Help! Spongy floor in My Casita! - Fiberglass RV
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Old 11-25-2020, 09:03 PM   #1
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Name: Lisa
Trailer: Casita
Texas
Posts: 5
Unhappy Help! Spongy floor in My Casita!

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!
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Old 11-26-2020, 08:44 AM   #2
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Name: bill
Trailer: 2013 Escape 19
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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
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Old 11-26-2020, 09:10 AM   #3
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Name: Lisa
Trailer: Casita
Texas
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Originally Posted by thrifty bill View Post
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
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Old 11-26-2020, 10:21 AM   #4
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Name: Dick
Trailer: '15 17' LD Casita and '17 Tahoe LT
Texas
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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.
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Old 11-26-2020, 10:27 AM   #5
JMS
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New underlayment

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
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Old 11-26-2020, 01:26 PM   #6
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Name: Madeline
Trailer: Casita
Florida
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Originally Posted by LIsaDoran View Post
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.
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Old 11-26-2020, 06:14 PM   #7
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Name: Stephen
Trailer: NotYet
Ohio
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King board for your floor

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.
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Old 11-26-2020, 06:57 PM   #8
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Name: Lisa
Trailer: Casita
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Originally Posted by apfixer View Post
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.����❤️
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Old 11-27-2020, 03:13 AM   #9
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Name: Lisa
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Thanks for the great advice! ��
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Old 11-27-2020, 06:01 AM   #10
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Name: Madeline
Trailer: Casita
Florida
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Originally Posted by apfixer View Post
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.
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Old 11-27-2020, 06:04 AM   #11
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Name: Lisa
Trailer: Casita
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Originally Posted by Madelinecap View Post
I like that for some applications. But it does not bind to fiberglass/epoxy. It is also super heavy.
Ok, thank you
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Old 03-23-2021, 01:08 AM   #12
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Name: John
Trailer: Casita
British Columbia
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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.
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Old 03-23-2021, 06:36 AM   #13
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Name: Madeline
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����
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Old 10-20-2021, 02:26 PM   #14
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Name: Frank
Trailer: Casita
New Jersey
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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!
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Old 12-09-2022, 04:52 PM   #15
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Name: Ian
Trailer: Casita
Texas
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Hi Frank,

So did you cut out the top fiberglass and replaced the spongy OSB? May have to do the same on my 02. Like to get some insight before diving into it. Any advises are much appreciated!

Ian
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Old 12-09-2022, 11:30 PM   #16
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It’s not coated with fiberglass. It’s just fiberglass resin, particularly on an ‘02. They have repeatedly upgraded design. But they really need either pontoons like Trillium or Escape or not use wood.

As Frank above found out, you shouldn’t leave the old wood in there for smell and mold problems.
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Old 12-10-2022, 04:47 AM   #17
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Trailer: Boler 13 ft / Casita FD
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Previous owner of my Casita just covered the old floor with 1/4 inch marine grade plywood that did little to take spongyness out. A few years back I had a leak in the plumbing that snaked around the shower walls to the bathroom sink and decided to do the floor at this time. I cut out the old floor to where I knew the Gray water tank was from above with a plunge cutter and replace old OSB (rotted) with 3/4 marine plywood and put that 1/4 back on top of this to match what I didn't cut out.
If I was brave I would have tried to drop the Gray water tank and do the whole floor but we had reservations to go camping and didn't do it.
we still have about 2 ft. of floor that is spongy and may tackle this next summer.
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Old 12-10-2022, 07:56 AM   #18
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Name: Madeline
Trailer: Casita
Florida
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LIsaDoran View Post
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!
When looking for leaks, check the seal on the Fantastic Fan. Our 2000 Casita fan seal shrunk enough to leave a gap that let rain come in . Soaked the ceiling carpet and then started dripping!
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