How to Repair the R-Vision Trail Cruiser Travel Trailer Soft Floors

R-Vision was a brand of Monaco Coach Corporation until 2009, and since then has been a stand-alone entity specializing in the manufacture of lightweight and ultra-lightweight towables equipped to the highest standards. In common with most manufacturers of travel trailers, recreational vehicles and static mobile homes, R-Vision uses particleboard for their floors, a material that can swell and separate after just one soaking. A long period of exposure to moisture causing rot is not necessary to create the "soft floor" sensation that means replacement work is necessary.

Instructions

1

Use a scraper to remove the floor covering above the soft floor area. It is sometimes possible to roll back carpet, but linoleum and floor tiles must usually be replaced.

2

Test the exposed area until the extent of the damage can be described with a permanent marker pen. Use a stud locater to identify the locations of the four closest underfloor supports that surround the soft floor, and draw that box on the floor. Draw another box a half inch outside the first; this is the cutting line. Remove all metal fasteners from the vicinity of the cutting line.

3

Determine the thickness of the flooring particleboard by drilling a hole close to the box and measuring through, then set the reciprocating saw blade to that depth. Follow the cut line to cut out the area of soft floor. Keep the corners square and the lines straight.

4

Transfer the exact dimensions of the hole to a sheet of plywood of the same thickness, then cut out the replacement panel. Drop it into the hole so that it rests on the half-inch exposed lips of the underfloor supports, drill pilot holes every eight inches along each edge and drive in deck screws or self-tapping machine screws according to the substrate. Countersink all the heads.

5

Reinstate or replace the floor covering, and if necessary use carpet threshold bar to disguise any joints.