Split floor in wet bay

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Split floor in wet bay

February 29, 2020, 12:10:34 pm

Needed to replace a hose so moved the power cord and waste connection. I'd had this piece just in front of the valves since I bought the coach (Brett's work? Have no idea what it's for?). Upon moving it out to clean the floor I found THIS underneath the piece! Yikes, what has happened? When I did the walk-through I could not see it, but I now remember the PO telling me, "Never let the water leak in here." Well, 'duh' I thought, until now and why the the piece was over the crack, otherwise I'd be asking, : 'what's happened here?' Anyway, short of going to the 'Mother Ship', I'm thinking about a cloth & epoxy sheet over it, maybe cutting it open a little to get a better grip. Any ideas? I'd also wonder if it's structural?

Re: Split floor in wet bay

Reply #1 – February 29, 2020, 01:38:25 pm

First pic looks like the face plate that hid the dump pipe area.. mine is a cardboard material.

Take the area apart on the lower skin and see what's going on.. I would assume a support of some sort would have needed to move a lot to cause a crack in that area? Seems to me to be in the middle of nothing but won't know until it's open and you look around.

Re: Split floor in wet bay

Reply #2 – February 29, 2020, 09:56:07 pm

It looks to me like something heavy impacted that area and that you had stress cracks out from that. Since that's not an area that you would normally view I think your best bet would be to dremel the cracks out fill it with thickend epoxy and put a sheet of biaxial glass over. That would be a simple way to do it. It wouldn't necessarily look great but you should have a cover over that area anyway so it wouldn't matter. another way of fixing it would involve removing all those waste pipes grinding back the glass for a taper and then filling it in with glass and epoxy. if it was an area that I saw all the time I would do it that way maybe. they're just a storage base or the wet base all you want to do is keep water out of it.

Re: Split floor in wet bay

Reply #3 – February 29, 2020, 10:58:52 pm

Thanks, Bob. I'm leaning towards the 'Dremel method' (I have one on board). I was just out at the bay to check my new hose fitting for leaks and I put my hand under the coach, felt a soft indentation into the belly pan right below the upper crack. I could feel no cracks or real damage. Will crawl under (before NASCAR), look closer and try to get a pic.

Re: Split floor in wet bay

Reply #4 – March 01, 2020, 10:31:32 am

The black object in the first picture was part of an "apparatus" to hold a whole house sediment only filter when filling the potable water tank. Of no use unless you have a filter that fits there.

The second is just aluminum flat stock-- don't remember from what project, but not related to the other.

Those cracks have been exactly the same since we bought the coach in 1998. Suspect someone may have done that when installing the tanks. If it bothers you (not structural) another easy solution would be to use a sheet of thin aluminum painted white or piece of FG that covers the whole area and bed it in polysulfide.

BTW, THE REASON TO NEVER LET WATER SIT ON THE FLOOR OF THE WET BAY IS BECAUSE IT WILL LEAK INTO THE REAR BULKHEAD AREA (on any Unihome/Unicoach Foretravel).

Re: Split floor in wet bay

Reply #5 – March 01, 2020, 05:25:25 pm

Quote from: wolfe10 – March 01, 2020, 10:31:32 am

Those cracks have been exactly the same since we bought the coach in 1998. Suspect someone may have done that when installing the tanks. If it bothers you (not structural) another easy solution would be to use a sheet of thin aluminum painted white or piece of FG that covers the whole area and bed it in polysulfide.

Thanx for clearing up the 'apparatus' quandry! It's odd there is a 'dimple' underneath that got me wondering if the PO (after you) had sat down on something and transferred the load to the upper deck. I'll cut it back with my handy Dremel and lay a fibreglass cover over it. Glad it's not structural! Best, M

Re: Split floor in wet bay

Reply #6 – March 01, 2020, 05:32:55 pm

None of the very thin FG floor in the basement is structural. The box beams under it ARE.

Up to you, but bedding a piece of FG or painted white aluminum over that area would be a LOT easier.

Those cracks have not changed a bit in the 22 years I have been aware of them and at the factory when we bought it, was told the same thing-- cosmetic only.

Re: Split floor in wet bay

Reply #7 – March 01, 2020, 08:03:42 pm

I'll post a better pic so you can see why I think it's changed: looks beyond 'cosmetic' to me. I can't get a pic of the underside, but there is a soft divot below the crack in the structural making me wonder if someone hit something that caused the crack to get worse? I noticed the front trim panel has been fooled with and a few of the Phillips screws are stripped out. I'm just going to level it as much as I can with the Dremel and seal it as you suggested. Thanks, Brett!

Re: Split floor in wet bay

Reply #8 – March 01, 2020, 08:11:03 pm

Mike,

The "underside" is another sheet of thin FG forming the bottom of the coach. Above this/below what you are seeing is the 1.5X 1.5" box beams. Anywhere there is not a box beam, the only "structure" between the FG "top and bottom" is block foam. Is there "give" to the foam-- absolutely.

Indeed, look at it from underneath to see if there is damage to the bottom of the coach.

Re: Split floor in wet bay

Reply #9 – March 01, 2020, 09:35:34 pm

Mike, if you've ever had any water leaks there, you know where the water went.

Re: Split floor in wet bay

Reply #10 – March 01, 2020, 10:06:54 pm

Quote from: rbark – March 01, 2020, 09:35:34 pm

Mike, if you've ever had any water leaks there, you know where the water went.

Yup, down and dangerous!

Its not leaked since I've had it (old habit, I always keep a rag under the water p.o.c. and check it often, just in case). That is a poor spot for the hook-up, IMHO.

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Split floor in wet bay

February 29, 2020, 12:10:34 pm

Re: Split floor in wet bay

Reply #1 – February 29, 2020, 01:38:25 pm

Re: Split floor in wet bay

Reply #2 – February 29, 2020, 09:56:07 pm

Re: Split floor in wet bay

Reply #3 – February 29, 2020, 10:58:52 pm

Re: Split floor in wet bay

Reply #4 – March 01, 2020, 10:31:32 am

Re: Split floor in wet bay

Reply #5 – March 01, 2020, 05:25:25 pm

Re: Split floor in wet bay

Reply #6 – March 01, 2020, 05:32:55 pm

Re: Split floor in wet bay

Reply #7 – March 01, 2020, 08:03:42 pm

Re: Split floor in wet bay

Reply #8 – March 01, 2020, 08:11:03 pm

Re: Split floor in wet bay

Reply #9 – March 01, 2020, 09:35:34 pm

Re: Split floor in wet bay

Reply #10 – March 01, 2020, 10:06:54 pm

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