Soft floor

[hyperactive]

I have a 2018 28.5 rsts and their is a soft spot on the floor between the outside entry door and the corner of the island. Has anyone else experienced this? How would you go about strengthening it up. I am almost sure it's not water damage as I bought it new and it is stored inside except when we are camping.

[RAurand]

Do you ever drive down the highway while it is raining?

[2nOZ]

I have the same year and model camper. I too have a soft spot between the closet and island. It’s been that way for years. Haven’t done anything about though and it doesn’t seem to be getting worse. Pretty much been like that since new.

[spoon059]

Originally Posted by hyperactive

I am almost sure it's not water damage as I bought it new and it is stored inside except when we are camping.

I can't imagine it is anything except water damage. The way to fix it is to cut out the bad part and replace it.

[hyperactive]

Do you start on top of the floor or below? I never done this, can you save the vinyl ?

[Onyrlef]

Originally Posted by hyperactive

I have a 2018 28.5 rsts and their is a soft spot on the floor between the outside entry door and the corner of the island. Has anyone else experienced this? How would you go about strengthening it up. I am almost sure it's not water damage as I bought it new and it is stored inside except when we are camping.

If you've clear access to the underside of the floor you can install a stiffener ( or two) a 2x6 or 2x8 attached with angle brackets ( Simpson Strong Tie) used to secure floor joists. You'll need to measure and cut the joist to fit, notch out for wiring and piping, attach the 4 brackets with wood screws and either attach smaller angle brackets to the top edge to secure it to the floor or run a bead of liquid nails ( this is to keep it from squeaking). Secure the ends of the sitiffener to the steel frame with self tapping hex head screws. ( don't use self tappers in the joist itself, they won't hold in wood).

[Happy wife / happy life]

The first thing I would do is open up the underbelly below the soft spot and determine for sure what the problem is. Water damage could be a major repair. Just needing added support not so major , or like 2nOZ said you could just leave it as is. Get a visual on this to determine the problem. Best of luck to you. Hopefully it’s just a easy fix.

[hyperactive]

Do I have to drop the entire underbelly a or would you cut a window in it to assess the area?

[RogerR]

I would start with a window. If you can, cut the three sides of the window to the rear and sides and leave the front edge in place. Cut it if you need to but that way when you tape it in place the front will be a little stronger.

I helped my brother work on an old Airstream where water at the door leaked in under the original linoleum and rotted the floor. We removed all the linoleum. Removed bad wood back to were we could support the new wood on the frame. Then we replaced the floor with modern vinyl plank that clicked together. Actually looked much nicer than the 20 year old floor.

But his floor near the door was so rotted supporting from below was not an option. In your case it could be just a poor board that has not rotted but was just badly made and some support would work.

[Yooper906]

Originally Posted by hyperactive

Do I have to drop the entire underbelly a or would you cut a window in it to assess the area?

Go with cutting a window. Taking all underbelly off is simple, putting it back on correctly is a two person job and a huge pain. Make your cut with the wind flow, black gorilla tape works well to seal it back up.

[goducks]

Could easily just be a lack of proper framing under the flooring in that area. It's just taken this long to show up with usage. Thats an area thats walked on 100% of the time.

[conocean]

Originally Posted by 2nOZ

I have the same year and model camper. I too have a soft spot between the closet and island. It’s been that way for years. Haven’t done anything about though and it doesn’t seem to be getting worse. Pretty much been like that since new.

Interesting. My floor isn’t actually soft at the end of my island facing the cupboard. The floor board just has a dip in it under the vinyl flooring.

[bpbuechler]

I also have a 28.5 rats ht that had a soft floor. I removed the coroplast underneath and discovered that 2 crossbeams where cracked on one side. Very poor engineering on these beams. There where 2 large holes thru both ends of the beam leaving little material for strength of the channel iron. I also found cracks in the I beam of the frame. I was able to strengthen the beams and frame by welding them up and welding in gusserts