Camper floor repairs

[WNYBuckHunter]

After finishing my roof resealing project, it is time to finish the repairs on our camper by fixing the water damage in the floor. Today I started out by tearing as much apart as I had time for, so the bed came out, fresh water tank, water pump, wiring, hoses, carpet and pad and the linolium was pulled so I could get a better idea of what exactly needs done. Here are some pics of the process.

Bed coming out.

Water tank ready to come apart and out.

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Bed and water tank out.

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Carpet and linoleum cut out. First, the road side, which is in better shape, wood not rotten, but needs dried out and sealed.

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Door side corner, needs trimmed out and replaced.

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Next, I have to figure out how to finish getting the cabinets out, and the rest of the carpet.

[burmjohn]

Is that just particle board? Whats under that?

[WNYBuckHunter]

Yep, they use chip board for the floors. Amazing, huh? You would think, with what campers sell for, that they would use something good, like marine grade ply for the floors. There is nothing under it, the black you see is the membrane under the camper that keeps the water off of the bottom of the floor. When I replace the floor sections, it will be with good plywood, not that particle crap. Over top of that is going to be the interlocking Pergo, which wont hold any moisture and will be easier to keep clean. Carpet sucks in campers.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

take a look at Advantech subflooring. It is not you average particle board and it has a great warranty. I had a supplier come giv eme a demo and put it in a 5 gallon ail of water and left it with me for 2 weeks. No change in the dimensions of the board. it never swelled or delaminated. If I recal corrctly the capacities of it were higher than pylwood. they must be using some sort of an epoxy in the making of it.

[Doewhacker]

Wow that sounds like good product Culv. Any updates on the floor WNY?

I recall a news story about the fumes that come off of the particle boards in campers and how people were getting sick when they were living in them long term after Katrina. Scary stuff.

[Localqdm]

Advantech is NAUF (no added urea formaldehyde), and should be good.  I think most of the toxic stuff comes from cheap cabinetry mdf and stuff, not necc. osb.

[Localqdm]

I think osb is okay now (as far as toxic, not for use on a floor  ), but years ago I worked for a framer and remember cutting a stack of it and my throat swelling, so not sure.  I cut a fair amount now, just not all day.

[Dave]

Yep, they use chip board for the floors. Amazing, huh? You would think, with what campers sell for, that they would use something good, like marine grade ply for the floors. There is nothing under it, the black you see is the membrane under the camper that keeps the water off of the bottom of the floor. When I replace the floor sections, it will be with good plywood, not that particle crap. Over top of that is going to be the interlocking Pergo, which wont hold any moisture and will be easier to keep clean. Carpet sucks in campers.

Buck, hope you got that trailer for a good price, when you get finished it will look like new. Lots of TLC going into the work. Fixed roof, new floor, what's next? I could use some help redoing my kitchen.

Dave

[nyantler]

take a look at Advantech subflooring. It is not you average particle board and it has a great warranty. I had a supplier come giv eme a demo and put it in a 5 gallon ail of water and left it with me for 2 weeks. No change in the dimensions of the board. it never swelled or delaminated. If I recal corrctly the capacities of it were higher than pylwood. they must be using some sort of an epoxy in the making of it.

Good stuff.. use it all the time

[WNYBuckHunter]

Culver, already been looking at some of the newer types of OSB out there, and thats what I plan on using. I am going to be cutting out whatever is shot and installing patch panels, then Ill be using a thinned out epoxy resin product in all of the areas that have any minor water damage to make sure that they never have an issue. The stuff basically wicks into the wood and sets up, bonding the fibers together permanently, and turning it into a more durable material. You can sand it, paint it, drill it, screw into it, whatever you need to do. Its used alot in boat repair and historical building preservation.

I have decided also, that I will be installing a flooring product called Allure, its basically a vinyl/laminate hybrid in that it goes together like a laminate floor, looks like a laminate floor, but is made of a layered vinyl and is 100% waterproof. Im laying down a cherry color/pattern that should look very nice. I am also planning on doing the bathroom with it, and possibly the rest of the trailer.

Dave, I got the trailer for about 1/4 of the low retail price, and should have less than $500 into the repairs themselves. Ill have more than that into the list of modifications I am doing to it though, probably another $1000, so the price I paid, plus the repairs and mods, and I should still be able to double my money when I sell it. Once I take that step, I will be able to pick up exactly what we want in a camper, but with how I am Ill end up finding some great deal on one that is more than we really need, Ill just have to put some work into it lol. I just hope I dont go overboard and end up needing to buy a full size truck to tow with. 

[WNYBuckHunter]

I almost forgot, progress report. lol

I got one of the cabinets out, had a bitch of a time as half of the screws had stripped heads, so had some drilling and cutting to do. I have been swampped at home all week, so all I got done was to get the floor dried out. The second cabinet should be coming out this weekend, and Ill be trimming the floor and prepping for the epoxy resin.

[Dave]

Culver, already been looking at some of the newer types of OSB out there, and thats what I plan on using. I am going to be cutting out whatever is shot and installing patch panels, then Ill be using a thinned out epoxy resin product in all of the areas that have any minor water damage to make sure that they never have an issue. The stuff basically wicks into the wood and sets up, bonding the fibers together permanently, and turning it into a more durable material. You can sand it, paint it, drill it, screw into it, whatever you need to do. Its used alot in boat repair and historical building preservation.

I have decided also, that I will be installing a flooring product called Allure, its basically a vinyl/laminate hybrid in that it goes together like a laminate floor, looks like a laminate floor, but is made of a layered vinyl and is 100% waterproof. Im laying down a cherry color/pattern that should look very nice. I am also planning on doing the bathroom with it, and possibly the rest of the trailer.

Dave, I got the trailer for about 1/4 of the low retail price, and should have less than $500 into the repairs themselves. Ill have more than that into the list of modifications I am doing to it though, probably another $1000, so the price I paid, plus the repairs and mods, and I should still be able to double my money when I sell it. Once I take that step, I will be able to pick up exactly what we want in a camper, but with how I am Ill end up finding some great deal on one that is more than we really need, Ill just have to put some work into it lol. I just hope I dont go overboard and end up needing to buy a full size truck to tow with. 

Buck I am sure you will have great family memories with this trailer. I had a small 19' Sun Line trailer when my 4 sons were growing up and we loved it. We went camping all the time and had made many trips to different states, miss those days when the boys were small. They grow up too fast, enjoy your family and the hard work you are putting into the trailer it will pay a handsome reward, its the Memories"

Dave

[WNYBuckHunter]

Culver, already been looking at some of the newer types of OSB out there, and thats what I plan on using. I am going to be cutting out whatever is shot and installing patch panels, then Ill be using a thinned out epoxy resin product in all of the areas that have any minor water damage to make sure that they never have an issue. The stuff basically wicks into the wood and sets up, bonding the fibers together permanently, and turning it into a more durable material. You can sand it, paint it, drill it, screw into it, whatever you need to do. Its used alot in boat repair and historical building preservation.

I have decided also, that I will be installing a flooring product called Allure, its basically a vinyl/laminate hybrid in that it goes together like a laminate floor, looks like a laminate floor, but is made of a layered vinyl and is 100% waterproof. Im laying down a cherry color/pattern that should look very nice. I am also planning on doing the bathroom with it, and possibly the rest of the trailer.

Dave, I got the trailer for about 1/4 of the low retail price, and should have less than $500 into the repairs themselves. Ill have more than that into the list of modifications I am doing to it though, probably another $1000, so the price I paid, plus the repairs and mods, and I should still be able to double my money when I sell it. Once I take that step, I will be able to pick up exactly what we want in a camper, but with how I am Ill end up finding some great deal on one that is more than we really need, Ill just have to put some work into it lol. I just hope I dont go overboard and end up needing to buy a full size truck to tow with. 

Buck I am sure you will have great family memories with this trailer. I had a small 19' Sun Line trailer when my 4 sons were growing up and we loved it. We went camping all the time and had made many trips to different states, miss those days when the boys were small. They grow up too fast, enjoy your family and the hard work you are putting into the trailer it will pay a handsome reward, its the Memories"

Dave

Yeah we have lots of memories of our old pop up, and this one will provide plenty more if I dont sell it before we end up using it. The only problem with this camper is it has the minimum number of beds that we need. Ideally we want one with bunks, a full or queen size and have the table that can convert. That would leave enough room for my sister and her kids to be able to go with us. With this camper, she would have to bring her own tent or whatever. I bought this camper to use mostly as a stepping stone.

[Dom]

So how did you do with your project?

[WNYBuckHunter]

Havent worked on it since last year. I just havent had the time yet.

As it sits, the carpet is out, cabinets are out, and the areas of the floor near the rot have been injected with epoxy hardener. The next step will be to cut the rest of the rot out and install patch pieces, then the new flooring will be installed. After that, it will just be putting the bed and cabinets back in and the front will be done. The bathroom needs some floor patches as well, and Ill be tearing the linoleum out of the rest of the trailer and installing the same type of flooring throughout. As soon as thats done, its going up for sale. I recently got approved for a mortgage, so this toy is going bye bye to fund a house.

[Dom]

Thaught i would ask.I tryed doing that with my parent's/our old camper and every time i would start doing something would draw me away from project,so finaly just put tarp over and have not done any thing to it.Just cant bring myself to junk it,might become a hunting cabin if we can buy some land for reasonable price.1987 Willderness 32 feet long,should make a good start.Good luck .

[WNYBuckHunter]

Ive just had alot going this year and havent gotten started. I actually did a bit of work to the outside of the trailer yesterday and got the garage cleaned so i could start cleaning the camper out today.

[landtracdeerhunter]

Their are some good buys in older camping trailers, if you know what problems they have. Can pump some money into the project, but will have a far superior unit on completion. To often, I have seen band aids put on so many campers. You're doing it best way. Good luck on your project.

Edited May 27, 2012 by landtracdeerhunter

[WNYBuckHunter]

Yeah for whatever reason, most people dont take care of their campers and end up with stuff like this one when i bought it. Some simple, yearly roof maintenance and this camper would probably still be in very nice condition. I ran across the same type of thing with my old pop-up. I put a little time and money into it, ended up with a sweet rig, which i doubled my money on, and got 4 years of use from.

[sweet old bill]

Thaught i would ask.I tryed doing that with my parent's/our old camper and every time i would start doing something would draw me away from project,so finaly just put tarp over and have not done any thing to it.Just cant bring myself to junk it,might become a hunting cabin if we can buy some land for reasonable price.1987 Willderness 32 feet long,should make a good start.Good luck .

That what I did I have a used 32 ft camper and put it on 15 acres that I found in North Pharsalia NY. I had this as the hunting camp for over 12 years, then put a house trailer on the land as I got ready to retire, sold off the travel trailer and later built my retirement home there and used the first house trailer as a rental, paid the year tax on the rent. Later on we sold the place to move closer to the kiods and grandkids. But a great way to start off. I think back to that little travbel trailer and was warm and dry, had a good stove and sure was like home after a day in the woods....good luck I did have to replace the floor in the bathroom, for me being not a handy guy was a major project that I got a lot of suggestions on how to do and then I did it....