In this video, I get busy repairing a rotten section of my main slide-out room floor in my 2011 276RLS Keystone Cougar fifth wheel. A roughly 17″ x 45″ section of plywood needed to be cut out and replaced with a fresh piece. Over the years water intruded and slowly turned the 3/4″ plywood in one of the slide floor corners to mush!
I was quite disappointed. Even though I stay on top of my routine sealant maintenance, I believe the damage came as a result of a manufacturer flaw. The bottom of the slide wall doesn’t have adequate flashing and over time water wicks into the exposed flooring.
Video Detailing the Slide Floor Repair
Repair Procedures
First, I moved my custom daybed and peeled back the underlying Infinity vinyl flooring. Both had been install during my 2015 summer renovations.
Next, I used a hackzall and multitool to cut out away the damaged plywood flooring and my Vampliers to remove any stubborn screws, nails, and staples.
I replaced the rotted flooring with a fresh 3/4 inch piece of plywood which a first coated with West Systems epoxy resin. The epoxy resin will help make the wood water resistant should any future leak develop and wet the flooring. Besides applying the epoxy resin, I also wrapped the plywood in plastic tarp material.
The new plywood is attached via two long lag bolts into the steel beam at the front slide wall and metal screws into the aluminum beams and studs. Then a second large sheet of coated plywood is screwed on top.
Finally, to help prevent a reoccurrence, I installed a 2″x2″ piece of 90 degrees aluminum flashing on the slide walls lower corner bead.
See the update video on this repair months later. How did it work? – https://www.loveyourrv.com/10-recent-rv-repairs-how-are-they-performing
Products and Tools Used/Mentioned:
- Milwaukee Hackzall
- Milwaukee Multitool
- Vampliers 8″ Lineman
- 20 Ton Jack
- Picquic Screwdriver
- Hive Tool Pry Bar/Scraper
- Hammer Stapler
- Eternabond Roof Tape
- West Epoxy Resin
- Geocel ProFlex Sealant
See More RV Repairs in the LYRV Archives
