[VAL] Re: VAL Digest V2 #61

["Steve Boyd" <steve.boyd@xxxxxxx>]

Hi Joann et al.,

FWIW, I say fumigate the trailer along with the house.  Shortly after I
purchased my 68 Caravel, I did have trouble with termites (yes, I live
in southern California!).  Of course, I didn't discover the termites
until AFTER I replaced the rotted section of flooring under the
freshwater tank up front.  And how did I discover the problem you ask? 
Well, shortly after finishing up the patch job on the floor, say a month
or two, I noticed water dripping from the belly pan up front.  I pulled
the water tank cover and tank, only to find those bloody termites had
been munching all through my nice new patch.  Worse than that, though,
is that they had actually bored up through the plastic of the water
tank, causing several pin-prick leaks.  Of course, the soaked flooring
invited even more termite action, not to mention additional rot.  I
ended up using the spray can termite stuff you can get from Home Despot
and really nuking the whole area within and around the patch.  I then
repared the new damage, including using GitRot penetrating resin.  In
particular, I really worked over the point where the A-frame enters the
trailer body.  That area had exposed wood flooring on the outside.  I
applied ample GitRot, and once cured, sealed that whole area with
Vulkem.  The tank I repaired by heating the plastic with propane torch,
then pushing molten plastic into the pin-prick holes left by the
termites.  On to of the now-repaired holes, I applied a hedge-your-bets
patch of Vulkem coverd by a bit of aluminum foil.  Subsequently, no
leaks and no termites.

Yes, termites can chew through plastic, and don't let anybody tell you
different.  I've seen it with my own eyes!

Good luck,

Steve Boyd
Riverside, CA
'68 Caravel
'03 Hummer H2 aka S.S. Halliburton