Water Damage to Plywood Walls - Any Advice?

[teardroprescuist]

OK, I pulled the side trim/flashing off to see what it looks like (see images in next post). Seems that the floor is made of presswood; since this sheet is exposed to splash from wet road conditions, I assume that it is soaking up water and the walls are wicking it up since their edges were never sealed. If I can dry the floor somehow, perhaps I can reverse the wicking?

Is the use of presswood for the exterior floor in a teardrop trailer a strategy that makes any sense? Logic would dictate that, being an aggregate material, it is a poor choice; can anyone set me straight if I'm wrong?

The varnish is folding quite badly now on the starboard side wall. A previous poster suggested that I clamp the rippled area with a board; could this help drive water out of the wall?

regrdless, I guess I'm going to have to add some trim to cover the water staining. I can't imagine it'll ever go back to normal.

Thoughts?

rescuist

[teardroprescuist]

starboard side floor edge

[teardroprescuist]

Port Side

[teardroprescuist]

folds in varnish

[GPW]

It would appear the manufacturer did not do anything to prevent water intrusion ... presswood floor is the norm now in the trailer industry , and usually the first thing to go .... Not a good choice of material ...
Maybe start investigating Lemon Laws ...

[steve cowan]

That looks really bad to only be 90 days old.Does it not have any warranty?If so the more you take apart could void any liability to the manufacturer.

[PaulC]

Out of consideration for others could you please resize your pics. I am positive no one has eyesight that is that bad.

Paul

[S. Heisley]

May I suggest that you show those pictures to: http://www.rotdoctor.com/ ?
They are used to dealing with wood rot and mold, as their specialty is repairing wood damage on boats.
They will undoubtedly suggest CPES (Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer) as a part of how to treat your damage. It will cost a bit; but, will probably be worth it. CPES was originally made to combat rot and mold problems; and then, they found out how good it is and started using it all over. It's very easy to use.

It looks to me like the plywood was not sealed properly in the first place nor was the trim properly sealed. So, you will want to take all the trim off and deal with the damage and prevent future damage now. Otherwise, it may simply continue to get worse. ...My 2 cents.

PS. The Rot Doc is used to dealing with teardrops, too.

[daveesl77]

I may be wrong here, but I think it would be good to mention the manufacturer's company name. Something like this should be known to prospective purchasers. I don't mind if others disagree, just my opinion.

dave

[tony.latham]

I may be wrong here, but I think it would be good to mention the manufacturer's company name. Something like this should be known to prospective purchasers. I don't mind if others disagree, just my opinion.

dave

I've got to agree with that. Unsealed OSB? I can't stand the stuff to begin with.

This is a sad thread.

Tony

[GPW]

Once again , the manufacturer has taken the really cheap way out and used INFERIOR materials , quite common in todays trailer market ( just read any RV forum ) ... I’d say BRING IT BACK for a refund ... and don’t let them just cover over the ROT which is already present ... It MUST have some kind of warranty and it’s already failed ... You may have to threaten a lawsuit ... Be prepared ... It would be SAD indeed if this trailer rotted out completely in a few months , and it doesn’t take long before your investment is worthless... ask me how I know ...

[TheOtherSean]

If you ask to know how GPW knows, and he gives you a link to The Big Thread in response, run!

[daveesl77]

And I'll go ahead and add this, because I can almost guarantee it will happen. If they used that stuff and did not seal it properly in one area, then it is probably true for all areas. There is simply no excuse for doing that, but most of the big trailer manufacturers and some small ones, will take really stupid shortcuts just to make a little bit extra. I remember watching a Jayco video, done as a "promotional" video on youtube by the company and was horrified at how those things were just thrown together. They literally got hammered with the comments and finally took it down.

I realize that most of us that do the home builds use techniques that would never be profitable in a manufacturing world, but we don't usually go to the "what the hell" extreme either. Yes, I first sealed all of my panels, then filled the ends, then covered the entire bottom with PMF, then coated that with koolseal. Every throughbolt hole is sealed and caulked. But I've owned enough RVs to know what doesn't work and enough blue water sailboats to know what does work.

dave

[daveesl77]

I found the Jayco "promotional" video. Someone else obviously kept it and uploaded it to keep the quality shown

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXMJrRQ3SVk

I can't imagine anything going wrong with construction methods such as this. It is shiny, eh?

Oh, and to the other end of the spectrum, here is how an Airstream is built. Hmmm, gee a bit different, but even with it, I see some potential problems.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZmcRtEz9B8

dave

[dales133]

Id be wanti g a refund for sure.
You look like you will be plagued with problems throughout your ownership otherwise.
As already said if they cut cor ers like this where its visable and important i dont like the chances theyve done any better elsewhere