Steps to replace floors...

[truckirwin]

Hi - '74 Excella 500 needs some love! Already gutted - doing a custom rebuild, interior furniture was trashed by PO and what remained was in poor condition.

A few leaks, chasing those down... but then what are the basic steps for replacing floors? Do I need to pull the top off and do a frame up? or can I just cut out the existing floors and piece in replacements for the areas of rot?

It's typical rot - around the leaks, around the toilet... I figure I could do it with one sheet of ply. But then, If it's a pain... maybe just pull all the floors.

Recommendation on threads to read? Pics/tutorials?

Thanks a lot!
truck

[J. Morgan]

Depends on how much needs replacing.

I pieced my floors in replacing twelve feet by eight inches along the drivers side front edge, about four feet by eight inches on the passenger side front edge, and a four foot section in the rear bath.

All of the damage on my floors aside from the bath was exclusively on the edges. I didn't see the need to replace all of the plywood when most of it was as sound as the day it was made.

[J. Morgan]

I didn't do a shell off because I didn't need to. The damage to my camper was isolated for the most part so I put my time, energy, and funds, in a direction that would deliver tangible results.

[J. Morgan]

The plywood floor extends under the sill plate of the wall, this isn't a big deal when piecing in though.

I used a circular saw set to just cut through the plywood. When the frame, outriggers, and "scabs" to close the cut edges on the bottom, the fix was more than good enough in my opinion.

[Belegedhel]

My floor rot would have all been replaced with one sheet too, but it was behind the refrigerator, next to the door, around the perimeter in the front, and a wasteland in the rear. If I had gone to do a bunch of patches, I still would have had to pull all of the interior panels, break the elevator bolts, and drop the bellypan. At some point you end up doing a complete refurb anyway, just without pulling the shell. I decided pulling the shell was easier, and am glad I did. I completely replaced the bellypan, installed grey tanks, repaired the frame and painted with POR-15, the whole works.

If you have rot in the rear, you probably also have a wrecked frame, a dissolved rear hold-down plate, and probably damage to your rear panel exterior skin as well. Before worrying about your floor, you might want to drop your bellypan, at least in the rear, and see how much other damage may be out of sight.

Good luck!

[J. Morgan]

Yea, I replaced four feet of frame in the rear due to black tank rot, but I still didn't pull the shell.

I spent perhaps a week on the frame repair and the floor patches, etc.