Newbie with rotted floor :( - Page 2 - Fiberglass RV
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Old 12-13-2019, 03:37 AM   #21
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Name: Kelly
Trailer: Trails West
Oregon
Posts: 3,047
Besides not wanting to do it yourself you are smack into the season where it gets tough to do repairs unless you have an heated indoor workshop for the repairs. Remember you are not just paying for labor for the person who works on it.

Such repair businesses have a lot of overhead cost such as heating a space that is large enough to do the work in. Lots of cost besides time and materials for running a repair business. But it might be a good time of year to do a little bargaining as winter can be much slower for work than summer.
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Old 12-13-2019, 10:38 AM   #22
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Name: RogerDat
Trailer: 2010 Scamp 16
Michigan
Posts: 3,744
One it can be repaired. You are essentially:
  • Cutting a piece of plywood, coating one side with FG resin using a paint brush
  • Setting it on the frame, screwing it down
  • Then using fiberglass and resin like duct tape to tape the floor to the wall. Top and bottom. Attaching like this with fiberglass is called "tabbing".
  • Painting the floor.


    Removal is just the reverse. Cut the fiberglass and resin tape that joins wall and floor (those oscillating saws work well) use a grinder to grind the heads off of the existing screws that hold the floor to the frame. Pull up the piece of rotted floor.
Propping the shell up during the operation by using 2x4 or 2x6 boards wedged under the belly band. Can also brace against roof from floor inside.

Scamp floor is in sections so you can do one section at a time. Me I would start with one furthest from the door.

As an alternative you can cut through a patch piece of wood and the rotted floor at same time and the patch will drop right in. An exact match for the hole.

Remove the old floor piece you just cut through just as you would for replacing whole floor as outlined above. Then cover bottom of hole with aluminum foil and screw a board across the hole from the underside for the patch to rest on. From there it is just use FG and resin to attach the patch.

Look out for rot at the bottom corners of the door. The floor, frame, wall and door frame joint can become loose from rot there. Allows the door frame to shift and door will look crooked in opening. Been there done that.

If you totally have no skills with tools such as a power saber or scroll saw then you will have to find a friend, family member or as a last resort a paid handyman to do the work. Watch and learn. You see one done you can probably muddle through the next one, do a decent job on the third piece and be a freaking expert by the next piece.

That and this community is very supportive. You start a thread on your repairs in progress and you will find a whole lot of members will help you over any speed bumps.

I have plenty of experience with tools and such but replacing floor and working with FG were new to me. Between the advice from the members and the stuff I found on YouTube, or they found for me I managed ok.











Below note the small lip of fiberglass tabbing from the underside of the floor left in place when I cut the floor free. It is visible in the first and second picture here. That gives a lip to set the new floor on. Once I'm ready to drop in the new floor I coat the lip with fiberglass resin and slip it into place on top of that old lip. I think one could also use Epoxy or construction adhesive.

Also note in top frame the piece of wood under the floor that attaches the bottom of the wall and anchors the base of the door frame. Mine was rotted. Door frame could move at that bottom corner.

Last picture frame shows how I dropped in the floor. There is Liquid Nails construction adhesive going on top of the frame so this prop allows me to drop the wood right on it. I then had to cut the center piece out. The construction adhesive prevents that cut out from leaking. And avoids squeaks too.



Eventually to this. Note the liner rolled up, the wood strip that supports the back of the couch was also rotted and had to be replaced by tabbing in with fiberglass.



This is doable with basic skills and ability to work slowly and carefully. Willingness to ask questions helps. A lot.
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Old 12-13-2019, 10:58 AM   #23
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Name: RogerDat
Trailer: 2010 Scamp 16
Michigan
Posts: 3,744
Quick note on axel. If you want to know the amount of sag you have you just need to remove the wheels.

The square shaft in the center of the axle arm forms a diamond. It originally had points that pointed front and back that were parallel with the frame/ground.

The more tipped from that parallel that diamond is the more sag.

New axle note the points of the square shaft are pointing straight up and down and front to back in line with bracket.



Jack up until you can remove wheels (both), put jack stands under frame, remove wheels. Look at that "diamond" to the extent it has been "pushed up" on the side with the axle arm on it that is how much it has allowed your trailer to sag.

Generally expressed as degrees. So arm my have been at 10 degrees up angle originally but now is at 15 degrees up, you have 5 degrees of sag.

Another nice thing you can check at the same time. Use a wrench to pull the axle down until the diamond is back to its original straight up/down and level front/back position. Then you can measure how high the axle shaft is. This allows you to determine the original height of your camper. If you have to pull the arm down 2 inches to get the diamond shaft end aligned as it was originally then your camper was originally a couple inches higher.

Don't wrench on the axle shaft itself, the polished part the tire spins on should not be marred. With no weight and pulling down it should move fairly easily. One can put a big wrench on the axle nut or on the arm itself.

Some sag is normal. Really it will work up until the tires are so far up into the wheel well you can't get them off without jacking the trailer way up so they can drop down. And you can use camper with a worn out axles for local camping until you get around to replacing it. Been there, done that, it worked. Just have to be carful on railroad tracks and steep driveways because the camper sits low to the ground.

Good luck.
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Old 12-18-2019, 02:42 PM   #24
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Name: Jill
Trailer: Boler
WA Washington
Posts: 3
Not an expert but...

I don't see that anyone else has suggested it, but Connecticut, ocean, boats...fiberglass trailer. Maybe check with a boat repair shop.
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Old 12-20-2019, 08:11 AM   #25
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Name: Ray
Trailer: scamp
Indiana
Posts: 823
pizza will be required

OK I have worked with friends who have done things like this. And one thing that has not been mentioned is that a lot of pizza will probably be required.

For a scamp this is not a kind of a job that really requires a lot of unique skills. As has been pointed out you will need to remove the cabinets. That is a good time to look for wiring problems and fix any or do any needed upgrades. Most scamp power converters from that age are way under powered. So perfect time to fix that too. It depends on how much time you can devote to the project. It also depends on how many friends you have. And that is where the pizza will come it.


There are going to be a number of places in this project where you are going to have to handle some big things. Try to do these in batches and then don't try to do them yourself. Have a pizza party and get a crew to help you. And this will take several pizza parties. But the pizza will be a wise investment and get you a wonderful camper.
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Old 12-20-2019, 04:51 PM   #26
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Name: Chris
Trailer: 1986 Play-Mor II & Scamp 13' Build date April 2019
Connecticut
Posts: 72
Quote:
Originally Posted by Trina Yubari View Post
Hi all, my boyfriend and I just purchased a 1992 scamp 16footer last week.. We are on the east coast where scamps are hard to find and this one was close to home. Upon inspecting it at the sellers house, we found some, what we thought were reasonable, areas of floor rot, generally under the windows. We thought it would be a fairly easy job to patch up. Upon getting it home, and taking out some carpet and inspecting it further, it seems that the rot is a bit more extensive than we had planned for. We are feeling overwhelmed and a bit disappointed and discouraged. Right now, it seems like the repairs are out of our knowledge and skill set so we were hoping to bring it somewhere to have it repaired. We are in Connecticut and there are slim pickings for RV repair shops and the ones that are around, don't seem to want to tackle a repair project like what we are looking at. The pictures don't look too bad, but in real life, you can see through to the ground in many places. Any help/guidance/"know a guy in CT" advice would be very much appreciated.. We're anxious and trying to get this done as soon as possible!
Where in CT? Was that the Scamp in New Canaan?
I am restored a Playmor II which has a fiberglass floor.
It should not be too hard.
I’m in Shelton
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Old 12-21-2019, 12:13 AM   #27
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Trailer: Scamp
Posts: 7,056
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If I needed to have the repair work done I 'd get quotes from several places including boat repair shops.

The floor in fiberglass boats is wood.
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Byron & Anne enjoying the everyday Saturday thing.
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Old 12-28-2019, 12:52 AM   #28
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Trailer: 1972 Boler American and 1979 Trillium 4500
Posts: 5,137
A couple of great posts @RogerDat!!
Well Done!


Quote:
Originally Posted by RogerDat View Post

Look out for rot at the bottom corners of the door. The floor, frame, wall and door frame joint can become loose from rot there. Allows the door frame to shift and door will look crooked in opening. Been there done that.

...
Also note in top frame the piece of wood under the floor that attaches the bottom of the wall and anchors the base of the door frame. Mine was rotted. Door frame could move at that bottom corner.



Anybody with boler / Scamp type trailer that door issues such as door sag or body bulge should be looking to see if their trailer has that piece of wood shown in the top frame, which might have come loose or be missing.


Quote:
Originally Posted by RogerDat View Post
Quick note on axel.
...
Another nice thing you can check at the same time. Use a wrench to pull the axle down until the diamond is back to its original straight up/down and level front/back position.

...

Don't wrench on the axle shaft itself, the polished part the tire spins on should not be marred. With no weight and pulling down it should move fairly easily. One can put a big wrench on the axle nut or on the arm itself.

Some sag is normal. Really it will work up until the tires are so far up into the wheel well you can't get them off without jacking the trailer way up so they can drop down. And you can use camper with a worn out axles for local camping until you get around to replacing it. Been there, done that, it worked. Just have to be carful on railroad tracks and steep driveways because the camper sits low to the ground.

On my 1972 trailer with the original torsion axle, the rubber had hardened up so much that there was little to no movement, even when torqued.
When it gets this bad, I suggest replacing the axle sooner than later.
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Old 12-30-2019, 10:12 PM   #29
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Name: Trina
Trailer: Scamp
Connecticut
Posts: 4
We got the scamp from a owner on Craig's list. It was the one in New Canaan CT. The previous owner replaced part of the floor (The lower, 'dance floor") And added some extra metal support to the frame in this area. These areas of rot are on the window in the front and the side. It's a 1992 so not surprised it had the damage. He stated it was kept covered almost always and was not towed around. He used it to camp on his property with his kids and before that it was used by the military on a base to subsidize housing. So we don't think it got a lot of road miles on it and all things considered its in good shape minus the floor. We appreciate any and all pointers and advice. My boyfriend has removed the front bench to get a better look at the damage and it looks like the pics that others have posted. We wish it was warmer out so we can get to work on it. We have called a boatyard in CT and they said they do repairs on campers and work in the winter so we may bring it there for a quote. Honestly we will probably appreciate it more if we do the work ourselves. We just wish it was warm out so we could work on it. We will keep you all posted. Thanks again for the advice.
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Old 12-31-2019, 07:14 AM   #30
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Name: Chris
Trailer: 1986 Play-Mor II & Scamp 13' Build date April 2019
Connecticut
Posts: 72
It is pretty easy to work on but the first cut is the hardest part.
What town in CT are you in?

Look over this page. Has a lot of info
https://www.instagram.com/tipsy.the.boler/?hl=en
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Old 01-03-2020, 03:03 PM   #31
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Name: Trina
Trailer: Scamp
Connecticut
Posts: 4
Northford
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