The Big Pink, Foamie !

[tac422]

The Big Pink has a "new" stable mate.

I picked it up real cheap because .....

The floor has completely rotted away in the front of the trailer.
Everything else is in great shape ( except where the PO got a little carried away taking the old floor out.)

So I'm going to try and replace the floor, and find the leak (s). The original floor is OSB, and was sealed with linoleum on top and sheet plastic on the bottom, trapping any moisture. I'm hopeful the linoleum acted as a barrier and kept the moisture from wicking into the walls.

here's the before and after pix... That's the shower drain in the after picture.

I would welcome advice on how to replace the floor under the walls, and what to use to seal the roof . Once I find the leaks (s).

 

[GPW]

Sad... that only happened because they used the cheapest grade OSB possible , with no idea for real waterproofing ... It's as if they Build them to Fail .... and quickly too ... Just a better grade of OSB wouldn't do that ... but then, it wouldn't make any extra money for the company or RV dealer ...

 

[tac422]

The good news is that it didn't get into the walls. The bad news is It was worse than I initially thought. The dealer he bought it from ( a couple of years ago) had just added new OSB and linoleum over parts of the rotted original floor. There was 1" pink insulation under the original OSB and it was dripping water. (sealed in by the plastic ) The front 4-6 feet of floor is completely gone.

I'm wondering what to replace it with ... Pressure treated Plywood ?

Maybe this stuff ...http://www.lowes.com/pd_85795-1169-S-16 ... =advantech

or sheathing using the "mix" ?

 

[wagondude]

Nothing like a quick, bad repair job to cover up bad initial construction. Surely done to flip a trade in. I'm guessing the leak was around the shower pan.

 

[GPW]

“ The dealer he bought it from ( a couple of years ago) had just added new OSB and linoleum over parts of the rotted original floor. “ Therein lies the problem .... the dealers use the same Crap materials to fix the trailers so it rots again just as fast ... Also they use that same caulk that doesn’t seem to last very long despite all the wild claims ...

I’d go back with the best grade of flooring OSB and use the mix which we KNOW works .... and then store the whole thing INSIDE ...

It was all this RV trailer business that led us to Foamies in the first place ...

Classic trailers from yesteryear are no longer so well made ... and new trailers are lucky to survive the warranty period ... I’m not making this up , if you read the RV forums you find two types of RVers... Those that constantly inspect and chase down problems before they develop( high maintenance) and those that pay a LOT of Money to RV dealers annually for much necessary Maintenance ... Myself being OLD , I’d rather something that’s actually made to live outside , like a car, truck , house , or Foamie trailer ...


Note: When I pinned down our RV dealer about the roof sealant , he said I should inspect the whole roof , once a month , and have the caulk replaced , once a year by him ( at an annual cost of $1200.00 USD... )

 

[GPW]

Had we actually kept our Commercial trailer , it figured out to $5000 a year to the RV dealer to keep it in shape ... It was reported many times that those Coaches were 5 figures a year to maintain ...

The FoamStream has cost us NOTHING this year ... and although it had a minor leak (my fault) the floor didn’t rot away ... all it costs to fix was a can of Great stuff...

 

[lrrice]

If it is like the one I rebuilt, it was built from the floor up and the inside out so you have to tear it completely down from the outside in. Not a small job and you will probably be surprised how much rot it has especially if the leak was from the roof. Replace the fiberglass insulation with white foam so it won't hold water against the wood when it leaks again. I put a welded pvc roof on mine but it still leaked finally found it was leaking through the clearance lights but not before it warped the new paneling inside.

 

[GPW]

You’d think a trailer company would have learned what works and what doesn’t ... But apparently , they just don’t care .... Profit is their ONLY motivation ... The Dealers don’t mind only because they charge RIDICULOUS amounts of Money to fix these abominations , and they only fix them like the factory made them , so any repairs fail in the same amount of time ... What a RACKET !!!

 

[tac422]

As expected , the floor was worse than initially thought.
The water fittings under the kitchen sink were not even finger tight, and inaccessible behind a sealed factory panel.The entire front 7+ feet of the trailer was completely rotted out plus the area under the kitchen sink.
I used exterior 3/4" plywood sealed with "the mix" on all sides, and then painted on the bottom with leftover Big Pink yellow porch and floor oil based paint.
It was a challenge figuring out to remove the old floor and piece the new floor together while leaving the walls in place.
I treated all the metal (frame , tank supports , etc) with Ospho and painted with rustoleom before putting the new wood in.
It doesn't look like there is enough room for the shower trap, since I didn't remove that part I don't know if the floor was cut out to accommodate it.
In my limited plumbing experience years ago I used a "Richmond" trap or a flat trap. A quick search doesn't show any info.

 

[GPW]

Tac , you already know what to do , so Good Luck Dude !!! That floor should last a lot longer now ... Did you treat the other floor that survived ? ... After several generous coats of the mix even the cheapest “oatmeal “ grade of particle board was waterproofed .. It was originally used to waterproof Corrugated cardboard (paper essentially ) ...

if you ever see a commercial trailer video , it looks like ants crawling over it trying to make it as fast as they can ... just bang them together quickly and send them to the dealers .... no wonder they don’t have a chance to at least tighten the plumbing , which is a cause for failure ... They can't bother coating the wood with a waterproofing of any type , there’s no time for that , and using something that would be already waterproof would be “unprofitable” ... and they brag how quick they can make one ...
Best look for any and all little places where water can get in ... and don’t use the caulk that the RV dealers recommend , it really didn’t last worth a hoot in our summer sun ... My dealer said it would have to be replaced once a year at a cost of $1200.00 ... (what a Ripoff!!) There are much better alternatives... Eternabond tape a good one , but don’t buy it at a Rv trailer dealer .... the roofing supply stores are cheaper , and have better stuff .. Best stay away from RV dealers all together , you can find most everything you need at a much better price elsewhere, especially online ...

 

[mezmo]

Good to see you didn't use the Advantek floor sheeting. We have that in
out 1977 Avion and ALL the edges are rotted out and the rest of the floor is
weak. Your exterior ply with the "Mix" treatment seems the best way to go
as you did. Just let a way for the bottom to breath as well.

 

[tac422]

THANKS FOR YOUR COMMENTS !
I did treat all the old exposed floor inside and I'm removing all the plastic and pink insulation underneath and intend to spray "the mix" with a pressure sprayer.
I haven't gotten much done recently, but did reinstall the water heater and furnace. I added a piece of scrap aluminum to the bottom of the very front so water can't get between the frame and the floor.
My next step is to reinstall the water pump, linoleum on the bathroom floor, and composite flooring in the kitchen.
I'll also be adding a drip edge along the bottom of the sides.
And then I have to rebuild the shower stall and bathroom vanity...

 

[GPW]

Tac, please look for the sign of ANY leaking ... roof, doors, windows ... We know the manufacturers do a purposefully poor job of modern trailer building .... Their recommended self-leveling caulk is , excuse my French .... Crap !!! We were experimenting with Eternabond tape which was supposedly good for 25 years ... The RV dealer recommended HE re-caulk the trailer once a year .... ( for $1200.00 ...) Ridiculous ... and even with his re-caulk, it leaked and failed anyway ... These are not your Grandfathers trailers which were an attempt to build proper campers .... These are "designed to Fail" , and require expensive repairs , your dealer is so willing to supply .. for $150.00 hour , plus highly inflated materials cost ... It's "good for their Economy" ....

Best get it fixed up and find some place to keep it INSIDE, and bring it out occasionally ... They are really NOT made to live outside ... try not to even wash if you don't have to ...

 

[Andymanout]

Wow what a ride! Read the original thread all the way through this one. The Big Pink now has a spot in my heart. I loved reading the evolution of this sizable foamy!

 

[tac422]

Thank you Andy !
We are really enjoying The Big Pink, and are looking forward to teardropping soon this year.

 

[tac422]

update

 

[tac422]

and almost done

 

[KCStudly]

What a transformation!

 

[GPW]

Well Done !!!

 

[GPW]

Tac , apologies , but I couldn’t help re-posting that floor damage pic .... that’s so TYPICAL of what happens ... ( picture enhanced for more detail and Horror )