Storage Compartment (Mold + Rotten?) Help!

[doofoo]

So, I have a 2015 Legacy 340BH that has always been stored inside my garage. Only outside when traveling or camping.

I noticed when I first drove through rain that a couple of the storage compartments were not sealed properly from the elements and got wet (you could see water in the carpet).

Not a big deal as I leave the doors open for them to dry out and was going to work on sealing them over the winter.

Today, when prepping for a trip I emptied out one of the compartments (the one in front of the side door) and noticed the floor appears to be soft - and there is mold growth that was behind a plastic storage container.

What is the floor of these made out of? I have to leave for a trip so I'm going to leave it empty for now but it appears to be some sort of wood whereas some of the others feel like thicker wood, or metal.

Has anyone else had the issue with the storage compartments rotting out and needing replacement? It looks like whatever they use is screwed to box tubing below attached to the frame. Has anyone replaced?

Much appreciated. Will post pictures here as well from my phone.

[TitanMike]

The floor in my TT is a product somewhere between particle board and plywood. Impregnated with some kind of resin and appears to be pretty waterproof.

In past years, when I have had wet spots turn into soft, moldy spots I've had success doing the following:

Remove any carpet or vinyl covering in the area;

Dry using fan or carpet drying blower. Get it as dry as possible;

Clean any loose material and mold using scraper and shop vac with a bag installed;

Wash area with either a mix of Chlorine bleach and water or Hydrogen Peroxide mixed about half/half;

Dry again as dry as possible, even using a hair dryer if necessary;

Apply a "Wood Hardener". Home Depot sells a product called just that "Wood Hardener" made by Minwax. Use plenty of ventilation and apply generously on the soft area making sure it can soak in deeply before drying;

When cured smell will dissipate quickly (it's kind of like Shellac) so now just replace floor covering.

The wood hardener is a Styrene type resin that uses the wood fibers left over from the mold or even dry rot to form a reinforced composite where the soft wood was. There are other products available for the Marine market that often require mixing two parts and drilling lots of holes to help it's soaking in. I've found the Minwax product to be adequate where the wood is just "soft". My most recent use was to repair a kitchen sub-floor where a dishwasher had leaked for an unknown period of time.

[doofoo]

Originally Posted by TitanMike

The floor in my TT is a product somewhere between particle board and plywood. Impregnated with some kind of resin and appears to be pretty waterproof.

In past years, when I have had wet spots turn into soft, moldy spots I've had success doing the following:

Remove any carpet or vinyl covering in the area;

Dry using fan or carpet drying blower. Get it as dry as possible;

Clean any loose material and mold using scraper and shop vac with a bag installed;

Wash area with either a mix of Chlorine bleach and water or Hydrogen Peroxide mixed about half/half;

Dry again as dry as possible, even using a hair dryer if necessary;

Apply a "Wood Hardener". Home Depot sells a product called just that "Wood Hardener" made by Minwax. Use plenty of ventilation and apply generously on the soft area making sure it can soak in deeply before drying;

When cured smell will dissipate quickly (it's kind of like Shellac) so now just replace floor covering.

The wood hardener is a Styrene type resin that uses the wood fibers left over from the mold or even dry rot to form a reinforced composite where the soft wood was. There are other products available for the Marine market that often require mixing two parts and drilling lots of holes to help it's soaking in. I've found the Minwax product to be adequate where the wood is just "soft". My most recent use was to repair a kitchen sub-floor where a dishwasher had leaked for an unknown period of time.

Pretty depressing they use such cheap materials there. I'll rip the carpet off if I can when I get back from this trip - otherwise I was planning to completely remove the wood and replace with a waterproof synthetic "wood".

What I'm really concerned about on the Legacy is the material under the water tank since you can't get to that easily. If it's the same material I would be concerned that it would deteriorate over time as well.

I can't imagine folks who use their motorhomes a lot more and/or store them outside.

Thanks for the info, I'm sure it'll help. :P

[tmartin]

I had the same problem with my 2015 legacy. Water, mold, dust in all the compartments in between the axels. Forest river replaced the wood and carpet in the compartments under the warranty however the repair took 6 months. I still have some problems. I have been spraying foam all around the underside of the compartments. Primary problem I had was where the frame passed through the compartments. This was not sealed at the factory. I put a trouble light in the compartment and roll around under the coach on a creeper to identify areas that need to be sealed. I store inside and leave them open when I get home to air them out and get rid of any moisture.

[doofoo]

Originally Posted by tmartin

I had the same problem with my 2015 legacy. Water, mold, dust in all the compartments in between the axels. Forest river replaced the wood and carpet in the compartments under the warranty however the repair took 6 months. I still have some problems. I have been spraying foam all around the underside of the compartments. Primary problem I had was where the frame passed through the compartments. This was not sealed at the factory. I put a trouble light in the compartment and roll around under the coach on a creeper to identify areas that need to be sealed. I store inside and leave them open when I get home to air them out and get rid of any moisture.

Was it just some cheap thin particle wood? It looks like they are just screwed in the corners so perhaps it's an easy process to replace.

I checked my other compartments and they all look good. i know they get wet when traveling in bad weather but I do the same as you - leaving them open when stored.

Insane. I guess I'll be doing this work when I get back from this trip. Ugh

[DouglasReid]

Originally Posted by TitanMike

The floor in my TT is a product somewhere between particle board and plywood. Impregnated with some kind of resin and appears to be pretty waterproof.

In past years, when I have had wet spots turn into soft, moldy spots I've had success doing the following:

Remove any carpet or vinyl covering in the area;

Dry using fan or carpet drying blower. Get it as dry as possible;

Clean any loose material and mold using scraper and shop vac with a bag installed;

Wash area with either a mix of Chlorine bleach and water or Hydrogen Peroxide mixed about half/half;

Dry again as dry as possible, even using a hair dryer if necessary;

Apply a "Wood Hardener". Home Depot sells a product called just that "Wood Hardener" made by Minwax. Use plenty of ventilation and apply generously on the soft area making sure it can soak in deeply before drying;

When cured smell will dissipate quickly (it's kind of like Shellac) so now just replace floor covering.

The wood hardener is a Styrene type resin that uses the wood fibers left over from the mold or even dry rot to form a reinforced composite where the soft wood was. There are other products available for the Marine market that often require mixing two parts and drilling lots of holes to help it's soaking in. I've found the Minwax product to be adequate where the wood is just "soft". My most recent use was to repair a kitchen sub-floor where a dishwasher had leaked for an unknown period of time.

X2 on the Minwax Wood Hardener. I used it a lot when I had a remodeling/repair business.

The secret is to keep applying it, continuously, until no more is absorbed by the wood, that way it completely destroys the organisms causing the wet or dry rot.

[formerFR]

our Palazzo had the main and wet bay storage floors replaced at the factory service center in Wakarusa several years ago... they were sagging in several places, and pulling away from the outside walls, at the door frames - mushy, too.

I don't know about FR, but Thor uses a process of plywood covered by synthetic 'water proof' white plastic/fiberglass type covering. Hopefully the plywood is marine grade, but who knows for sure.
The problem lies in the installation/build process. Thor applies the outside white covering with spray glue to the plywood, THEN cuts the boards to size. Therein lies the issue: the EDGES are not covered, only the tops and bottoms. So, when they cut these boards and 'build' the floors and walls within the storage bay structure, the edges don't have the same 'water proof barrier' as you would think. While they seal the corners with white caulking, and that makes it 'look' sealed, we all know that water and moisture has 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year to 'find' ways thru and around any sealant, no matter how 'well' it seems to be applied.
The edges, which are not covered, are therefore the weak point of this whole 'system' - no wonder you not only have water infiltration within the bays, but have the capacity for mold and 'growth' to easily take over.
Our floor edges, where they meet the sidewall at the bay doors, had 'plants' growing from below - almost like dark mushroom types. Gross. Crazy.

Manufacturers: we like our coaches, but please simply wrap ALL edges of the marine grade plywood floor and wall structures with your water proof covering. We understand that you are 'building' these for each coach, and each coach is 'slightly' different in sizing, but wrapping each and every edge will maintain the integrity of the walls and floors, and will help keep us out of your service centers for floor replacements later on!
(Hint: there is a simple process called 'plastic dipping' that could easily solve this issue!)

[Wolverine 1945]

I found the front storage compartment on the Passengers side was leaking when we drove in the rain, took a couple of years to figure it out !!!
Storage compartment was not properly caulked !!!
Class C !!!

[cgpalmer]

Originally Posted by Wolverine 1945

I found the front storage compartment on the Passengers side was leaking when we drove in the rain, took a couple of years to figure it out !!!

Storage compartment was not properly caulked !!!

Class C !!!

We had the same problem in that front passenger compartment. What was strange is that the water didn’t drain out. We’d have 3-4 inches of water after driving through rain. So I figured it was the caulking on the sides of the panel. I just redid the entire compartment. We had water in the bays when we first bought our legacy in 2015. FR completely redid the compartments and sealed on the bottom of the chassis. We have not had problems since.

[Wolverine 1945]

Originally Posted by cgpalmer

We had the same problem in that front passenger compartment. What was strange is that the water didn’t drain out. We’d have 3-4 inches of water after driving through rain. So I figured it was the caulking on the sides of the panel. I just redid the entire compartment. We had water in the bays when we first bought our legacy in 2015. FR completely redid the compartments and sealed on the bottom of the chassis. We have not had problems since.

FR used some type of Black Silicone chalk,,, WORTHLESS !!!