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kehodder · 06-27-2021, 07:10 AM

Do all these verticle panels have square tubing within them that contribute to holding the basement floor up via the outriggers from the frame?

I ask because I'm considering just strengthening my basement by adding some tubular and angle steel underneath the basement floor. I'm not confident I have the skillset or time to rebuild my whole basement, plus it is no where near as bad as yours (I think, not really sure unless one starts yanking things apart). The worst is the waterbay where the Grey and black tank weight are pushing a small drop to the basement floor. Figuring to add a subframe to the two rear compartment doors across to both sides. If I can determine where all the uprights are to the outriggers I'll find a way to connect my new subframe to them through the current floor.

Jake21 · 06-27-2021, 09:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kehodder

Do all these verticle panels have square tubing within them that contribute to holding the basement floor up via the outriggers from the frame?

I ask because I'm considering just strengthening my basement by adding some tubular and angle steel underneath the basement floor. I'm not confident I have the skillset or time to rebuild my whole basement, plus it is no where near as bad as yours (I think, not really sure unless one starts yanking things apart). The worst is the waterbay where the Grey and black tank weight are pushing a small drop to the basement floor. Figuring to add a subframe to the two rear compartment doors across to both sides. If I can determine where all the uprights are to the outriggers I'll find a way to connect my new subframe to them through the current floor.

Yes, but if the flooring is sagging, it is likely that the vertical square tubing is rusted as wells as the horizontal frame. You can pry up the front edge of the fiberglass floor of the basement as well as the under panel front edge and take a scraper and see how bad the rust is. Most all my square tubes were just surface rust so I was able to treat the metal and reseat the floor decking and wall decking. The battery bay was shot. All the square frame was totally rusted and so was the vertical frame up about 6 inches.

Meames1 · 06-28-2021, 05:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kehodder

Do all these verticle panels have square tubing within them that contribute to holding the basement floor up via the outriggers from the frame?

I ask because I'm considering just strengthening my basement by adding some tubular and angle steel underneath the basement floor. I'm not confident I have the skillset or time to rebuild my whole basement, plus it is no where near as bad as yours (I think, not really sure unless one starts yanking things apart). The worst is the waterbay where the Grey and black tank weight are pushing a small drop to the basement floor. Figuring to add a subframe to the two rear compartment doors across to both sides. If I can determine where all the uprights are to the outriggers I'll find a way to connect my new subframe to them through the current floor.

Yes, What Jake21 said.
I will add, if your steel is still intact (or close enough for you) and you are concerned that a self tapping tek screw will not hold enough. You can use a hole saw and cut just the fiberglass covering on the base of the uprights to expose the steel. Cut the hole so the bottom of your hole saw (use like a 2" saw) is 1-3/4" from the bottom. Just drill through the FRP on one side and into the foam insulation. Dig out the insulation and you will expose the top of the steel tube (it's 1-1/2" square tube). then you'll be able to drill up through the basement floor and your added supports and nut and bolt your repair to the existing tubes through the holes you created. Use 3/8's bolts, then patch over the holes with a rubber plug you can get at McMaster-Carr etc. This was how I was going to repair mine, but the bottom of the uprights were too shot.
Good Luck !

kehodder · 06-29-2021, 10:54 PM

Appreciate the input guys. The uprights that I'm worried about most are not so accessible but I could check a few with your holesaw recommendation. The wall between the aquahot and the wet bay is bad, followed by the wall between the wet bay and left rear wheels. I sketched up a rough plan of a combo angle iron and square tube but still contemplating what I can do to solidly secure this subframe to the Spartan frame. Theaded rod through the subframe and basement up to the outriggers are a thought.

kehodder · 06-29-2021, 11:51 PM

More pics of my situation.

By using threaded ready rod where I can I hope to be able to suck up the drooping existing floor. Behind the aquahot wall I could drill through the water tank's supporting L bracket for three ready rod verticle supports.

Meames1 · 06-30-2021, 05:22 AM

Sorry to have bad news, but your pictures look almost exactly how mine looked before I started tearing it apart. I'm sure you've seen the results earlier in this thread.
Don't get me wrong, I wish you luck, but I'm afraid of what you are going to find once you start poking around.

Jake21 · 06-30-2021, 06:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meames1

Sorry to have bad news, but your pictures look almost exactly how mine looked before I started tearing it apart. I'm sure you've seen the results earlier in this thread.
Don't get me wrong, I wish you luck, but I'm afraid of what you are going to find once you start poking around.

I tend to agree. He can maybe “band-aide” this for a little while but a rebuild is in the near future. IF the only major deterioration is in the water bay and near the wheel wells, then perhaps a total rebuild is not needed. Just need to get a poker and start digging into the square tubing and see how deep and high it goes.

kehodder · 06-30-2021, 09:24 AM

Ya, been through every post of the entire thread (damn good work and thanks for starting this). I'm being overly optimistic that mine isn't as bad for sure, I'll dig into one today to find out the actuality. I guess the uprights condition doesn't really matter if all the horizontal tubing of the basement floor is pooched, it certainly is all is in the vicinity of the wet bay. Maybe I should really be digging into the horizontal stuff further away in the forward storage bags to see the condition of what looks OK visually to know the real truth? Ugh...i can't handle the truth

kehodder · 06-30-2021, 09:53 AM

Well I picked on this spot just south of 1st and 2nd Bay wall on the passenger side to check the horizontal tubing. It's solid here.

Drewfab · 07-01-2021, 03:55 PM

I don't have many pics of mine going together but I re-built the entire basement like Meames1 did. I built it all out of aluminum. I never liked how Fleetwood hung the entire floor and everything on it, could be 5000 lbs in water, propane and all the gear you can store in the basement on the TEK screws up from the bottom of the floor into 18 ga steel. I welded angle up from the parts of the floor that attached to the bulkheads that hang the floor. I used screws front and back into the bottom of the bulkhead from the angle. I could have also used thru bolts to make it really secure. Now I have no vertical screws from the bottom.

My point is one method you can patch together your RV is to run angle steel or aluminum side to side along the bulkhead to the floor, drill thru the bulkhead and angle and nut and bolt, then drill thru the angle to the floor over the front to back tubes and thru bolt.

Drewfab · 07-01-2021, 04:02 PM

Here's some CAD pics to show it better. I even capped the front and back with some 3x1 angle to help hold the floor to the bulkhead better.

degkop · 07-01-2021, 09:06 PM

Like the others here, I am going the route of full replacement. I used some garage door strapping to hold it up temporarily until I get all of my steel welded up. I had wanted to do the steel rod thing, but ultimately realized that in order to get the rod up high enough to get into good steel on my rig, I would need the basement floor up at least 18" to fish it up from below. I guess you could jack it up to get that height, but I wasn’t okay getting under the bus with it like that. Best of luck and keep posting photos.

kehodder · 07-17-2021, 10:38 AM

Well, I managed to teach myself how to flux core weld with a little Lincoln 100 and have the basement support frame all welded up. (The bird poo under the paint can were just me trying to figure out the wire speed and voltage so don't come in on how crappy they are .. tsk tsk) I luckily was able to use my son inlaw father's shop. He was a boilermaker before passing away last year. I used the odds and ends and leftover material he had that was just rusting and his widow was happy that I was using it. I did not measure the thickness but I'm guessing around 4 gauge. It weighs 115lbs. I then added a couple coats of chassis paint.

More to come on my Band-Aid.. haha

kehodder · 07-17-2021, 11:07 AM

Question... What is the purpose of these holes in the pass thru Bay basement floor? I'm assuming they are supposed to be for venting but wouldn't that create a vacuum while going down gravel roads and suck in dust. Anyway the previous owner had them filled in with silicon chalking and it caused some rusting and separation of the aluminum skin to the steel tubing. I scraped out to silicone and cleaned off to the tubing. The tubing is still solid so that's a good sign.