Newbie has TT with rotted nose and floor

[revcrab]

Hey all!!
I'm John. We were given a 2001 19' TT. It's had some major leaking, so much so that the entire nose framework from the front window down has dissolved and most of the floor edge framing pieces (ledgerboards?) have rotted away. The black tarp material (Darco?) seems to have held the water and everything has turned to mush. I'me going to replace the wood, but I'm really resistant to replacing that plastic tarp. I think using treated structural wood and spraying on a deck watersealer would take care of the water that comes up from the road.

Due to rodent and water damage, I am going to re-route the electrics and propane line through the cabin and do my best to completely seal the floor. so there won't be anything under there for the underbelly wrap to protect.

What problems am I overlooking, and what are your thoughts?
This is my first time with a Travel Trailer, but we've converted a cargo van into a van camper, so we're not complete newbies to rv-ing.

Sorry for the long post, and I look forward to your thoughts.

[Gdetrailer]

revcrab wrote:
Here's where we are right now. Still removing rotten floor framing and figuring out how to structurally stabilize the nose.


Click For Full-Size Image.

Just a little "dryrot" there..

It will "buff out"..

In reality, it looks worse than it is..

You can check out my rebuild HERE to compare notes.. Google drive pages sometimes are a bit slow loading..

Just takes a lot of work and a few heaps of money in materials but it can be fixed.

[revcrab]

Good idea. I'm going to rebuild in the front, but the passenger rear corner siding has come loose as well. I haven't opened it up yet to see the extent of the damage, but I hope a product like that will save me tearing apart that end of the trailer.

[LVJJJ]

In my case, a lot of the rot was in the corner where the bathtub went, and that stuff saved me from having to tear out the whole corner.

[SidecarFlip]

Git Rot works too (2 part as well) It's at marine stores. I think West Marine sells it online. If it was my deal though, I'd just rebuild and replace with new.

[LVJJJ]

Now that I see a picture of the damage I have a suggestion. On any of the wood you can salvage, get some CPES epoxy wood restorer and sealant (just Google CPES Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer). I bought an '85 Wilderness awhile back and under the carpet in the bathroom (why carpet in the bathroom????) the floor was almost completely gone, rotted. And the damage went up the walls. Found out about the CPES and it saved me a lot of time and money (its made for repairing boats where its hard to get to anything to tear out). whenever a stud or joist is only partially rotted, you can scrape the rot away, dry it out and paint the wood with it, it will make it hard and protect it forever from water infiltration. They also sell a product that will replace the rotted wood and build the stud back up. So I was able to save a lot of the wood, particularly the sills, cause when you take them up, it can really affect alignment of the walls, plus tearing out a lot of studs. As I was putting the new joists and studs in, I coated them with CPES so another leak wouldn't harm them. (the leak was in a strange place, it was from the drain vent pipe, little tiny bits of water would run down the pipe, to the floor of the cabinet, then out onto the floor, under the carpet. Doing this for 20 years, finally ruined the floor).

You will need a gas mask cause just a whiff makes you light headed. It comes in 2 cans which are mixed before use and I think cost me about $40 in 2011.

[LVJJJ]

revcrab wrote:
Sikaflex 221 is $9 on Amazon. That's what I'll use

$6 here in Bellingham WA at Hardware Sales

[revcrab]

SidecarFlip wrote:
Not as bad as I had envisioned actually. You did save the siding I presume? Sad part is that was all avoidable with some simple preventative maintenance. Looks like it was a nice little unit and can be again... With some work on your part.

Sill plate don't look too bad on the curb side from what I can see. Sill plate on the drivers side it gone. I wonder how far back the water / rot goes on the drivers side??

As insurance against future issues, I would loose as much of the fiberglass batts as you can and replace it with pink expanded styrofoam board (underlayment). That glass batting is junk that RV builders use but it's cheap.

Problem is, it retains water like a sponge.

Hopefully, you have been wearing a mask and gloves...

Yes, I started the project wearing a mold respirator/goggles and gloves. Now that it's been opened and drying out, I'm down to a mask and gloves. I kept the siding, but I wrinkled part of it so we'll see how it goes back on. I'm also somewhat encouraged that just aft of that side window on the driver's side, the wall framing is sound all the way to the back of the trailer. There's some slight damage under the fridge, but it's not too bad. I'm going to leave the passenger side alone until I get a support in those front covers. That post behind the window and the door frame are the only things holding up the front part of the roof.

The roof also appears to be in ok shape. It appears the windows leaked and the transition from roof to front panel leaked. I'm cautiously optimistic that it's salvageable.

[SidecarFlip]

Not as bad as I had envisioned actually. You did save the siding I presume? Sad part is that was all avoidable with some simple preventative maintenance. Looks like it was a nice little unit and can be again... With some work on your part.

Sill plate don't look too bad on the curb side from what I can see. Sill plate on the drivers side it gone. I wonder how far back the water / rot goes on the drivers side??

As insurance against future issues, I would loose as much of the fiberglass batts as you can and replace it with pink expanded styrofoam board (underlayment). That glass batting is junk that RV builders use but it's cheap.

Problem is, it retains water like a sponge.

Hopefully, you have been wearing a mask and gloves...

[revcrab]

Here's where we are right now. Still removing rotten floor framing and figuring out how to structurally stabilize the nose.


Click For Full-Size Image.

[revcrab]

Sikaflex 221 is $9 on Amazon. That's what I'll use

[SidecarFlip]

Fair statement there. I'd say a substantial amount of owners NEVER check seals and caulk even though every owners manuals says to do it...Inspect seals at least every 3 months.....

Oh wait, who reads an owners manual anyway. If a problem arises, just post it up on a forum like this one and someone will reply...

Over half the posts on this site could be answered just by reading the owners manuals, the owners got with their RV

I agree with the front window, problem is, eliminating it allows for more lax seal inspection without leaks and builders know that.... and it's cheaper to make as well.

My opinion is Sikaflex is better than Dicor bit it's not widely available whereas Dicor is.

[LVJJJ]

I use Sikaflex 221 also now, it's mainly for marine use so works great on our RV's.

I thought the maufacturers stopped putting front windows in to save money. Although, they have finally realized aerodynamics is important so have been coming out with curved fronts, a little harder to put windows on a curve. Personally I would never want a TT without a front window, don't like camping in a cave. I'll put up with front window leaks, which can be controled with regular maintenance and attention. Seems most (or many) RV'ers don't bother with caulking until too late, after the damage is done.

[revcrab]

SidecarFlip wrote:
I use Sikaflex, Dicor and Butyl tape. Never RTV silicone (a big no-no) for sealants.

Try to refrain from using 40 retention pressure treated wood as a replacement as well. 40 retention lumber has lots of bad chemicals in it and while it's rot resistant it's also bad to breath in any emissions from it.

Great info. Sikaflex looks really good. I'll check the treatment method on the lumber, I don't want any out-gassing. I'm pretty sure it was labeld as being safe for interior use, but I'll double check.

Has anyone used Eternabond tape? I want to seal the corner seams before I put the butyl tape and trim back on.

[SidecarFlip]

I use Sikaflex, Dicor and Butyl tape. Never RTV silicone (a big no-no) for sealants.

Try to refrain from using 40 retention pressure treated wood as a replacement as well. 40 retention lumber has lots of bad chemicals in it and while it's rot resistant it's also bad to breath in any emissions from it.