Floor Rot

As we tore out pieces of the interior, we uncovered and began to get a little more of an idea of what was ahead... Or so we thought. 

The above photo is of the corner where the water heater sat, which is notorious for floor rot in campers. The whole corner of the floor, floor joists, and even the corner wall supports are gone... literally! In this photo, the silver and pink area of the floor is the aluminum skin that rests on the metal trailer frame. That's the only thing separating the inside from outside.

Here is a photo of the front left corner of the camper. This was under one of the bench seats and the storage area for the fresh water tank. There is supposed to be a layer of plywood and another board UNDER the visible boards that form the corner. 

Here is the front right corner of the camper. More of the same here... rot, rot, rot! It's a miracle we even got this thing home in one piece! Here you can also see that we removed part of the siding to gain access to the floor and begin repairs. You can also begin to appreciate and agree that the only thing holding this camper up is the bathroom and closet!

As you've seen above, three of the four corners of this camper are completely rotten away. The fourth corner didn't come out unscathed, but the extent of rot was nothing in comparison. Being that the corners, the main supporting structures of the camper, we're no longer capable of bearing weight, I had to come up with a way of supporting the roof while we replaced the corners and flooring.

Here is what I came up with. A mobile roof jack made of scrap lumber and an old scissor jack from a car. It enabled me to move it as needed while replacing parts of the floor below it.

Stay tuned for the repair of the floor! :-)

-Sam