Community Forums

matthew6279 · 07-25-2016, 03:18 PM

I have a 2005 Dutchmen c5500 MH. There is an area of subfloor going from the kitchen to the hall the is not level with the other floor. The floor is not soft in any way there is just a dip. Maybe an area about 12"-16" long. Any thoughts on this? Its by the shower but while I did find a small leak it is not near this area. Thanks for the help.

MSHappyCampers · 07-25-2016, 04:03 PM

I'm not a flooring expert, but my bet is that you have to fill in the low area with some type of filler to level it up!

Maybe Ernie Ekberg will see your post and give you some advice!

Ernie Ekberg · 07-25-2016, 04:41 PM

can you put a straight edge on it and take a photo for me to see?

Ernie Ekberg · 07-25-2016, 04:45 PM

can you put a straight edge on the floor and take a photo?

rambler62 · 07-25-2016, 05:15 PM

Do you know what type of subfloor you have? Plywood, OSB, MDF, and how thick. Without seeing it I would cut out and replace. If the wood is REALLY good you could use body filler to level out.

DrDaveMA · 07-25-2016, 05:29 PM

Since your coach is 11 years old, I would look to see what moved before I did anything. Water travels with gravity, with the shower leak it could have traveled and something is rotted underneath causing the dip. Is this a new dip, or has it been there since the coach was new? Dutchman is a good model and I would be surprised to see the dip has been there since manufacturing.

greystroke · 07-25-2016, 06:26 PM

I just finished working on my floor. It is a soft floor that over the last 18 years has developed some damage due to water.

The damage was under the roller for my slide. Tried quite a few products that failed.

So what I did was use Bondo(3m) Resin and fiberglass sheets to build up the floor. The tile was all busted so I used Truck Mud Flap material in place of the tile underneath the roller. I cut it in strips. I used a fantastic product called Liquid Nails FUZ IT. It is ideal for soft floors because it drys and has flexibility. Like hard rubble. It was also super for attaching the tile in front of the slide. If you use regular tile cement it will not last if a roller has to go over it.

Slide works like new.

Ernie Ekberg · 07-25-2016, 06:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rambler62

Do you know what type of subfloor you have? Plywood, OSB, MDF, and how thick. Without seeing it I would cut out and replace. If the wood is REALLY good you could use body filler to level out.

Negative- without seeing the floor, I sure would not advise on cutting something that I have not see, thus the request for photos

barmcd · 07-25-2016, 06:48 PM

If it's not soft from water damage I wouldn't cut out good wood. They make a self leveler for use on concrete slabs. I think it would work for wood too.

matthew6279 · 07-26-2016, 01:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ernie Ekberg

can you put a straight edge on it and take a photo for me to see?

I will get a picture with a straight edge as soon as I can. Thank you!

Quote:

Originally Posted by rambler62

Do you know what type of subfloor you have? Plywood, OSB, MDF, and how thick. Without seeing it I would cut out and replace. If the wood is REALLY good you could use body filler to level out.

I do not know what type of subfloor I have yet. I'm thinking osb though. There is absolutely no give when I step on it so maybe some leveler will help. I'm planning on pulling the vinyl and replacing it this winter so thats when i plan to fix the floor, whatever the fix may be. I'm going to pull the shower out, bathroom vanity as well.

DrDaveMA · 07-26-2016, 02:31 PM

Is this a new dip, or has it been there all along?

matthew6279 · 07-28-2016, 07:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrDaveMA

Is this a new dip, or has it been there all along?

I have had the camper for just over a year. I certainly don't remember the dip being there except for the past 6 months or so. Guess I could have missed it???

DrDaveMA · 07-28-2016, 09:31 PM

If this is new I would find the source of the problem before I attempted to fix it, otherwise you are just putting a bandaid on it, it will come back in a short period of time.

Ernie. · 07-31-2016, 06:54 AM

OSB doesn't like liquids, it can swell and "delaminate". If I was going to fill and level I would go with "bondo" after making sure it wasn't structural. Some stud finders have electrical/water line sensing capabilities, I'm not sure if they'd scan through flooring. I'd hate to cut into into a floor or wall without knowing what was behind or under it. Just my two cents but I'm just a dumb retired millwright.