My husband has removed most of the floor in the LQ of my '95 Sundowner. There were carpet squares glued to the aluminum base, then plywood on top of the carpet, then linoleum on top of that. We can find no leaks anywhere and are assuming that years of condensation caused the rotten plywood. It was soaking wet mush when he scraped it out. What should we use to replace the flooring? Do we need a vapor barrier? Marine-grade plywood? Commercial linoleum? I thought peel & stick squares would work to let moisture escape, but I don't know that they would adhere for years. Any assistance would be most appreciated. Thanks! K
Posted 2012-05-18 2:59 PM (#144036 - in reply to #144035) Subject: RE: replacing LQ floor
Elite Veteran
Posts: 804 Location: Tenn/Ala.
I think you have a leak. If it was wet mush, water is getting in somewhwere. Find that issue before you go to reassemble.
If you had carpet on the aluminum, that shows that trailer was not a Sundowner factory built LQ. When they did their LQs, there was a lot of caulking that took place inside the trailer. Remember, every one of those wall slats is only about 6" tall- so there's a seam that often. None of them may be really leaking, but a bit of seepage from several points can cause what you saw.
Since you have it all out, I'd spend some serious time making sure it was "dried in" before I reinstalled anything.
Posted 2012-05-18 5:58 PM (#144038 - in reply to #144035) Subject: RE: replacing LQ floor
New User
Posts: 2
Location: Michigan
Thanks for the info! We have hooked up the water and pressurized the system to see if it is leaking, and it's not. No ceiling leaks, either. The mushy plywood was all under linoleum, but where there was none (like under the water tank), the flooring is good, as if it were a vapor barrier issue. We've been letting it air dry for a week or so, so I hope we're safe to start the reinstall. I don't know if we need something under the plywood or between the plywood and the linoleum to keep this from happening again. Thanks again! K
Posted 2012-05-19 8:51 AM (#144046 - in reply to #144035) Subject: RE: replacing LQ floor
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 385 Location: high desert, CA.
Just a thought.....Since you live in the snow belt, does the snow level ever get as high as the bottom of the trailer? And if so, could it leak into the seam between the walls and floor as the snow melts? You do have a problem with seepage, as a bit of condensation would only ruin a small part I would think, and if it was all mushy....leak. If the snow were to be as high as the floor/wall seam, frost or freezing, could also gap the outside, and let moisture into the floor. Of course how would I know? I live in the freaking desert, and only get deep snow about every 5 yrs, even though I am at 3300 ft.
Posted 2012-05-25 3:41 PM (#144212 - in reply to #144035) Subject: RE: replacing LQ floor
Regular
Posts: 68
We replaced our floor twice! The first time we thought we had found the leak , but we didn't the second time we did, it was a rubber seal in the water pump which allowed a slow leak! I think what happened is we hooked up to city water and the water pressure pushed the seal out of place.Once we found the leak and fixed the seal/washer the leak stopped! We used that thin foam insulation on the aluminum then plywood then very high grade vinyl . Mira
replacing LQ floor
