globestar
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Post by globestar on Feb 16, 2014 13:32:48 GMT -8
I knew when I first purchased our '67 Globestar that it had some rot on the back corner, but after spending hours watching videos at repairs and the extent to which more damage is found once you start really looking, I couldn't sleep last night! So, today I went down and removed the carpet to see exactly what we were dealing with. I'd love to hear your impressions of what I found. First - this is the part that I knew about just from feeling the rotten wood from the outside where it was exposed. I still have to remove the linoleum or whatever that is.  And next is the one that was a total surprise....under the dinette was a one foot square of plywood where it looks like someone nearly stepped right through - and a hole nearby where a giant rodent must have gotten hungry along with some rat poison. I'd love to hear any theories on what's going on here as I haven't had time to really dig in yet. I'm going to try to get over to the storage facility tomorrow to investigate further.  |
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pirateslife
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Post by pirateslife on Feb 16, 2014 15:28:29 GMT -8
After doing mine, i realized, rot is not a surprise. Are you going to remove everything inside? If so, and since the linoleum is going to come up. I would remove every thing off the floor, go underneath and remove all nuts holding the floor to the frame, then cut the plywood out in sections, linoleum and all. This will make it a lot easier and leave you with a new solid floor. Wish i had realized it would have been that easy before I took a wire brush on a grinder to my floor for several days.
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globestar
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Post by globestar on Feb 16, 2014 15:39:43 GMT -8
Well, my plan was to fix one little 2x2 area of floor and go on to cosmetics, but it's turning out to be a bit more. Ugh. I dug in a bit more and hit solid flooring on the top bottom and right side of the pic, and the floor braces appear to be solid - but it looks like I'll be removing the seat because I'm certain it's ugly under there too.  Speaking of under the seat...what am I looking at in this picture? Water tank? Black water tank? Pardon my ignorance, I really have no clue what I'm getting into here!  Also - there was a bunch of steel wool around and jammed around the pipe going through the wall, I'm guessing that was to keep vermin out?  |
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yas
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Post by yas on Feb 16, 2014 16:07:43 GMT -8
I don't know about the tank, but you're correct about the steel wool - it's to keep mice and other rodents out.
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pirateslife
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Post by pirateslife on Feb 16, 2014 16:11:40 GMT -8
Does it lead to an outlet outside to fill and have a pipe going to the sink faucet? or at least that direction? looks like a fresh water tank, albeit a small one. As far as the flooring, i would def rip that stuff out, it hates water in any amount. One good soaking and it sinks in between joists. Plus its easy removed just by setting a circular saw to the depth it is and sawing between supports, then use channel locks to pull the remaining sawdust and staples. it your luck it may have some nails in it
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Post by vikx on Feb 16, 2014 21:03:10 GMT -8
The tank looks to be a compression style fresh water tank.
Looking at your floor, it almost looks as if it's the old Celotex type belly material?? Or could it be MDF? Being a 67, it shouldn't be MDF. I'm a little worried that this a PO fix that may not be correct. Do a little more looking and get back to us.
The flooring that you "walk" on should be firm like plywood with solid joists and metal frame underneath. Globestar may have thought MDF was more high end in the day...
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globestar
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Post by globestar on Feb 17, 2014 5:40:30 GMT -8
The tank looks to be a compression style fresh water tank. Looking at your floor, it almost looks as if it's the old Celotex type belly material?? Or could it be MDF? Being a 67, it shouldn't be MDF. I'm a little worried that this a PO fix that may not be correct. Do a little more looking and get back to us. The flooring that you "walk" on should be firm like plywood with sold joists and metal frame underneath. Globestar may have thought MDF was more high end in the day... It's not mdf - my understanding is that mdf is the very fine sawdust material often used for interior trim in new construction today. This is a much courser material and to me it looks original. I haven't seen it in 20 years, but it looks like what my father used to call "particle board".....the stuff that gets wet and swells up. It's what the linoleum was laid on top of, and then the PO covered that up with carpet. Most of the floor feels solid - it's definitely not plywood though - I'm wondering now if I should consider replacing all of the floor if it is likely to hold moisture? Is that possible from the inside? Are they typically built like normal construction with the bottom sill on top of the subfloor? Now I see what you were talking about Pirateslife - that may end up being the better way to go. |
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Post by vikx on Feb 17, 2014 22:01:40 GMT -8
MDF has different densities; it could be particle board. That's what I called MDF back in the day.
I would replace what you can of it. It has completely disintegrated under the dinettes.It is also very heavy when wet.
If you plan ahead, it shouldn't be too bad. I would lift the skins and repair the skirt boards and wheel well areas first; that will give you a good look at the floor edges. If they are in bad condition, then you have to figure out how to get the largest ply sheets in place without ruining what's in good shape.
Let us know how it goes.
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slider
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Post by slider on Feb 23, 2014 18:20:45 GMT -8
Pretty sure as already mentioned that's a pressure tank for fresh water, if you look where that pipe goes to the outside and in the end of the cap you will probably see what looks like a valve stem to add air for the pressure.
Sorry, can't help in regards to the floor questions, but I don't think the bottom sill sits on the subfloor, most likely your walls go slightly below floor level and attach to the floors from the side (instead of sitting on the floor). Mobiltec has some good videos on his site showing some floor replacement. There are also lots of good posts/people on this forum to help ID and find water damage.
The rest of the interior of your camper looks really nice so decisions as far as stripping it all out, etc would be tougher to call (unless you know you have more rot to deal with). I am pretty sure in my case at least half of my wood is compromised, but I bought one cheap that was very rough on the inside and already planned to rip everything out.
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Hellonwheels
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Post by Hellonwheels on Mar 10, 2014 13:15:37 GMT -8
Globestar; where did you find the videos on replacing the floor? Did you have to go back to VSTF? We (husband) is going to remove old (5-6 yrs only)vinyl and replace. My concern is if he discovers rot or needs to replace we have no idea where to begin; leaving cabinets etc. in-tact.
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cowcharge
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Post by cowcharge on Mar 21, 2014 10:52:06 GMT -8
Well, mine had a "soft spot" in the hallway back into the bedroom, and when I started digging into it I found that the entire rear 2/3 of the floor was rotten. In mine, a missing cap on a stink vent up front let water run down the pipe into the floor, where it flowed downhill into the back of the trailer and rotted out everything. Not to worry you too much...
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globestar
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Post by globestar on May 3, 2014 11:55:22 GMT -8
Well, it's been three months and I've made very little progress. Turns out that I'm too busy to get it camping-worthy any time soon. I found someone on CL that works as an autobody tech full time and fixes RV's as a hobby. He stopped by and checked it out and gave me a pretty reasonable estimate to fix the floors and anything else that turns out damaged, scrape off the old roof and put a new one on, and repaint for 2k. So, my 3k camper is now 5k - but I'm hopeful that it will look sharp and be water tight so that the rest is in my scope of time and ability.
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Post by bigbill on May 3, 2014 13:05:20 GMT -8
Well, it's been three months and I've made very little progress. Turns out that I'm too busy to get it camping-worthy any time soon. I found someone on CL that works as an autobody tech full time and fixes RV's as a hobby. He stopped by and checked it out and gave me a pretty reasonable estimate to fix the floors and anything else that turns out damaged, scrape off the old roof and put a new one on, and repaint for 2k. So, my 3k camper is now 5k - but I'm hopeful that it will look sharp and be water tight so that the rest is in my scope of time and ability. Quite often it is better to pay someone to do part of it rather than becoming discouraged and junking the trailer which happens more often than we want to believe. |
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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 May 3, 2014 20:03:45 GMT -8
Fix the floors Anything else that's damaged Scrape off the old roof Install a new roof Repaint the trailer
All for $2K?
The needed "materials alone" to do the above repairs will cost more than $2K.
Did you get references, and talk to owners of previous repaired trailers?
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globestar
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Post by globestar on May 4, 2014 7:30:25 GMT -8
Fix the floors Anything else that's damaged Scrape off the old roof Install a new roof Repaint the trailer
All for $2K?
The needed "materials alone" to do the above repairs will cost more than $2K.
Did you get references, and talk to owners of previous repaired trailers?
I vetted him well enough for my tastes...met with him and his wife and kids, delivered the trailer to his home. Floors are $50 in lumber, new coating for the roof is $200, and I don't really know about the paint, but maybe $500? It's mostly labor that I'm paying for, and while if he can do it well for under $2k I'll agree it's a bargain - it's not so far off from other estimates that I've gotten at $35 to $75/hour. I gave him a $800 deposit and some trust. We'll see if my intuition is correct or if I get screwed again and get another life lesson.  |
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Also - there was a bunch of steel wool around and jammed around the pipe going through the wall, I'm guessing that was to keep vermin out?
