[VAC] Re: A/S Floor Repair

["Weimers" <mweimer@xxxxxxxx>]

Hello, this is Marc..   To preface my remarks, I must tell you that I am in
my forties, I have a full time (40 to 60 hours a week) job and  five kids
ages 6 to 19. In other words, I don't have much time for myself! I don't
have time for "properly done" restoration projects. I love old cars and
trailers, but I don't have the money to buy good ones, nor the time to
restore ones I can afford. So I look for simple, but safe and effective ways
to restore my "toys". I purchased my 1963 Globe Trotter in deplorable
condition for $500.

My Globe Trotter's bad floor section was next to the door.  I think somebody
must have left the door open for a few years (that's the way it was when I
first saw it)  the knob was broken. We brought it home with a bungee cord
holding it shut ( it's a non-suidice door!). The floor was very spongey to
walk on  and the floor tiles pealed off easily. Somebody had put linoleum
over the original floor which had contributed to the rot problem, I think.
The floor was 3/4 inch plywood, (if I remember) so I got about a 7/32 inch
drill bit and put a piece of masking tape on it to mark 1/2 inch depth. I
drilled holes about every inch in the rotted section until I hit wood on the
edges that was noticably harder (not rotten!) I used polyester resin that I
obtained cheap from a factory down the street from me that makes fiberglass
storage tanks for gas well drillers. I mixed in catalyst trying to mix it on
the light side so that the resin took longer to set. The resin was thin and
poured easily. It was the consistancy somewhere between maple syrup and
honey ....probably close to very warm honey.  The rotten wood was very
thirsty! As the resin soaked in, I just kept pouring more resin on top of
the thirsty wood. I kept pouring until I had puddling of the resin on top of
the wood. I had a couple of spots where the drill bit had managed to
penetrate all the way thru the wood. I knew about two or three of these
while I was drilling, but I found a couple more when i was pouring the
resin. The resin just ran through these holes quicky ....in a way that was
obviously different from the rest of the area. I stuffed resin I thickened
with a  special thickener I had from a different project in those holes.
This thickener was much like very short glass fibers but I think its
plastic. Stuffing those holes with bits of fiberglass insulation would have
worked too, I suppose. When my floor cured completely a couple of days
later, I had a surface of flat resin rather than the original plywood (due
to the puddling of the resin). I can assure you that this area in no longer
spongey when you walk on it!!
    Some day, somebody (maybe not me) might want to replace the floor in
this trailer. They will probably not be very happy with me!  I would guess
that this section of floor is as hard as rock and is bonded to the aluminum
framing at the edge of the  trailer. I'm guessing it will be VERY difficult
to remove. Polyester resin is not going to decay. The trailer might fall
apart completely, but my repaired section of floor will be just fine.
    I had to remove the front sofa bed because it's framework was rotten,
but that's the only thing I removed when I did the floor. I didn't remove
the belly pan  ....the one that probably has resin dripped all over it now
from the floor. I have spent many hours using and enjoying this trailer
rather than restoring it "properly". I'd say that if you have the time and
money to do it, the proper way to fix the floor would be to replace it.
....But.... My feeling is that the way I fixed my floor is entirely
legitimate and most probably stronger than the original plywood.

   If you see a guy towing a '63 Globe Trotter (not polished) with an old
Mopar, it just might be me!
MARC WEIMER
Punxsutawney, PA
#15767
1963 Globe Trotter
1971 Globe Trotter