Slides, Floors, and Ceilings (Oh my)

[Less_Stuff_More_Love]

This is gonna be a long post, I’ll apologize in advance lol.

Tackled our first day of renovating out our project 5th wheel (2007 Fleetwood 315BHS) and ran into some questionable problems as we tore out the half-done attempt at flooring the previous owner was working on. In addition to which, I have some questions on the slide out floor and roof. (Yes I am fully aware this is going to be a labor intensive project!) Pictures attached

1. The flooring. PO was installing laminate over the top of what we found at the doorway. Eek! The wood is not crumbling at this point, Im not sure if this is treatable at this point but I wanted to check and get some other advice . We looking at an entire flooring overhaul?

2. The slide out flooring (which wasn’t working when we bought it, but I got slide out and saw that it wasn’t cut right AT all). Obviously this needs to be replaced… and done right… but what’s odd is that the PO put a piece of trim on the underside with a metal bracket to bow up the flooring in the middle. Oddest thing. Only thing I can think of it that the slide was sagging in the middle and wouldn’t close right.

I’m planning on putting in 2 layers of 11/32 plywood as the flooring, staggered to hopefully help give the flooring some better stability, but is there anything I need to be watching for/ to prevent it not sagging again? (If that’s even a problem, could have been that the PO let it set without jacks for WAY too long. This set up underneath doesn’t have any center support.. not sure if that’s normal .

3. The roofing on top just has the bottom sheathing, beams, and then the EDPM on top. Doesn’t the slide out normally have a top layer of plywood?

 

[tlmgcamp]

Instead of using 2 layers of 11/32, you might consider 1 layers of 3/4 tongue and groove. The tongue and groove will lock the edges together

 

[Less_Stuff_More_Love]

Instead of using 2 layers of 11/32, you might consider 1 layers of 3/4 tongue and groove. The tongue and groove will lock the edges together

Instead of using 2 layers of 11/32, you might consider 1 layers of 3/4 tongue and groove. The tongue and groove will lock the edges together

With the Slide being 12’ (plus change) to be able to use the T&G, I’d have to run the sections the opposite direction, so I’d need to make 4 sections. With the flooring only having support on the outside edges that worries me a bit, however I’m use to “normal house” construction designs so I’m not familiar with the RV architecture world (yet)

 

[Onyrlef]

There’s a chance you can clean up the mildew and save having to tear out the OSB, that is if it’s only surface damage, you may have to float an area or two.The problem with replacing decking is the walls, cabinets, etc are built on the OSB. If there’s any possibility for avoiding a tear out it’s worth exploring. As for sagging, you can always run a perpendicular joist or two.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

As Onyrief said, you can't just tear up the floor because the subfloor was laid before the sidewalls were added and typically the cabinets and such are built on top of the finish surface layer as well (but you can cut around those). The photos don't look like the subfloor is bad - just damp-mold. If that is the case, I'd just treat it with a bleach solution to kill off the mold and apply a waterproofing primer. If necessary, you could add a top layer of plywood, but you have to be very careful of the overall height so that it doesn't interfere with the slide.

The slide out is a simple box, built outside and inserted into the wall opening. Typically it has a slab plywood floor & roof, no ribs or joists. It would NOT have a center support. 3/4" or 7/8" plywood is typical, with a waterproof sheet under the floor bottom and over the roof top (filon or EPDM or similar). The slide ends & side are like the rest of the sidewalls, a thin framed shell with vacuum-bonded laminated walls. I'd either rebuild the floor section alone, or build a whole new slide box if severely damaged.

A 2007 Fleetwood should have a rack & pinion slide mechanism, so there will be a gear rack (two on longer slides) under the slide to engage with the pinion gear on the shaft. That acts as a stiffener, even though it is not its purpose. I don't see the gear racks in the photo. How does the slide move?

 

[Less_Stuff_More_Love]

As Onyrief said, you can't just tear up the floor because the subfloor was laid before the sidewalls were added and typically the cabinets and such are built on top of the finish surface layer as well (but you can cut around those). The photos don't look like the subfloor is bad - just damp-mold. If that is the case, I'd just treat it with a bleach solution to kill off the mold and apply a waterproofing primer. If necessary, you could add a top layer of plywood, but you have to be very careful of the overall height so that it doesn't interfere with the slide.

The slide out is a simple box, built outside and inserted into the wall opening. Typically it has a slab plywood floor & roof, no ribs or joists. It would NOT have a center support. 3/4" or 7/8" plywood is typical, with a waterproof sheet under the floor bottom and over the roof top (filon or EPDM or similar). The slide ends & side are like the rest of the sidewalls, a thin framed shell with vacuum-bonded laminated walls. I'd either rebuild the floor section alone, or build a whole new slide box if severely damaged.

A 2007 Fleetwood should have a rack & pinion slide mechanism, so there will be a gear rack (two on longer slides) under the slide to engage with the pinion gear on the shaft. That acts as a stiffener, even though it is not its purpose. I don't see the gear racks in the photo. How does the slide move?

Thanks for the input! (You and Onlyreif both!). The trailers been out in a field for lord knows how long (of course in a year that we’ve had record snow in utah with the fridge pulled out. I’m assuming the mildew is coming from the exposed vent and just siphoned down the sides. Next step is to pull up the linoleum under the cabinets and see how bad it is down there . Long term we are planning on redoing all the kitchen cabinets, but if it’s something I don’t have to do right out the gate that’s a total win .

The sub flooring on the slide, I agree. It’s fairly straightforward. The square white blocks in the coach look like they might have been installed after the fact (probably to “clear” the vinyl tile that he was installing. We’re option for vinyl sheets that are thinner, so my idea is to replaced those with a different glide that’s lower profile. Or do I even need that?

For the ceiling it does have smaller joists if that’s the right term. I can feel them from a small hole in the ceiling panel (interior) but there’s no outside panel. Which is odd to me. That’s going to be a little more of an expensive project to do initially, because I’d like to move to TPO if I’m going to redo the roof, so I’m thinking at this point to put in a slide out topper that’s waterproof, and move on to other projects initially .

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

For the ceiling it does have smaller joists if that’s the right term.

Joists would be glorifying them. More like spacers or stiffeners, making room for some insulation and lending a bit of support for the luan top-skin so you can walk on the roof when needed.

TPO is a better choice than EPDM, and filon is better than TPO.

There is no such thing as a slide topper that is waterproof. It's just a debris shield and rain slants underneath or gets blown in at either end. The top of the slide needs a waterproof barrier and there must be rubber seals where the roof passes thru the RV sidewall.