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Old 10-11-2011, 09:09 AM   #1
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Soft spot in floor

I own Jayco Jay Feather 29N. We have always noticed a slight soft spot in floor in front of stove, right over tanks. During this summers camping we noticed that it seems to be getting worse. This area is constantly being walked over and of course stood on when cooking.

We have had no water leaks and since the soft spot has always been there I am quite certain it is not water damage but is due to a fairly large area over tanks without support.

I plan to cut this area out and install some 3/4" aluminum angle across opening above tanks before I replace the floor again.

I would welcome any advice and/or experiences you would care to offer.

Once again I am fairly certain that it is not water damage but just light flooring over too large an area.

Thanks in advance

WillYum
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Old 10-11-2011, 09:20 AM   #2
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Welcome to the forum, Willyum! If I am not mistaken many of the liteweight trailers do not use plywood for the floor, but rather a sandwich of wood and foam which has been known to create soft spots such as you describe. Lack of underlying support combined with this floor structure could make things even worse. Good luck on your repair, sounds like you have a plan!
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Old 10-11-2011, 10:14 AM   #3
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Thanks Crabman

Surprise of surprises, I just received a note from Jayco (not that they said they would do anything), wanting some additional information about trailer. :hihi:I can only hope although I know it is way past warrentee.
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Old 10-15-2011, 06:18 AM   #4
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We also have a 29N with the same problem. I moved some wires in the floor and cut a 3" diameter hole to run the wires through. The floor is a sandwich of 1/4" ply and about 2 1/2 inches of foam. I plan on just running extra cross members like you stated but not disturbing the floor, mainly just adding support. Unfortunately, I'm the second owner so I would not have any factory support coming but good luck with yours and post what they do for you.
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Old 10-16-2011, 11:08 AM   #5
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Hello markndeb

Bigger surprise yet, they actually called. Not that they are willing to do anything but they did send me a floor plan and told me that I am going about it in the right manner.

I know that the floor is a sandwich of launan plywood and foam so am still planning on cutting out that section and installing angle bracing. I will need to replace the lino where I cut it up as some of it has already broken. Will keep you informed as to how it goes.

They indicated on the phone that it may be very difficult to do anything from below without dropping the tanks, which I am not willing to do.

WillYum
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Old 10-17-2011, 05:06 PM   #6
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The saga begins

Just got the section cut out and the problem is with the Lauan/Form lamination they used. Basically the way the floor is constructed is: a 4x8 sheet of 1/4" Lauan plywood top and bottom with 1" foam glued in between. The Lauan is offset by 1/2 sheet so the plywood joints are not together. At various points they have a 1x1 across for support BUT this 1x1 does NOT necessarily line up on the edges of the Lauan so there is no support except for the foam at the butt joint.

I first used a stud finder to locate the supports and marked out a 20" x 29" section of lino out starting about 2" on bathroom side of floor vent located in front of table. I used a box knofe to cut out the lino and I think if it were done carefully you might even be able to save it for replacement. The lino is glued down but I was able to remove it without damage.

At the soft spot the upper Lauan extends 6" past the 1x1 coming from the bedroom side. When I got the Lino off I took pictures showing the edge of the Lauan dropping 1/4" just by pushing down with my hands.

I used a battery power 4" skill saw set to about 3/8" to cut the upper Lauan out. I found that the 6" section virtually lifted off the foam as it was only glued down in a few spots. The larger section was somewhat harder to lift but still not completely glued down. I think this lack of glue contributes to the "softness" problem. Once I got the top lauan off I had to scrape the foam off the bottom lauan with a gasket scraper and putty knife so it was glued down much better.

The bottom Lauan is very flexible so there is definately no support under it. I am still going to put 3/4" angle aluminum across opening using angle brackets, replace the foam, and use 3/8 plywood for the floor.

Will continue with this saga at a later date as this is definately a warm day project and will continue over winter.
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Old 10-17-2011, 05:51 PM   #7
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Looks like you are off to a great start! Good luck on your project.
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Old 10-17-2011, 10:37 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WillYum View Post
snip......I used a box knofe to cut out the lino and I think if it were done carefully you might even be able to save it for replacement. The lino is glued down but I was able to remove it without damage......
Since the repair seems to be in a traffic area, it may be difficult to keep the edges down putting the old piece of lino back in.

This is a little bigger project, but you may consider taking out a larger section of lino and replace it with new. My lino (all of it) was replaced with new and didn't have to remove any cabinets, walls, etc. (had some floor moisture damage). Just cut out the old lino along the outer edge of the cabinets, walls, etc., but cut out the lino in large sections and use as a template for the new lino. When the new lino is installed just use stained quarter round to trim of the edges along the cabinets (holds the lino down as well). The lino was tacked when it went under any carpeted areas.

My lino isn't glued down, so I don't have to worry about the lino splitting do to temp swings (Jayco has gone back and forth on using glue, or no-glue). I had one small area a year later after a hard winter that started to get a little high spot, so I just remove the quarter round and rolled the lino, re-attached the quarter round... been fine since.

A couple of pics of the new lino & quarter round trim in my TT........:





IMO, the quarter round trim actually looks better than without!

Bob
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Old 10-18-2011, 12:23 AM   #9
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New Lino

Thanks for the reply, Bob

I'm still trying to figure out what a "box knofe" is and just how I used it (guess I had a Freudian slip of the typing finger). Just got Ispell for use on forums so should be better from now on.

Anyway I had decided to replace the back half of the lino after talking it over with wife. I like what was done with the 1/4 round on your unit and think I will go with that.

I am going to give Jayco a nudge and see if I can shake free some lino but I doubt it unless I am willing to pay a price for it but it won't hurt to try.
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Old 11-09-2011, 08:05 PM   #10
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I have a 29 n with the same problem in the same spot. directly in front of the sink.
We are the original owners and have never abused the trailer.
I have cleaned and claulked the the roof yearly so I dont believe we have a roof leak.
The soft spot appeared this year and has gotten really bad over the last month.
I am actually worried that one of us may go thru the floor.

Any more feedback on the repair process?
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Old 11-09-2011, 11:07 PM   #11
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The saga continues

I have been working on it a little every now and then. I have the aluminum angle cut to length and am attaching angle brackets on ends. I will be posting some more pictures in near future.

I feel this is the fix. As far as I can see this is just a poor design on the part of Jayco although I am not sure that they are the ones that put the floor construction together. If they did then my three year old granddaughter could have designed it better.

Anyway, I will get back to you on this soon.
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Old 11-12-2011, 01:16 AM   #12
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we have the same camper with the same issue in the same spot.

Like you I have done all the roof maintenance and am sue there is no leak.

I was thinking about running a Pergo type floor over the top the entire trailer from rear to the bedrrom door. hoping that this would spread the load out accross the firmer supported areas.

My only concern is the added weight, any thoughts?
I have been underneath withthe belly off and can tell you the bracing option from that way would be almost impossible, and I really dont want to cu the floor if I can avoid it.
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Old 02-24-2012, 04:12 PM   #13
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I have seen (if your in the market for a new floor covering) using sheet rock screws and screwing down into the floor into some 2x4 studs that was being held up underneith to add support/strength to the area that needs it. all depends how/where the tanks are located, wiring etc.. the studs/support pieces will be exposed underneith the camper, not cutting into the under fabric. then recover with carpet or your preference. might want to hit the studs with some black paint or even undercoating to protect them. of course may vary with some models construction.
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Old 03-01-2012, 06:21 PM   #14
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Heres what im talking about. the floor is solid and has no give/flex what so ever. just needs a quick coat of undercoating to protect the wood.





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Old 06-06-2017, 08:57 PM   #15
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glad I came across this thread. My '06 Jay feather Baja had a bad joint in the shower drain that went unnoticed since it ran inside the cabinets. This caused softness along the drain path under the floor. This thread gave me the info I needed to know what type of floor I would be dealing with.
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