Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Has anyone used butyl tape between the frame and floor? I'd like to do this to keep water from collecting in this area. Any thoughts or input? Did you put anything in to seal between your frame and floor?

Thanks,
-Troy

Sounds like a good idea, but all I used was Loctite PL Premium Adhesive between joints and seams. The exception was the gluing together of my 1/2" Birch plywood floor, which I deemed insufficiently thick, so I used Titebond II to add 1/4" Luan to the top. I'm also using Duplicolor undercoating on the floor bottom , to be supplemented with Rustoleum rubber leak proofer, after all is done. No water tests yet.

I'll be using the Duplicolor bedliner for the bottom of the floor...just want to seal with something in between the trailer frame and the floor to keep water from sitting in between there. Another goal is to have the body of the tear removable from the trailer frame...which I think is another reason that the butyl tape would be a good idea.

-Troy

Hello Troy,

The idea is good, but butyl tape can dry and shrink over time.

I used a roofing product that has aluminum on one side and a rubbery tar on the other, with the sticky side down.
It keeps water from collecting between the wood and steel frame, and helps to keep the paint on the frame from rubbing off.
The bottom of the plywood floor was painted with several coats of oil based paint.
Whatever you use should go all the way across the frame members, as just a strip of something down the middle of a rail or support can leave a place for mud and water to collect.
Rob

Rob,
Thanks for the input...I didn't know that about butyl tape. It looks like with the tape that you used there still could be a problem with water and such collecting between the tape and floor? Maybe the best method would be to mount the floor to the frame and flip it over and do a spray on bed liner over the frame and floor...kind of like sealing the whole thing as one? I have to work out something soon...I'm getting to that point in my build.

Thanks again.

-Troy

Troy,

It is possible, though the material was/is very soft and with the plywood being bolted and screwed to the frame, it pulled down pretty tight.

Putting everything together and spraying as an assembly is a very risky way to do it.
There is a very big chance that gaps will be left where moisture can get in.
We sealed our floor, used the material between, then undercoated all to help prevent damage from road spray and rocks.

Rob

48Rob wrote:I used a roofing product that has aluminum on one side and a rubbery tar on the other, with the sticky side down.
It keeps water from collecting between the wood and steel frame, and helps to keep the paint on the frame from rubbing off.

I used a similar product designed for flashing around windows. It doesnt have the aluminum, but it does have the rubbery tar stuff.



My teardrop shell is fastened to the frame with trailer deck screws. The primary reason I used this material is to keep water from entering into the frame tubes where the deck screws penetrated the tubes.

Take care,
Tom