Buyers complaining about Ultra-Lite floor. What to do?

[jungleexplorer]

I am trying to sale my Ultra-Lite and I am getting a lot of lookers, but everyone of them is turned off by the floor. They say it feels spongy, and it does, but that is the way it was from day one, because it is an ultra-lite. Some have even started bouncing up and down on it saying, "Look! See how spongy it is!" When I try to convince them that it just way ultra-lite are, they say that they believe that there is water damage. But there never has been a leak. I am getting tired of showing it to people that get turned away by the floor and there is nothing I can do about it.

What can I put in my add to weed out these people that want and concrete rock hard floor?

[colliehauler]

mike-s wrote:

soren wrote:

mike-s wrote:
If they're all that way from day 1, just invite any lookers to visit a dealer and check out a new one, then come back for a good deal.

Doesn't really work that way. The assemble is sandwich of beadboard foam and thin, really thin plywood, with an occasional square, hollow aluminum tube as a "floor joist". My old Trail-Lite had these at least 30" apart. Over time, under the load of foot traffic, the the foam starts to deflect between supports and lose rigidity. So, a brand new rig will feel fine.

So the OP wasn't being truthful when he said "...that is the way it was from day one." That's what I based my comment on.

Sorry Mike S but the foam core floors feel spongy from day one, they only get worse as time goes by and even more so if the occupants are on the heavy side. If you read my post you'll see that I owned one and disliked it and after one trip traded it in.

It's so ingrained in people that soft floors equal water damage that people don't understand foam core floors other then experienced RVers. By now you know your options. For someone that could get a bargin and put in a overlay or add more reinforcement underneath It might be a good deal if the price was right.

[drsteve]

soren wrote:

drsteve wrote:
We went to a few shows this past winter, and noticed the same thing in several brand new units--the floor felt weirdly soft. Almost as if there was padding under the vinyl.

Might be just that. If you take a look at the flooring department of a big box store, you will see that a lot of the newer, trendy, vinyl sheet goods are thick and spongy, essentially having a built in padding. I'm not a fan, especially once you see somebody move a kitchen fridge a few inches before they realize that they gouged the floor and are pulling it like taffy.

Yes, I have that type of vinyl in my home bathroom. The TT floors felt different, like the padding was thicker, but more firm. After this discussion, I think it was exactly what you guys are talking about, just a very lightweight construction job.

[soren]

drsteve wrote:
We went to a few shows this past winter, and noticed the same thing in several brand new units--the floor felt weirdly soft. Almost as if there was padding under the vinyl.

Might be just that. If you take a look at the flooring department of a big box store, you will see that a lot of the newer, trendy, vinyl sheet goods are thick and spongy, essentially having a built in padding. I'm not a fan, especially once you see somebody move a kitchen fridge a few inches before they realize that they gouged the floor and are pulling it like taffy.

[drsteve]

We went to a few shows this past winter, and noticed the same thing in several brand new units--the floor felt weirdly soft. Almost as if there was padding under the vinyl.

[soren]

mike-s wrote:

soren wrote:

mike-s wrote:
If they're all that way from day 1, just invite any lookers to visit a dealer and check out a new one, then come back for a good deal.

Doesn't really work that way. The assemble is sandwich of beadboard foam and thin, really thin plywood, with an occasional square, hollow aluminum tube as a "floor joist". My old Trail-Lite had these at least 30" apart. Over time, under the load of foot traffic, the the foam starts to deflect between supports and lose rigidity. So, a brand new rig will feel fine.

So the OP wasn't being truthful when he said "...that is the way it was from day one." That's what I based my comment on.

I'm not suggesting that. I'm sure that some might perceive an ultra-light to have a soft floor, right from the factory. OTOH, after a few years of use, it's not a matter of being ultra-sensitive to the issue, in my experience it was a matter of actually knowing that you are standing on a piece of tubing, rather than the "in the dip". Fact is, many of these things are just junk. The old trail lite I had had laminated panels for the roof too. Problem was, they weren't even strong enough to support the AC unit. Eventually, the rig had to be parked with the nose up, while not in use, since the center of the roof sagged so much that the AC would be sitting in an 1-1/2 puddle of water. Laminated walls are fine, but a quality rig needs floor joists, an adequate plywood subfloor, real rafters, and adequate plywood roof sheathing, to go the distance.

[mike-s]

soren wrote:

mike-s wrote:
If they're all that way from day 1, just invite any lookers to visit a dealer and check out a new one, then come back for a good deal.

Doesn't really work that way. The assemble is sandwich of beadboard foam and thin, really thin plywood, with an occasional square, hollow aluminum tube as a "floor joist". My old Trail-Lite had these at least 30" apart. Over time, under the load of foot traffic, the the foam starts to deflect between supports and lose rigidity. So, a brand new rig will feel fine.

So the OP wasn't being truthful when he said "...that is the way it was from day one." That's what I based my comment on.

[gafidler]

those composite floors are terrible had one in a Rockwood windjammer, had to reduce the price $4000 to sell it. the RV industry has no quality control standards. As far as selling yours you are screwed just keep reducing the price till you find a buyer.

[soren]

Lwiddis wrote:
At 3,740 pounds dry and 22 feet I consider my Winnie an ultra light. A spongy floor is not normal. Have your floor inspected by pro and certified....if it's not a leak issue.

You are far from ultra light. We are talking about units that are 40% lighter than your's. You have tightly spaced floor joists sheathed with 5/8" tongue and groove plywood. No comparison to 3 or 5 MILLIMETER thick plywood glued to foam. So, in a used, true ultra-light trailer, spongy floors are common.

I wouldn't spend a dime on another ultra-lite, but I wouldn't hesitate to by a rig like yours. Apples and oranges.

[soren]

mike-s wrote:
If they're all that way from day 1, just invite any lookers to visit a dealer and check out a new one, then come back for a good deal.

Doesn't really work that way. The assemble is sandwich of beadboard foam and thin, really thin plywood, with an occasional square, hollow aluminum tube as a "floor joist". My old Trail-Lite had these at least 30" apart. Over time, under the load of foot traffic, the the foam starts to deflect between supports and lose rigidity. So, a brand new rig will feel fine. It gets so bad that mine had visible ridges on the floor where the tubing was. We have friends with a matching unit that they have kept for the last 17 years. It is literally well past the end of it's usable life and weights a lot more now, since the floor had to be covered with thick plywood to prevent further damage to the joke of a floor the factory installed.

[rbpru]

My 2010 Dutchmen Lite floor feels solid but my PUP floor has felt spongy from the day I brought it over 15 years ago.

It is natural for folks question a floor that does not feel normal.

I would certainly get a professional to look at it and certify it as sound but that may not convince some folks.

[Gdetrailer]

Huntindog wrote:

Gdetrailer wrote:

jungleexplorer wrote:
I am trying to sale my Ultra-Lite and I am getting a lot of lookers, but everyone of them is turned off by the floor. They say it feels spongy, and it does, but that is the way it was from day one, because it is an ultra-lite. Some have even started bouncing up and down on it saying, "Look! See how spongy it is!" When I try to convince them that it just way ultra-lite are, they say that they believe that there is water damage. But there never has been a leak. I am getting tired of showing it to people that get turned away by the floor and there is nothing I can do about it.

What can I put in my add to weed out these people that want and concrete rock hard floor?

Have you considered that there MAY BE water damage and you have gotten used to the extra spongy feel?

Realistically it is a possibility.

Have you considered that your RV may not be priced realistically (IE over priced)? Sometimes it is hard to price something you own to sell, perhaps a trip to your local RV dealer for an appraisal may be in order..

Other than lowering the price (IE negotiate) there is not much you can do..

Although, you could RAISE the asking price 50% then when someone pulls that stunt you could "discount" it by 25% and in the end get more for it :B

It's not really a possibility. Those floors have very little wood in them. It's mostly foam, and it is a well known problem. If the little bit of wood there is in the floor was water damaged, you would fall right thru it.

Actually EVERY trailer has MOSTLY FOAM in it, that IS the normal.

Think of it like a Oreo cookie sandwich, you have a layer of sheeting, then the foam, then another layer of sheeting, all are glued and squeezed under pressure.

All trailers use a LAMINATING PROCESS and the foam becomes a "ply" in the floor.

What changes in "lite" versions is the THICKNESS of the top and bottom sheeting.

In regular trailers the thickness of the top will be about 1/2" and the bottom will be 3/8".

In lite trailers the thickness might be 1/4" for the top and 1/8" for the bottom..

Saves considerable weight but tends to flex a bit more than regular trailer floor.

The downside however is you CAN break any or all of the "layers" in a lite version much easier or even slight water damage can make a spongy floor even worse.

In both cases, you will tend to get used to the extra flex as you use the trailer and eventually you don't notice it as much..

And YES, I HAVE been in NEW "lite" trailers, and YES, I did notice more flex in the floors in NEW lite versions..

Even so, it STILL is a real possibility that the OPs trailer may be suffering from a case of water damage and they just don't realize the extra flex since it often is a pretty slow process.

[Gdetrailer]

gbopp wrote:

Gdetrailer wrote:
Although, you could RAISE the asking price 50% then when someone pulls that stunt you could "discount" it by 25% and in the end get more for it :B

Do you sell used cars and RV's for a living? :B :B

No, but I do have lots of experience with selling at flee markets and craigslist over the years..

Sometimes folks get suspicious when you price things reasonably, often thinking you are trying to sell them junk..

What I have noticed in more recent yrs is most folk won't even "offer" or even haggle.. They either buy it at your price as marked OR they simply walk away and never look back..

Now days I rarely setup at flee markets or even bother posting on the Internet nickle and dime stuff, I throw cheap stuff out instead of dealing with the tire kickers wasting my time.

[MitchF150]

My "ultra lite" is #5000 GVWR and does not have a 'spongy floor'... It's 15 years old now and still tight as a drum.. 🙂

My 2003 "ultra lite" does not have that feeling to me.. Owned it since brand new in 2002..

I think I responded to your "picture" post, so don't want to rehash that..

Just trade the thing in for whatever the dealer will give you.... Even if it's only a grand, it's better than trying to sell it on your own for only a couple of grand more, unless you are looking to unload it on some newbie that has no clue about old RV's.... That's all on you and why I don't buy from private sellers.. No matter how honest they are...

I'm not saying you are trying to scam anyone, but you also have to have some realistic expectations about used RVs....

I will never buy a used RV after my experience in looking at them..

I would also not expect anyone to want my used RV once I decide to get a new one... I'd just take whatever the dealer would do to take it off my hand without having to deal with it...

That's just me and my trailer has been paid for and used every year since 2005, so I'm good.. 🙂

For those that are upside down on you RV.. Well, there you go...

Good luck!

Mitch

[drsteve]

jungleexplorer wrote:
How accurate do you feel NADA Value is? Here is what it says about my TT.

Most of those options are probably not options... NADA for some inexplicable reason lists these as options, but they also say not to add them to the value if they came standard. You can be reasonably certain that the only actual option on the list was the 15K A/C, an upgrade from the standard 13.5K unit. Stuff like awnings, stab jacks and water heaters are included on every trailer built.