Fiberglass rigs with plywood bottoms

[floyd]

Originally Posted by Boomer

Oliver does not have any wood in it!! Floor is fiberglass.

But your house does, and the Oliver is even cheaper and easier to tow!

[Eddie Longest]

Scamp floors: In the 70's - mid 80's Scamp used plywood floors. I think in 1984 when scamp started installing the radius windows is about when they switched to OSB. I have seen 1/2" plywood in 70's scamps. In the 80 Scamps I usually see 5/8" floors. A 85 S-19 was the first 3/4" rear floor I encountered. In the 2000> Scamps I see 3/4" floors.
Every Scamp I have seen has had the bottom coated with resin. I don't think Scamp seals the edges drilled holes but I have hot seen any issues from that pratice. Floors rot from leaks from above and more so from neglect not from road spray. This applies to all makes of trailers.
Eddie

[gordon2]

Originally Posted by Eddie Longest

Scamp floors: ....I don't think Scamp seals the edges drilled holes but I have hot seen any issues from that practice. Floors rot from leaks from above and more so from neglect not from road spray. This applies to all makes of trailers.
Eddie

Thanks for that informative post. Even if its not been a problem, I think it might be good insurance to DIY for the cut edges. I'll look at my Scamp when I get it and decide then, but I think I will do some sealing on the cut edges of the holes just for peace of mind.

[Eddie Longest]

Gordon
I just installed a toilet in my Scamp. I sealed the edges of the drain hole with resin. Scamp and I installed a wax ring under the toilet and sometimes a little wax comes out the hole for the black water drain but there is no issue with that. If you have a shower a hole will be cut around the trap. The gray water tank vent loops up under the dinette and back through the floor and that vent line is sealed. The sink drain goes through a fitting in the top of the gray water tank along with a vent line. They come through the floor under the dinette but they are covered on the underside by the tank. The fresh water drain and vent are usually sealed with silicone.
Eddie

[Byron Kinnaman]

This subject has been covered many times including calling Scamp. The floor is 3/4" OBS the bottom side is coated with resin. The top is painted.

[gordon2]

Thanks Eddie.. I copied your message to my notes file.

[Cathy P.]

If you watch the Scamp video, toward the end they will show the production. You can see the flooring and watch them putting on the tanks, etc.: Helpful Videos - Scamp Trailers

[John Linck]

OSB has the advantage that it is cheaper than plywood. It is also much heavier. Maybe that partly explains why early trailers weighed less than today's. Weight doesn't matter much in your house; could even be an advantage. But in something rolling, not so good. I would guess my 13 is 50 pounds heavier with its OSB floor vs. plywood. And you could subtract another 50-100 pounds if you replaced all the man-made sawdust and glue wood panel products in the cabinetry with plywood. Such substitutions might add $100 - $200 dollars to the cost of your rig depending on how much wood cabinetry you have.

Quality plywood also is more moisture resistant and less prone to rot than OSB. But no wood product will stand continuous moist conditions over months, unless its filled with fungicides, which are chemicals I would want to breath every night. 4000-year-old wood in dry Egyptian tombs is still in good condition. Absence of water is key to longevity. Mold/rot cannot grow without water.

John

[Jon in AZ]

Actually I just looked that up, John, because I was curious how much weight. Looks like three-quarters OSB adds about 22 pounds over three-quarters plywood, assuming about 64 sq ft of material.

http://www.nachi.org/osb-plywood.html

[Matt4483]

We have decided to move from our current 13' boler to a 17' model. I recently purchased one locally that looks like it has the usual wear and tear but solid.

My question is: Has anyone applied fiberglass to the bottom/underside of the floor? This model has fiberglass inside and exposed plywood on the bottom. wondering if it is worthwhile for longevity?

[thrifty bill]

Originally Posted by Ian G.

Whatever material is used in the floor I think all manufactures encase it in fiberglass. I am actually not sure what Scamp uses, there is no mention on their website, From personal experience my previous Casita used OSB (which I am not a fan of), my current Escape does use marine grade plywood in the floor fully encased in fiberglass

Not the case unfortunately. Many do not encase the wood floor.

[rbryan]

Encased floor or not, OSB in my humble opinion is a poor choice for the floor. So you save a few bucks over plywood, and lose strength in the process. Yes there are tradeoffs and cost decisions that have to be made in lots of different areas, but an OSB floor - nope.

[Mike Magee]

Jim Palmer at Eggcamper always coated the top of his plywood floors with FG resin, but never the underside. He said the wood must breathe and let any trapped moisture escape somehow or it could rot. And wetting from the road during rain doesn't hurt the wood, he said, because it does not sit on the wood long enough to really soak in.

Does Escape coat their plywood on all surfaces with resin, or does it sit on a molded fg shell like Casita's floor? I assumed the latter, but could be wrong.

Use exterior grade plywood, which has the plies glued with water resistant adhesive. Or marine plywood if you want to be extravagant.

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by Matt4483

We have decided to move from our current 13' boler to a 17' model. I recently purchased one locally that looks like it has the usual wear and tear but solid.

My question is: Has anyone applied fiberglass to the bottom/underside of the floor? This model has fiberglass inside and exposed plywood on the bottom. wondering if it is worthwhile for longevity?

Since Boler's haven't been made for a good long while and if there's nothing wrong with the floor and it's never been replaced, why worry about it? Obviously if it's original, it's lasted a good long while and will for many more as long as you do proper maintenance.

[floyd]

Originally Posted by rbryan

Encased floor or not, OSB in my humble opinion is a poor choice for the floor. So you save a few bucks over plywood, and lose strength in the process. Yes there are tradeoffs and cost decisions that have to be made in lots of different areas, but an OSB floor - nope.

If your house was built in the last few decades it is surely made of OSB!

[rbryan]

Originally Posted by Mike Magee

Does Escape coat their plywood on all surfaces with resin, or does it sit on a molded fg shell like Casita's floor? I assumed the latter, but could be wrong.

Use exterior grade plywood, which has the plies glued with water resistant adhesive. Or marine plywood if you want to be extravagant.

Escape uses marine grade plywood, and it's encased. Nothing on the bottom of the trailer but the shell. I think you're right about not coating the bottom of the floor on trailers where the wood is exposed. There's probably some validity to the theory of letting it dry.

About OSB specifically, I know some will say they use it on the floors in homes. Yes, but it's an entirely different application than in an RV. Your home's floor doesn't go bouncing down the road exposed to the elements.

Unless of course your home IS your RV, then it becomes even more critical. [emoji1]

[thrifty bill]

As a retired adhesives guy, who supplied both plywood and OSB manufacturers with adhesive, I for one do not like OSB for an application where it will get exposed to moisture. Plywood floor might cost manufacturer $100 more per rig. Marine plywood would be more.

Eventually I think manufacturers will all go the Oliver or LS route, using a floor that does not rot when wet.

While OSB adhesive has some similarities with plywood adhesive, it's cut with the post addition of urea and water, to cut cost. Adhesive is much more important to OSB given the small wafers that are glued together versus large sheets of veneer. It's no wonder OSB is cheaper. 90% reduction in labor cost, any species of wood works, they just shave the end of a chunk of wood. Meanwhile, a large log is lathed down into a long sheet to make plywood, with the center core wasted or converted to landscape timber or similar.

[rbryan]

Originally Posted by thrifty bill

Eventually I think manufacturers will all go the Oliver or LS route, using a floor that does not rot when wet.

I agree with you 100% on OSB Bill, but not on what the manufacturers will eventually do. I think most manufacturers will do what they've always done - and that's whatever they can get away with and still sell trailers.

[thrifty bill]

Yes I guess I agree. Two manufacturers in the US, I won't mention names, have shown little to no interest in upgrading their product. Eventually they may be drug along as competitive forces intervene.

[rbryan]

Originally Posted by thrifty bill

Yes I guess I agree. Two manufacturers in the US, I won't mention names, have shown little to no interest in upgrading their product. Eventually they may be drug along as competitive forces intervene.

That's key. Competition means better products. Always has.