Soft spots

[Inspector4]

As the owners of a 2014 X20E we have had problems with a spot on the floor between the bathroom and the pantry. Joints in the top layer move up to 3/8” .
Last fall our selling dealer finally had the floor fixed, seems that the foam crushes under foot traffic, especially since the top layer of ply in the sandwich is nominally 1/4”. I tried to get our dealer to install a thicker floor to fix the problem, all they would do was repair the soft area and put new vinyl down over the whole floor.
The installer did a masterful job on the installation no wood quarter round holding the edges just a small bead of caulking. Work was done last October/ November towed it to our winter storage building,pulled it out June 8th parked it at home went out Monday the 11th to start dewinterizing and found another (worse) soft spot.
The quest for lighter weight has done owners of these trailers no favors.
The dealer said that installing a waterproof laminate flooring over top would not work as the floor moves too much.
If anyone has ideas for repairs please reply

[bankr63]

I struggle with the same thoughts for my X19H. I have one soft spot that we have been living with. I figured I wouldn't do anything unless it gets significantly worse, but I've had a couple of years to think about it.

I agree that it is the breakdown/compression of the foam core that is likely contributing, so I expect I will remove both the wood and the foam, and try to source the same thickness of foam in a more stable configuration, or perhaps run additional supports beneath the ply; won't really know what my options are until I get it open.
It is hard to change the depth of the plywood without replacing the entire floor. Also, I suspect the ply is the usual lightweight lauan plywood. There are probably more stable plywoods available in the same thickness that are less likely to sag, but it is still only 1/4" thick.

[Nathalie]

I have this same issue on my 2011 X17Z Jay Feather UltraLite. Noticed this about 3 years ago and we've been "walking lightly" around the bathroom, and just inside the door area. Haven't done anything about it yet, but I wonder if the head office might do something about it ???

[bankr63]

This problem has been widely reported for many years by owners of trailers with the lightweight sandwich floor construction. Maybe one day there will be a better way to engineer a floor that is as light but stronger for a reasonable cost, but Jayco and others have had quite a few years to figure this out, and have yet to production.

If it fails in the warranty period, it will be covered, but I doubt they are taking a bath on it because the failures usually come outside of warranty.

[Auto_Pilot]

We have a soft spot in front the of sink and over in front of the sofa. We are using a think outdoor mat in front of the sink to help distribute the weight better, kind of like snowshoes!

[yingpin]

Our 25E has had some issues by the rear bunk end. It started small and you could see a slight discoloration of the laminate flooring. It has grown over the years and now is about 3'x3' and we are getting estimates to fix it. I thought it would have been from water but we have not had any interior leaks (that we know of).

On the right rear of the camper just past the steps I have noticed that the black "membrane" is no longer sealed and the particle board underneath is rotted. Is it safe to assume that this is the source, soaking the sub-floor and rotting away?

It is insured and they have agreed to cover the cost less the deductible. We are getting estimates now. I may want to upgrade the flooring material if that is an option. I will let you know what they find.

[bankr63]

Originally Posted by yingpin

On the right rear of the camper just past the steps I have noticed that the black "membrane" is no longer sealed and the particle board underneath is rotted. Is it safe to assume that this is the source, soaking the sub-floor and rotting away?

I wouldn't assume this at all. In all likelihood you are looking at a symptom more than the cause. For the lower level sheathing to wick moisture up through the floor lamination to the upper level is unlikely. I would expect that you probably have a leak somewhere along a seam or penetration in the wall or ceiling nearby and the water is working its way down and soaking both wood layers of the lamination.

Before investing in fixing the floor, make sure you find and fix the moisture cause first. Have your trailer pressure tested for leaks to find any hidden/hard to find problems.

[Murff]

Jayco took care of fixing the floor and I wrote about it in this thread;

https://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f...ted-51685.html

This was done last fall just before the trailer was parked for the winter.

Now that we have done a three week 5300 mile trip this summer, we have noticed there seem to be some spots that are a bit higher or soft in places. I think, knowing how much work went into the repair, we can live with it, as is.

Murff

[twoballscrewball]

I just installed an 8MM hardwood laminate floor over top of the vinyl in my 2016 X23F after noticing seams starting to show through the vinyl and hearing cracking in some spots. The entire job cost me less than $200 so I figured it was a worthwhile experiment.

I absolutely love the look. The floor lost all of it's 'squishy' feeling it had before. Can no longer feel the subframe beams when you walk on them.

The entire floor as a whole does still flex some. I plan on adding some additional joists under the floor between the existing frame rails over the fall/winter.

We've gone on one trip with it so far, about 300 miles over the road and 4 days in the camper. No issues other than some squeaking at the edges, which is actually coming from the quarter round I used around the edges. I'll probably pull it back up and glue it down over the fall to see if that helps.

Here's the thread I started on it:

https://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f...ing-58989.html

[twoballscrewball]

If you want to skip over 3 pages of complaining about the floor and just see the install, here you go

https://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f...g-58989-4.html