My first look under my A122 was "Yikes"

[lotsip]

Just got my new A122, anyone see anything wrong of the pics i took of its "underbelly" ? Maybe its just me......?

[lotsip]

just doesn't look tidy enough to me ;/

[wyo700]

The wires near my brake drums were about the same on my sand storm so I tied them up better. Maybe to could get under there and with a little time and wire ties you could get it it little nicer for your liking.

[lotsip]

Originally Posted by wyo700

The wires near my brake drums were about the same on my sand storm so I tied them up better. Maybe to could get under there and with a little time and wire ties you could get it it little nicer for your liking.

I was thinking of doing that, but, first, i wanted to see if it appeared "normal"....so much going on under there, but, never looked under an RV before, so, I wanted to get the opinion of the veterans here, thanks so much for your input !

[Grizzlygibbs]

I am a little surprised there is exposed plywood under there.

[lotsip]

Originally Posted by Grizzlygibbs

I am a little surprised there is exposed plywood under there.

Hopefully its treated. ?

[handbuilder]

The floor is engineered OSB and has a 25 year warranty

I had the same concern when I looked underneath it and asked the service tech during the PDI. He said it is designed to withstand normal wear and tear and under such, should not swell or delaminate provided it is NOT sealed. It is bonded with special resins that meet specific tests for use hence in our trailers, the 25 year warranty in the given RV application of use.

[backpacker3]

The underside of my A128S looked about the same. I just took some zip ties and took the slop out of the wiring and tidyed up as best I could. My last P/U also looked the same so it must be a manufacturing thing, throw em together as fast as you can and forget how it looks underneath. Besides, just how many people do crawl under their camper to look at the under belly?

[Tiggerdad]

Watch the bottom of your rig regardless of warranty. Water will will make it swell and continued wetness will make it come apart. Who will warranty for 25 years. Surely not the manufacturer of the rig. Manufacturer of the OSB will probably pay for the cost of the wood but not replacement. If you plan on keeping it for a while, I would look at having Coroplast cover the bottom.

[handbuilder]

The manufacturer will either
1) pay reasonable cost of repairing or replacing the defetctive panel & any affected floor covering or 2) refund up to 3x the original purchase price paid for the panel by the OEM

It still is a wood product and therefore should not be left in the river or lake to soak or in high moisure environments...Driving in the rain with water splashing up at it is not going to cause a major problem - that woild be normal use, unlike leaving it in a flood or standing water

Looking at the brochures (& also talking with the service tech at our time of purchase) it appears that all of Forest Rivers folding tent/camping trailers have this kind of floor...if there were problems with the floor, we'd probably have heard about it by now? If not in this forum bit even the tent camper forum?

Coroplast would be a great solution if one lived in a moist environment esp if it eased the mind if one is having continued worry or concerns for product quality & maintaining the unit's floor.

[Herk7769]

Originally Posted by handbuilder

The manufacturer will either
1) pay reasonable cost of repairing or replacing the defetctive panel & any affected floor covering or 2) refund up to 3x the original purchase price paid for the panel by the OEM

It still is a wood product and therefore should not be left in the river or lake to soak or in high moisure environments...Driving in the rain with water splashing up at it is going to cause a major problem - that woild be normal use, unlike leaving it in a flood or standing water

All of Forest Rivers folding tent/camping trailers have this kind of floor...if there were major problems with the floor, I think we'd have heard about it by now...

I am thinking you meant "NOT going to cause a major problem."

[handbuilder]

Yes! I just caught that & went back to edit. You're fast!! ROFL sometimes when typing on my mobile phone I come up with some interesting things...I turned off the feature that types for me - that was hilarious. Thanks Herk!

[lotsip]

Originally Posted by handbuilder

The floor is engineered OSB and has a 25 year warranty

I had the same concern when I looked underneath it and asked the service tech during the PDI. He said it is designed to withstand normal wear and tear and under such, should not swell or delaminate provided it is NOT sealed. It is bonded with special resins that meet specific tests for use hence in our trailers, the 25 year warranty in the given RV application of use.

25 year warranty will outlive me for sure, haha, thanks.

I was a bit more concerned with the copper tubing, exposed to rocks and other road hazards bouncing up and hitting it, and not seemingly held to the floor with much, and the other lines, wires, etc, which look like they could use some tightening up......maybe i will get under there with a bunch of snap ties today. Thinking of leaving for Florida this weekend !

[ependydad]

I know the old Coleman pop-ups specifically recommended AGAINST sealing the wood or covering it with anything so that any moisture that did get in could get back out.

As for wiring, that seems "normal".

[thehamguy1]

I've pulled our unit hundreds of miles in the rain (and worse--heavy, clinging mud). No problem with the floor as long as it can dry out, which it couldn't if it were covered with anything. Your owners packet should have something about the floor saying that under no circumstances should it be coated or covered.

We've all had much the same reaction to looking underneath. The suggestion to neaten it up with wire ties is a good one for esthetics but won't make a difference otherwise. Point-to-point wiring and piping is less expensive to install and the stuff that goes through it doesn't care.

Having said that, I did take some old garden hose and split it lengthwise to cover both the brake wires crossing the axle and the parts of the gas lines running side to side. I used duct tape to hold it in place. That was done after seeing what hundreds of miles of gravel can do to copper pipe and--surprisingly--to wire ties.

So the good news is that you're right on track with the new owner experience. Have a great trip!

[lotsip]

Originally Posted by backpacker3

The underside of my A128S looked about the same. I just took some zip ties and took the slop out of the wiring and tidyed up as best I could. My last P/U also looked the same so it must be a manufacturing thing, throw em together as fast as you can and forget how it looks underneath. Besides, just how many people do crawl under their camper to look at the under belly?

I'm going to do the zip tie tidying up thing today, and, make a note to myself to NOT drive off road through the Everglades

Actually, i was thinking Maine mountains in the spring...all rough dirt logging roads up there. Sure wish they had skid plates for trailers, like my Tacoma has.

[lotsip]

Originally Posted by thehamguy1

I've pulled our unit hundreds of miles in the rain (and worse--heavy, clinging mud). No problem with the floor as long as it can dry out, which it couldn't if it were covered with anything. Your owners packet should have something about the floor saying that under no circumstances should it be coated or covered.

We've all had much the same reaction to looking underneath. The suggestion to neaten it up with wire ties is a good one for esthetics but won't make a difference otherwise. Point-to-point wiring and piping is less expensive to install and the stuff that goes through it doesn't care.

So the good news is that you're right on track with the new owner experience. Have a great trip!

Thanks, I will, and thanks for putting my mind at ease. !

[lotsip]

Originally Posted by thehamguy1

I've pulled our unit hundreds of miles in the rain (and worse--heavy, clinging mud). No problem with the floor as long as it can dry out, which it couldn't if it were covered with anything. Your owners packet should have something about the floor saying that under no circumstances should it be coated or covered.

We've all had much the same reaction to looking underneath. The suggestion to neaten it up with wire ties is a good one for esthetics but won't make a difference otherwise. Point-to-point wiring and piping is less expensive to install and the stuff that goes through it doesn't care.

Having said that, I did take some old garden hose and split it lengthwise to cover both the brake wires crossing the axle and the parts of the gas lines running side to side. I used duct tape to hold it in place. That was done after seeing what hundreds of miles of gravel can do to copper pipe and--surprisingly--to wire ties.

So the good news is that you're right on track with the new owner experience. Have a great trip!

Its about 10 degrees out today, and not much relief in temperature between now and when I am leaving for Florida, hopefully this weekend, so the garden hose suggestion will wait til i get to Florida or in the spring here, before I hit the logging roads in Maine.......Thanks !!

[Tiggerdad]

I am not trying to be negative but I would like to see that 25 year warranty in writing and also a statement that that floor will be replaced at no charge to the owner. There may not be any issues reported on this forum but it is well known in other forums that OSB will not stand up to repeated water. It is difficult to dry out where objects make contact with the wood.

My Crusader has an OSB floor but it is protected from the elements. My previous rig had 2 spots to rot out in 4 years and it had Coroplast. One was on a slide where the edge was exposed. Another was near the entrance door where, evidently, it got wet a number of times.

I would not trust the word of a service tech. and a brochure that does not specifically spell out what will be done if a failure means nothing.

[Jeep4Two]

My documentation packet included a warranty sheet on the flooring. I don't have access to it right now to read the specifics but I do recall that it was a 25 year warranty.

So it is a written warranty. How cost to replace the flooring are handled is another question, but should be spelled out in the warranty document.