Repair vs. sell

tode,
Here is my logic / arithmetic:

Value without repair plus cost of repair
Equal more or less than a replacement purchase.

You do your math.

(Usually, if it is a good item and the repair is not major, just do the repair and be happy.)

I had a similar dilemma a few years back with my 2008 Coyote hybrid. I noticed a soft spot in the floor in the spring . I took up the vinyl flooring and the whole front of the trailer was rotted out. A quote from a dealer was about $4000.00. Way over my budget so I took on the repairs myself. Stressful , but I'm a little bit handy , got alot of advice from friends and online and it cost me about $150. Big job but I did it.
In a nutshell , if you think you can do the repair yourself it's worth it. To pay some one else , expensive but depending on your financial situation still may be less than buying a new trailer cus your not gonna get much for your water damaged one.

Take a look , this is what I had to do. http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/27137940/gotomsg/27140810.cfm#27140810

Here's an idea on cost: My HTT's entry door seals failed in the first year and the first indicator that something was wrong was when the entry steps tore out of the trailer. Other repair was in the rear bath due to missing seal from new on floor joint. Vinyl flooring was coming up and floor was flexing. About $800 to have both items fixed.

For the roof question, I had a tree drop a long branch through the roof, leaving about a 1.5" hole. Insurance company would not patch it and insisted on full replacement. This was in the neighborhood of $6,000.

How handy are you? To the point of other posts I'd consider fixing it yourself. Like Billbeat did, I helped my dad with his 21' '77 Jayco. The front left corner had a leak, rotted the framing in the front and side wall, and rotted out the floor. We took it all apart and replaced all the wood. It turned out great. He's still using that trailer.

Billbeat wrote:
Take a look , this is what I had to do. http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/27137940/gotomsg/27140810.cfm#27140810

Awesome! Great job!

If you can't repair it your self I would advertise it as a handyman's special and try and get a few thousand for it. Might be very few.

How deep did you have to go in the floor? Did you use a circular saw or jigsaw? Have a 2006 Antigua 215SSO and the floor is soft in front of slide but want to avoid removing the slide if possible. Walked on it accidentally yesterday and something cracked.

Someone on here mentioned to claim it on insurance but if they total it, do I have to do that or can I still repair and try to salvage it, especially if they are not going to give me much for it?

I must say that I really love the RV and with a daughter starting college this year and another one in 2 years, I cannot afford a replacement.

We have the same problem with our 2004 Antigua 21SSO. Soft floor at the front, in between the 2 cabinets. My RV Tech reinforced it twice, while trying to figure out the spot where the water comes in. It is still soft, and cracking. However it holds up well because he reinforced the frame underneath with 2"X4"s.

We have come to the conclusion that the next and final work to be done on the floor will be to lay a thin sheet of plywood all over the current floor, and install new cushion floor on top of it. This will be done without removing all the cabinets, slide-out and furniture. Of course, before laying the plywood, we will install some sort of waterproofing membrane to protect the new floor.

By that time, the HTT's value will already be quite low. We would not be getting much anyway as a trade-in, and I would have to sell it a handyman project, as suggested by one of the posters above.

We are likely to be the last owners of our HTT. We really like our Antigua.

SLSAntigua wrote:
How deep did you have to go in the floor? Did you use a circular saw or jigsaw? Have a 2006 Antigua 215SSO and the floor is soft in front of slide but want to avoid removing the slide if possible. Walked on it accidentally yesterday and something cracked.

Someone on here mentioned to claim it on insurance but if they total it, do I have to do that or can I still repair and try to salvage it, especially if they are not going to give me much for it?

I must say that I really love the RV and with a daughter starting college this year and another one in 2 years, I cannot afford a replacement.

I have a 2003 Travelstar 21SSO which is pretty much identical to your Antigua. I just did a floor replacement earlier this summer. It was all rotted out from the front to about the entry door. It was a lot of work! Biggest problem I found was with the lack of support from underneath. It all sits on the steel frame rails with nothing supporting it in the middle. I ended up welding in a couple of support braces. Here's some pictures if you want to check it out...
https://www.amazon.ca/clouddrive/share/cPde9sOUgMTRjtedL7J4xoHRpWO5viBhj4DPBDSdZAr?v=grid&ref_=cd_ph_share_link_copy

marcarolle wrote:
We have the same problem with our 2004 Antigua 21SSO. Soft floor at the front, in between the 2 cabinets. My RV Tech reinforced it twice, while trying to figure out the spot where the water comes in. It is still soft, and cracking. However it holds up well because he reinforced the frame underneath with 2"X4"s.

We have come to the conclusion that the next and final work to be done on the floor will be to lay a thin sheet of plywood all over the current floor, and install new cushion floor on top of it. This will be done without removing all the cabinets, slide-out and furniture. Of course, before laying the plywood, we will install some sort of waterproofing membrane to protect the new floor.

By that time, the HTT's value will already be quite low. We would not be getting much anyway as a trade-in, and I would have to sell it a handyman project, as suggested by one of the posters above.

We are likely to be the last owners of our HTT. We really like our Antigua.

I would check underneath the front section, in mine the membrane separated from the aluminum frame right under the front storage compartment. Water could enter there easily. Also, check your slide seal, especially at the top. When my slide is closed, I get a little bit of water seeping in, it will stay on top of the slide roof and drip down onto the floor by the wall. Overtime this water will make its way to the lowest point and since it has no way to evaporate it will rot rot rot until you fall through the floor.

I understand your attachment to the Antigua, we both have identical layout and the trailer has an amazing amount of room when the slide opens. My only complaint is, it could have a little bit more usable storage.