Casita floor is a gonner!

[casitalo]

I posted yesterday about the floor in my inherited Casita FD. Well, after pulling up the carpet... what we found was a mess. Rotted mushy floor under the fiberglass. Hubby is handy and thinks he can tackle this, I'm feeling oh so overwhelmed. He plans to cut out all of the walkway areas tonight, but we are afraid it extends under the kitchen and the back benches. Has anyone tackled a project as extensive as this, and if so, any advice will be so appreciated. We contacted Larry at Littlehousecustoms, and he cant do a project this extensive. Thanks in advance for anyone who takes the time to answer this. I am trying to stay positive, as we feel this Casita has potential.

[Ken C]

Folks have done it and posted photos in the archives here. Maybe someone can also point to specific Casita forum threads too. There are great threads with photos but hard to find (for me anyway). I remember it was hard to get the wood in and out of the underneath the cabinets. Any senior members have some good links for the OP?

For vintage trailer repair in Texas, google brought up a few. The second link does list "Floor Repairs and Replacement"
http://www.txvintagetrailer.com/
http://apvintagetrailerworks.com/

[DayTripper]

It's not uncommon on older Casitas, and it's been done many many times, and once you get into it you will find its not all that difficult even for someone with little or no experience.

A Casita floor is a snap compared to many other brands of eggs. In fact I would search for Casita specific threads only to start out your research because if you see what a nightmare it can be on some other brands it might scare you off.

Just use search here and on the Casita forum, and ask for help in both places if needed.

You will find the folks here and on the Casita forum are very helpful.

Oh, and relax... you will do just fine

[RogerDat]

I did a front floor replacement in a Scamp with advice from folks here. Wasn't a piece of cake but also wasn't rocket science. Measuring twice and cutting once to make a cardboard template, and then double checking measurements was probably the toughest part. Working with fiberglass resin was fairly new experience but I just started small until I grew accustom to it.

One really nice thing is the construction of these campers is pretty straight forward. Not assembly line, more like house construction. Not nearly as bad as autos. More than once I have found a car with totally crazy assembly. Who knows how many cars they built where replace a part that wears out such as a blower for defrost or heater core or shift cable required taking the whole bloody dash and steering column out.

I had a 66 Chrysler which I swear they built the entire car around the AM radio. For fun they would run two bolts from outside in, and two bolts on the same thing from inside to outside. Also fun was the Pontiac, having to tear off the fender and entire front wheel & brakes to change the AC. Or my personal favorite Trans Am with AC had to have the motor pulled part way out of the engine compartment to change a spark plug!

Nope compared to cars & trucks the worst of these campers is a piece of cake. Go for it! People here will provide advice and how-to support. And encouragement.

Last but not least it's broken now. It's not like you are going to mess it up by working on it. And if in the end you have a camper you can use and enjoy it doesn't have to be perfect. That is what paint, caulk, putty, and throw rugs are for.

[casitalo]

Thanks for making me laugh! We are going to give it a roll, I'm taking pics along the way, its a humdinger of a project for sure! Everyone here seems very nice and very helpful!

[flowman]

Read this thread, you'll feel better:

http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...ead-75022.html

It can be done.

[gordon2]

Originally Posted by RogerDat

...

More than once I have found a car with totally crazy assembly. Who knows how many cars they built where replace a part that wears out such as a blower for defrost or heater core or shift cable required taking the whole bloody dash and steering column out. ...

Yup.. leaking timing belt cover gasket on a 2007 Toyota Highlander. New gasket is about $10. However replacement requires engine removal, total cost is just shy of two grand.

[casitalo]

Well the whole inside of the Casita is coming out. We cut out the walkway and realized the whole floor is mush! Only saving grace, the Casita was given to us, so we can only go up from here I guess. She went from looking pretty good, to a complete mess. Hubby and I will give it our all. Thanks for all the replies! IF anyone else has any suggestions or tips, they will be greatly appreciated

[Eddie B.]

Received our 1989 Casita,same condition,Lowes sells a lifetime guarantee board,used it,after removing everything,scrubbed down the fiberglass floor with a mixture of Clorox ,water.You can use the cabinets to get your rounded floor patterns.I went back with 10-24 stainless countersunk bolts,nylock nuts on the frame angle iron.Then used a good caulk around all corners of the new wood floor.All the damage we has was from water pump,water tank,water lines,water heater,etc.Threw away and didn't use back,water heater,all water lines,refrigerator,heater,AC,shower stall.
It's a big job.Now city water comes into a filter,pressure regulator to kitchen sink.Have a new water tank,use electric air pressure to run it.Installed a new Igloo 120 volt refrig.It gets real cold in an hour.Used two fifty amp gel cells and a 6 amp battery tender to charge them.Went from 4 ac plugs to 12 ac plugs,no gas at all.Eddie

[stevebaz]

Seal the leaks that caused this mess before tackling the floor. Otherwise you may be doomed to repeat the process all over again. When your done and camping without all the soggy stink you will get over the process it took to get you there.

[burrorojo]

Gee and I thought this assembly style was solely what the Brits perfected. Had a Morris Minor, MGB and a couple of Land Rovers. What they had in common was that two person team necessary for any repair. Unless you were an octopus and had 16' long arms. Thanks for the memories.

[casitalo]

We've decided that this is too much to take on at this point and we are going to sell it. If anyone knows of anyone who wants to buy it, send them my way. Its a 1999 FD. The air and frig are ice cold, and all the water works great, no leaks that we know of in water lines. Husband fixed leak in the roof around the fan. We are in Dallas. I will probably list it on Craigslist.

[Tom 72]

Taking lots of pics may help when it is time to put it all back together. Good luck.

[Badger]

Originally Posted by burrorojo

Gee and I thought this assembly style was solely what the Brits perfected. Had a Morris Minor, MGB and a couple of Land Rovers. What they had in common was that two person team necessary for any repair. Unless you were an octopus and had 16' long arms. Thanks for the memories.

Yep, i had a couple of MGB's and a bug eye Sprite. Don't forget the Lucas electronics with the windshield wipers that were guaranteed to work perfectly unless it was raining.

[RogerDat]

Post camper on the for sale forum here and you should find a buyer. Lot of folks here won't mind taking on a project trailer if the price is right. And will know what they are getting (and getting into) which will help prevent bad feelings.

I would give it a second thought, do a little reading on what is involved and if you decide it really is too big a project, or just one you don't want to handle offer it in the trailers for sale area here.

As a side note:
I own a 66 Truimph TR6R motorcycle the nickname for them was "dark riders" the diode voltage regulators would overheat and blow, and the resulting over voltage would then burn out the light bulbs. Only happened if you went fast, but why else would you ride a Triumph but go fast and look good doing it?

Eventually they provided heat sink fins and moved the finned heat sink and diode to the forks for airflow instead of under a side cover where the heat could be trapped. Think that innovation took 10 years.

As totally irrelevant side note. In the show Happy Days Fonzi rode a Truimph. Which would have been the bike to have back then. However the bike shown in the opening credits has a front wheel with brakes and hub that were not available until much, much later. As in decades later. They were noted for crummy brakes too. Single shoe instead of two, and just not a lot of stopping power in the old style ones.

[David D]

Originally Posted by casitalo

I posted yesterday about the floor in my inherited Casita FD. Well, after pulling up the carpet... what we found was a mess. Rotted mushy floor under the fiberglass. Hubby is handy and thinks he can tackle this, I'm feeling oh so overwhelmed. He plans to cut out all of the walkway areas tonight, but we are afraid it extends under the kitchen and the back benches. Has anyone tackled a project as extensive as this, and if so, any advice will be so appreciated. We contacted Larry at Littlehousecustoms, and he cant do a project this extensive. Thanks in advance for anyone who takes the time to answer this. I am trying to stay positive, as we feel this Casita has potential.

Last month i removed the plywood floor from a 79 surfside if that helps you. On the Surfsude the plywood is over the FG floor.