Soft spot in floor

[Moonkitty]

Noticed about a 4 inch in diameter soft spot in floor right in front of door to the right. We have a 2008 27FB. Have checked and could not find any place else with problem.
I spoke to Patrick at Colonial and he said almost all the time when they go to repair a floor it turns out they need to replace the whole floor. We cannot find any leaks but bought this used in 2013 so do not know if previous owner had a problem they didn't reveal to us.
Question is should we have this fixed now or wait until problem worsens (if it does). We could take it to the factory (8hrs) or Colonial (2hrs) away. Which would you choose? We could leave it at the factory till spring if we take it there since we won't be using it this winter. We have a couple of other items on our list if we do take it somewhere.
We don't want to wait until its a serious problem but we also don't want to needlessly replace a whole floor.
Any recommendations are much appreciated.

[Belegedhel]

The question is, just how rotten really is the rest of the floor? You need to go around the entire perimeter of your floor, as close to the wall as possible, and poke hard at the floor with something sharp like an ice pick or small screw driver.

If you don't find any other rotten spot, then a complete floor replacement really isn't called for. I suspect the reason you were told that a complete floor replacement is usually in order is because by the time you notice a soft spot in the floor in the main travel areas, the floor has rotted away in those hidden areas underneath furishings and cabinetry, especially in the very rear of the trailer.

As for the spot that you have identified, evidently it was not there when you bought the trailer, so you need to find out where the water is coming from that created that rot. Usually rotten spots near the door are the result of a bad door seal, but they could have other origins. You don't really need to fix it right away, but you really do need to find the leak and keep it from getting any worse.

Patching a single soft spot is not rocket science--I wouldn't drive 8 hrs if there is a dealer 2 hrs away. A complete floor replcement is a horse of another color, though. Did you get an estimate of what that would cost? Do you have insurance?

good luck!

[sgschwend]

I agree look for other leaks. Open up the floor and investigate the leak you have found. We had a leak from the front vent that showed up at the front edge of the door.

You do want to address the leak and related damage right away.

I for one believe in storing the trailer under a cover, and also taking the weight off the axles.

[prairieschooner]

Agreed with trying to find the source.
If you could drill some holes in the "soft spot" to allow it to dry out and then inject some thinned out epoxy resin into the DRIED area (epoxy resin typically doesn't like water). There are a number of products available at Marine Stores like West Marine....http://www.westmarine.com/
or Defender Marine....http://www.defender.com/

I prefer to use West Systems Epoxy (no relation to West Marine) thinned with some Denatured Alcohol (Stove Fuel). They have these nifty little syringes that help inject the resin but I'm sure you could use something from a pet shop or drug store in a pinch.

The Epoxy Resin will make the area hard as a rock and limit the extent of the repair. Not sure this is for you but it is something that boaters have used for decades and is very cost effective.

West Systems Epoxy, take a look at some of the use guides and videos;
http://www.westsystem.com/ss/

[SCOTTinNJ]

I had colonial and Jackson center work on my trailers multiple times. I would go to colonial.

[thiel]

+1 on West Systems epoxy. It's the only one to buy. Lots of options for your application.

[Kemblkr]

If only one spot is found and a dealer says that usually ends up in a full replacement you need to run from that service center. That is such a BS response. I had the entire rear of my 2003 and I only had to replace the rotten floor. Good luck!


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[KJRitchie]

Maybe they meant the vinyl floor. Since the vinyl floor is laid before any of the cabinets and furniture are installed you can really pull the vinyl away to repair the subfloor without either removing the kitchen cabinet and the curb side dinette without cutting it. If the soft spot is not close you could remove the rear dinette and side couch and maybe furnace and roll the vinyl towards the kitchen exposing the subfloor. Make the repairs and then roll the vinyl back then install everything back.

I'd check under the dinette table and seats for soft floor too. Its possible their is a leak between the bumper and the rub rail, unfortunately a common issue with the mid 2000s Safari and Internationals.

Kelvin

[Rich W]

I took out the cabinet and L-couch, trim and rolled back the flooring to reveal our soft spot, which was in the front center. We had been smelling it for several months before the spot got soft. Once it did get soft, the spot grew pretty fast.

I had JC repair it and do a pressure test and forced rain test to ensure no leaks. They thought a PO had caulked/repaired the leak but never rolled back the floor to dry it out. The spot was about the size of a dinner plate but JC got a good sized piece of plywood from the production line and put it in there. They also cleaned up the mold that had gotten in the mouse fur in the front.

JC charges $120 per hour. Anything you can do to reduce the hours will help. If you have cabinetry screwed into the floor, take out some of the screws. If they're rusty then you have water in the flooring.

[Moonkitty]

Thank you for all your responses. We checked for other soft spots today but couldn't find any but there could be some hidden. We really aren't qualified to go tearing up the floor to fix the problem ourselves. Spoke to Colonial and they are booked until January so will call JC tomorrow and we could always take out there and leave until spring. We do have a couple of other problems to be fixed and I want to make sure everything is done right. If they are also booked looks like spring before we can do anything.
No insurance (does anyone have insurance that covers this type of problem?) and was quoted 3-4k for a complete floor rebuild. Ouch! Let's hope its an isolated problem.
I really wish we could keep it under cover. It's sitting on property I have 45 minutes away but looks like there are a couple local storage places for rv's that can be under cover and may call them tomorrow. Although we haven't had any leaks inside the camper its still good to be under cover. We do think the problem is coming from the door, maybe under wet driving conditions? Will have it checked.

[SuperTrouper]

Hi Moonkitty,

I have a 2008 27FB too. I fixed up my floor in 2011. The water comes in on the bumper and leaches into the floor. Mine was wet from the door across to the furnace and rearward. The real issue is that Airstream built the floor without a way from the water that gets in to get out. It remains sandwiched between the reflectix on the bottom and vinyl on the top. Invest in a moisture meter https://www.amazon.com/General-Tools...0891762&sr=1-3 and measure under the dinette. My repair wasn't hard (we used epoxy to treat the floor and replaced the reflectix with a design that allows moisture to exit) but it took a month of weekends utilizing the work weeks to dry first the water, then the glycol I used to kill spores and then the epoxy. Here's the details: http://www.airforums.com/forums/f396...ml#post1262866

Good luck and PM me if you have any questions. Brad

[Rich W]

Originally Posted by Moonkitty

Thank you for all your responses. We checked for other soft spots today but couldn't find any but there could be some hidden. We really aren't qualified to go tearing up the floor to fix the problem ourselves. Spoke to Colonial and they are booked until January so will call JC tomorrow and we could always take out there and leave until spring. We do have a couple of other problems to be fixed and I want to make sure everything is done right. If they are also booked looks like spring before we can do anything.
No insurance (does anyone have insurance that covers this type of problem?) and was quoted 3-4k for a complete floor rebuild. Ouch! Let's hope its an isolated problem.
I really wish we could keep it under cover. It's sitting on property I have 45 minutes away but looks like there are a couple local storage places for rv's that can be under cover and may call them tomorrow. Although we haven't had any leaks inside the camper its still good to be under cover. We do think the problem is coming from the door, maybe under wet driving conditions? Will have it checked.

We didn't want to try and fix our soft spot either, but I did remove everything out of the front third of the trailer. The vinyl flooring is just stapled down, easy to pull staples. The flooring is installed 'floating', no glue, so easy to roll back. I figured any work I could do is a money saver at $120 and hour.

Since our vinyl had some wear and that stain I asked about a replacement floor. They told me they only way they would replace the vinyl was to remove everything, put new, full vinyl down, then replace everything again. That's a lot of work. So we asked them to clean up the vinyl when they finished and they did a pretty good job. They used a bleach mixture on the flooring and the wall 'mouse fur'.

So if you're considering replacing the vinyl you should probably go with someone who can replace just what's visible and not take out everything.

[la nomade]

i had very bad leaks,water was trapped between floor and vinyl cover.had to pick it up,fixed the leaks mostly near the door...let the floor dry out with dehumidifier, heat,fresh air ,took a long time,then sealed the floor with a good marine deck paint,then found flooring on ebay...made a template and installed the vinyl ,not gluing or stapling it down in case i have to eventually pick it up again...just ran some molding...that is how i solved my problem...and yes rot can be cut out and new plywood put on...but all and all,if you have the $$ let colonial deal with it..M