[VAC] Trouble with termites?

[Steve Boyd <steve.boyd@xxxxxxx>]

Hi folks,

I've been lurking on the list for several months now,
enjoying the free exchange of information and gleaning much
to help in restoration of my own 1968 Caravel.  I now find
myself dealing with a problem I've not yet seen discussed.
In just the last couple of days I started seeing evidence of
dripping from the front underbelly of the trailer, curb
side.  At first there was just one spot on the driveway and
I thought the dog had "marked" the trailer.  Beyond being
annoyed at the dog for defiling the Airstream, I didn't
think much about it, even when I saw the spot again the next
day.  Yesterday, however, I saw three spots under the
trailer when I got home from work and I knew then I had a
leak in the fresh water tank.

When I first got the trailer a couple years back, I found
there was a small, pencil lead-sized hole on the tank bottom
a couple inches in from the outlet.  I repaired the hole (in
a fashion), and replaced the rotted flooring which had
resulted from the leak.  Not wanting to go through the floor
repair hassle again, I immediately drained the tank, took
out the front dinette cabinetry, and pulled out the tank.
What I found blew my socks off!  There under the tank was
the unmistakeable droppings of some sort of wood boring
insect, presumably termites, as well as evidence of some
boring damage to the flooring under the tank.  The
previously repaired flooring at that!  But wait, it gets
even worse.  The reason the tank was leaking is because the
boring insect(s) had apparently chewed their way up into the
tank, leaving a pencil lead-sized hole such as I had seen
when I first repaired the tank.  The position of holes in
the tank matches points of damage in the floor consistent
with termite or other wood-boring insect activity.  Why they
would chew into the plastic tank is beyond me, except that
the presence of water may have been an irrestible
attraction.

I am a botanist, and museum curator, so I am all too
familier with the potential damage caused by insect pests
which attack natural history collections, wood carvings, and
the like.  But the floor of my Airstream was the last place
I would have expected such problems.  Therefore, here are my
questions to the group.

1.  Has anyone else had, or heard of termites or other wood
boring insects creating problems in Airstream trailers?

2.  If so, how was the problem dealt with?

I'm not too worried about repairing the tank since the holes
are small, and I've already been-there-done-that.
Furthermore I was thinking of laying down a thin sheet of
metal below the tank to prevent future penetration, though
ideally it won't be an issue because all the little buggers
have been exterminated once and for all.

Any help will be most appreciated.

Steve Boyd
68 Caravel