Soft floor between floor beams in 2701SS?? :( Anybody Reinforce??

[sprayking]

I know alot of people on here have come upon the spongy floor between beam issues in there trailers. but I have not seen too many solutions. People have talked about adding more braces using 3/8" ply and/or welding additional beams with metal or wood, But cant find the threads. I have a 08' Rockwood 2701SS and from the front bed all the way back to the bathroom its spongy between the 24"?? beams ( i havent measured yet). I looked underneath and it has some kind of tyvek paper under the floor them the beams on the frame. I would like to weld some add'l beams either 2x4 or 2x2 but I dont want to add too much weight. also maybe I should add some plywood if I can between my new beams and the floor to again add stability. Let me know what you guys have done to fix it and what worked and what didnt. Thanks again

[sprayking]

I am going to post pics today to show you guys the span of the beams underneath the floor, to get a better understanding.

[DonG]

Can you actually see the floor from underneath the camper? I am unfamiliar with the model you have. Are there not the gray and black water tanks underneath?

[sprayking]

the tanks are back there towards the rear of the camper. Yes you can see the underside of the floor that has a vapor barrier on it. This is not a 5er style when the floor is all enclosed. My unit you can see the vapor barrier and the floor beams and some trailer wiring running through the beams. all from under the trailer.

[DonG]

You are lucky then. The pics will be interesting, but it doesn't sound like you should have any problem beefing up the floor.
Too bad that the company would build such weak floors though. That is the last place they should be scrimping.

[sprayking]

PICS: these are the underbelly of my trailer. As you can see you can see the floor above the beams underneath. The factory made this frame with this big of a span. and I believe 1/4" luan sandwiched with some styrofoam. Its the only thing that bums me out about this trailer is the floor. So if anyones dealt with these floors and what they did , Let me know. thx.
hopefully this weekend I will go get some steel and do some bracin'

[DonG]

That is quite a span between those supports!
But, it looks like you shouldn't have too much trouble adding extra supports. Not sure if you can get the "Z" bars they use, but you should be able to find some lightweight 'C' channels, which will work just as good.
Good luck.

[sprayking]

Ya , It is a BIG span. Its really the only disappointment I have with this trailer. I have to find some either 2x4 or 2x2 steel 1/8" thick stock to weld in there ( I think 1/4 inch thick stock will be too heavy) Also I wanted to either put them parallel with the other beams or make some other braced pattern either "H" pattern or "X" pattern underneath but i dont want to add too much weight because I have to do 3 or possibly 4 bays. less cuts the better. Anyways has anyone done this bracing on there trailer? with wood or metal?

thx again,

[Dave84]

We have a 2008 rockwood sign have the same floor problem. Very dissappointed with this . Also just had our second wheelbearing go out. same axle other side.

[Dave84]

Our camper is a 8319ss rockwood. bought new in 2008. forgot to add with last post.

[sprayking]

Dave, Did you reinforce the floor? I am looking for idea's.
thx.

[sprayking]

Well, I bought some 1 1/2" steel box tubing yesterday 1/4 inch thick. This should brace quite well. I will be breaking out the welder and jacks today to try to brace it up. I will bring the camera with and post some pics later.

[sprayking]

Well I did some work on one of the bays today. I used 1 1/2" square box tubing 1/4 inch thick. I bought 20 ft of it for 40 bucks. I used 10 ft doing what I did today. I added a long one and a shorter one perpendicular to it. And as you can see I added a 45 degree shorty brace just because I had a extra piece. I am going to add another brace perpendicular again on the other side then onto the bay over the axles. I will use another piece of tube 10 ft or so. Then I will go back and buy another 10 foot piece to do the last bay. I only have to do 3 bays because of beds and bathrooms cover the rest.
I also burned a little of the vapor barrier, a little black duct tape will fix that.

takes time getting the measurements right to fit correct and get a good weld but its worth it the floor is already feeling 10 times better where I braced it up.
anyways, I always like to see pics so here they go

[backin15]

Looking good! Let us know if it helps - I have the same problem.

[sprayking]

Well I used up the other 10 ft of stock today. finished up the big wide bay (5.5ft wide), And started the bay next to it above the axles. All I have to do is get another 10 ft of stock and finish the bracing over the axles and maybe a a brace towards the front of the trailer under the bed. And that should be it. Walking in it is night and day now Solid as a rock , better than FR floor beams way stronger and no give. The hard part is getting setup and all tools together but once you get going it goes pretty quick. Just sucks cutting, grinding, measuring but its worth it.
My neighbor thinks Im nuts because Im under there sweating my a$# off burning holes in my shirts welding upside down, cuz he would have took his TT to a shop to do it but, 100-150 in materials and time beats a huge bill from a RV specialist.

pic 1 work area
pic 2 big bay all done. (remember left side of bay is mosty bar area with furnace above , didnt need much bracing)
pic 3 bay above axles


hopefully couple of more hours all done!!

[DonG]

Looks good and sturdy!
But isn't it sad that we have to fix what should have been done rght in the first place?

[sprayking]

I know.

I dont care if its a "ultra-lite" or not , your trying to tell me a 5.5 ft span on a floor with 1/4 plywood is good? sorry I love my trailer but its the most ridiculous thing I've seen. Just horrible. This thing was probably soft and spongy the day it came off the line. People say "must have been built on a friday" , Mine must have been built on a sunday extra shift the day after the christmas party. Anyways , not a problem anymore I braced with better stuff than the factory used.

Dont forget the crappy shower tub, which underneath it has 1.5" styrofoam under the tub braced up with 1x2's and 1/8 inch plywood. Another boy scout design. I weigh 225 pds and I'm scared to death to move in the shower. I had to go underneath and brace with some 2x2 oak pieces to make it solid. Before my foot went straight through it.

I used to own a 79' Komfort. It was built like a rock, never had a crappy floor or tub even with the 10,000 water leaks it had.

[DonG]

I know what you mean. My old camper had the arse end rotted right out because of a roof leak, and it was far stronger even with the rotten wood than my new-fangled "fancy" camper.
If it wasn't for losing a bunch of money, I would trade it off on a Cougar tomorrow!

[sprayking]

Well, Here are the final pics. All done in all three bays, no other bracing needed due to the bathroom, back bed and front bed all cover the floor. The 3 bays in the middle of the trailer are all braced up with the 1.5" box tubing welded onto the frame. When you walk in the trailer now it feels solid as a rock. I also spray painted the steel but I probably need to do another coat. (loaded the pics and seen I missed a few spots, )

Hopefully this helps anyone that has a soft floor and is getting sick and tired of it like I was.

[pappcam]

My 2012 Flagstaff 27BESS Super Lite (same as Rockwood 2702SS) has aluminum joists on 16" centers in my floor. I think the joists are actually above the bottom layer that you can see on the bottom of the trailer. It's the actual frame of the trailer that you're reinforcing which of course is probably a good thing considering how lightweight trailers are made nowadays.