Does anyone have a remedy for repairing sub flooring in the Streamline? I have some areas specifically around the edges of the living room that are beginning to get soft. Since the frame is built right on the floor, it would be impossible to replace it. I thought of applying thin plywood on top but hesitate to add additional weight. Is there a strengthening solution or process that can be used and applied directly to the original wood after removing the original tile? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

By Tom Patterson on Tuesday, September 05, 2000 - 08:47 am:

Do a search on my site for a product called "Get Rot". It is a kind of epoxy hardener available through marine stores. Possibly this might work for your application.

By John Donnelly on Wednesday, September 20, 2000 - 05:34 pm:

I removed the front section of floor and replaced it on my 65' "Duke" 25 footer with ease, all the way out. I know about the trailer upper sections being built on top of the floor section, all this takes is a little exertion, some spacer blocks to keep everything from "tweaking" while you make the new section (use a template) and new hardware to replace the rusted out ones. a 3/16" pop rivit gun to reinstall the wall pieces that have to come out (label everything), and last but not least, vinyl flooring glue (2 gallons will do the front dinette/kitchen area on a Duke model)E-mail me if you need more help. It is pretty straight forward once you get going, and it takes about 12 man-hours total to do the job.

Keep on Streamlinin'

John Donnelly

By Alan B. Geer on Friday, September 29, 2000 - 08:03 pm:

You will just have to suffer through the process. Don't kid yourself. There is no way to restore rotten plywood. Mild dryrot in *nonstructural* locations can be dealt with wood preservation compounds and wood hardeners. You are talking about a floor. My '71 31 ft. trailer leaked for years at the front living area while it was mothballed on the previous owner's lot. The floor was spongy 4' back from the fwd bulkhead. I was forced to cut it out and replace it in sections. Don't worry about the foreward bulkhead resting on the decking. There was some pushing and prying involved, but the process was fairly painless since the shell of a Streamline trailer is so stiff that the front will not slump down during demolition of the rotted decking.

I will e-mail you with answers to all your questions if you help me with some of mine.

Incidentally, I work for the Home Depot and Bob Vila knows *jack* compared with the likes of me.

Alan Geer
Portland OR
Carrot@sprintmail.com

By james on Saturday, October 07, 2000 - 07:40 am:

Thanks Alan!
Since the snow has started in Denver, I may begin pulling up carpet since that is part of my winter plans. I will inspect the floor. My main problem was the front rounded corners and only about 1 foot in. Also, it is a little spongy around the side walls mainly under the window area. Although I have never had water in these locations, 28 years is a long time. The middle of my flooring where the walk way is all the way through the remainder of the trailer is very solid. I had determined that the seal was not good around the double sewer pipe storage in the front. When I pulled up that corner of rotted floor, I could see through the cracks to the outside. Driving through a heavy rain storm could have been the culprit here. I will ask questions when I get into it and you may have questions about other things that I have been challenged with.

By Tom Patterson on Sunday, October 08, 2000 - 06:43 am:

There was a recent posting to the Airstream List by Terry Tyler that dealt with this topic, and which I thought might be of interest. It is as follows:

Hi Jerry,

In your note, you wrote:

>The question for the list. Need advise on resealing the heater vent and the best way to replace
>the 18" by 30" terribly rotted plywood with another piece cut to fit. My wife wants to know if we
>are having fun yet!!!!! Thanks in advance ..God Bless!

Jerry, it's been some time since your note, but perhaps you're still working on a solution.

It sounds like you may have settled on cutting a piece of wood to fit what you remove. There are other choices. If you haven't already done so, my suggestion is that you at least consider other methods or combinations of them. The amount of labor and time involved can vary dramatically. Also, if you do the labor outdoors, that's one thing. If you do the labor in a garage or barn at your leisure, that's a whole different ball game.

My strictly novice skills as repairer of my own sail boat damaged by rocks in water too shallow for racing has led me to use products sold in marinas. There are several. Some are more expensive than others and some have web sites for browsing. There are a few similarities between sail boats and land yachts.

There is one product for rotted wood that has been used by me to reconstruct the floor in two Airstreams. It is called "Git Rot." The main reason I selected it is because I like being able to start and finish the job within the same day, I prefer to use simple tools, I like working at a leisurely pace, I want the Airstream floor stronger than it was the day it came out of the factory and I don't want the floor to ever rot again even if another leak occurs in the same location and goes unnoticed for years. How's that for a "want list?"

This option may or may not be anything you'd like to consider, but it can certainly give you a different perspective. The website is http://www.boatlife.com/

1 - Find the search page and write in GIT ROT
2 - Click on one of the Git Rot items in red
3 - Click on "How to use Git Rot"
4 - Print out the directions.

In your area, search local marinas for which marina has the product in stock AND which marina has an employee who actually has used GIT ROT and will talk to you about it. Pick his brain for subtleties of technique (even though you have read and memorized the directions). Buy several small quantities so you only open and mix up a little at one time. Once it's mixed, you MUST work quickly.

In your area, search the yellow pages for a millwork shop, go in with an ordinary paper grocery bag and ask for "clean sawdust from real wood," not particle board and the like. An average grocery bag of it will be more than sufficient.

When all is said and done, gather up all the tools, reread the directions, watch the weather channel and when your day comes, be ready for an uninterrupted several hours when you can do the deed.

"Git Rot" does exactly as stated, plus it can be sanded smooth. The rotted area will become the strongest part of the floor in the entire trailer and BEST OF ALL - it's simple to use and doesn't require any more skill than possessed by an average pre-teenager.

You might discount using this product because of price, but not because of convenience, simplicity, time involved and long term durability.

Terry

By ww1 on Monday, October 09, 2000 - 05:10 pm:

Wow they still got that stuff. I fixed two frames on a rotted wooden boat with that stuff (or similar) in 1970! Forgot all about it!

By Carol Taylor on Tuesday, July 02, 2002 - 12:16 pm:

I recently bought a '73 Streamline 31 foot Imperial trailer and have questions. I don't like carpeting and want to eliminate the harvest gold carpet. How?

I still have the original Frigiking AC but the shroud cracked and blew off completely. I built a plywood cover and need to know where to place vents for the best performance.

By Tom Patterson on Tuesday, July 02, 2002 - 09:43 pm:

You have a lot of choices on flooring. Could be tile, or wood, or similar item, or even just new carpeting. Do a search on floor, or flooring or something along these lines on this site. There must be hundreds and hundreds of posting about flooring.
You might look at one of the generic shrouds that are available from an RV supply, and use their vent positions as a guide.