17z front door/bed

[dbweathe]

2010 17Z front bed
Hi, frequent reader on here and first time poster.

When getting our 2010 17Z out of storage, i noticed that the lower edge of front bed/door frame has taken in water and soaked the lower 8-10 inches of wood on the bed.

I plan to let it dry out to assess the damage, but wondering if it's possible to
take brackets off and just replace the damaged wood without too much trouble. Can this be done with the frame still installed on the trailer?

Also not sure if it's safe to sleep on with wood that was wet and dried.

Any insight from someone whose dealt with this in the past would be very helpful.

[RogerR]

In general, just getting wood wet won't hurt it in the short run unless it is not plywood. Some com-posit boards swell up and die.
Once the wood is dried out check for rot, mold, mildew. Start on a good part and give it a few light taps with a hammer. Should just be very tiny dent marks. Then move to dried out, previously wet areas. If hammer sinks in instead of similar small marks there could be damage. Do it from bottom and top.

Post what it looks close up when dried.

[Hollander Mutthaulers]

We had a similar but much smaller experience. Jayco replaced the hatch under warranty.

We once had water come through a gap caused by tent material caught in top gasket instead of being well-folded into hatch when closing. That water was puddled harmlessly in the exterior of the tent when we opened the hatch. We have had some problem with leaks, but so far nothing serious.

We have an aggravating chronic problem of a small leak in the front door-side bottom corner when we travel in heavy rain, but not when camped and open in heavy rain. We keep an eye on it and keep a towel in that corner to catch and soak up any moisture. It's tricky to try to find where the water is coming from.

As far as the plywood floor... I have seen hybrids that have had part or all of the plywood bed floor replaced with marine grade outdoor plywood. If your plywood needs to be partly or completely replaced, that may be an option.

Best wishes for a good solution and great camping ahead. We really like our little 16XRB and have never looked back.

[netlos]

Felt a soft spot on ours at the end of our last camping trip, peeled off the wall paper like stuff, and it was pretty soft and wet, resealed the exterior, and ended up cutting out the bottom 20" of wood/styrofoam, scraping off the glued down styrofoam was a messy pain in the a$$(lol), will go to Home Depot tomorrow and pick up some 1/2" ridgid foam, and a sheet of 5/8" plywood , as the existing stuff measures 1-1/8". Wish me luck!

[Hollander Mutthaulers]

Originally Posted by netlos

Felt a soft spot on ours at the end of our last camping trip, peeled off the wall paper like stuff, and it was pretty soft and wet, resealed the exterior, and ended up cutting out the bottom 20" of wood/styrofoam, scraping off the glued down styrofoam was a messy pain in the a$$(lol), will go to Home Depot tomorrow and pick up some 1/2" ridgid foam, and a sheet of 5/8" plywood , as the existing stuff measures 1-1/8". Wish me luck!

What a project! Hope the work goes well and becomes a very good fix. Keep us posted. Good luck! : )

[netlos]

So , I did not take pics of the demo( it was a mess), but here are a few of the repair, 1/2" ridgid insulation, and 5/8" plywood, replaced bottom 20", super solid, I am happy with the way it turned out.

[Hollander Mutthaulers]

Glad it went well! Good for you! Thanks for the pictures. It seems the wet bed floor fear is common to some extent to hybrid owners. Great that you've shown a solution. Best wishes for happy times ahead with your rig!