Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Might be a stupid question, But why not cover your plywood floor underneath (bottom) with PMF ?

There are no stupid questions.

So assuming the plywood floor is covered with PMF, and you drill some holes in it to attach the floor to the chassis, how do you keep it from rotting from those holes, outward?

Mike...

mikeschn wrote:There are no stupid questions.

So assuming the plywood floor is covered with PMF, and you drill some holes in it to attach the floor to the chassis, how do you keep it from rotting from those holes, outward?

I can tell you one way the boat-builders handle this, especially for below-the-waterline holes on wood/epoxy/glass boats that live in the water. If, for example, you want to run a 1/4 inch bolt through your hull, you start by drilling an oversized hole, from 3/8-1/2" depending on who you ask, and then fill that hole with thickened epoxy. After it cures and you sand it flush on both sides, drill your 1/4" hole right in the middle. If your bolt head or nut would sit right against the epoxy, use a washer for support. I've known guys that used this for the mounting bolts for big outboards, and no one has ever reported a failure. For the relatively light forces we are taking about on the floor of a tear, this should work fine. It's kind of a lot of work, and for places that won't be submerged, I would be tempted to bed the bolt in something like 3M 4200 caulk and call it a day.

What I've heard from people who have had trailer floors rot is that the water came from above, and pooled above the floor, not under it. I wouldn't worry too much about splashing from below. (The Airstreamers talk about this all the time. Apparently, Airstreams all eventually leak, and their floors rot.) YMMV, no warranty expressed or implied.

mikeschn wrote:There are no stupid questions.

So assuming the plywood floor is covered with PMF, and you drill some holes in it to attach the floor to the chassis, how do you keep it from rotting from those holes, outward?

Mike...

RTV silicone maybe ? Put the RTV onto the bolt shank and threads . And it will fill the hole with silicone as it goes in.

Just got finished whatching an episode of This Old House where the resident carpenter Tom Silva was espousing the ROT PROOF virtues of PVC planking and moulding ( made from the planking )... From watching them shaping and working it , it looks like it might make a good long term floor , IF ( the qualifier) , there are enough cross braces on the trailer to best support it ... It was said to nail, screw , and hold paint “ beautifully “ , so it might be a good substitute for door and window frames too ... But the phrase “Never Rots” came up more than a few times ... For the little bit of wood we’d use on a trailer , I’m sure it wouldn’t cost but a little more to make it with something more permanent ... or as he said "150 years" ...

It may be worth welding or bolting on a couple extra trailer cross braces just to accommodate the slightly more flexible PVC floor ... but flexibility might be an advantage , as we know the trailer flexes quite a bit on the road ...

I’m still obsessed with the idea that plywood is NOT what we want to use on the floor .... Sure , its waaaay better than the POS "Oatmeal board" the RV people use ... but still not something that would express the care free nature of the ideal Foamie trailer ... Wood works great in a home , just not on a camper , and after seeing Kenneth W’s No wood Foamie , that had already travelled so far, I was really impressed ... Ken proving it could be done and Quite successfully too ...

JMHO ... FWIW

do you have a link to Kenneth W's,.. "no wood foamie" ??? would like to see that.

try this ... viewtopic.php?f=55&t=62070