weak floor

[vicandrosi]

I just purchased a 2015 FR Rockwood mini lite 2109S. The floor area from the front door to the bathroom door seems weak. Has anyone noticed that, or do I have some kind of problem? There is no sign of leakage in that area.
Thanks for any help.

[rarobo]

Originally Posted by vicandrosi

I just purchased a 2015 FR Rockwood mini lite 2109S. The floor area from the front door to the bathroom door seems weak. Has anyone noticed that, or do I have some kind of problem? There is no sign of leakage in that area.

Thanks for any help.

I’m in the same “boat” you are, in late 17 all rockwood/flagstaff models changed to 5/8 plywood floors ( my 25bh is early 17) instead of the laminated floor in ours, moisture can cause the floor to separate,what I do is make sure all drain stay tight, including the tub drain and seal around floor penetrations I can get to I have read on this forum that you can brace the floor from underside, maybe someone else can help that has felt with it

[Dennis and Julie]

We just had the same problem with our 2017 Wildcat, it was a glue problem as in defective glue at the factory. We are currently waiting to get our replacement.

[mararra]

We have a 2012 2109s, and also have soft spots in the floor. Over the six seasons we have used it the problem has only become slightly worse. As you mentioned the softest area is in front of the bathroom door and continuing from there toward the kitchen sink. If I would have known the floor was made of a lamination of 3/16" ply over 2- 3" of Styrofoam I would never have bought this trailer.
However, I do believe the floor can be strengthened by overlaying it with 3/8" plywood. A lot of work, but I think it would fix the issue.

[HikerBob]

Our 2011 MiniLite ETC has the same problem, and it has gotten worse with wear (now 250 nights in five years). Squishy is putting it mildly, especially in high traffic areas midships. Trying to brace it from below looks to be futile so an overlay may be in order if I can remove and replace the woodgrain linoleum my DW likes. Cutting around the cabinets should be relatively easy, but will it come up without tearing is questionable at best. It looks like I have about 3/8 inch of leeway before any overlay will affect cabinet door openings, so 1/4 inch plywood should work. However, I'm not sure that will totally remedy the "give" in the floor. Anyone have experience with this that would help me? Is there another (newer) material that I can use?

[Restcure]

We replaced the vinyl flooring in our last trailer so we have a little bit of experience in taking up flooring. It's typically laid before the walls and cabinets and is pinned down by them, so you have to cut around.

Ours wasn't glued down anywhere, so it came out pretty much intact.



You would have to be careful cutting around the corners and with how you handle it.

My main concerns for your project are clearance for the slide and around the door, and weight. 1/4" plywood weights about 0.7 lbs per square foot - looking at your floor plan I would estimate about 110 square feet, which is about 77 lbs of plywood.

[mararra]

As far as clearance for the slide, fortunately on a 2109s it's not an issue because there is no "floor" on the slide . On a 2109s the mini slide holds only the couch which is up off the floor by about a foot. I would take a pic but our trailer is in storage and inaccessible.
Personally, I believe 3/8" 5 ply plywood is what should be used to stiffen the floor. Doubt if 1/4" will do it. After careful study of the cabinet and door clearance issues, only relatively minor adjustments will be needed. Might have to trim door/drawer bottoms a bit.
Since the bathroom part of the floor is solid (at least in our case), I am considering the possibility of stopping the overlay under the bathroom door and applying some kind of transition strip. Have to experiment a bit more before doing that, don't want to create a tripping hazard.
One word of warning when removing the vinyl. Make sure you don't cut into the ply underneath it. The floor is a bonded stress skin sandwich lamination of 3/16" plywood and Styrofoam . Slicing the plywood will seriously further weaken the floor.

Merry Christmas

[HikerBob]

Our 2011 MiniLite ETC 184 TT doesn't have a slide, so that's not an issue. Yes, I might have to shave a tad off of the cabinet doors if I use anything thicker than 1/4". I've seen some multi-ply wood at Michael's that has more than the usual 1/4" plywood construction. The key will be finding it in large enough sheets to do the floor of the trailer. I agree that the bathroom floor doesn't seem to have the problem found in the main compartment, so a transition may save a lot of extra work. Thanks for the advice.

[HikerBob]

Restcure - I don't think we have 110 ft. sq. of affected area, so I may be able to use a heavier material. I saw some small pieces of very sturdy multi-layered plywood at Michael's, so Now I have to find their source. Thanks again for your tips.

[cromhouse]

We recently went to a non-Rockwood dealer and were offered trade valuation of $6450 sight unseen for our 2013 Minilite 2104s. Granted the trailer had to be in sound condition when we actually took it in.


We couldn't take it in at the time of the negotiation because the trailer was at the original Rockwood dealer for repair of a soft floor issue. Following this dealer's evaluation, we were told the floor issue was so extensive that the repair estimate was $6k to $7k. We were also told that the they found no defective seals.

When we finally took the trailer to the non-Rockwood dealer for the on site trade evaluation, the trade value dropped to $1k specifically due to the soft floors.

Now no one expects a travel trailer to be a good investment in the traditional sense but a loss in value over 93% in 4.5 years is a financial disaster. If you are considering a Minilite purchase, be sure you understand the potential real cost of owning one of these products. In hind sight, we should have run, not walked, to a product with a higher quality design and build.

To those wondering what to do about their Minilites with soft floors, I suggest you trade them before they get worse and are only worth $1K.

Finally, I've tried without success to locate a contact phone number at FR to pursue a "what will you do for me?" conversation. Can anyone help?
Has anyone had any success with such conversations regarding the Minilite line?

Thanks and safe travels.

[RACarvalho]

In my previous 2016 Roo We could feel soft floors since it was new.
That was not a problem in itself but not something the Customers don't want to feel so I believe that is the reason Rockwood went back to ply floors.
I can't comment on the longevity for we camped on it for more than 100 nights but sold it before it completed 2 years....

[AlbertaRose]

Has anyone had success in reinforcing these soft floors from underneath? I have a 2016 Rockwood Roo 21Dk and found out the hard way the outdoor fridge leaks and the water has damaged the floor in the bathroom. From underneath you can push the flooring in so that is not good. I don't want to replace the whole floor as there is a slide but this is not safe. I need an economical solution as I am a single mom. Also have that garbage laminated flooring. Would never expect this issue in a newer trailer. Thanks in advance.