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Post by harrison429 on Jun 23, 2011 8:28:02 GMT -5
Okay, so I’ve hunted through the posts and blogs and not seen anyone have to replace the floor without them already doing a totally restore. Is it possible to replace the floor without having to remove the interior walls? Our floor is rotten as well as the bottom rails and half way up our curved edges but miraculously all but the back wall is fine (and we’ll replace that) so we don’t want to have to tear down all the other interior walls if we don’t have to (though we know we'll need to remove all the cabinetry). Am I living in a dream world? Am I going to be forced to completely tear her down? (tell me lies, tell me sweet little lies...) robin
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Gone Kayaking
1K Post Member
long live the Vintage Shasta Trailer Forum....we're gone but you are not forgotten!
Posts: 1,600
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Post by Gone Kayaking on Jun 23, 2011 8:57:12 GMT -5
Robin When I cannot bear the truth, tell me lies, sweet little lies, help me make them all come true. Tell me that the rest of the trailer is fine Tell me that it won't take so much time Tell me that the rain won't get in
I hope your reference was Michael Franti. Glad to find another spearhead on the board
Anyway to your question
Are you sure the whole floor is rotted? The celotex that they used looks like it will fall apart but is actually quite sturdy. Mine sags a bit in the middle, but I put a board or two under to support the weight in the middle. Mine was also crumbling in the back but the middle sections were in pretty good shape. I probably could have gotten away with keeping the floor in the front too, but realized it too late.
I do think it's possible to replace the floor, but you probably do have to take off at least the lower area of paneling in order to get the floor and bottom rails to fit right, cause the paneling goes in between the rails and the floor (or at least in mine that's the way it worked. Have you removed the skin and seen that the framing isn't rotted? If you do remove paneling, try to keep in in one piece (dremel multi tool or similar works great) and save it to use as a template.
I didn't replace the whole floor just the front and back sections. I used 2 layers and overlapped them at the seams. Folks have used lots of different materials for the subfloor. 3/4 ply, the original celotex (though I couldn't find it asphalt impregnated like here in Just tell yourself that doing it right will be worth it. And figure that it will take 5 times longer than you originally think it will.
post some pics....that will help others see
I've been traveling down this river so many rocks pop up in my sight Gotta make some quick decisions Should I go left or should I go right
I pray for guidance and protection It keeps my boat water tight And I know if I just keep believing Every little thing's gonna be alright.
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Post by harrison429 on Jun 23, 2011 10:13:42 GMT -5
I removed the water tank and all the layers of the wood have seperated under the bed area and to the wheel well. Beyond that, the floor soft and too 'giving' for my comfort. I'd like to think that we could replace just that one section of floor but if we're taking things apart it seems like the time to do the other half of the floor too which has many soft spots though I haven't seen rot underneath (no skin off there yet). We have 2 bottom rails stacked inside each other and had hoped the 'interior' floor sat on top of the interior bottom rail and the framing sat on the exterior bottom rail. The pic is taken from underneath and points to the 2 rails. We weren't sure if po did some shoring up work if they were made that way. We were also hoping not to have to remove the closet while still replacing the floor under the rest of that area due to the soft spots. The framing around the rear window is a little soft near the corners but otherwise just fine. I don't want to go too far in demo and do more than we have to but I still want to feel confident about not having to take her apart again in my lifetime. (I wish I could say it was from m.f. but alas, I'm older than that and it was a reference to fleetwood mac.) Attachments:
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Post by harrison429 on Jun 23, 2011 10:14:50 GMT -5
here's a pic street side rear Attachments:
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Post by harrison429 on Jun 23, 2011 10:18:51 GMT -5
(i attempted a resize and brighten...this is a test to see if it worked) Attachments:
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vikx
3K Post Member
Posts: 3,556
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Post by vikx on Jun 24, 2011 1:43:37 GMT -5
There are all sorts of ways to repair a trailer. Skin off, inside out or spot repairs.
Loosen the front and rear skins which will allow you to lift the sides. You can replace the sills, skirt boards and wheel wells if needed. Plus you will see how bad the floor edges are. To me, it looks like things are not good.
The floor can be repaired from the inside, but there will still be rot along the edges if it's that soft. One thing you can do is take a section apart. See how far the rot goes and continue on...
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