Oh you should see the OSB floor in my 88. The rear section is rotted,
puffed up, stained and what ever else you can call it. In short its
shot from water damage and I'll have to replace the whole rear
section. I wonder if it was plywood would I have the same amount of
damage. I do know that in the other 2 trailers I had water damage to
the floor but not to this extent and they are much older.
Ed
> Colin,
> The point is, should you, as an authority on the subject,
> unnecessarily
> alarm all those Airstream owners by stating unequivocally that it,
> "rots out
> in no time?" The statement is overly dramatic, patently untrue and by
> definition "alarmist." Is it your intent to scare people? Cause them
> worry?
> Cause them to lose confidence in the Airstream product?
>
> And what would you have them do about it? Do a complete floor
> replacement?
>
> Constructive criticism is always welcome, but I don't want experts
> devaluing
> my Airstream with prejudiced opinions. Keep in mind that you only
> see the
> failures. Owners that are not having problems likely will not be
> bringing
> their Airstreams to you for repair.
>
> Forrest
>
> Seems like I've hit a bit of a chord here......... The point is not
> that OSB
> is an inferior product or that it should not have been used in this
> application. The point is that if you lay a sheet of OSB & a sheet of
> plywood out on your lawn unprotected for a season, the OSB will,
> without
> question puff up, expand & break down into a paper mache type mush.
> The
> plywood will suffer but not catastrophically. That means owners of
> trailers
> with this type of subfloor have to be far more diligent about
> checking for
> wet spots around the exterior of the floor where it meets the wall.
> That
> being said, every decade of Airstream production has its strong
> points.........and weak points, & this happens to be a weak
> point........in
> my opinion. The reason why I am so adamant about this is because I
> have seen
> so many poor attempts at structural repairs which I end up trying
> make right
> for the current owner. This is often far more costly to repair than
> if it
> had just been left alone.
> As everyone knows, Airstreams are a "monocoque" structure, well
> actually
> they are a "semi monocoque" structure. "Monocoque" is derived from the
> French words "mono" meaning one and "coque" meaning shell. This
> means that
> the main structural element is "the shell". Now, in the world of
> Airstream,
> the frame supports X amount of the load & the "shell" supports the
> rest,
> which is why Airstreams are Semi-monocoque's. The link between the
> frame &
> the shell is critical. Just as a side note, Airstream frames will
> take a
> "set" or bend under their own weight. The shell is actually needed
> to hold
> the ends up. In the SOB world, very stout frames are built in order to
> support a non structural box. This is why SOB's typically weigh more
> per
> foot than Airstreams (and their Silver Cousins, sorry Tom) do. Back
> to the
> story here, the floor is the critical link between the shell & the
> frame.
> The frame of the post 1950 Airstreams is a "ladder" type frame,
> which has
> two main rails connected together with a series of crossmembers.
> Extending
> out from the main rails, inline with the crossmembers are
> outriggers. The
> ends of the outriggers are then in turn connected to the shell
> through the
> FLOOR with bolts. When the roof leaks, water runs down inside the
> walls to
> the perimeter of the floor & rots it. The water, which in our
> current world
> is often acid rain, creates a galvanic reaction between the steel
> bolts &
> the aluminum "C" channel in the base of the wall. In addition to the
> wood
> floor rotting out, the heads of the bolts often pull through the "C"
> channel
> releasing the shell from the frame. This is why the so called "git
> rot" &
> epoxy repairs don't actually work for this type of repair. The only
> way to
> repair issues of this magnitude is to gain access to the inside of
> the wall
> & replace the bolts & the mushy or missing floor wood. The ends of the
> outriggers often rust off as well so some welding may be required.
> So...........the moral of the story is to check the perimeter of all
> era's
> of Airstream's for wetness. The OSB era trailers are failing far
> quicker
> than the non OSB trailers. It's not a minor problem. Niagra Falls
> started as
> a trickle of water!
> Forrest, the clients with this era of trailer do not typically come
> here for
> a floor replacement, they arrive with numerous other symptoms which
> typically all revert back to that little trickle of water. The 02 that
> showed up wanted their carpet replaced, but when we pulled it out we
> discovered that the galley end was soaked. Upon further examination,
> severe
> rot & a wild array of mold growth was found. I suspect that many
> shops (I
> can show you examples of that too) would have just put new floor
> covering in
> & called it a day, however that is not how we do it here. Most
> owners are
> oblivious to what is going on at the base of their walls. Addressing
> the
> leaks & localized floor repairs are generally all that is required
> to bring
> it back to its original strength. If your trailer is suffering from
> these
> problems, it should be devalued, & if it is not or it has been
> repaired
> correctly you should & will reap the benefits when you sell it, not to
> mention the piece of mind while you own it.
> I will point out though that every trailer does not have to be a
> concourse
> special & be perfect in every way. In the vintage car world, there
> is such a
> thing as a "daily driver" which is structurally sound but a little
> tired
> around the edges, & there is nothing wrong with this. My wife is an
> antique
> nut & that is called Patina. However a vintage car with body mounts
> rusted
> out or possibly a cracked or rusted out chassis is just a hazard on
> the
> road.
> I am planning on conducting a seminar at the Vintage Trailer Jam
> www.vintagetrailerjam.com in Saratoga Springs, NY in July of this
> year on
> this subject showing examples of these problems & what they can
> ultimately
> affect.
> Hopefully you are enlightened by this posting & not "alarmed". It's
> the
> reality of Vintage Airstream ownership.
> Colin Hyde
> GSM Vehicles Inc.
> Plattsburgh, NY
> WBCCI, VAC 1936
> VAC Technical Advisor
> www.thevap.com The Vintage Airstream Podcast