Hi Everyone. Well, after 15 years the RV-Dreams Community Forum is coming to an end. Since it began in August 2005, we've had 58 Million page views, 124,000 posts, and we've spent about $15,000 to keep this valuable resource for RVers free and open. But since we are now off the road and have settled down for the next chapter of our lives, we are taking the Forum down effective June 30, 2021. It has been a tough decision, but it is now time.
We want to thank all of our members for their participation and input over the years, and we want to especially thank those that have acted as Moderators for us during our amazing journey living and traveling in our RV and growing the RV-Dreams Family. We will be forever proud to have been founders of this Forum and to have been supported by such a wonderful community. Thank you all!!
We bought a 1988 twenty-five foot fifth wheel in January. It all looked good and didn't find any soft spots or ceiling leaks on initial inspection. After taking it home and hooking the shore water up, I found a small leak just where it came in under the couch. That's when I found that the floor under the couch/bed was soft. I took out the couch/bed and found the carpet under it was not original. After taking the carpet out, the linoleum just peeled up along with the chipwood floor. I could just pull it up with my gloved hand and it crumbled apart like old toast. I found that what appeared to be 2X2's were rotted away also leaving the foam insulation and plastic underlayment. I am going to cut all the floor out and replace the 2X2 joists and new marine plywood over that. My question is how are the 2X2's secured to the steel frame? Tried to insert a picture but couldn't find a way to upload it from my computer.
Most of the older RVs were built similar to houses. The floor would be a frame with 2X2 joists nailed or stapled inside of the frame. All of this would be laid onto the steel frame with cross braces supporting the framed floor. The frame of the floor section would be screwed or bolted onto these cross braces just like bolting the sub-floor of a house to the foundation.
Then the insulation is added and the chipboard on top. The chipboard in your case (plywood in most cases) is stapled, screwed or nailed to the floor joists and wood frame to tie everything together.
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"Small House, Big Yard "
"May the FOREST be with you" Alfa See-Ya 5'er and 2007 Kodiak C4500 Monroe
Thanks. I went out and braved the 103 heat to do some work on it. Since my sister was gone, I plugged into their 50 amp outlet and turned the A/C on. Got a 2X4 area cleaned out and found that the 2X2's are both bolted from the bottom to the main steel cross members of the trailer frame and there are also screws that go through the outside of the side of the trailer into the 2X2's. Looks like there was a very thin piece of plywood, like Luan plywood, on top of the black thick plastic membrane with the 2" thick foam glued to it and then the maybe 3/8" thick plywood (not chip board, looked like it the way it just crumbled up) stapled to the 2X2's. I will have to take out the water heater and water pump next. Bob
