Slide-out Floor Rot

stickdog wrote:
I just replaced the floor in two of my slides bedroom and the large dinette, sofa slide. Both had water damage at the ends not in the center that area was solid. This was my first RV so I was not looking for this problem though I discovered it not long after purchase and my original thought was that it was minimal. Over the last 5 years it got to the point where I knew I would have to replace the floors and thought I was going to sit down at the kitchen table and wind up on the pad. On our way to Alaska last spring I stopped at Lowes and bought a 3/4 sheet of plywood to keep that from happening. When we returned from Ak I began the replacement. It turned out the plastic wrap was all that kept me from going through.
The cost of materials for the two slides were about $500.00 Marine plywood, waterproof epoxy paint and fasteners. I preformed the work at a friends place with a full shop of necessary tools though I performed all the work till we wrestled in the new floors which with a couple hands only took about 10 minutes.
The removal of the old floor was more work and took more time than installing the new.

Just curious Stickdog, when you replaced your floors what did you end up putting on the underside of the new wood - plastic wrap, solid plastic sheet or the epoxy paint you mentioned? Mine had the plastic wrap on it when it went bad and the dealer replaced it with the solid plastic sheeting on the underside.

I just replaced the floor in two of my slides bedroom and the large dinette, sofa slide. Both had water damage at the ends not in the center that area was solid. This was my first RV so I was not looking for this problem though I discovered it not long after purchase and my original thought was that it was minimal. Over the last 5 years it got to the point where I knew I would have to replace the floors and thought I was going to sit down at the kitchen table and wind up on the pad. On our way to Alaska last spring I stopped at Lowes and bought a 3/4 sheet of plywood to keep that from happening. When we returned from Ak I began the replacement. It turned out the plastic wrap was all that kept me from going through.
The cost of materials for the two slides were about $500.00 Marine plywood, waterproof epoxy paint and fasteners. I preformed the work at a friends place with a full shop of necessary tools though I performed all the work till we wrestled in the new floors which with a couple hands only took about 10 minutes.
The removal of the old floor was more work and took more time than installing the new.

I just purchased a used trailer from a dealer and discovered soon after getting it home that the floor in the bedroom slide was rotten. Keep in mind with a bedroom slide (at least mine) that the floor on the inside of the unit is not the same as the lower portion of the slide you see from the outside. Mine has two floors separated by the aluminum square tubing that makes up the slide framework. I was lucky, I put up a big enough stink with the dealer that I bought it from that they replaced the rotten bottom wood of the slide for free. I have read a lot on this subject and it seems the most common cause of rotting floors in slides is water wicking into the wood from trim screws.

There are some interesting videos on YouTube about replacing slide out floors. Some people do it without removing the slide from the unit. Others remove the entire slide to replace the floor. I was ready to do mine myself if my dealer had not offered to do so.

rjf7g wrote:
I have the same problem - water entered through the side at the bottom. Has anyone had the slide floor replaced? I have a superslide with dinette and couch and another with the head of a queen bed in it...I have a quote and want to check it for reasonableness.

Next spring I'm having a RV tech replace two slide floors in two different trailers, both slides are 4'x 12' in Forest River trailers. The tech quote is $1500 per floor and I will assist. On both trailers we believe the water came in from where the floor is attached to the wall. The sad thing is once water enters the cotoplast does not allow it to leave. The OSB absorbs the water and the freeze thaw cycle speeds its demise. The local shop wanted $3500 and they took care of everything. The tech told me by the time you find it, Its to late. I like the room with the slides but a trailer without slides is sounding more attractive. I had to wait until next spring because they had 5 trailers to replace the slide floors ahead of mine. They also had a few roofs to replace. They will use plywood instead of OSB.

I have the same problem - water entered through the side at the bottom. Has anyone had the slide floor replaced? I have a superslide with dinette and couch and another with the head of a queen bed in it...I have a quote and want to check it for reasonableness.

I was thinking that maybe a moisture meter might help in the usual checking routine. I feel around all the carpets but a cold carpet can feel the same as a slightly damp one.

Yes windows do leak and allow water to run down the inside of the wall to the floor. Some slides will leak at the bottom of the end areas. Some slides will leak around the seals at the top and sides. Most slide floors are made of OSB/chipboard whatever you want to call it and it does not take much water on this product to start it swelling and rotting. You state that you checked the carpet/rug after every heavy rain, how did you check it ? Did you get down and feel the entire carpet for moisture. It is possible there is a pad under the rug that would limit the moisture from coming up through to the rug. Keep in mind the water has probably ran down the inside of the walls and then out on to the floor. Did the manufacturer not provide an explanation where they felt the water intrusion was from ? I would think they would check for leaks as part of the inspection. It is necessary to find where the water has entered and repair before replacing any flooring else it will happen again.

My 06 FKTG had the floor in the bed room rotting on the edges. Of course the edges are where the walls fasten. I replaced it by myself. I did a write up on the NUWA owners forum. Once water gains a entry point the chip board starts soaking it up at any point where the wood has been cut or a hole drilled. It soaks in then along come old man winter to freeze it and make it expand so next thaw and rain it can soak up more water. It doesn't take to many cycles to do a lot of damage.

The bedroom slide was a simple job. Those 14' slides might be another matter. Guess I better check mine a little closer.

If the slides have a caulked seam near the bottom with a piece of trim, that could be the problem. The trim on my Fuzion was caulked and looked fine, but the caulk had actually separated a bit from the trim and water got through and soaked the floor. Over the period of a couple years the floor rotted away.

It was just the bedroom slide so it was relatively easy for me to fix. A living room slide could be much more of a problem due to the size. But YMMV.

It could well be bad slide seals. I had a seal that leaked and damaged the floor of my kitchen skide.