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I really do think that at least half the fun is keeping her
looking as new as she does.
After returning to Florida
from a recent trip to New Jersey, I noticed the floor near
the front, right hand corner of my 1987 Avion, 30P model showed
signs of wood rot. I have attempted to outline the procedure,
complete with photographs, I used to repair the damage and
locate the leak(s). |
Before
you begin, buy a good square drive screwdriver. Almost every
screw you will remove will have a square head (Robertson Head).
You will need a power saw, chisel set, notched trowel, hammer,
mallet, utility knife, metal square, or straight edge, shop
vacuum, router with a 1/4" x 3/8" square bit, electric
drill, and rotary wire brush, belt sander, mineral sprits,
plenty of rags and a container to store the screws. |
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The first problem was
removing the sofa/bed. Removing the lower portion of the sofa/bed
from the brackets gave access to the screws that hold the
sofa/bed to the floor. You will need someone to hold the lower
section of the sofa/bed while you remove the screws that secure
it to the frame. You will have to lay on your back to access
the screws. I found that I could move the sofa bed to the
left side of the trailer which gave me more then enough room
to access the floor area that was damaged. |
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This is what I saw after
I removed the sofa/bed. The vinyl was discolored and the floor
was spongy, This is a photo of the floor area after I removed
the vinyl and the rotted top layer of plywood. The light colored
area is Styrofoam. After I determined the size of the damaged
area, I used a steel square and utility knife to cut the vinyl
two inches larger then the damaged area. Then I carefully
removed the vinyl. I used a flat putty knife to separate the
vinyl from the "good" wood. After removing the vinyl,
I could see the damage area extended under the wall. |
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I outlined the damaged
area using a steel straight edge and pencil making sure to
include all the rotted plywood. Then I proceeded to cut out
the rotted wood section. It was a messy job. Removing the
rotted wood required the use of a rotary saw, wood chisels
and a rotary wire brush attached to a drill motor to remove
the rotted wood from under the wall. It looked much better
after I vacuumed and cleaned the area. Classic Avion trailers
have a 6" wide piece of aluminum that runs along the
bottom of the interior wall. Removing this piece of aluminum
by drilling out the pop rivets will allow a better view of
the damage under the wall. |
The Avion
floor is fabricated in three layers. The bottom layer appears
to be 3/4" thick plywood. The center section is Styrofoam
and the top section is 1/2" plywood. I removed a portion
of the Styrofoam to inspect the bottom layer of plywood. Fortunately,
it was not damaged. I replaced the Styrofoam using adhesive
designed for Styrofoam. You can find this adhesive in a caulking
gun size tube at Home Depot or Lowe's Hardware.
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Next, I used a router to cut a 3/8" wide
by 1/4" deep square slot (half the thickness of the plywood)
around the perimeter of the opening. Doing this provides a "step"
so the new plywood will have support.
Use a piece of cardboard to model the size and shape of the
replacement plywood. Take your time here and make the template
as accurate as you can. Make sure the template fits into the
3/8" x 1/4" step that was cut into the existing plywood.
Most lumber supply houses no longer handle 1/2" thick plywood.
In the interest of conserving a few trees, the so called 1/2"
thick plywood now measures 15/32". A piece of tar paper
placed between the Styrofoam and the bottom of the new piece
of plywood will make up the difference. It was probably overkill
but I used exterior plywood for the replacement floor. |
After cutting
the new piece of plywood, make sure it fits the opening exactly.
If your template was accurate, it should fit. If not, you
may have to trim it so it fits perfectly into the groove that
was routed into the existing plywood. When the new piece of
plywood fits exactly, cut a 3/8" x 1/4" groove in
the new piece of plywood to match the groove that you cut
in the plywood floor. Be careful here. Make sure you cut the
groove on the side that will match the groove cut in the existing
floor. Check again to make sure the plywood fits the opening. |
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Using a notched trowel
to spread adhesive that is designed to be used on Styrofoam,
I laid the tar paper on top of the Styrofoam. Then I spread
adhesive on top of the tar paper. I also spread adhesive in
the groove around the perimeter of the opening and placed
the new piece of plywood in the opening. Press the new plywood
firmly in place. Make sure it fits the opening and the edge
is laying flat against the existing plywood. I used my slightly
overweight body and a plastic mallet to assure the new piece
of plywood was firmly in place. Using a rag, wet with mineral
spirits, I cleaned the area where the adhesive oosed out from
the joined pieces of plywood. |
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After the adhesive dried
overnight, I lightly sanded the area with a belt sander, vacuumed
and cleaned the entire area and applied vinyl adhesive using
a notched towel. Then I replaced the original vinyl. I use
a wallpaper roller to smooth the vinyl and make sure the vinyl
was held securely in place. Depending on what type of adhesive
you use, clean any excess adhesive with a rag soaked in mineral
sprit's or water. Except for the stain that the rotted wood
caused to the vinyl, I could not tell that the vinyl had been
removed. |
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Replacing the sofa/bed
proved to be more of a challenge then removing it. Finding
the existing screw holes tried my patience but with the help
of my lovely wife, we were eventually able to find the existing
screw holes and fastened the sofa/bed securely to the floor.
Some parts of the sofa/bed are screwed directly to the wall
or to pieces of 1"x1"x3" wood that are screwed
to the trailer wall and floor. Replacing the lower section
of the sofa/bed completed the project. It was a messy job
but after it was finished I felt it was not all that complicated.
Just take it one step at a time.
Fixing the leaks. read
more. |
hmnbmbnm 
