☹️ Rotting floor 🙁

[robnchris]

Thank you . The water gets in behind the body trim and runs down the back of it . The “ special “ ply board produced by Swift came with a plastic vinyl coating that basically held the water in that had wicked in from the side of the floor . It’s ironic that the black plastic coating to protect the floor has in fact made it rotten .
I had sealed this trim in the past but clearly I’ve done a poor job , however looking at some of wood , I presume this problem has been going on for a while , before I purchased the van .
I have completely sealed it now .
View attachment 474278View attachment 474279

A few years ago I reported on Motorhome fun about a friend of ours that had a Swift Escape which had exactly the same problem caused by the same poor design flaw.
Don't beat yourself up about not sealing the trim properly, according to an ex Swift employee the trim isn't suppose to act as a seal, it's were the sidewall meets the floor channel that the seal is ineffective.
Have you removed the sidewall trims to inspect the floor joint? I think I would be tempted to do so as the problem could be happening all around the base of the van.
Hopefully not, good luck.

 

[Swifter]

Well so much for my thorough

check of the van lol . Found some more damp behind the back wheels . Not as bad as the other areas but same story with the membrane covering the timber and holding in the moisture .

 

[Swifter]

A few years ago I reported on Motorhome fun about a friend of ours that had a Swift Escape which had exactly the same problem caused by the same poor design flaw.
Don't beat yourself up about not sealing the trim properly, according to an ex Swift employee the trim isn't suppose to act as a seal, it's were the sidewall meets the floor channel that the seal is ineffective.
Have you removed the sidewall trims to inspect the floor joint? I think I would be tempted to do so as the problem could be happening all around the base of the van.
Hopefully not, good luck.

I just don’t feel confident doing that . All I can do is remove the membrane and wet wood . Dry out and treat , fill and cover . Probably would be best to remove the trim but I can see it all going wrong it I try that .

 

[Swifter]

So another days progress . Slightly slower today due to the discovery of the new damp area that needed to be dried out . It’s dried well today and will soon be ready for the wood hardener, maybe by Sunday .

The area under the cassette hatch has come along today . I’ve used treated timber , foam and wood filler to start to build the area back up and will compete the filler and then sand back before attaching the new plywood over the top .
I’ve also been using the wet rot wood harder in the edges of the floor and it’s worked really well making the timber nice and solid

I have also treated the other problem areas with the wood harder which I am really impressed with . It’s certainly does what it claims !

Will continue tomorrow .

 

[donkey]

WOW!!!!!

Although it will not help you, I owned a Swift Bolero and noticed water dripping from the floor to side skirt joint. Upon investigation it was obvious that the water was entering behind the skirt and running down to the angle section, where it sat. Then either soaking into the floor or draining away.
I emailed Swift and explained to them that they had a design flaw.
I explained that any horizontal join in a vertical surface should be constructed so that the upper section overlapped the lower section.
They were totally relying on mastic to provide the seal between the skirt and body panels. They also failed to provide any path for drainage.
Very poor engineering practice!!!!
In view of the construction, I can only emphasize the need for a 100% seal all around the side skirts. You must not let any water down behind them as it has no where to go.

Geoff

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[Terry]

Try using a bottle of delamination glue

 

[Swifter]

thanks Terry . Is that the one you drill the holes for and inject the glue then fill with dowels ?
I did consider it but wondered if it would work as it’s just the thin 5mm ply then polystyrene then more ply and then finally the floor ( I think ) .

 

[busbuddy]

Here is the trim I didn't fit back on, no real reason just personal choice

Has part number 26004 on it, dont know if you can buy them new

 

[Swifter]

Here is the trim I didn't fit back on, no real reason just personal choice
View attachment 474685
Has part number 26004 on it, dont know if you can buy them new

Thank you
No luck finding that part number online .
Let me know if you want to sell yours if it’s spare . That’s the part I need, and mine is cracked .

 

[busbuddy]

Just PM me an address and I'll chuck it in the post

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[Swifter]

Just PM me an address and I'll chuck it in the post

Thank you so much .

 

[Terry]

thanks Terry . Is that the one you drill the holes for and inject the glue then fill with dowels ?
I did consider it but wondered if it would work as it’s just the thin 5mm ply then polystyrene then more ply and then finally the floor ( I think ) .

Yes , it works like a expanding foam (into all cracks)but goes off like a hard resin

 

[robnchris]

Yes , it works like a expanding foam (into all cracks)but goes off like a hard resin

I would be careful in that you could spilt and deform the floor, I seem to remember clamps were used to stop the boards from expanding, if you can't get clamps to the area then drilling a hole through the floor and then use large wooden washers and bolts through the floor to keep the shape, you can then glue a plug in the hole later.

As I mentioned in an earlier post the problem is water runs down the side of the motorhome, gets underneath the decorative trim and settles in the "U" shaped extrusion the wall sits in on the floor.
I would remove the trim and work a permanent water proof seal between side wall and floor, this prevents any water now soaking under the side wall and into the floor.

 

[Swifter]

All going well so far today . I’ve been using the free drill Jaws gave to me

. The first ply board will be going in place soon . I removed the fridge vent to get the correct size hole and cut it out . I have treated he exposed edges and underside of the ply with wood hardener .

 

[Swifter]

A nice moment as the first board goes in place

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[Swifter]

 

[Jaws]

A nice moment as the first board goes in place

Is that a crack in the chassis Swifter ???

 

[Swifter]

Is that a crack in the chassis Swifter ???
View attachment 474884

oh god I hope not . It’s had an mot in the last few weeks so had hoped they would have checked it properly ! . I have taken some pictures . Looks like it’s the coating is cracked .
Do you think it needs some welding ?

the very last picture is the other side of the van in the same place on the opposite part of the chassis . It almost looks like the chassis has been joined at that point with some kind of extension ?

 

[robnchris]

An easy enough job to over plate I wouldn't worry about it.
If you lived closer to me I would gladly carry out the work for you, the job would take less than and hour.

 

[Swifter]

An easy enough job to over plate I wouldn't worry about it.
If you lived closer to me I would gladly carry out the work for you, the job would take less than and hour.

That’s very kind of you to offer that . The recent MOT and your comment have reassured me .
The motorhome is going to have some air bags fitted soon by the garage that did the MOT . Should I get the work carried out then ? Is it a safety issue ?

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[Terry]

That’s very kind of you to mention it . The recent MOT and your comment have reassured me .
The motorhome is going to have some air bags fitted soon by the garage that did the MOT . Should I get the work carried out then ? Is it a safety issue ?

No mate If your van snaps in two your new floor will hold it together .... Joking yes it needswelding

 

[Swifter]

My favourite picture so far. I feel like I’ve made real progress in the last few days .
Thanks to everyone who has been helping me through this . I will never forget the help and support I found here in my time of need.

 

[Jaws]

oh god I hope not . It’s had an mot in the last few weeks so had hoped they would have checked it properly ! . I have taken some pictures . Looks like it’s the coating is cracked .
Do you think it needs some welding ?

Get a rotary wire brush and give it a bloody good clean up
At the moment it could be surface rust but only a proper look will determine if action need to be taken
It DEF needs cleaning off no matter what
If it looks solid then make sure it is bone dry and recoat it.. If in doubt, get the garage to take a look
As said, if it needs plating it will be a nice straight forward job and will not be that much moolah

 

[Swifter]

That’s it for this week . Having a day off tomorrow, spending the day with the kids .
I will start again Sunday morning.
Another expensive trip to B&Q ( I am sure they are overpriced ) to make sure I have enough materials to crack on with the job early on Sunday .

It’s been a hell of a leading curve this week but I am a little bit proud of myself for at least attempting this .
Thanks again for all the comments and likes of support and also the spare trim busbuddy is kindly going to send to me .
I was in a pretty bad place on Monday when I discovered this problem . I would never have done this alone with no encouragement .
Thank you so much guys

 

[Terry]

Hi Swifter, enjoy your day off Just keep plugging away Even a piece a day soon mounts up. The delam glue will not split or deform the floor it simply ozzes out if to much applied and makes the floor rock hard

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[donkey]

Hi Swifter

Interested to know, how did you fix the new panels in place?

Geoff

 

[Swifter]

Hi Swifter

Interested to know, how did you fix the new panels in place?

Geoff

Hi Geoff
This is the product I am using . It clams to stick anything and even work underwater. It’s £14 from B&Q and slightly cheaper from Amazon as it’s on offer .

 

[donkey]

I have used that and must say it does stick just about anything to just about anything.

Geoff

 

[Swifter]

I have used that and must say it does stick just about anything to just about anything.

Geoff

It seems very good so far . I purchased hardened plywood and did one side in black Sandtex and the other in Ronseal wet Rot harder . I also painted the edges of the board with hardener and prepared the areas to be bonded onto with the wet rot harder and some Ronseal high performance wood filler ( the white one is cheaper) . This is great stuff and it is ready to be sanded after only 20 mins . .
I will update the long term performance of the products but in general they have been fantastic to use so far .

 

[Terry]

You can use Siroflex Grip and Grab adhesive (a lot cheaper than GG also Buffalo board would be a lot better for the flooring.... provided you seal cut edges it's gteed for 5 yrs underwater ... Used on a lot of trailer floors

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