and rests on a recessed cross member. The elevator bolts go through this splice and then are bolted to the cross member.

[Totoro]

Thanks for the pic. I’m curious to see if I have the same running under mine. I will say that I have spotted some metal zig zag looking joiners on the interior surface that seem to have been hammered in between the two sheets. If I was at home I would post a pic.

[DremStremer]

I found those zig zag joiners as well, but they were only between the two front sheets of plywood. Maybe because the first sheet spanned a greater distance to a cross member than the rest.

[Bubba L]

I’ve used metal corrugated splice ties before, but in light applications. Not in structural plywood. Our original floor in the 55 had those, but most were rusted through making them useless. When I replaced the floor, I used wooden biscuits. Same principle but won’t rust. So far, so good. Good luck

[Totoro]

Originally Posted by dbj216

Certainly strange. I suspect there are rows of elevator bolts (flat heads) at each cross member which are about 24" apart in the frame. There may be other plywood seams in the floor that are not right on top of a cross member. Maybe someone figured the head of the bolt is big enough to clamp both pieces of plywood. Maybe the answer is visible if you could see the frame with the belly pan down.



David

As I get more out, things should begin to reveal themselves. Thanks

[Totoro]

Originally Posted by Bubba L

I’ve used metal corrugated splice ties before, but in light applications. Not in structural plywood. Our original floor in the 55 had those, but most were rusted through making them useless. When I replaced the floor, I used wooden biscuits. Same principle but won’t rust. So far, so good. Good luck

Thanks. I will consider those once I can see the underneath.

[OTRA15]

Originally Posted by Bubba L

. . .
. . . When I replaced the floor, I used wooden biscuits. Same principle but won’t rust. So far, so good. Good luck

Also . . . seating each biscuit in both holes with liberal WEST epoxy makes the plywood edge butt-joint quite strong FWIW. A bit messy though . . . . . .

[Totoro]

Originally Posted by OTRA15

Also . . . seating each biscuit in both holes with liberal WEST epoxy makes the plywood edge butt-joint quite strong FWIW. A bit messy though . . . . . .

Here is another interesting find. There seem to be some sort of heavy nail going through a portion of the plywood.

[DremStremer]

Those are actually the elevator bolts that attach the plywood to the cross members. However, it is odd they are not centered on the seam of the two sheets. In my previous reply picture you can see the other end of the bolts going through the cross member.

[Totoro]

Getting down to the nitty gritty with this floor removal. I got back to the wheel well and it appears that it will need to be removed in order to get to the wood underneath. I’m wondering how it is attached to the bottom of the wheel well. I don’t see any bolts running through the edge of aluminum which surrounds it. In the meantime, I plan to cut around it closely to remove the floor, as I don’t want the interior exposed until I am closer to replacing the floor.

[Totoro]

Originally Posted by DremStremer

Those are actually the elevator bolts that attach the plywood to the cross members. However, it is odd they are not centered on the seam of the two sheets. In my previous reply picture you can see the other end of the bolts going through the cross member.

You are correct. I thought they were some kind of nail, at first, but then they turned out to have threads.

[Totoro]

I’ve decided to closely cut the subfloor around the fender wells and not remove the wood strip that remains in that channel. There is frame support(right up against) all around the fender wells, which should be more than adequate for subfloor support. Also, upon closer inspection, the plastic fender well provides no support for the shell. In other words, the frame portion that supports the fender well will also support the new subfloor. I was also pleasantly surprised that the frame was in surprisingly good shape. The only metal work will be the outrigger slots that hold the steps.