Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I just stuck my floor down last night and its got some creaks in it. It's 1/2" ACX bolted to the existing frame. The frame crossmembers are 1" wide and run side-t-side every 18". The space in between the members creek. Is there any solution to this?

I dry fit the wood first to get all the holes drilled correctly. Now, I'm gonna tear it off, tar up the holes, liquid nail the cross members and bolt it down again. The glue should cut down on the creak, but I might need to run front-back "blocking".

P.S. My sidewalls will be side-frame mounted, so this floor will be fairly independent of the sidewalls.

If'n I were you, i'd throw another piece of ½ inch plywood down under what you have.
it seems to me that all the weight of you and your companion will be resting on the floor, plus your bedding, so ½ inch just don't cut it...glue the two pieces together while your at it.

I'm wondering if that "creaking" noise that you're hearing... might be the plys in the 1/2" plywood creaking.
Was your trailer top nice and flat?
Did the plywood have any warpage to it?
I'm sure the caulk and anchors will help.
Some guys have used 1/2" plywood on their floors and had no complaints or regrets.
Me, I'm going to be using 3/4" plywood on my floor.

You know, there was a little warpage to the 1/2" ply. Is there any way to straighten the sheet out, while its off?

I suspect that you didn't have all your anchors tightened up all the way when you did your dry test fit.
(Either that, or the 1/2" plywood isn't handling your body weight between the 18" centers and the plys were starting to let go)

I can virtually guarantee that once the liquid nails sets up, your creaking will be a thing of the past. But don't just do the cross members, do every place that wood meets metal.

fornesto wrote:I just stuck my floor down last night and its got some creaks in it. It's 1/2" ACX bolted to the existing frame. The frame crossmembers are 1" wide and run side-t-side every 18". The space in between the members creek. Is there any solution to this?

If your walking on the floor it could possibly creak. Once the walls are up and the trailer is finished you probably won't hear a thing. What you could be hearing is maybe a little twisting of the frame. Once the walls are up and the roof on along with any bulkheads, everything should stiffen up.

I dry fit the wood first to get all the holes drilled correctly. Now, I'm gonna tear it off, tar up the holes, liquid nail the cross members and bolt it down again. The glue should cut down on the creak, but I might need to run front-back "blocking".

P.S. My sidewalls will be side-frame mounted, so this floor will be fairly independent of the sidewalls.

The glue will probably take care of any creaking noise. Up here, on our houses we use 1/2" plywood for roof sheathing on 24" on-center trusses, so I wouldn't worry about 1/2" on 18" centers not being able to hold the weight. I used 1/2" Spruce plywood on 18" centers for my camper with no problems at all.

As for the plywood having some warpage, it's important to make sure your frame is absolutely flat before attaching the plywood. 1/2" plywood will flatten out with a little weight added onto it before doing the final attachment.

I took up the floor, stacked the plywood flat with some other plywood, piled half the garage on it and let it sit for 5 days. Whadayaknow! The plywood flattened out, I liquid nailed it to the frame, rebolted and rescrewed it and their are no creaks. Also got the first coat of spar varnish down for the inside. Now, I'm just waitin' on my 5 x 9 plywood to come in.