Forum Discussion

blantonmr's avatar
blantonmr
Explorer
Mar 05, 2016

Slide out floor glue

Hey guys, my 5th wheel main slide out floor rotted due to bad trim and window leak. It was actually bad when I bought it but am trying to replace floor now. I'm going back with plywood instead of OSB but needed to know what to use to glue my floor back down. It has a 3/16" plywood bottom and 1/4" OSB top floor with 3/4" Styrofoam in between. What I scraped off looked like liquid nails but not for sure. The floor frame is aluminum so it needs to stick to it and also the Styrofoam.

Thanks so much,
Mike

  • Keen_Family's avatar
    Keen_Family
    Explorer
    Mar 06, 2016
    You haven't mentioned what kind of plywood you are using. Make sure you use an exterior grade plywood but NOT treated plywood. Treated plywood contains chemicals that will corrode the aluminum frame.
  • johntank's avatar
    johntank
    Explorer
    Mar 06, 2016
    blantonmr wrote:
    Hey guys, my 5th wheel main slide out floor rotted due to bad trim and window leak. It was actually bad when I bought it but am trying to replace floor now. I'm going back with plywood instead of OSB but needed to know what to use to glue my floor back down. It has a 3/16" plywood bottom and 1/4" plywood top floor with 3/4" Styrofoam in between. What I scraped off looked like liquid nails but not for sure. The floor frame is aluminum so it needs to stick to it and also the Styrofoam.

    Thanks so much,
    Mike




    To glue back to the aluminum frame I would use Leach's F 26, and to glue the styrofoam to the plywood and the plywood to the Styrofoam I would use Leach's F 13 as it will stick to it and not harm it.
  • blantonmr's avatar
    blantonmr
    Explorer
    Mar 06, 2016
    jajefmly@aol.com wrote:
    Look into a urethane adhesive which isn't affected by vibration, cold, or heat, or moisture it will adhere the plywood to thr aluminum nicely. Also research what adhesive will not have a reaction with styrofoam.
    Good luck!


    I did read up on chemicals that affect Styrofoam. Good points!

    Thanks
  • blantonmr's avatar
    blantonmr
    Explorer
    Mar 05, 2016
    Memphisdoug wrote:
    I'm just curious, are you rebuilding the entire slide or were you able to get the floor structure out without dismantling the rest of the slide? From the looks of this photo you must be rebuilding the whole thing. I would really like to see photos as you progress.


    I got the slide floor out and am replacing all the floor wood and foam. Also I'm going to replace the inside wallboard as well due to one spot of leak damage under a window. I also found another soft spot on the main trailer where the power cord comes in and it rotted floor supports etc. I'm afraid that I used the wrong liquid nails on the bottom floor so may have to remove and fix that. :(

    This is all new to me but I think it will work when I'm done. I hope! :)

















  • azrving's avatar
    azrving
    Explorer
    Mar 05, 2016
    I second the additional photos. I have used an adhesive called Lexel on various projects with good results. Thanks
  • jajefmly's avatar
    jajefmly
    Explorer
    Mar 05, 2016
    Look into a urethane adhesive which isn't affected by vibration, cold, or heat, or moisture it will adhere the plywood to thr aluminum nicely. Also research what adhesive will not have a reaction with styrofoam.
    Good luck!
  • blantonmr's avatar
    blantonmr
    Explorer
    Mar 05, 2016
    agesilaus wrote:
    There is a 'subfloor' version of liquid nails, that is what I'd use. You can find it at a big box hardware store.


    Thank you! :)
  • Memphisdoug's avatar
    Memphisdoug
    Explorer
    Mar 05, 2016
    I'm just curious, are you rebuilding the entire slide or were you able to get the floor structure out without dismantling the rest of the slide? From the looks of this photo you must be rebuilding the whole thing. I would really like to see photos as you progress.
  • agesilaus's avatar
    agesilaus
    Explorer III
    Mar 05, 2016
    There is a 'subfloor' version of liquid nails, that is what I'd use. You can find it at a big box hardware store.

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