Floorpack repairs on our 4wc
- Thread starter smileyd
- Start date
Dorian mostly used wood filler to fill the holes of rotting wood on the bottom of our floorpack.
I water sealed a new floor for the 4wc. We are going to liquid nail and dry wall screw it over the existing floor.
You know I will have pix. haha
I water sealed a new floor for the 4wc. We are going to liquid nail and dry wall screw it over the existing floor.
You know I will have pix. haha
Attachments
marty
A Great Guy
floor pack
I am glad you repaired that from the photo it needed it. those old fwcs are very tough and will last you quite a long time with just a little TLC. How long do you plan on spending in it in your trip ? Do you have the heater in it ? if so you should clean it out. bugs and mudd dobbers fill the pipes up with their nests sometimes. it is easy to clean those up by removing the cover from inside and taking the black hose loose and vacuum it out. this is only for the early 80's type furnace. I hope i am not telling you too much at once. have fun.
Marty
I am glad you repaired that from the photo it needed it. those old fwcs are very tough and will last you quite a long time with just a little TLC. How long do you plan on spending in it in your trip ? Do you have the heater in it ? if so you should clean it out. bugs and mudd dobbers fill the pipes up with their nests sometimes. it is easy to clean those up by removing the cover from inside and taking the black hose loose and vacuum it out. this is only for the early 80's type furnace. I hope i am not telling you too much at once. have fun.
Marty
WarpathEngineering
Senior Member
- Joined
- Oct 14, 2006
- Messages
- 101
Don't mean to jump in but is there any preventive maintenance that should be done to the floor pack & if so, how often?
Thanks for your posts.
We did use a little epoxy, I don't know the difference. Messy stuff though. If the wood filler fails then yes we will use that resin or fiberglass as a last resort. We are hoping once we put a new floor over the old floor everything will be good. Any bets on how our camper (the old 4wc that were basically bringing back from the grave.) is going to make it to Panama.
I don't think this is a normal accurance in 4wc's. I think the previous owner just didn't have proper water tanks. The tanks may have sweated. This is water damage. Thanks again I love all the advice.
I enjoy the project and love the savings of just fixing up and old camper.
We did use a little epoxy, I don't know the difference. Messy stuff though. If the wood filler fails then yes we will use that resin or fiberglass as a last resort. We are hoping once we put a new floor over the old floor everything will be good. Any bets on how our camper (the old 4wc that were basically bringing back from the grave.) is going to make it to Panama.
I don't think this is a normal accurance in 4wc's. I think the previous owner just didn't have proper water tanks. The tanks may have sweated. This is water damage. Thanks again I love all the advice.
I enjoy the project and love the savings of just fixing up and old camper.
marty
A Great Guy
gun jumping
Rick,
Don't worry your camper was put together with a glue sealer on all the joints. The fwc floor pack was not glued or sealed to my knowledge until 1985ish and I worked in their wood shop the year your camper was made. I know it was glued. Your floor pack should only need a good coat of paint every 5 or 8 years. Have a nice day.
Marty
Rick,
Don't worry your camper was put together with a glue sealer on all the joints. The fwc floor pack was not glued or sealed to my knowledge until 1985ish and I worked in their wood shop the year your camper was made. I know it was glued. Your floor pack should only need a good coat of paint every 5 or 8 years. Have a nice day.
Marty
benburnett
Senior Member
- Joined
- Oct 5, 2006
- Messages
- 771
floor pack maintaince
To maintain the floor pack of a camper is rather easy. Just don't set it flat on the ground. Always support the floor with some blocks or a couple of 2 x 4's under it. This allows air to flow under the floor while the camper is being stored and will not allow moisture to build up and start rotting out the floor.
If you do support the camper on blocks, put one under each corner and one under the middle of the floor. The floor needs to be supported when not on the truck if anyone is going to get inside and walk around.
Most of the damage that I have seen over the years was from someone setting the camper flat on the ground and leaving it there. This causes moisture to build up under the floor and starts to rot out the wood.
Other than that about the only way to damage one is to let something leak on the inside and not fix it.
The paint on the floor pack is just an exterior house paint. When you notice it starting to wear, just repaint it. I have seen floor packs after 5, 10 and even 15 years that are just fine. Some of those even had the original paint job on them. Just depends on the weather and how much the camper is stored off the truck.
Sincerely,
Ben
www.allterraincampers.com
To maintain the floor pack of a camper is rather easy. Just don't set it flat on the ground. Always support the floor with some blocks or a couple of 2 x 4's under it. This allows air to flow under the floor while the camper is being stored and will not allow moisture to build up and start rotting out the floor.
If you do support the camper on blocks, put one under each corner and one under the middle of the floor. The floor needs to be supported when not on the truck if anyone is going to get inside and walk around.
Most of the damage that I have seen over the years was from someone setting the camper flat on the ground and leaving it there. This causes moisture to build up under the floor and starts to rot out the wood.
Other than that about the only way to damage one is to let something leak on the inside and not fix it.
The paint on the floor pack is just an exterior house paint. When you notice it starting to wear, just repaint it. I have seen floor packs after 5, 10 and even 15 years that are just fine. Some of those even had the original paint job on them. Just depends on the weather and how much the camper is stored off the truck.
Sincerely,
Ben
www.allterraincampers.com
camelracer
Contributors
Ben,
Is there any problem storing the camper on a truck that has a bed mat. I like the way the mat keeps the camper in place but the surface is flatter and doesn't provide for the air circulation that the bed ribs do.
Has anyone covered the plywood with alumunum diamondplate like the Sixpac? It seems this would add pretty good protection with a slight weight increase.
Is there any problem storing the camper on a truck that has a bed mat. I like the way the mat keeps the camper in place but the surface is flatter and doesn't provide for the air circulation that the bed ribs do.
Has anyone covered the plywood with alumunum diamondplate like the Sixpac? It seems this would add pretty good protection with a slight weight increase.
benburnett
Senior Member
- Joined
- Oct 5, 2006
- Messages
- 771
rubber mat
I have seen a lot of customers who use a rubber mat in the truck. I don't know of anyone though that stored it that way for long periods of time. The main concern with the floor is having the air flow under it so that the condensation does not build up and start to rot your wood.
I would just watch it for awhile if you plan to store it that way and see if you have an undue amount of moisture. If you do, I would take out the rubber mat. I had one customer who bought a new camper one time and brought his old one in when he came to pick up the new one. His camper had been on the truck for 15 years. He had never taken it off. When we pulled the camper off it was still in great shape and had no dry rot in the floor. Of course that was just straight on the bed with the ribs providing the air flow under the floor.
Again, I would just watch it while you have it stored and if you do have a build up of moisture I would take out the rubber for storing the camper.
I have never seen anyone cover the wood in diamond plate. To be honest I would consider it a waste of money. With the proper care of the camper you should never have a problem with your floor. Almost all damage that I have ever seen was due to neglect.
Sincerely,
Ben
www.allterraincampers.com
I have seen a lot of customers who use a rubber mat in the truck. I don't know of anyone though that stored it that way for long periods of time. The main concern with the floor is having the air flow under it so that the condensation does not build up and start to rot your wood.
I would just watch it for awhile if you plan to store it that way and see if you have an undue amount of moisture. If you do, I would take out the rubber mat. I had one customer who bought a new camper one time and brought his old one in when he came to pick up the new one. His camper had been on the truck for 15 years. He had never taken it off. When we pulled the camper off it was still in great shape and had no dry rot in the floor. Of course that was just straight on the bed with the ribs providing the air flow under the floor.
Again, I would just watch it while you have it stored and if you do have a build up of moisture I would take out the rubber for storing the camper.
I have never seen anyone cover the wood in diamond plate. To be honest I would consider it a waste of money. With the proper care of the camper you should never have a problem with your floor. Almost all damage that I have ever seen was due to neglect.
Sincerely,
Ben
www.allterraincampers.com
Well we are getting closer. Dorian and I put the new floor over the existing floor. It looks great and is water tight. The floor is much stronger now!!
I am starting to paint. I got one coat on one side. Although we put a water protector on the new floor prior to attaching it to the camper, we are still going to paint the bottom to double seal it.
Well our camper is only going to get better from here. I resealed the windows from the outside and all around the camper. After we paint it's on to electrical. We will document that for you too if you would like.
Final pictures of out finished floor pack will hopefull be tomarrow. I hope we finish then.... Huh
I am starting to paint. I got one coat on one side. Although we put a water protector on the new floor prior to attaching it to the camper, we are still going to paint the bottom to double seal it.
Well our camper is only going to get better from here. I resealed the windows from the outside and all around the camper. After we paint it's on to electrical. We will document that for you too if you would like.
Final pictures of out finished floor pack will hopefull be tomarrow. I hope we finish then.... Huh
Attachments
benburnett
Senior Member
- Joined
- Oct 5, 2006
- Messages
- 771
floor pack
Looks like you guys have done a great job. With the extra sealant you should have no more problems with the floor pack on the camper. Look forward to hearing about your camping trips soon.
Sincerely,
Ben
www.allterraincampers.com
Looks like you guys have done a great job. With the extra sealant you should have no more problems with the floor pack on the camper. Look forward to hearing about your camping trips soon.
Sincerely,
Ben
www.allterraincampers.com
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