Soft or Spongey floors

[cardwellmarty]

I have Composite floors ( sandwich floors, luan, Styrofoam) my floors gave several locations that are soft, especially around the floor vents, no water intrusion. My floors move at the most 1/2 inch, the most we weigh is 165 pounds, if any of you have this problem how much movement do you have and have your floors got to a certain point and have not gotten any worse? I have researched methods of repair, but if they stabilize at a certain point may be no need of repair. Laminate flooring was an option but after speaking to a flooring company they suggested this would probably not help it.

[SeaDog]

1/2 inch of movement is allot of movement. You may want to lay a straight edge across the area while standing on it and actually measure the movement. If it is 1/2 get it fixed.

[cardwellmarty]

Originally Posted by SeaDog

1/2 inch of movement is allot of movement. You may want to lay a straight edge across the area while standing on it and actually measure the movement. If it is 1/2 get it fixed.

It's 3/8 , but only at the floor vent, all the other places you feel under your feet, not a lot of motion.

[Witch Doctor]

Originally Posted by cardwellmarty

It's 3/8 , but only at the floor vent, all the other places you feel under your feet, not a lot of motion.

Can you drop the belly and add a support? The problem is they don't box the vents in.

[dahagen]

I had sagging floors in my class C that got worse a few years after the warranty expired. No water problems. Found out the composite flooring was installed upside down. There was no fix for that.

[Cold Lake Kid]

Any way you can check to see if the area that is dropping 3/8" is actually supported underneath?
I would be suspicious that since it occurs around the floor vents, perhaps the installers didn't fit the sub-flooring tight to the vent assembly??
Other than that I would be worrying about moisture causing decay of the sub-floor.
(I had that issue with my old towed)

[Cathcartww]

I have a Keystone Outback - not a Forest River - but have the same problem with a similar composite floor. I hate to drop the belly cover, because I know there are lots of unsecured ducts and wires that will need to be secured as well as the floors. I haven't pulled out the heat vents yet, but I may try to mount a support near the vent by reaching down through the vent opening ......

[39chevyinar]

I had a 2010 flagstaff classic super lite. It had soft floors and a squeak around one of the vents that drove us crazy. After one summer of camping I removed the steps, and dropped the under pinning to see what was going on. The squeak was just a piece of the vent rubbing the framework when the floor would sink under someone’s weight. The main problem was the frame Manufactor. The cross pieces that support the floor was welded in place UNDER the lip of the I beam used as the main frame. This left all the cross support pieces about 3/16 of a inch from touching or holding up the floor. Every step the floor would settle between 3/16 and 1/4 inch. I shimmed between the floor and the frame cross supports. This made a HUGE difference in this camper. It took out most all the shake that was going on. We were much happier and only took a afternoon to do.

[Airborne]

I too had soft spots in my front bedroom. I was fortunate to find this out before my second-year warranty which I don't think they offer anymore. Took the unit to the dealer, they pulled the linoleum and said that floor was damaged due to improper installation and they could not do the repair there. Since it was still under warranty FR has taken it back to the factory. It is due to be shipped back to me this coming week. I could not be happier with the warranty work that comes from my local Lazy Day's dealer in Aurora CO and what FR is doing for me. I don't even want to know what it would have cost to fix the floor at my cost. I hope you are still under warranty.

[cardwellmarty]

Originally Posted by Airborne

I too had soft spots in my front bedroom. I was fortunate to find this out before my second-year warranty which I don't think they offer anymore. Took the unit to the dealer, they pulled the linoleum and said that floor was damaged due to improper installation and they could not do the repair there. Since it was still under warranty FR has taken it back to the factory. It is due to be shipped back to me this coming week. I could not be happier with the warranty work that comes from my local Lazy Day's dealer in Aurora CO and what FR is doing for me. I don't even want to know what it would have cost to fix the floor at my cost. I hope you are still under warranty.

Happy that your warranty is taking care of it, mine is a 2007

[cardwellmarty]

Originally Posted by Witch Doctor

Can you drop the belly and add a support? The problem is they don't box the vents in.

Yes it can be done but it's not as easy as l would hope, it doesn't come apart as easy as one would think, l was doing some work under neath and and l tried to reverse the way it was put together and the belly doesn't come apart that easily.

[cardwellmarty]

Originally Posted by dahagen

I had sagging floors in my class C that got worse a few years after the warranty expired. No water problems. Found out the composite flooring was installed upside down. There was no fix for that.

I do not have a water problem either, but l did take a look through the floor vents, the composite flooring is not upside down on mine, 1/4 inch luan on top, Styrofoam and 1/8 inch luan on bottom. It seems since your flooring was put together upside down that it was assembled improper at the factory and no matter the age or first or second owner would make a difference, it should be repaired by the factory, wrong is wrong, and there is no negligence on your end.

[jimbet]

Have a very similar problem in my 2016 Crusader; took it to a reputable local repair shop after getting the high dollar run around from CW; repairs complicated by position of galley tank so opted to save dollars after owner of shop (about 6'4" and 350# or so) said with confidence that he and I (about 260#) could jump up and down on the separation and not hurt it as there is no structural damage (he pulled belly cover and inspected). So I have to be content with linoleum that feels somewhat like carpet.

[cardwellmarty]

Originally Posted by Cold Lake Kid

Any way you can check to see if the area that is dropping 3/8" is actually supported underneath?
I would be suspicious that since it occurs around the floor vents, perhaps the installers didn't fit the sub-flooring tight to the vent assembly??
Other than that I would be worrying about moisture causing decay of the sub-floor.
(I had that issue with my old towed)

There is no vent assembly per say, only a sheet metal box, possibly could be a joint in the luan flooring and foam in the location of the vent, and cutting a hole further weakened it, l have looked through the vent. There is no water intrusion for that to be a problem.

[cardwellmarty]

Originally Posted by Cathcartww

I have a Keystone Outback - not a Forest River - but have the same problem with a similar composite floor. I hate to drop the belly cover, because I know there are lots of unsecured ducts and wires that will need to be secured as well as the floors. I haven't pulled out the heat vents yet, but I may try to mount a support near the vent by reaching down through the vent opening ......

I also thought of the same thing, hoping to be able to do a support through the vent but there is not enough room, may have to cut a hole through the belly just big enough to do a repair and fix the belly panel in just a small place.

[cardwellmarty]

Originally Posted by 39chevyinar

I had a 2010 flagstaff classic super lite. It had soft floors and a squeak around one of the vents that drove us crazy. After one summer of camping I removed the steps, and dropped the under pinning to see what was going on. The squeak was just a piece of the vent rubbing the framework when the floor would sink under someone’s weight. The main problem was the frame Manufactor. The cross pieces that support the floor was welded in place UNDER the lip of the I beam used as the main frame. This left all the cross support pieces about 3/16 of a inch from touching or holding up the floor. Every step the floor would settle between 3/16 and 1/4 inch. I shimmed between the floor and the frame cross supports. This made a HUGE difference in this camper. It took out most all the shake that was going on. We were much happier and only took a afternoon to do.

I am going to check and see if some of my problem might be the problem you had with the floor and frame not tightly fitted, good info.

[cardwellmarty]

Originally Posted by jimbet

Have a very similar problem in my 2016 Crusader; took it to a reputable local repair shop after getting the high dollar run around from CW; repairs complicated by position of galley tank so opted to save dollars after owner of shop (about 6'4" and 350# or so) said with confidence that he and I (about 260#) could jump up and down on the separation and not hurt it as there is no structural damage (he pulled belly cover and inspected). So I have to be content with linoleum that feels somewhat like carpet.

This is my question, is it only going to get to a certain point and not get any worse, that's why l asked if anyone else had a problem with their floors and how bad had it gotten or had it stopped at a point? My floors look good structurally, just give in spots when you walk over it. If it doesn't get any worse than it is now l will leave it a alone, just looking ahead to help make that decision. I imagine each RV/TT are different, but hearing other people's experiences and advice helps to figure out what if any repair needs to be made. I did talk with Forest River on advice for a repair, the best they could tell me is $5000 repair for a new floor at the factory, l was asking about laminate flooring or plywood overlay but he ( Forest River Rep.) said that wasn't a good fix because of composite flooring.