Replacing a Travel Trailer floor
I am looking for a local to MA or NH to replace my 21 ft TT floor due to it becoming spongy.I have attempted to do this on a local area of the trailer, but I found many other soft spots throughout. Do...
Forum Discussion
I have done this task myself. I once replaced the entire floor of an old TT I rebuilt.
It is extremely labor intense. Ripping up the old floor and putting a new one down is the easy part. The hard part is all the prep work to get it ready for the task.
When the factory builds them, the floor is done first before anything else. So the plywood or OSB if used is put on in full sheets front to back. Then the sheet goods, lino or whatever is laid down in one piece, front to back. Ducts, pipes, wiring and such is all run inside the floor.
Then they poke holes throughout for the various vents, pipes and more.
Then the walls, cabinets, partitions etc are all put in place and screwed down to the floor. Gas lines, water lines, electrical are all run to their service points for appliance and fixture hookup.
Get the picture? It's rather elaborate.
In order to replace the floor properly, you need to get all this stuff out of the way to replace the floor sheeting in one piece, edge to edge of the unit. This is critical for the structural integrity of the thing. It is needed so it doesn't come apart when its bouncing and swaying down the highway.
Some people will say just cut around everything and piece the floor in there....
Very bad idea for the previously mentioned reasons. It won't stay together properly. You can do a small section like this but not the whole floor.
When I did mine, I disconnected everything, removed everything inside to a hollow shell. I pulled the siding off the outside and disconnected the walls from the floor, only leaving it strategically tacked to hold it together. Then, in sections, I raised the walls and roof as a unit, and removed the rotten floor, replaced the floor joists and insulation, and then ran my new plywood in, sliding it under the bottom of the walls. A few sheets in, I screwed the walls back down and did the other end.
Once it was done, the entire floor replaced, I put new flooring down, sheet goods, linoleum, in one piece, end to end. Same thing, I lifted the walls off the floor to do it. I weather barriered the perimeter with Bakor Blueskin membrane from the top of the floor under the walls, down the outside face of the floor and joists.
Then I rebuilt everything, including the walls, partitions, furniture, everything, and screwed it all back down over the new floor.
Yeah, it was a pile of work for sure, but it was done right.
It is extremely labor intense. Ripping up the old floor and putting a new one down is the easy part. The hard part is all the prep work to get it ready for the task.
When the factory builds them, the floor is done first before anything else. So the plywood or OSB if used is put on in full sheets front to back. Then the sheet goods, lino or whatever is laid down in one piece, front to back. Ducts, pipes, wiring and such is all run inside the floor.
Then they poke holes throughout for the various vents, pipes and more.
Then the walls, cabinets, partitions etc are all put in place and screwed down to the floor. Gas lines, water lines, electrical are all run to their service points for appliance and fixture hookup.
Get the picture? It's rather elaborate.
In order to replace the floor properly, you need to get all this stuff out of the way to replace the floor sheeting in one piece, edge to edge of the unit. This is critical for the structural integrity of the thing. It is needed so it doesn't come apart when its bouncing and swaying down the highway.
Some people will say just cut around everything and piece the floor in there....
Very bad idea for the previously mentioned reasons. It won't stay together properly. You can do a small section like this but not the whole floor.
When I did mine, I disconnected everything, removed everything inside to a hollow shell. I pulled the siding off the outside and disconnected the walls from the floor, only leaving it strategically tacked to hold it together. Then, in sections, I raised the walls and roof as a unit, and removed the rotten floor, replaced the floor joists and insulation, and then ran my new plywood in, sliding it under the bottom of the walls. A few sheets in, I screwed the walls back down and did the other end.
Once it was done, the entire floor replaced, I put new flooring down, sheet goods, linoleum, in one piece, end to end. Same thing, I lifted the walls off the floor to do it. I weather barriered the perimeter with Bakor Blueskin membrane from the top of the floor under the walls, down the outside face of the floor and joists.
Then I rebuilt everything, including the walls, partitions, furniture, everything, and screwed it all back down over the new floor.
Yeah, it was a pile of work for sure, but it was done right.
