Help! Spongy floor in My Casita!

[LIsaDoran]

Hello Everyone!
I’m a new owner of a 2001’ 16’ Casita SD. I love the camper, but noticed the walkway area is a little spongy, and I read that there is OSB sandwiched between fiberglass or resin on top. If so, I want to remove it and replace with marine grade plywood, but would welcome any advice/tips! Honestly, this terrifies me, 😬😳. I’m going to have it checked for leaks and have them repaired/fixed before I replace the floor.

Any and all advice is welcomed!

[thrifty bill]

No fiberglass on top, its just a coating of resin. Then you have all the penetrations through it. Bathtub design of Casita traps any interior leaks. Put a piece of OSB into a tub of water and you will see what happens. Casita over the years has continually improved their floor design. Floors tend to rot from the inside out.

The Trillium design (not perfect either) has fiberglass on top, fiberglass on the bottom, and pontoons around the perimeter. This gives water a chance to leave the trailer rather than rot out the floor. Better design for sure.


Every penetration through the body of the trailer has leak potential. and then there is the plumbing and water tank. Assume rot is more widespread than it appears.

https://www.google.com/search?safe=a...TYLDKcQ4dUDCAw

[LIsaDoran]

Originally Posted by thrifty bill

No fiberglass on top, its just a coating of resin. Then you have all the penetrations through it. Bathtub design of Casita traps any interior leaks. Put a piece of OSB into a tub of water and you will see what happens. Casita over the years has continually improved their floor design. Floors tend to rot from the inside out.

The Trillium design (not perfect either) has fiberglass on top, fiberglass on the bottom, and pontoons around the perimeter. This gives water a chance to leave the trailer rather than rot out the floor. Better design for sure.


Every penetration through the body of the trailer has leak potential. and then there is the plumbing and water tank. Assume rot is more widespread than it appears.

https://www.google.com/search?safe=a...TYLDKcQ4dUDCAw

Thank you! Very informative

[dmad1]

If you have not found the leak, I will share what I found on my '15 LD Casita. It started leaking around the power vent and sometimes the leak would be around any of the sides of the vent depending on how the trailer was leveled. After repair, I still had a leak and it was not an easy find. It would only show up after a hard rain on the entrance side where the small storage door is located. I removed the fiberglass (easy to remove). It was leaking around the storage door gaskets and puddling under the seating/sleeping area and eventually seeping out the cups that hold the table legs. I have not replaced the gaskets as yet but just taped up around the storage door until I get the gaskets. From the outside, it looks as if the door is not seated squarely in the opening against the gaskets.

[JMS]

I used a ¾" layer of Advantech which is a waterproof OSB glued and screwed with self-tapping stainless steel screws down on top of the existing floor. It not only reinforced the floor but made the whole trailer more solid. You can apply your new finished floor right over the Advantech

[Madelinecap]

Originally Posted by LIsaDoran

Hello Everyone!
I’m a new owner of a 2001’ 16’ Casita SD. I love the camper, but noticed the walkway area is a little spongy, and I read that there is OSB sandwiched between fiberglass or resin on top. If so, I want to remove it and replace with marine grade plywood, but would welcome any advice/tips! Honestly, this terrifies me, 😬😳. I’m going to have it checked for leaks and have them repaired/fixed before I replace the floor.

Any and all advice is welcomed!

We had a leak at the water heater by pass valve. The moisture seeped in at the floor table brackets for the posts. They go all the way through the floor.
Pulled out the carpet through the middle. Set the skill saw for the depth of the laminate and the wood. The edges with the oscillating saw. All the beds come out with screws to get them out of the way. It’s tedious, but not hard. You will discover big washers that sandwich floor to body. We replaced osb with plywood and smoothed it all with a top coat of epoxy. Topped off with linoleum instead of carpet for cleaning ease.

[apfixer]

If your going to replace the floor in your RV take a look at King Star Board.
It used for decking on yachts, boats, etc. It is completely waterproof. It is made of high density polyethylene (HDPE). It will never rot. The metal frame on the trailer will rust away before it. Just take a look at King Star Board on google.

[LIsaDoran]

Originally Posted by apfixer

If your going to replace the floor in your RV take a look at King Star Board.
It used for decking on yachts, boats, etc. It is completely waterproof. It is made of high density polyethylene (HDPE). It will never rot. The metal frame on the trailer will rust away before it. Just take a look at King Star Board on google.

That is awesome! I was wondering what I should replace it with! Thanks so much! I will definitely look into it.����❤️

[LIsaDoran]

Thanks for the great advice! ��

[Madelinecap]

Originally Posted by apfixer

If your going to replace the floor in your RV take a look at King Star Board.
It used for decking on yachts, boats, etc. It is completely waterproof. It is made of high density polyethylene (HDPE). It will never rot. The metal frame on the trailer will rust away before it. Just take a look at King Star Board on google.

I like that for some applications. But it does not bind to fiberglass/epoxy. It is also super heavy.

[LIsaDoran]

Originally Posted by Madelinecap

I like that for some applications. But it does not bind to fiberglass/epoxy. It is also super heavy.

Ok, thank you

[John Kinney]

I have built 8-10 million dollar yachts for 20 years and done lots of fiberglass work. I seal all penetrations with a marine product called sika-flex, Windows and all holes. They put thru hull fittings under water with this product. I replaced my floor after jacking up the back to level and re-glass at the mounts. Put 1/2 inch plywood down, then vinyl floor. The original floor is the worst plywood OSB made.

[Madelinecap]

����

[FrankH]

Hi Lisa,

Don't know where or how you solved the spongy floor problem a year ago. I have a 2001 SD 16' we bought this Fall. I'm dealing with the spongy floor and moldy smell issue right now. It is a fiberglass floor under the carpet. There is a layer of fiberglass (rough finish) - a layer of OSB, then the exterior shell fiberglass (you can see the non-glossy interior rough side from the inside). The spongy feel and overall smell comes from the rotten plywood. The only solution is cut out the interior fiberglass sheet, shovel out the rotten OSB plywood and replace the plywood with a better, water resistant material. There is a community of Vintage Casita Owners who have been helping me sort out the issue. Tomorrow or Friday I will be cutting out the top, inside layer of fiberglass.

Woo Hoo!