John Palmer
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Hi, From a vintage trailer guy located in Santa Ana, CA. It's good to see lots of activity here.
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Post by John Palmer on Apr 30, 2015 21:38:41 GMT -8
It seems to me that I'm seeing more cases of Termite damage in the trailer's that I work on. These trailers have spent the majority of their life in the warm and dry desert areas of California and Arizona where flying termites are a common everyday issue. They eat fences, dead tree branches, houses, and yes, little vintage trailers. Maybe in the colder climates it might not exist?
I think we commonly speak about wood rot, as a general subject, but are we lumping together all kinds of framing wood damage, including Termites, roof/window/vent water leaks, road water spray, etc.
Has anyone had a trailer "tented" by an exterminator, "after they rebuilt the wood framing damage"? |
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Post by vikx on Apr 30, 2015 22:11:41 GMT -8
I've found wood damage from bugs, but haven't tented yet. I think it may be a good idea.
The worst trailer was full of ants; had to chase them down with spray when they headed across the cement...
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SusieQ
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'62 Shasta Compact
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Post by SusieQ on May 1, 2015 3:00:38 GMT -8
My '62 had major termite damage on the back lower framing and skirt boards. They were dust. But this was also where the water was running to from the leaks. Termites are a major problem in the south where the climates are wet and warm. Instead of dead dry wood, they attack wet and rotten wood. As long as you have no leaks and and the wood is dry, termites should not pose a problem in our area. They come up out of the ground (which is why damp crawl spaces under houses are treated,) but you see them swarm during certain times. There are also flying ants which look similar to termites but they do not cause the same damage. If the body is jointed like an ant but has wings, it's an ant, otherwise, it's a termite.
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Post by bigbill on May 1, 2015 5:14:27 GMT -8
If it looks like an ant or a termite I have only one solution and that is get rid of it. My current trailer had a sever case of carpenter ants when I purchased it but Mr. Raid cured that problem very quickly.
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Post by rogerthedodger on May 1, 2015 9:31:33 GMT -8
My friend was restoring a model T, had termites in the wooden body frame, had to have it tented. They like wood, any kind and any place, especially in Californias climate.
Roger
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edog1973
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1961 Traveleze
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Post by edog1973 on May 1, 2015 10:29:42 GMT -8
Slightly off topic, but ..... Several years ago I was pulling up some old rotten boards in the garden. They were infested with ants, but I just threw them in the back of my truck to take to the dump. Unfortunately, something came up and I had to put off the dump run for a week. When I got into the truck I noticed a couple ants inside. I quickly realized they had set up shop under the carpet on the floor. They had even transported their larvae inside!
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mobiltec
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I make mistakes so you don't have to...
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1954 Jewel In Progress...
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Post by mobiltec on May 1, 2015 19:52:34 GMT -8
Termites and carpenter ants are death on a trailer. If you find termites anywhere in the trailer at all you had better take off ALL the skins and check every piece of wood. I've seen three hump seam trim that was hollow. Looked just fine but if you squeezed it the stuff just disintegrated between your fingers.
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longroads
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TERMITE'S
Jun 7, 2015 18:39:47 GMT -8
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Post by longroads on Jun 7, 2015 18:39:47 GMT -8
My '62 had major termite damage on the back lower framing and skirt boards. They were dust. But this was also where the water was running to from the leaks. Termites are a major problem in the south where the climates are wet and warm. Instead of dead dry wood, they attack wet and rotten wood. As long as you have no leaks and and the wood is dry, termites should not pose a problem in our area. They come up out of the ground (which is why damp crawl spaces under houses are treated,) but you see them swarm during certain times. There are also flying ants which look similar to termites but they do not cause the same damage. If the body is jointed like an ant but has wings, it's an ant, otherwise, it's a termite. How long has there been no return after removing the termite wood? Swarm seasons here and now I'm noticing them with the skins off. I seem to be digging deeper every day. |
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longroads
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TERMITE'S
Jun 7, 2015 18:44:28 GMT -8
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Post by longroads on Jun 7, 2015 18:44:28 GMT -8
Termites and carpenter ants are death on a trailer. If you find termites anywhere in the trailer at all you had better take off ALL the skins and check every piece of wood... Would you remove the floor and search for wood to replace there? I have plenty of time to fix everything, its just that the time only shows up every so often.In my case would you try to remove all damaged wood at once, or could it be safe to do a little at a time? |
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Post by vikx on Jun 7, 2015 22:12:25 GMT -8
If bugs are present, I'd take it down until you find clean, non nibbled wood. Just a few can keep chawing away until the trailer is sawdust. I'd use bug spray as well. Something poisonous comes to mind...
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SusieQ
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Post by SusieQ on Jun 7, 2015 22:22:29 GMT -8
My '62 had major termite damage on the back lower framing and skirt boards. They were dust. But this was also where the water was running to from the leaks. Termites are a major problem in the south where the climates are wet and warm. Instead of dead dry wood, they attack wet and rotten wood. As long as you have no leaks and and the wood is dry, termites should not pose a problem in our area. They come up out of the ground (which is why damp crawl spaces under houses are treated,) but you see them swarm during certain times. There are also flying ants which look similar to termites but they do not cause the same damage. If the body is jointed like an ant but has wings, it's an ant, otherwise, it's a termite. How long has there been no return after removing the termite wood? Swarm seasons here and now I'm noticing them with the skins off. I seem to be digging deeper every day. Longroads, I only had obvious damage on the board across the back at the bottom and maybe my corners in the back. That is where all the water was running from the leaky window. Our termites like rotting wood. I never saw any live termites. I removed what was left of the rotten wood and the termite wood, but really a lot of it had turned to powder. I did remove all of the skins and inspect all of the wood. One summer when I was traveling in my teardrop out West, I ran into what I thought was termites. They were coming inside my camper and really had me worried. Turned out they were flying ants. Not saying you don't have termites swarming but now when I see them, I take a really close look!  |
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longroads
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TERMITE'S
Jun 8, 2015 3:13:02 GMT -8
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Post by longroads on Jun 8, 2015 3:13:02 GMT -8
I grew up with flying ants in MA. These little fellow look different. I've been seeing some of the swarmees and thinking how they seemed quite "cute" as they crawled on me. Then, I smooshed a board that was all rotted but looked fine and saw those little brown, straight body, winged fellows running out.
Let the good times roll!
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SusieQ
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Post by SusieQ on Jun 8, 2015 6:59:54 GMT -8
The good news is the ones that are swarming won't hurt you or your trailer while they are swarming. The bad news is they are there near you and they come up out of the ground. Like Vikx said, try some bug spray to keep them away. Since they come up from the ground, treat around your wheels where they can crawl up. Are they actually coming out of the wood on your trailer to swarm, or are they just swarming from somewhere near you? Here's some good info about swarming termites. www.asktheexterminator.com/termites/Termite_Swarms.shtml |
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joek
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Post by joek on Nov 9, 2015 22:01:51 GMT -8
I was just getting ready to winterize the trailer, when I saw some bubbling to the finish in the back wall. touched it and my finger went right through. And out fell those termite eggs. I opened it up more and found plenty of damage, but no live termites. Doesn't mean they aren't in there, I only opened up about 7 square inches. Area was plenty wet too.
Now I figure I'll have to remove the rear skin and replace at least the interior birch from the shelf down. Hoping to find the source of the leak as well. But also wondering about tenting and fumigating the trailer. I'd want to do it with something natural, since we do sleep in the thing often enough. In my area, we have a number of citrus termite companies, I'll probably give them a call.
Yippee, just in time for El Nino. Wish I had the luxury of an indoor space to work on her, but alas it'll have to be under a tarp in the driveway. This is all to my '61 Shasta Airflyte that I completed the restoration of over 5 years and about 60 camping trips ago.
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