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Old 01-18-2018, 11:23 AM   #1
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What material should I use?

TIA for any help or ideas.

While ripping out carpeting to be replaced, we discovered water damage in one of our slide out floors. The original material used for the bottom/outside of the slideout was apparently the infamous luan. The wood backing on the luan is toast so I am going to remove everything and build it back up.

I don't want anything that can rot again so the top of the sandwich will be 1/4" hardi backer, the center will again be styrofoam, just can't figure out what and where to get the bottom/outside.

What are they putting on the new ones these days?

Your ideas and tips are greatly appreciated!
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Old 01-18-2018, 11:32 AM   #2
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Luan is just a type of soft plywood and is almost never used as an outer surface - it is typically in the sandwich somewhere. The outer skin (exposed to weather) is usually some sort of sheet material like fiberglass(e.g. filon), rubber, TPO, etc. If it doesn't need to be very cosmetic, you could use mobile home & RV underbelly sheeting, e.g. a product like one of these:
https://www.all-rite.com/underbelly-material
http://rv52.com/rv-underbelly-material/
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Old 01-18-2018, 11:58 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gary RVRoamer View Post
Luan is just a type of soft plywood and is almost never used as an outer surface - it is typically in the sandwich somewhere. The outer skin (exposed to weather) is usually some sort of sheet material like fiberglass(e.g. filon), rubber, TPO, etc. If it doesn't need to be very cosmetic, you could use mobile home & RV underbelly sheeting, e.g. a product like one of these:
https://www.all-rite.com/underbelly-material
RV Underbelly Material

Thanks Gary for the ideas and links!

For a time I was interested in Alfas ( I ended up with a National Pacifica ). In the Alfa world, the fiberglass sheets (that blister) that make up the sides of the RV are called "luan". I have since learned that "luan" is a type of light wood.

Wat I have now on the bottom is a thin layer of what I believe to be fiberglas that was backed by some type of wood that is now soaked and rotten.

The replacement needs to have some strength and it needs to be something that won't ever rot again and it needs to be around 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. The lighter the better.

The corrugated plastic is interesting. Do you think the weight of the slide would be held up by that?

Thanks Again!
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Old 01-18-2018, 08:09 PM   #4
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If you need something 1/4" thick, maybe you could use marine plywood with a sheet of FRP (fiberglass reinforced panel) glued to it, which you can buy at a big box hardware store.
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Old 01-18-2018, 08:29 PM   #5
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The Delrin product is Bullet Proof and is used in many different applications.

Acetal/Delrin Sheet - Natural and Black
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Old 01-18-2018, 08:45 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KimoJames View Post
TIA for any help or ideas.

While ripping out carpeting to be replaced, we discovered water damage in one of our slide out floors. The original material used for the bottom/outside of the slideout was apparently the infamous luan. The wood backing on the luan is toast so I am going to remove everything and build it back up.
My advice here is to take a couple of (GOOD) pictures from underneath/outside and then a couple from inside (low and close up) so we can see what's really going on. The reason I suggest this is, replacing slide floor material can sometimes get a little dicey for several reasons. Have seen several folks here doing floor replacement and this area can pose certain obstacles. Pictures will certainly help others to see exactly what's going on and offer better targeted advice.

And of course since there's visible water damage from the past, make sure you have located how that happened and insure that area doesn't leak again.

BTW...do yourself and us a favor by putting your MH and Toad information into your signature
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Consider signing up and becoming a IRV2 supporter. It’s a small way to give back to what we all reap here.
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