My wife and I have discovered the floor is rotting in our 2008 Jayco Jayflight 26BH in the front bedroom below the side windows on either side of the queen bed. The floor is soft right under the windows but still feels solid next to the bed. The floor in the front basement storage is also soft/rotting. I've never seen any signs of water leaks or water in the camper and the roof does not show any abvious signs of damage (I clean and inspect it each spring and fall).I plan on calling our RV dealer here in CT (where we bought the TT new in February of 2009) to see if this is something they can repair, however I am concerned that a camper that is only 6 years old would have this type of issue. Has anyone experienced this or had something like this repaired? I have had a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach over this and am worried that we are going to have to junk the camper.Any advice or assistance is greatly appreciated.David

Not good and who needs this kind of frustration.Even new campers can have floor/ceiling rot if there is a leak. Sure sounds like you have water intrusion that was undiscovered and unchecked...probably through failing window seals.Depending on how extensive the rot/floor failure is, it could be a big job and an expensive one. Check with your insurance co.To repair this, the affected area will have to be cut out and replaced and the leak will need to be located and stopped..Good luck with it.

Hi David,Sorry to hear about the damage to your six year old camper but it is not unusual at all. Sounds like you have a leak in both of the windows on the side of the camper. I would take the windows out, a very easy task, and replace the butyl tape and the caulking around the frame. This is very likely where the water is coming from according to your description of the damage.Then I would take up the floor covering and cut out the damaged flooring. Make any wood repairs necessary and fit in a new piece of plywood. This should not be too difficult and will probably fix the problem.Good luck.Barney

Thank you DowntheRoad and BarneyS for your quick and informative replies. I've got a couple of friends that are pretty handy; I'll have them take a look and see what they think.Wishing now that I had covered the camper while it was not being used.

Pyrate Dave wrote:Wishing now that I had covered the camper while it was not being used.A cover may not completely protect it. 100% agree with what Barney said about the source of the water coming from the windows. Chances are the water traveled within the walls which is why the storage area is also affected.First thing first is you need to seal the water out then work on fixing the damage. As Barney suggested, pull the windows. I'd be willing to bet the seal (window to wall) on those windows is marginal.

Feel your pain I battled water damage in my last popup trailer the entire time I owned it. Turned out that it was a bad seem at the bottom of the camper where the fiberglass met the steel framework. Once I got the water to stop intruding the work began I replaced what needed to be and installed wood laminate flooring the camper sold quickly and I was honest about all the issues. If I hadnt wanted to step up to a TT I would still be using that PUP.

Rotting floor in our 2008 Jayflight 26BH | Good Sam Community

downtheroad
Explorer
Aug 06, 2014
Not good and who needs this kind of frustration.
Even new campers can have floor/ceiling rot if there is a leak. Sure sounds like you have water intrusion that was undiscovered and unchecked...probably through failing window seals.

Depending on how extensive the rot/floor failure is, it could be a big job and an expensive one. Check with your insurance co.

To repair this, the affected area will have to be cut out and replaced and the leak will need to be located and stopped..

Good luck with it.
BarneyS
Explorer III
Aug 06, 2014
Hi David,
Sorry to hear about the damage to your six year old camper but it is not unusual at all. Sounds like you have a leak in both of the windows on the side of the camper. I would take the windows out, a very easy task, and replace the butyl tape and the caulking around the frame. This is very likely where the water is coming from according to your description of the damage.

Then I would take up the floor covering and cut out the damaged flooring. Make any wood repairs necessary and fit in a new piece of plywood. This should not be too difficult and will probably fix the problem.

Good luck.
Barney
Pyrate_Dave
Explorer
Aug 06, 2014
Thank you DowntheRoad and BarneyS for your quick and informative replies. I've got a couple of friends that are pretty handy; I'll have them take a look and see what they think.

Wishing now that I had covered the camper while it was not being used.
RedRocket204
Explorer
Aug 06, 2014
Pyrate Dave wrote:
Wishing now that I had covered the camper while it was not being used.

A cover may not completely protect it. 100% agree with what Barney said about the source of the water coming from the windows. Chances are the water traveled within the walls which is why the storage area is also affected.

First thing first is you need to seal the water out then work on fixing the damage. As Barney suggested, pull the windows. I'd be willing to bet the seal (window to wall) on those windows is marginal.
gunner65
Explorer
Aug 06, 2014
Feel your pain I battled water damage in my last popup trailer the entire time I owned it. Turned out that it was a bad seem at the bottom of the camper where the fiberglass met the steel framework. Once I got the water to stop intruding the work began I replaced what needed to be and installed wood laminate flooring the camper sold quickly and I was honest about all the issues. If I hadnt wanted to step up to a TT I would still be using that PUP.
Pyrate_Dave
Explorer
Aug 06, 2014
Thank you RedRocket and Gunner for the incouraging words.

Will take a look and see what I can do this weekend.
TxTiger
Explorer
Aug 06, 2014
Sorry about the issues. When you talk to the dealer, see if they can do a seal test. Individuals on the forum indicate they usually run around $100. This will highlight any area that isn't properly sealed.
hvac
Explorer
Aug 06, 2014
Yea, wood and leaks hidden over time yield surprises. We gave up when the floor became soft in our then brand new 2004 Airstream 28 safari in less than 3 years. Floor is plywood and trapped moisture from the sealed bottom did it in.

This lead us to a class B sprinter that had so many squeaks and rattles and cabinets lifting from the wall. Winnbago ERA. Both of these are nice and expensive but real failures in our mind. Sold them early, we now realize price does not always reflect long term reliability in the RV world.

We now have a custom built 21 rbs by livin lite. Far from perfect, but no wood to rot anywhere, time will tell if it holds up?
Double_Haul
Explorer
Aug 06, 2014
Do the seal test first before pulling anything. Make sure you know that the windows are the problem and not assume the windows are the problem. Also during the seal test check the storage doors. I had an issue with the seals on mine.
The repair can be easy but time consuming or difficult if you have to remove floor to ceiling cabinets or if the side framing sits on the flooring material. I was lucky that mine did not.
AirForceAngler
Explorer
Aug 06, 2014
I had the same problem in a 3 year old Coachmen. It's quite disheartening. No visible signs of leakage anywhere but 4 very rotten places in the floor. Now, the first thing I do when I get a new camper is reseal all the windows, doors, seams etc. I still want to do a pressure check on our new Grey Wolf, just haven't had the time yet.