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Old 11-12-2019, 06:29 AM   #1
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Soft floors

Question? Any members having a problem with floors going soft after warrenty is out? I have a 2017 primetime CRUSADER that the main area has floors that what I understand are glued together beginning to soften and come apart. Stored under a cover or shed if you want to call it that,5er has less that 5000 miles on it since we snowbird,moved twice a year...Thanks!
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Old 11-12-2019, 06:38 AM   #2
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The usual culprit....water intrusion from somewhere. Driving down the road in rain, water leak in plumbing in nearby area. Those are the most common.
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Old 11-12-2019, 08:04 AM   #3
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The usual culprit....water intrusion from somewhere. Driving down the road in rain, water leak in plumbing in nearby area. Those are the most common.
Soft spots are in the middle of the camper, been under a carport most of the time, on a well and pressure on pump stays the same, no loss of pressure, dont see where water could be comming from, had to open the underside to replace a slide moter,no moisture there. So being 2 yrs old Im out of luck,going to be an extensive repair if it gets worse. Just checking to see if anybody else is having problems with FR products,thought I remembered a post on here stating they had the same problem...
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Old 11-12-2019, 08:09 AM   #4
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Yeah...I've seen the post about others with similar issues. Do you drive in the rain at all ? or does it sit covered all the time ? Possible it's just bad material they used ? Just kinda tossing things out here.
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Old 11-12-2019, 09:49 AM   #5
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Have maybe once,stays under a car port,shed most of the time,soft spots are in the middle of the 5er, mite be a small leak in the pipeing,but mostley away from island between floor supports if it has been leaking I cant find any moisture up under or around the edges of covered under belly.
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Old 11-12-2019, 09:51 AM   #6
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Have maybe once,stays under a car port,shed most of the time,soft spots are in the middle of the 5er, mite be a small leak in the pipeing,but mostley away from island between floor supports if it has been leaking I cant find any moisture up under or around the edges of covered under belly.
Cut a small access port door in the underbelly. Don't cut one side of a square opening and make it so that it hinges toward the front.

Take a look in there. I'm going to bet that if it is leaking you'll see something to indicate that.

Tape it back up with some Gorilla Tape. Good as new.
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Old 11-12-2019, 10:54 AM   #7
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Any members having a problem with floors going soft after warrenty is out?
Yes. There have been more than a few posts about this. Searching should find them.

My Mini Lite developed several such severe soft spots so bad we were afraid to step on them. We first noticed them 3-4 years after purchase and they got progressively worse until they became so bad something had to be done. I finished this project early this summer. We never had a water leak, either, and had driven in the rain perhaps 2-3 times in 6 years.

Our TT also has the sandwiched, cheap luan plywood/styrofoam floor. I firmly believe that that cra**y build method is the reason (along with inadequate flooring joists - more about that later) for the floor going bad, at least in our situation. I ended up gutting almost the entire interior of the trailer (pulled everything except the refrig, bed pedestal base, and bathtub) and overlaid the entire floor with 1/2" 7-ply baltic birch plywood, glued and screwed down, then installed SPC laminate flooring over that (also glued down). Floor is now solid as a rock.

I saw NO indication of water intrusion or damage after I gutted the interior and pulled the vinyl. What I did find is that there is no rhyme or reason for floor joist layout. In the worst soft spot ( in front of the sink ) I could find NO joists anywhere in a 3' diameter. I am a retired carpenter - believe me, I know how to locate studs and joists. Take a 3' square piece of 1-1/2" styrofoam, support it just on the outer inch of each side and then step in the middle and see what happens. The cheap 1/4" luan (actually closer to 3/16") bonded to each side of the foam gives it rigidity for a while but cannot help but degrade over time and repeated compressions.

We are in the process of researching a new trailer for when my wife retires in a few years and we can spend more time on the road. Just about the first question I ask is "how is the floor constructed?" and if I don't like the answer I don't bother with any more questions - I just turn around and leave.
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Old 11-12-2019, 10:59 AM   #8
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Soft spots are in the middle of the camper, been under a carport most of the time, on a well and pressure on pump stays the same, no loss of pressure, dont see where water could be comming from, had to open the underside to replace a slide moter,no moisture there. So being 2 yrs old Im out of luck,going to be an extensive repair if it gets worse. Just checking to see if anybody else is having problems with FR products,thought I remembered a post on here stating they had the same problem...
Also have to say the this is home for us full time,sold and got rid of 40 yrs worth of crap! Dont miss it all! Sitting on 25 acres, got well and septic and AC, so all is good! AND we are retired!
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Old 11-12-2019, 11:05 AM   #9
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Well had to replace a slide moter,opened from one side to the other, no moisture anywhere. Piss poor design I would guess,also FR said not designed for full time. We will carry on and do what we have to do...Thanks to all for the replys!
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Old 11-12-2019, 11:09 AM   #10
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Well my Crusader is only 2 yrs old with maybe 5000 miles of hauling on it,FR says 5er not ment for full time, so I think we are up a creek without a paddle! Thanks for the reply, if it gets to bad I will have to fix in some fashion!
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Old 11-12-2019, 09:20 PM   #11
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My trailer had to go back to the factory while under warranty. Yep, two thin pieces of plywood and cheap styrofoam sandwich and floor joists way too far apart in my opinion...... I also got a new roof put on too.
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Old 11-12-2019, 09:36 PM   #12
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Yep im 2 years in, past warrenty,will see what happens if it gets worse will have to come up with a plan,dont see me tearing out the floor in a 5er, will come up with a solution!
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Old 11-13-2019, 08:19 PM   #13
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I don't know how well this would work, but is there any way to peel the vinyl up where the soft spot is then drill some small holes and force some sort of epoxy in?
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Old 11-14-2019, 06:39 AM   #14
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Well have been under the camper,looks to be no support where the spot is. So dont know if that would help,I am leaning with some kinda wood overlay with carpet squares for the short term, just me and the misses. Will work and not to worried about the looks,atleast that will spread out the force of walking on it.
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Old 11-14-2019, 08:12 AM   #15
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Those laminated floors can go bad without water intrusion for a lot of reasons. A bad lamination job, bad or not enough adhesive, etc. They tend to go bad in high traffic areas such as in front of the entry door, sink, bathroom. Rockwood attempted to solve issues @ 2015 by using more aluminum tube in the floor on closer centers. Eventually @ late 2017 they went to plywood floors. I had a Keystone unit that I dumped because the laminated floor was letting loose everywhere, our current Rockwood, which was made right before they switched to plywood, seems to be fine after 4 seasons of heavy use.


The only way to repair is cut into it and cobble together some method of support by removing/replacing the foam or replacing the floor which is essentially rebuilding the entire trailer. The floor is installed before everything above it.
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Old 11-14-2019, 08:39 AM   #16
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Originally Posted by bery53 View Post
Yep im 2 years in, past warrenty,will see what happens if it gets worse will have to come up with a plan,dont see me tearing out the floor in a 5er, will come up with a solution!
Contact Shawn Severe at Severe Custom RV Restoration. Shawn used to work for a number of manufacturers, most recently for Columbus, another Palomino division. He left there and opened his own shop in Shipshewana. He has repaired a number of soft floors in older Columbus units, built before Columbus switched to tongue-and-groove plywood floors in late 2016.

Since you are full-time, you may have to spend a couple of nights in a hotel, but Shawn and his crew can get your trailer in and out pretty quickly.

https://severe-custom-rv-restoration...business.site/
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Old 11-14-2019, 09:42 AM   #17
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Originally Posted by Capt. Mike View Post
Contact Shawn Severe at Severe Custom RV Restoration. Shawn used to work for a number of manufacturers, most recently for Columbus, another Palomino division. He left there and opened his own shop in Shipshewana. He has repaired a number of soft floors in older Columbus units, built before Columbus switched to tongue-and-groove plywood floors in late 2016.

Since you are full-time, you may have to spend a couple of nights in a hotel, but Shawn and his crew can get your trailer in and out pretty quickly.

https://severe-custom-rv-restoration...business.site/

Any idea what procedures they're using for repairs? Just curious. Epoxy injection maybe? Whatever they or anyone else does would only be repairing the area that failed with the possibility of failures in other areas.



I know one thing, well two things. I'll never buy another with a laminated floor and if the current 17 Rockwood floor starts going I will dump it in a NY minute before I'm repairing it.
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Old 05-20-2020, 01:48 PM   #18
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soft floors

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Originally Posted by gastan View Post
Yes. There have been more than a few posts about this. Searching should find them.

My Mini Lite developed several such severe soft spots so bad we were afraid to step on them. We first noticed them 3-4 years after purchase and they got progressively worse until they became so bad something had to be done. I finished this project early this summer. We never had a water leak, either, and had driven in the rain perhaps 2-3 times in 6 years.

Our TT also has the sandwiched, cheap luan plywood/styrofoam floor. I firmly believe that that cra**y build method is the reason (along with inadequate flooring joists - more about that later) for the floor going bad, at least in our situation. I ended up gutting almost the entire interior of the trailer (pulled everything except the refrig, bed pedestal base, and bathtub) and overlaid the entire floor with 1/2" 7-ply baltic birch plywood, glued and screwed down, then installed SPC laminate flooring over that (also glued down). Floor is now solid as a rock.

I saw NO indication of water intrusion or damage after I gutted the interior and pulled the vinyl. What I did find is that there is no rhyme or reason for floor joist layout. In the worst soft spot ( in front of the sink ) I could find NO joists anywhere in a 3' diameter. I am a retired carpenter - believe me, I know how to locate studs and joists. Take a 3' square piece of 1-1/2" styrofoam, support it just on the outer inch of each side and then step in the middle and see what happens. The cheap 1/4" luan (actually closer to 3/16") bonded to each side of the foam gives it rigidity for a while but cannot help but degrade over time and repeated compressions.

We are in the process of researching a new trailer for when my wife retires in a few years and we can spend more time on the road. Just about the first question I ask is "how is the floor constructed?" and if I don't like the answer I don't bother with any more questions - I just turn around and leave.

Just joined the forum today 5/20/2020. i have soft floors in Rockwood luan/styrofoam floors. is there a repair? i cannot find support joists in floor?
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Old 05-22-2020, 06:25 PM   #19
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2017 310bh Forrest rivers. Did not notice the small slide out floor went bad. Dealerships a joke in bossier City,la. All I got out of them is IAM not giving you a free floor and price change ever time your talk to them. Evidently their time is precious. It went from 1000 to 1800 and then 2100. And then found out they was looking at the wrong slide out. Then say the small would be 1600. But look through it's the page it not just my unit. Shame this will be my last one from them and I will make sure others know not to buy one
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Old 05-23-2020, 06:27 PM   #20
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Originally Posted by Capt. Mike View Post
Contact Shawn Severe at Severe Custom RV Restoration. Shawn and his crew can get your trailer in and out pretty quickly.

https://severe-custom-rv-restoration...business.site/
X2. Shawn’s team was recommended by the Coachmen team last fall when I needed my large slide floor replaced.

He worked with coachmen to get exact materials that matched my unit and had my new floor installed in 2 days. (1 night in a hotel).

Techs Vernon and Sean are very capable. I would trust them completely with my rig.
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