Uh-oh, squishy Burro floor - where to get replaced?

[jen b]

I am working on the Burro this weekend with my dad, and when I ripped out the old vinyl sheet flooring and started taking a closer look, I realized there are a couple of significant squishy places. And when I say squishy I mean that when you squeeze the plywood, it is spongy and water squelches out.

Sooooooooo I think the right thing to do is to replace the whole plywood floor because I would like this thing to be in tiptop shape. I am certain the current floor is the 1980 original. I can see several places where water's been getting in around the body, so some patching and window fixing need doing as well.

The thing is, neither I nor my dad are really equipped to do this work. Do you guys have any recommendations for where I can get this done?

I'm figuring I'd like to:
1. get the new floor in,
2. put in new window frames and seals (they're original and leaky),
3. since the egg will be off the frame, might as well get the frame cleaned up/sandblasted and repainted,
4. and, do a little fiberglass patching around a couple of smallish problem areas.

The Burro is currently in Pittsburgh, and we're figuring we can easily take it to somebody within a 400 or so mile radius. I'll talk to the local trailer place where I got the brakes and wiring done, but they're not explicitly RV people and likely have no experience with fiberglass campers. And heck, if any of you handy people are interested in a fix job...I would be pleased to pay somebody here for the work.

Thanks!

[Donna D.]

The only place I know that takes on complete restorations in the US is The Egg Plant, but Robert is here in Oregon. You're talking major work here, not for the faint of heart... most wouldn't want to tackle it due to the lack of KSAs (I wouldn't). I would try most anything, but an entire floor... humm probably not.

Have you dried it out completely to find out if only pieces could be replaced? Maybe once dry, it's not as bad as you think? One can only hope....

Anyone have any more info for Jen?

[Greg H]

400 miles, well from Pittsburgh you can make Alexandria, Ky. There you go a Burro guy right there.

[Michele B]

Be sure to post your progress. I'm sizing up a floor replacement for my 85 Casita. Mine will be more involved, since I also have to tear out the shower pan.

(Actually considering some sort of polymer material rather than glassed-in, marine-grade ply.)

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by Greg H

400 miles, well from Pittsburgh you can make Alexandria, Ky. There you go a Burro guy right there.

Who? Let's document this resource!

[Greg H]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

Who? Let's document this resource!

Donna, that guy that did the Airstream Burro, and now he's doing another Burro. At the rate he's going on this Burro that he just got I think he will be bored soon and need another one to do. I really don't know if he would work on anybody Else's trailer or not.

[Donna D.]

Well shoot Greg, I thought you were on to something. Maybe we should clone Robert for the east side of the country

[Greg H]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

Well shoot Greg, I thought you were on to something. Maybe we should clone Robert for the east side of the country

Well while we're cloning, can we get a guy in s.w.Tx that works pro bono?

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by Greg H

Well while we're cloning, can we get a guy in s.w.Tx that works pro bono?

Are you talking about Larry Gamble? He's the one that's perfected the Valvectomy mod. He and Debbie have opened a store: Little House Customs, Unfortunately I don't see replace Burro floors on the list.

[jen b]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

Have you dried it out completely to find out if only pieces could be replaced? Maybe once dry, it's not as bad as you think? One can only hope....

The spot at the door is so weak I could break it off without a lot of effort, and I think I'd rather get a new floor in now so I don't have to worry about it for another 30 years. We've got almost everything stripped out of the inside for the cosmetic work, so it seems like an advantageous time to send it off to Burro hospital rather than delaying the inevitable.

[ScottG]

try talking to some local boat dealers and repair places. Most of them will know a good fiberglass man. I know it looks bad, but this is probable something you could do yourself. there are many places to go online to see how it's done.

Originally Posted by jen b

I am working on the Burro this weekend with my dad, and when I ripped out the old vinyl sheet flooring and started taking a closer look, I realized there are a couple of significant squishy places. And when I say squishy I mean that when you squeeze the plywood, it is spongy and water squelches out.

Sooooooooo I think the right thing to do is to replace the whole plywood floor because I would like this thing to be in tiptop shape. I am certain the current floor is the 1980 original. I can see several places where water's been getting in around the body, so some patching and window fixing need doing as well.

The thing is, neither I nor my dad are really equipped to do this work. Do you guys have any recommendations for where I can get this done?

I'm figuring I'd like to:
1. get the new floor in,
2. put in new window frames and seals (they're original and leaky),
3. since the egg will be off the frame, might as well get the frame cleaned up/sandblasted and repainted,
4. and, do a little fiberglass patching around a couple of smallish problem areas.

The Burro is currently in Pittsburgh, and we're figuring we can easily take it to somebody within a 400 or so mile radius. I'll talk to the local trailer place where I got the brakes and wiring done, but they're not explicitly RV people and likely have no experience with fiberglass campers. And heck, if any of you handy people are interested in a fix job...I would be pleased to pay somebody here for the work.

Thanks!

[jen b]

Oh, PHEW.

Chatting with some folks further about this, it appears as though Burro floor construction is rather different from the Scamps, Casitas, etc. and that I do not need to go whole hog on a replacement.

This is great news. I can get away with installing a plywood floor inside the camper, over top of the fiberglass floor that is there, and still be utterly structurally sound.

Yes! it's nice to be talked away from the ledge.

[Greg H]

Well goody goody, that's probably what I would have done anyway.

[Matt in SV]

Typically you'd First drill a bunch of holes to let the floor dry out thoroughly. The quality of the wood coming out of the holes will give you some idea how far the damp has progressed to rot. There are penetrating epoxies like CPES you can inject if the floor isn't too far gone.


CPES™-Wood based epoxy products to repair and resist wood rot.

Wood preservation, rot repair, and restoration using epoxy resin on boats, homes and log homes.

Regards,

Matt

[Andy B]

Originally Posted by jen b

Oh, PHEW.

Chatting with some folks further about this, it appears as though Burro floor construction is rather different from the Scamps, Casitas, etc. and that I do not need to go whole hog on a replacement.

This is great news. I can get away with installing a plywood floor inside the camper, over top of the fiberglass floor that is there, and still be utterly structurally sound.
.

I am most of the way through a 1980 Burro 13 floor replacement, but had to stop because of the cold weather.

I do not agree that you can put plywood inside the camper, over the rotted floor and still be utterly structurally sound. The floor I replaced sounds similar to your floor. When cut apart I found it was even more rotted than I thought it was. I would have guessed half of the floor area was rotted, but what I found was almost no solid wood. If your Burro is like mine the screws holding the floor to the frame will be rotted where they contact the plywood. My Burro floor was 1/2" plywood with fiberglass on both sides. They did not seal the edges of the plywood very well around the wheel wells so water got in and rotted the floor. The rotted plywood had no structural strength left at all. The floor is an integral part of the strength of the trailer. The floor is screwed to the frame and if the plywood is rotted there is nothing left for the screws to hold on to. The walls are fiberglassed to the floor all around the inside and the fiberglass body overhangs the frame by several inches on each side. The floor is what holds the fiberglass body onto the frame.

Plywood over the rotted floor would make the floor seem solid when walked on but would not be structural, unless screwed to the frame and fiberglassed to the walls. The Burro has an inner liner that screws to the existing floor through a flange at the edges of the bottom compartments. There is not enough room to put a layer of plywood between the old floor and the bottom flanges. As painful as it may be, I believe that replacing the floor is the only way it will last another 30 years.

[Robert Johans]

I agree with Andy. Ensuring that the integrity of the floor is strong and stable is imperative. If this interior has already been stripped out, you are already well on your way to proper restoration.

Removing the old rotting plywood will also no doubt reveal any other problem areas that exist. Goes without saying that the integrity of the floor and the strength of its attachment to the frame is critical.

If you plan to keep this trailer for, as you say, another 30 years...and wish to enjoy it with complete confidence, you won't regret doing the right thing and renovating the floor with a properly prepared replacement.

[jen b]

Thanks, guys. I think we're going to re-assess the next time I'm over in Pittsburgh to tinker, and try to get a good assessment of the extent of the wet soft bits, and sort of go from there.

[Andy B]

After I started cutting up my 1980 Burro floor and realized just how bad it really was, I felt lucky that the fiberglass body, along with the rotted floor, did not fall off the frame when I towed it home after purchase. It seemed like a big bump in the road or a strong headwind on the highway could have caused it to detach from the frame.

The Burro floor construction, with fiberglass on both sides of the plywood, does not allow the wood to dry out very easily after it gets wet. The musty smell inside the trailer went away after the old floor was removed.

[Vickie B.]

Greg H was referring to Mark Shaffer down in KY---another very talented guy!!!

[jen b]

By way of update, I happened to run into information about a place very close to my folks that had never really been on my radar, and phoned them to see if they could check things out for me, and at the very least save me the day's work of re-sealing my windows.

Long story short, a very enthusiastic can-do RV repair guy is on the floor-replacement job. He is bursting with excitement to play with an egg and I've heard from family members who've had contact with other parts of this business that they are super honest and do very good work.