Water logged 2003 Starcraft Antigua

My old hybrid leaked down the front wall when it rained. I don't know how the previous owner never noticed the waterfall, even though he looked me in the eye and told me that there was never a leak in the camper :R. I scraped all the sealant off of the roof and covered all seams with Eternabond tape. I removed as much of the interior as possible, ripped up the linoleum, and dried out the flooring. I covered the floor with 1/2" plywood and installed some cheap laminate flooring then reinstalled all the appliances and cabinets. It looked much better than the original floor and felt much more sturdy.

LisaHemmeler wrote:
Bob, How did you lift the camper body in order to replace floor.

I had to drop the front of the frame enough to allow me to slide a new sheet of plywood under the side panels as I only had to replace the front 4' of flooring. The idea was to support the body while dropping the frame by lowering the front leveling jack.

There are bolts holding the trailer body to the frame, 10 or 12 in my case. I had to replace the front 4' of the floor which meant removing the front 3 bolts as they go through the sheet of ply involved, the rest I loosened enough to provide the clearance I needed. Removed most of the screws in the 2 front corner moldings to allow one to attach 2x4's to the corner frame that's behind the molding. You may or may not have to remove the lower edge moldings, mine were off or loosened enough to push out of the way to facilitate the new plywood. The newly attached 2x4's protruded 6" or so below, I placed a car safety jack under each and slowly lowered the frame about an inch giving me the clearance I needed.

If you are just going to attempt to get access to the underside of the plywood to dry it out, you'll need to drop the black membrane, which involves removing the lower moldings. The membrane is held in the moldings with what looks like putty tape (available from rv supply places), I did not separate the 2 except for the front and probably should not have done that one either. getting the exactly but membrane back in place under the molding is proving a challenge in that front piece.

Let me know if this isn't clear.

I don't think I will ever know how and when this happened. The seller was not honest and did not even tell me it was wet. I did not see any plumbing leaks, so tomorrow I will get on the roof and really inspect for areas it could have gotten in. Looks like it is finally drying out though, and that is good news. The smell has gone away now that I scrubbed with bleach too. One step closer..":0)

Was the original problem due to a water leak or flooding during the storms in that area?? Fresh water or Salt water?? If ocean water, there might be corrosion problems also.

Bob, How did you lift the camper body in order to replace floor. Did you just add supporting plywood section underneath or did you remove existing? If my trailer does not completely dry out, I am afraid that the winter freezes here in Connecticut with the expansion and contraction will ruin that floor that seems sound now. If that happens I am probably going to have to do the same thing.

Sounds easy enough. I will do that today along with scrubbing the inside with bleach and water. I brought a wood strengthener yesterday and hope to apply that do the areas that are not rotted. So far I only have to replace one section near the dinette. I was thinking of placing a sheet of plywood over the hole dinette area. I know it will be a different height but it should not be that cumbersome since it is not in a walkway. Another stupid question, can you plug a 30 amp into household plugs with an adapter or will it fry the electrical system? I have a dehumidifier and fan running with an extension cord now but would like to plug directly in so I can completely close the unit for drying.

Silicone on RV = bad. It will not hold up, it doesn't stick to itself or any other material in a TT without eventually leaking. If it's all you had at the moment, it's understandable but you should probably scrape all of it off and use the special sealants that work on RV's. Those would be Dicor, Geocel Tripolymer, or Eternabond tape.

It is easy enough to check the plumbing, pressurize the supply pipes, run a bit of water down each drain, and observe for leaks.

There was some fresh silicone on the roof and I noticed some cracking on the seam on the roof adjacent to the new silicone, but I am not sure that much water could have come in that way. I added more silicone to the cracking I found, I am hoping it is not a water hose or bad connection somewhere.

I used epoxy, bought through Merton's Fiberglass in Springfield, Ma. The epoxy did not damage the Styrofoam that I can tell. The owner at Merton's tells me this (plywood/styrofoam sandwich) is a legit way to build a structural floor. I did one layer at a time, weighting the top material till dry. I couldn't find 1.5" styrofoam though so I went with 2 sheets of 3/4" extruded polystyrene from Lowes but I find the finished floor flexes. I'd suggest you try and find a different product.

Yes, epoxy will probably melt the styrofoam. Have you any idea where the water came from??