Delamination Lamentation

[GPW]

Looking again at that rotted corner , That’s really AWFUL !!! I can’t imagine how water got in on the floor level , and think from all my previous experience it could only come from the roof vent ... The door had an inner dam on the floor . inner lip on the walls , drip edge over the top ...and was pretty tightly sealed . And there was only the peephole window on that side ... In the old Kustom Van days , the first place we’d look for a leak was the roof vent ...

You know the roof vent thing and moon roofs, all came from the California surfing scene.... California where it never rains ... Places that do rain, it becomes a problem .... always ... The Old Timers knew better than to cut a hole in the roof ... I think it’s done for “fashion” now .... People expect to see it because of seeing it everywhere else ... although it’s NOT the best idea ...

[wagondude]

Remember that the floor sagged at the unsupported door opening causing the door not to seal well. That would be my vote for how the water got in. The dam at the bottom allowed it to pool.

[GPW]

A very likely scenario... Could be ??? ... But why would the water run to the front corner ... unless the trailer wasn’t sitting level ...

You know what’s odd... The materials don’t do this unless wet constantly for a while .... If we had used some kind of drain holes , this may have been prevented ... After all wooden boats have drain holes ...

[bonnie]

It wasn't level, my driveway isn't level. I had wondered about adding drain holes. But with the foam floor I won't. I really think the main damage was the floor which allowed the door to sag enough for water to seep in. Anyhow, I am getting ready to trim the canvas to 10" around the new floor. 2" for the floor edge and 8" for the wrap. It's raining here, which we needed, so I will try working in the confined space of the garage.

[GPW]

So many things to think of .... Good luck !!! You may want to consider a rudimentary drip edge .... It doesn’t have to be very big ... just End below the floor level ...

[bonnie]

Already in the plan! Your reports convinced me.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[GPW]

Bonnie , we all learn as we go , had I thought about it years ago , we’d have included it all along ... Nobody said a thing, we had to find out the hard way ( The “Iron" way) ... Guessing nobody else has as much rain as we do , and Humidity .. Turns out it was the daily morning dew that was keeping everything underneath soaked on mine ... and when constantly wetted , you know water’s going to find a way in sooner or later ...

[bonnie]

Will gripper dry properly if it's raining? The trailer is in the garage out of the weather.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[GPW]

It should , As long as it’s not IN THE RAIN ... Just a little slower .... It should say on the can ...

[bonnie]

Short update. Working at getting the floor wrapping done. Waiting for the glue to dry. Just tacking it so I can trim it. Not picture worthy yet.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Rick Tyler]

Flooring seems to be the weak point on mostly ALL trailers ... Have to work on that , although I do believe now that board flooring is a better alternative than plywood.

Plywood is interesting stuff. Some seems to rot sitting at Home Depot, but other sheets are bullet proof. I have a sheet of 3/4 AB Douglas Fir marine plywood that has been fully exposed to the weather in my backyard for 15 years. It's not painted, sealed or otherwise treated, and in all that time it has not decomposed or delaminated. Unlike the trailer in this thread, though, it has also not been exposed to water in an enclosed space. I live in western Washington, where it rains 200 days a year, and is constantly damp, though, so it's not like it has been left out in Arizona.

The $80+ a sheet that 3/4 AB marine Fir costs around here might be worth it. It also has no voids, and the inner plies are either Douglas Fir or Western Hemlock, both of which are superior to the junk wood that passes for inner plies on most plywood. Finnish/Russian birch is also great plywood, but I have no idea if it is as water-durable as Doug fir.

Of course, we could all go with aluminum-foam sandwich panels for the floor. That could not possibly be expensive.

[GPW]

OK, somebody please explain why my board floor in the All steel cargo trailer is still in excellent shape ( no rot or dark discoloration ) after so many years ... Looks like plain Pine boards butted together and covered with cheap linoleum .. The trailer does have a built in drip edge so the floor stays pretty dry compared to everything else around here ...
I’ve mentioned this a number of times , but seem not to have persuaded anybody but myself ...

[KCStudly]

I'm not trying to discount the possible merits of a thick heavy floor and the potential longevity that one may bring... just trying to offer possible insights to your question here.

Could it be that there is no sealer on the bottom, that there are gaps between the boards, so that they are constantly allowed to air dry? (As it were... as if it is ever truly dry there... it is all relative.)

Trapped moisture is far more harmful than a little surface moisture that is allowed to air dry. That's why whenever someone says, "I've had this piece of (ply/wood/board/test sample, etc.) in my back yard for (X) years and it still looks great", I always prorate it in my mind.

One more thought, what would you find if you disassembled that plank floor? Poking your head under there every once in a while might be deceiving (as was the condition of the little foamie). Just saying, looks can be deceiving. Have you poked at it with a screwdriver at all? Everywhere? How about the end grain?

My Charcoal Briquette UT has a random width plank floor (1x varies) that was covered with plywood for an indeterminate period of its life, was involved in a fire, and sits outside in full New England weather. After stripping the plywood off the planks were found to be in surprisingly good condition. Yeah, one of the smaller boards was broken thru a knot, but that was poor board selection and positioning (with the knot right in the middle rear deck of the trailer... a small backer board fixed it).

[GPW]

KC, Thanks ...as always , that makes good sense !!! Actually i was looking around the other day for the small gas can which the gardener had shoved under the ASCT ... Figured I’d have another look .... It "APPEARED” , that nothing had changed , there was no “dark wood” . I did not however go poking around with my knife blade , so there might be something overlooked ... I’m just saying , this trailer is ~20 years old and still is the best floor we’ve seen yet ... Scares me when people say 1/4” plywood ... we know what plywood they’re talking about and it’s not the Marine grade that’s for sure... Getting where I don’t trust anything any more and can Only go with things we’ve seen/proven/tested to actually work ...

Note: I did inspect the OSB flooring sheet that’s been leaning up against the side of the ASCT for a while out in the weather , and the part that touches the ground has shown a marked discoloration and a bit of swelling , but there seems no total collapse of the structure of the sheet edge as yet ( No oatmeal) ... That’s a couple years now ...


And once again , it’s raining .... I’m going to need a Foamie Boat soon ...

[Rick Tyler]

And once again , it’s raining .... I’m going to need a Foamie Boat soon ...

Here you go: http://forums.bateau2.com/viewtopic.php ... &start=120

Just make sure you use marine foam and not home center stuff, unless you like swimming.

Rick