General Problem Solving ...

[atahoekid]

Has anyone used or thought of using composite decking for the floor? I know there would not be any savings either in money or weight but I was wondering if it could be applied in a way to prevent water intrusion and if it is durable enough to handle road conditions? According to the manufacturer it would be rot proof.

Another big issue would be strength. Those composite boards are not as strong as standard wood. If you build a deck, they ask for support spaced closer together than with a wood deck. Not too light either. I never compared to real wood, but when I rebuilt my deck, I found they could be difficult to lift. Don't get me wrong, I like composite for lots of reasons, but inherent strength is not one of them. As far as waterproofing, hmmmm, not sure how to keep moisture from coming up between boards unless you put a full skin under it

[mezmo]

After everything's said, I'd go for the cypress, and "waterproof"
the underneath with some of that new "Ice and water shield"
membrane-like stuff. [As it's called up north, I can't think of
any specific southern term for it other than how it is identified
as 'self-adhesive waterproof flashing' in the sticky.]
Here's the sticky on it:

http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=45873

That seems like a more direct way to do it and a good use
of new technology. It'd be one continuous sheet after it
is applied and should be much easier to apply than playing
at avoiding being a "tar-baby" when trying to apply the black
goo type stuff and it'd always cover any subsequent gapping
between boards that may show up.

A tung-oiled type finish on the cypress would make a gorgerous
looking floor. Throw rugs could handle the foot traffic wear
potential.

Cheers,
Norm/mezmo.

P.S. - Get a few extra clear cypress boards you could use for
interior trim/visiblehard points etc.. --- Nothing wrong with
making your bug-out-buggy classy lookin' inside too. --- Natural
finished cypress would help do that.

[GPW]

membranes .... They “sound” good huh? (marketing hype) And they may work for a while ... They don’t work on RVs , ask me how I know , so why use them here ... especially when a bucket of roofing cement is just a couple bucks and works forever...
I’m starting to think , nobody “gets it” ... I’m not building a Camping trailer to look good or be a museum piece , it’s a simple inexpensive “shelter” ... Something to sit in a friends (out of town , away from the storm and damage ) driveway and "exist in" during hurricanes till it’s OK to go back home .... That’s been my intent all along !!! ... I’m not camping , not making pancakes for everybody , not socializing with other campers , not traveling for fun ... No bears ... I’m not even that friendly or social a person ( agoraphobic) ... my camping days are long past ... This is an Emergency vehicle ... So I only need leakproof and insulated ... It doesn’t have to be pretty , but has to be functional for it’s singular purpose ... A place to sleep and get away from everybody else ... When we plan to use this , there’ll be a million other people on the road too with the same thing in mind ... been there ,done this many times ...
Besides , I’m an old guy , retired , fixed income , so the main concern is Thrifty, simple , and low maintenance ... Not trying to impress anybody ... just trying to stay away from everybody else ....
It’s really Very different from Camping !!! Not for Fun , but simple “SURVIVAL” ...

That and I don’t have money to throw away on something fancy , that we Hope I’ll Never “have" to use ... call it sanity “Insurance” ... Hence the Thrifty obsession !!!

Any questions ?

[KCStudly]

No questions. We get it. We (if I may speak for others, too) just can't help ourselves because it is what we do... the "might as wells"; snowball effect. It's not you, it is us.

The thing you have going for you is that you are not in a particular hurry, so we are hoping that you can take your time, find those thrifty deals AND show us a thing or two of your artistic ability to make something out of nothing.

No hard feelings. Just trying to keep those creative juices flowing.

Peace.

[GPW]

Apologies , didn’t mean to come off so brusque ... early , pre-coffee ...

[KCStudly]

Ah coffee. Mother's milk. Nectar of the gods. The spice of life.

I'm channeling Dune.

Wish I could still stomach the high test; decaf only in moderation for me.

[GPW]

KC , the thick coffee and chicory blend we drink here would wake up a Toad ...

[wagondude]

Love me some coffee and chicory. The good news is there is a store up here I can get it at. The Cafe Du Monde stuff, no less.

[GPW]

WD, that’s the stuff !!! sorry, without my coffee in the morning , I’m USELESS ... and apparently A Grumpy Bear too ...

[mezmo]

Hi GPW,

I get your thrifty intent ['have gotten it all along] but was going along on
the idea of using the natural wood as the floor surface. Doing that, to
have a water intrusion barrier, you'd need to put it on the Bottom of the
boards, hence the new fangled roof flashing suggestion. [It was also my
understanding/impression that the costs of each were close for the same
area coverage, factoring in everything.] The usual old-time intrusion through
the cracks in the real wood floor boards was taken care of by the real linoleum
sheet goods they put on Top of the floor boards. That kept the water out
and the boards could dry out from the underneath if they got wet. Maybe
a combined version of both would work here - just use your goo, but imbed
heavy canvas in it a la the paint and canvas method ? That'd be a membrane
of sorts too, I believe.

Also, don't forget that, offered suggestions are just that: suggestions. If it
doesn't work for you, the builder,then fine - but it may work for someone else or
help them on their build or catalyze their own thinking on whatever matter
they're addressing.

Just clarifying - nothing out of joint on this end.

Just go get those cypress boards !

Cheers,
Norm/mezmo

[GPW]

Norm , that’s more of what I had in mind ... floor + covering , so from bottom up it would be : Black nasty stuff , planking (treated with the Mix ) then a covering like old school Linoleum ... We found (the hard way) the new Vinyl sheet flooring is unsuitable as it absorbs water underneath.. grrr!!! Was even considering putting the boards down with a little spray foam in between ... That should expand and contract with the wood and help keep anything out ... except Bears

[atahoekid]

Hey Mel--thanks for the reply! I was wondering primarily because these boards show up here on Craigslist pretty often at a good price. I know they don't save weight, in fact one manufacture's website said they weigh about as much as oak planking, but I have seen some tongue and groove product at a good price and I was curious about whether it would be durable "on the road." I don't know if even the tongue and groove would prevent moisture intrusion (mold) though....Oh well, back to the drawing board.

No worries, glad to be of some help. that after all is the intent of this forum. It's always worth throwing out an idea and see what happens. Some ideas work, some ideas won't. I do love how these boards wear, no splinters, no cracking, no maintenance needed after 4 years of being subjected to sun, rain, ice and snow but not sure how to make the joints weather tight unless you could put in a thin sheet of something like aluminum or some other weather resistant material to span the entire floor from the underside...

[GPW]

What about just caulking the seams ?

[wagondude]

The boards work with standard power tools, so a groove/spline to stabilize the edges and calk the joints should seal it up. There is a house on my delivery route that has two rocking chairs on the porch made out of the stuff.

[atahoekid]

DUHHH!! Could work. You think it will stay pliable long enough to keep the moisture out and for how long?