I finished removing the floor this evening, I removed the floor from the door back to the rear end on the curb side. I was looking for a way to install the floor without having to piece it back in, I finally decided to remove the curbside tire, first I jacked up the axle then removed the tire, then using another jack and a 2x4 I jacked up the back end of the fiberglass shell, then I lowered the jack under the axle this opened up a gap between the fiberglass shell and the lower fiberglass sheet, I then reached in around the wheel well and pulled the lower fiberglass down being careful not to break it once free of the lip it hangs down, I cut my new 1/2" plywood and will now be able to insert it from the outside in one piece.

Once this is in I will replace the fiberglass top sheet I removed and fiberglass the seams then I plan to put another 3/8" or 1/2" plywood layer over that and skim coat with fiberglass and then paint, throw paint flakes and urethane the floor.

Scott...Good job!

I can relate to your project. Fell through the rotted floor of my Burro first time I got it home. Wish now I had did it your way, but back then it seemed to me less daunting to piece in the new flooring. Laid in finished oak I got free on top of sub-floor, but just recently ripped that beautiful stuff out and replaced with more sensible, user-friendly vinyl tile. The oak began to warp and curl near the door, from incoming road rain. By the way, I did the same thing you did to the sub-floor: skim coated it with fiberglass. Smart move.

Thanks Myron!

Actually your youTube video and post here have been my inspiration, I studied them for several days before making the first cut! Many Thanks.

Best Regards,

Scott

I got back to work on the Burro today. I used a large piece of card board to slide into the area where I removed the flooring from the outside, then I laid out the pattern on the 1/2" plywood sheet and cut it out. Then I slide it right into place in 2 seconds.....ok that was a lie...sorry. It took alot of work and alot of time to slide it in from the outside but it finally fell into place and fit pretty good. I then used self tapping screw bolts to fasten it too the frame.

Oh but before I fastened it to the frame....when I got the Burro the door fit lousey after some measuring every which way I found the bottom of the door frame is wider than the top, by about 3/4" of an inch, as I looked at the clearance between the wheel and the fiberglass on each side and noticed it was off by the same 3/4" so I decided I would "pull" it forward, not an easy task, I ended up hitching the tug up to the Burro, then attached a ratchet strap to the frame of the tug and to the wheel well, then I tightened up the ratchet, this had the desired effect and pulled the fiberglass body til it didnt like it anymore and to within an 1/8 of an inch the rest I can fix when I rehang the door.

Tomorrow, I will replace the fiberglass sheeting I cut out to remove the rotted wood, and fiberglass the seams, then I will cut another 1/2" sheet of plywood to lay over it this time going right up to the cabinets and over the fiberglass flange and then skim coat it with fiberglass.

I have also decided to weld on a piece of square tubing to the frame that will be just below the doorway and will add support when you step into the Burro as right now you are stepping onto the plywood floor with nothing supporting it underneath, a poor design in my opinion. The tubing is very thin and adds less than 1/2 of a pound to the weight well worth it.

Then....
Install Fantastic Fan
Clean up stove, Icebox
Replace all cabinet doors.
Pull the windows to measure the openings and order new ones.
Rewire the interior to add more lighting as needed.
Add DVD system
Rewire the exterior lights.
Test fit new side marker lights, and new upper rear lights
Find something cool to make a porchlight out of.
Get cushions and roof re-upholstred
PAINT!!!!
Reinstall everything!!!!
Go Camping!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!........If it is still warm enough.

All sounds easy if you say it fast.

Myron,

how well does your door fit at the bottom? Could you send along a pic? I would like to get as tight a seal as possible as this looks like a problem area for water getting in.

Thanks

Scott

Hello Scott and Myron

You mention a video you studied before doing your floor. Could you direct me to this video.

We were just given a 1980 13' Burro from my parents and it needs a little repair work. Were putting the vent back in and new Cubby Hole Covers and the floor needs a little repair.

I would like to watch this video and learn from you both just how to do this.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Dave and Tess

Dave and Tess,

Myron put up a vid on Youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MVatpw_84M of his repairs, a series of pics that showed him removing the floor, and putting it back in, in his case he pieced it back in. When I got mine a couple weeks ago, I wanted to try and replace it in as large a section as I could.

In my case the rot was curb side from the door all the way to the rear, I began by cutting the fiberglass covering it using a dremel. I kept the fiberglass and reused it later by glassing it back in saved on buying alot more fiberglass.



To facilitate the removal and replacement of the plywood I used a hydraulic jack and a 2x4 and the rear end on the curb side and jacked up just the fiberglass egg going very slowly as to not stress the fiberglass, I then jacked up the fame removed the curb side tire and then very slowly lowered the jack under the frame this will open up the area and you will be able to remove all the old rotted plywood and slide in a piece of cardboard to make a template. Use the template to mark and cut your plywood.

With the wheel stilloff, egg jacked up, frame lowered down, you should be able to slide the plywood in from the outside, once in you will probably have to lift it over the remaing plywood on the other side and then back into place.

All this may sound difficult but it isnt just a bit of a pain, of course if your rot is on the other side then it may be a bit more difficult do to more obsticles.

Or you may discover a better simplier way and if you do please share it!

At present I have my plwood replaced and have fiberglassed in the old sheet of fiberglass and am preparing to put the next layer of flooring in. I am going over the plywood flooring with another 1/2" of plywood between the cabinets and benches to get rid of seeing the flanges.

hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks Scott

I had watched Myron's video a couple of times but I only new him as the Burromiester.

Great informative watch.

I noticed you had mentioned you're replacing the floor with 1/2 plywood. I seemed to think he floor in our 80 Burro was 5/8 covered in fiberglass.

Did you or Myron use Marine Grade plywood or something else. Up here in Ontario we can get a new product that is used around damp areas, such as waterfront properties. It's plywood covered/immersed in a chemical that turns it blue making it mold resistant.

I was thinking of using the marine grade plywood and once the floor has been fully replaced I was going to cover the bottom of the Burro with a product like Rhino Lining or Line "X". It's a rubber compound sprayed into and onto beds of pick up trucks. Great durable rubber stuff.

Any thoughts.

Dave and Tess

Dave and Tess,

My floor appeared to be 1/2", now this may have been 5/8" 20 something years ago when it was new and compressed down over the years, but it measured 1/2" now and as I was only replacing half I went with the 1/2" so it woulf be flush.

Another indicator was my storage lids where made from 1/2" plywood and I know most MFG companies try to standardize ie: they wouldnt use 1/2" and 5/8" in the construction if they could get by with one or the other.

I used regular old plywood, there was no marine grade plywood at our store and I didnt want to used any trated or chemical enhanced wood.

I am also planning to use another 1/2" sheet of plywood over the first betweent the benches and the cabinets over the flanges of the benches and cabinents, does this make sense?

Do you have a bottom of fiberglass now? My plywood floor was sandwich between 2 layers of fiberglass one you can see under the trailer above the frame the other was on top inside the egg. My bottom layer is in great shape, I pulled it out and down from the lip of the egg while I slide in the new plywood then tucked it back above the lip. I will seam this with a layer of fiberglass, I was however thinking of coating the inside of the wheel wells with the bedliner products, but haven decided for sure.

I think there have been some comments about the bedliner products on the forum but I need to go back and study them.

Got any pics of your Burro? Would love to see it.

Thanks again Scott

I was thinking much like you Scott. The only thing I have intended to do was take a small layer off the bottom side of the plywood that we're going to put inside up tight to the benches and cabinets a little wider than the lip that holds the inside shell to the floor. This will allow the interior piece of plywood to sit down tight and level with the bottom main floor.

We just got the 1980 13' Burro from my Dad and Mom. They are in their late 70's and early 80's and hadn't really used it for a few years and wanted Tess and I to have it. It was a gift. We're just celebrating our 25th this weekend. Great gift from Mom and Dad!

Needs some work though. Just starting with some of it now.

Found a great place in Toronto, NDF Fabrics. Picked up 20 yards of new material for $8 a yard. Had a price from a guy around the corner to due the sewing and supply new 6" foam for $650. All 8 cushions .

Dad got frustrated with the little sag and small leak in the Burro and took out the roof vent. I have priced them up here, a FanTastic Vent for about $350 to $460 depending on the model.
Once the floor is fixed will do the vent.

I have started to replace all the cubby hole covers with 3/4 plywood. New doors were made by dad oak of Oak but not all installed. Started putting some them in when we noticed the floor.

Going to fix the foundation before we go any further inside.

I haven't got any pictures yet but we'll take a few and post them soon.

Thanks for all your help!

Dave and Tess

Same idea here except I am building it up with fiberglass to level the floor I hate those flanges, they are covered by the carpet normally but I hate carpet as well.

The cushion cost seems fair I think. The fantastic fan price seems outrageous, the highest price one I seen at the camper world web site is $249 USD They surely must ship it. http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/produ...te-control/6695

Yes, foundation that is were I am starting as well, not alot of fun but it has to be done.

Scott...

Sorry not to reply sooner - been away. To answer your question, my door was a poor match to the body at bottom to begin with, and that no doubt caused plenty of water infiltration. Once my floor re-build was done I addressed the door leakage trouble by adding self-adhesive ribbed, rubber gasket stripping to the door and to the cab opening. Went to Home Depot and picked out a width and thickness I thought would serve and still allow me to click the door shut. This only solved leakage for the top 3/4 of the door opening, since the gap was twice as wide at the bottom 9 inches of the side curvature. Thought I could live with it by directing any water stream down and below the threshold, away from the interior. It seemed to mostly work.

As for the flooring I pieced in, I filled every gap in every seam with liquid fiberglass and stuffed in patches of fiberglass cloth and then laid on more stripping of soaked fb cloth to insure nothing could seep in. Inside and underneath. I also lapped the network of seams with a second sheet of very thin plywood. I forget now if it was 1/16th thick or slightly thicker. Probably was that scrap stuff that serves as protective wrap over bundled quality finish plywood. (The alert scavenger gets it free at Home Depot since it's not generally sold.)

That also gave me a nice, clean interior surface base floor. Forgot if I simply stapled it down, or glued it. Of course you don't want nails popping through the bottom.

In dealing with the threshold, I did reinforce the underside with a glued and screwed strip of oak, and I shaped the front of it so a strip of rubber stair moulding would glomm onto it like any bullnosed stair. The rubber bullnose was added after the finish floor was laid.

Now, My gaps at the side bottom door still exist. My thought is to go to a junkyard and scavenge pieces of rubber O door gasket and glue them in.

Sorry no current status pictures available for this post. Maybe later. Didn't take detailed shots of the work described above. ( I hate it when I transfer wet fiberglass to my nice camera.)

I also added TrimLoc, the same thing that snaps over the burro roof seam, to help control the water flow along the doorway edge. Hmm, that sure needs a cleaning, and the rubber gasket from Home Depot needs replacing......

Thanks Myron,

The doors do fit kinda lousy I was even considering building up the door with fiberglass to make it more tight.

I will have to see how much better it gets when I re-adjust it.

Scott, did you read this topic, it's about Boler (and all aircraft-style doors), be sure to check out the links!

looking for advice on how to realign the door

Thank you Donna, that is someinteresting info on the topic, That PDF of the Boler door using an aluminum frame is great.