Forum Discussion

bwharper78's avatar
bwharper78
Explorer
Jul 17, 2016

Travel Trailer with soft spots on the floor

I have a 2012 Crossroads Z-1 251-BH. I noticed a soft spot in the floor, in the front bedroom just under the window. Over the course of a few weeks, the spot has become worse and it almost feels like you could step through it. Upon deeper inspection, the floor is soft along the wall toward the front of the camper and into the storage compartments on both sides. It does not seem to be going to far into the interior of the trailer, but rather is hugging the walls.

Has anyone dealt with this kind of problem or have any advice?

I believe my biggest concern right now is identifying and fixing any water leaks. I am planning on taking it to an RV shop to do a Sealtech pressure test.

Beyond that, I am not sure I can afford to have a shop repair the floor so I may take that on myself. Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated!
  • westend's avatar
    westend
    Explorer
    Jul 21, 2016
    You should inspect to see if you have a composite foam-core panel for a floor or sheathing attached to joists. The latter is easier to fix. The foam sandwich can be problematic.

    Every travel trailer I've repaired had the floor installed underneath the exterior walls. When the floor decking needs to be removed, it is the world of a thousand staples and screws. A reciprocating saw and a grinder become your new friends.
  • hvac's avatar
    hvac
    Explorer
    Jul 21, 2016
    Pitiful. 2012!! I know all metal top to bottom is expensive like our Camp lite, but really this is unacceptable. The least they could offer is marine grade plywood. But even Airstream gets away with plywood floor. Remember. Over time they all leak. Especially with slides.
  • muelldawg's avatar
    muelldawg
    Explorer
    Jul 21, 2016
    We also had a soft floor in entire forward section of TT. We cut out the wet wood and replace/fitted with marine plywood. The water was leaking in from truck back tires water splash into the TT. The forward TT under-section was not properly sealed.
  • Mark_and_Linda's avatar
    Mark_and_Linda
    Explorer
    Jul 21, 2016
    I have fixed a few problems with our floor in the past. The wood was soft...I peeled back the carpet in the front bed area and found that it extended into the front storage compartment. I took out the old wood, used my table saw to cut the new floor joists into the right size, made a box using them to attach into the floor structure. Screwed it in and then attached the new flooring piece. Put the carpet back down and redone the area in the storage area.
  • boosTT's avatar
    boosTT
    Explorer
    Jul 18, 2016
    Depends how bad it is. I had my eye on a soft spot for some time. Had a seal test done, leak fixed and it has not gotten any worse in the past year. The soft spot in my rv is between the bath tub and toilet- where no one would ever step anyway.
  • skiles's avatar
    skiles
    Explorer
    Jul 18, 2016
    Ouch. I'm sorry to hear about that. That camper isn't that old. We had a roof leak that I repaired myself. I'm am now paranoid about leaks and will Dicor anything suspicious. I hope it's not that bad.
  • beemerphile1's avatar
    beemerphile1
    Explorer
    Jul 18, 2016
    Just a WAG, you are probably looking at replacing the roof and part of the floor. Big job and very expensive if you can't do it yourself.

    Don't shoot the messenger, your RV may be totaled. Call your insurance and check your coverage.
  • keymastr's avatar
    keymastr
    Explorer
    Jul 18, 2016
    If it is just the floor you can just lay another layer of marine plywood over the whole floor but it probably goes further than that. Water can travel across the whole trailer before you notice it. Might be the roof or the window or something from several feet away.

    Once the leak test is done you will have a better idea what might be involved. Hopefully it is something simple.
  • Mr__Camper's avatar
    Mr__Camper
    Explorer
    Jul 18, 2016
    Could be from a leaky window and if your floor is soft it's rotting and breaking up. Of course that's just my opinion and I could be wrong.

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