An OSB floor with plastic underneath? When moisture gets between the plastic and the OSB, won't the plastic keep it from drying out?
I'm reminded how Eggcamper routinely applied a coat of resin to the top of their plywood floor, but not the bottom; when I asked the owner/builder why, he said moisture has to go someplace.
If I were building and selling a $30,000 trailer and proclaiming how well I build it, I'd at least use marine plywood, or maybe even something like Starboard. But that's just me, I guess.
On a factory-tour video, the guide says this about the floor: "we install a ¾" Dry-Max flooring; on the other side [i.e. the bottom] we put a plastic Go-Guard [?] . . ." 'Dry-Max' is a Georgia-Pacific OSB product designed for sub-floors; they say it is "moisture resistant." See PDF here. I don't know what 'Go-Guard' is. They put a marine-type nylon covering on top of the floor, which they say cleans easily; I assume it is permeable.
On another thread where I mentioned the Sol Horizon, Chamberman raised the question whether the plastic underneath could get damaged and allow water into the OSB. I suppose it's possible. At least inTech trailers have no wood in the roof or walls.
I figure if I can get five or ten years out of a new trailer, by then I'll probably want a Class C motorhome or something.
An OSB floor with plastic underneath? When moisture gets between the plastic and the OSB, won't the plastic keep it from drying out?
I'm reminded how Eggcamper routinely applied a coat of resin to the top of their plywood floor, but not the bottom; when I asked the owner/builder why, he said moisture has to go someplace.
If I were building and selling a $30,000 trailer and proclaiming how well I build it, I'd at least use marine plywood, or maybe even something like Starboard. But that's just me, I guess.
Starboard would not be a good material for a floor. Marine ply would be
An OSB floor with plastic underneath? When moisture gets between the plastic and the OSB, won't the plastic keep it from drying out?
If I were building and selling a $30,000 trailer and proclaiming how well I build it, I'd at least use marine plywood, or maybe even something like Starboard. But that's just me, I guess.
Nope, not just you. The thought of an OSB floor makes my skin crawl. I've seen so much rotten pulpy OSB I'm glad that my Scamp was relatively new and that I sold it before the floor turned to mush.
Starboard would not be a good material for a floor. Marine ply would be
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike G
Why not? If you know, I'd like to know too.
I'm interested to hear Jack's reasoning, but my reason would be that a solid polymer (high-density polyethylene) like King StarBoard has very low stiffness, especially for its weight, so it probably a good surface layer and works as a vertical panel, but it's lousy for any load-supporting horizontal panel. Unless it's horribly thick and heavy, it will sag; my guess is that a StarBoard panel laid across a couple of supporting beams at the edges by itself, with nothing on it, will sag noticeably over time.
Heavy, not good for load bearing applications,etc. Even King would discourage you from using this product in this way I believe. Don't get me wrong, its a great product in the correct applications
As I understand the construction (someone correct me if I'm wrong), the Escape's belly is molded FG like a tub and the wood floor is laid inside it. But there are some drain channels to encourage any water that might get inside to go to the edges and then out through a small drain hole. But a consistent, frequent leak (from plumbing, a bad window seal, etc) could keep the wood wet long enough to rot it. Yes? No?
__________________ Losing weight puts one at much greater risk of becoming thin.
Have there been many floor failures with Escape trailers?
None that I know of. Apparently placing a wood floor panel directly on plastic panel that keeps it from drying out isn't necessarily a problem. Lots of floors in moulded fiberglass trailers with this construction feature have rotted out, which is why Escapes (and the designs before it that Reaches copied) have spaces along the edges for drainage... but they still don't allow air circulation for most of the floor to dry it out.
The most successful and reasonably priced design is probably to leave the bottom of the fiberglass exposed, and avoid leaks in the interior. Bolers with bare wood on the bottom routinely go for decades without any rot issues.
As I understand the construction (someone correct me if I'm wrong), the Escape's belly is molded FG like a tub and the wood floor is laid inside it. But there are some drain channels to encourage any water that might get inside to go to the edges and then out through a small drain hole. But a consistent, frequent leak (from plumbing, a bad window seal, etc) could keep the wood wet long enough to rot it. Yes? No?
I suggest that owners of all years check any tabs on the front of the frame that hold the fiberglass shell on. The frame recall added additional tabs to some early models with 3" frames but all trailers have them as far as I know. Examples in the attached pictures. These should have silicone or some other type of quality sealant around all edges of the tab where it meets the shell and I would put some over the end of the bolt and nut. These are likely to get considerable spray from the tow vehicle on a wet road. When I did my recent lithium battery upgrade I had a soft spot in the floor around one of the bolts in the front passenger side dinette bench. It was hidden underneath my battery box which I added when I moved the batteries from the tongue and the linoleum flooring so it went unnoticed. Water must have worked its way in over several trips. It was not fun to fix.
I suggest that owners of all years check any tabs on the front of the frame that hold the fiberglass shell on. The frame recall added additional tabs to some early models with 3" frames but all trailers have them as far as I know. Examples in the attached pictures. These should have silicone or some other type of quality sealant around all edges of the tab where it meets the shell and I would put some over the end of the bolt and nut. These are likely to get considerable spray from the tow vehicle on a wet road. When I did my recent lithium battery upgrade I had a soft spot in the floor around one of the bolts in the front passenger side dinette bench. It was hidden underneath my battery box which I added when I moved the batteries from the tongue and the linoleum flooring so it went unnoticed. Water must have worked its way in over several trips. It was not fun to fix.
Now there's something I never thought of before! Thanks for posting about it.
__________________ Losing weight puts one at much greater risk of becoming thin.
of a 1-year owner's review of a Horizon? I just came across it and was watching; they detail some honest pluses and minuses, which I found pretty helpful.
__________________ Losing weight puts one at much greater risk of becoming thin.
MrLynn, have you viewed this youtube video of a 1-year owner's review of a Horizon? I just came across it and was watching; they detail some honest pluses and minuses, which I found pretty helpful.
Yep, I've watched it (a couple of times, actually). You see a lot more of the two of them than the trailer, but they are pretty funny, and they do hit a lot of the highs and lows of the Sol Horizons.
inTech has, I read, been fairly responsive about fixing some of the lows. The Sol line is pretty new, so plenty of growing pains. That's one advantage of established makers like Escape; they've had a couple of decades to refine the product.
Yep, I've watched it (a couple of times, actually). You see a lot more of the two of them than the trailer, but they are pretty funny, and they do hit a lot of the highs and lows of the Sol Horizons.
inTech has, I read, been fairly responsive about fixing some of the lows. The Sol line is pretty new, so plenty of growing pains. That's one advantage of established makers like Escape; they've had a couple of decades to refine the product.
We followed the SputterRV’s YouTube channel for a while, and did look into the Sol Horizon as well. As it turns out, they ended up trading their Sol Horizon in on a Grand Design and they did a video on that too. They seem pretty happy with the move.
We decided an Escape trailer was right for us, so we got in line with our deposit in March of 2021. We just signed off on our build sheet this week, with a completion date of 13 May of this year. I sure hope the next four months go by quickly.