Floor problems?

[Pennsylvaniasprinter]

Ever since we bought our camper in April the floor has been "weaker" in one area. When you step on the area (mid camper in front of refrigerator) you can hear the floor cracking? Dealer said it was normal.

Today I bounced lightly over the area and realized it is a 2 by 2 foot area where the floor actually "moves up and down". Over this area it makes alot of squeeking, cracking sounds".

People have told me to go check out other RVs to see if this happens. So...I'm asking other Keystone owners....Does your floor make sounds when you walk on it?

This is the only spot in the camper I can hear the sounds.

Please let me know what you think....

[campingcpl]

From what you are describing I would assume that your furnace is under your refer and you have ducted floor heat. The furnace plenums that are built into the floor are normally about 22" wide and can be anywhere from 18" - 24" deep. This is the area where the furnace will connect to your heat duct. It is common for this area to feel a little "spongy" becasue of the break in the floor stringer. If you are hearing noise from this area like the squeaking this could be caused from the lack of construction adheasive or nails around this plenum area. The cracking sound could be actually coming from your refer cabinet where it is fastened to the floor. Usually a 3/4" x 3/4" pine cleat is stapled to the inside of the stile and then screws are ran down through this cleat to secure the cabinet to the floor. The cracking sound is from the screws pulling on this cleat as the flooring gives. I hope this helps you out. The floor in our unit also gives in the area of the furnace. If you where to check out other manufactures you would probably find this to be common in them also. There will be exceptions of course... 5th wheels where the furnace is under the bath deck, light weight units that do not have ducted heat, and units that use laminated floors, and in some cases units that have rear kitchens with the furnace located in-line with the floor stringers.

[BigCajun]

My Raptor has the same issues. Dealer says this is common. The floor creeks when you walk across and you can see it move if you look closely. The most notable area is in front of the fridge and oven with the furnace mounted under it. My last camper did not do this. It was rock solid but used 3/4 inch flooring. Raptor uses 5/8 floor. Also have creeks when walking up the stairway to the bedroom.

[campingcpl]

Depending on the manufacture and the type of floor it is (laminated, ducted heat, non ducted, light weight unit, etc.), they use different types of flooring. OSB sheeting, tounge & grove plywood, even sheets of plywood that extend the length of the floor so there are no seams, 2 x 3 or 2 x 4 stringers or in the case of laminated floors 1 1/2 x 1 1/2 or 1 1/2 x 2 1/2 aluminum tubing. And as you noted BigCajun, they also use different thickness. It also depends on how well the flooring is attached in the area of the heat plenum. If they do not staple, nail or screw the flooring down enough around the heat plenum and just depend on a small bead of construction adhesive you will notice the floor being soft or squeeky. A lot of companies will put the furnace under the refer. It makes it easier to run the gas line (refer, furnace, stove and sometimes the water heater all in the same area). Plus, most of the time the space under the refer is dead space so it makes a good spot to put the furnace and is usually close to the center of the unit which helps distribute the heat more evenly (at lease in theory :D). I wish I could insert a drawing of a typical travel trailer floor but they are to big to post on here plus I would be going against my companies policy. Maybe I will try to post a couple of pictures of a floor later.

[Pennsylvaniasprinter]

I'd love to see pictures. That would be very interesting.

[campingcpl]

Here are a couple of pictures showing the floor joist as well as the furnace plenum and heat duct on a 5th wheel. The furnace on this particular model is located under a kitchen cabinet. You can see the break in the floor joist and this is where that soft floor feeling comes from. This type of construction would be the same for a travel trailer.

http://www.keystonerv.org/forums/picture.php?albumid=29&pictureid=162http://www.keystonerv.org/forums/picture.php?albumid=29&pictureid=163

[kaylee]

Ever since we bought our camper in April the floor has been "weaker" in one area. When you step on the area (mid camper in front of refrigerator) you can hear the floor cracking? Dealer said it was normal.

Today I bounced lightly over the area and realized it is a 2 by 2 foot area where the floor actually "moves up and down". Over this area it makes alot of squeeking, cracking sounds".

People have told me to go check out other RVs to see if this happens. So...I'm asking other Keystone owners....Does your floor make sounds when you walk on it?

This is the only spot in the camper I can hear the sounds.

Please let me know what you think....

Hi, I just purchased a 2011 keystone retreat and have the exact same problem. everything you just said is exactly what is going on in my trailer. I am not happy about it. i paid a lot of money for this trailer and really expected better quality than that. it is actually embarrasing to have other campers come in to my trailer and walk on my floor. that is one of the first things people mention about the trailer. they say "why is the floor like that" and i say "I dont know". to be honest it gives people a bad impression of Keystone. its not like my trailer is older or used, its brand spankin new!

[kaylee]

Here are a couple of pictures showing the floor joist as well as the furnace plenum and heat duct on a 5th wheel. The furnace on this particular model is located under a kitchen cabinet. You can see the break in the floor joist and this is where that soft floor feeling comes from. This type of construction would be the same for a travel trailer.

http://www.keystonerv.org/forums/picture.php?albumid=29&pictureid=162http://www.keystonerv.org/forums/picture.php?albumid=29&pictureid=163

Hi, I just read your post and was unable to see the pictures of the floor. i would be really interested in seeing them, thanks

[campingcpl]

Sorry you were not able to see the pictures. You can veiw them in my profile page under my photo's.

[rwm1313]

Squeaks and creeks in the floor can be fixed. They are caused by two things rubbing on each other. Locating the issue is usually the hard part but once located a paint stick or some rubber tape i have even just removed and replaced a screw that was not tight before. A good dealer should take care of this for you even if warranty wont pay for it just to keep you happy. There is a soft spot in all campers where plenum meets heating duct work, the bad part is that it is usually in a high traffic area.
I have seen as of late problems with the new laminated floors as well. you can tell if you have a laminated floor by looking at your floor registers if it has a flat metal bottom you do not have a laminated floor if it has a round hole on one side or the other you do. These floors fell soft all over but once in a while there will be a real bad spot this can be fixed by adding structure from under neath.

[Krubenzer]

Will try to send a video I made. When you walk down the middle of my 5th wheeler it makes a terrible popping noise. I'm concerned it may be either the boards are bad the laminates bad just don't know. Hopefully the factory will take care of this for me it's still under warranty.anyone else experienced walking down a camper 5th wheeler and hearing popping noise like bubble wrap?

[busterbrown]

Will try to send a video I made. When you walk down the middle of my 5th wheeler it makes a terrible popping noise. I'm concerned it may be either the boards are bad the laminates bad just don't know. Hopefully the factory will take care of this for me it's still under warranty.anyone else experienced walking down a camper 5th wheeler and hearing popping noise like bubble wrap?

Nearly 9 years of dormancy then the thread comes alive. That there may be a record. :)

[wiredgeorge]

Nearly 9 years of dormancy then the thread comes alive. That there may be a record. :)

At least someone figured out how to effectively use the search function! :angel:

[flybouy]

At least someone figured out how to effectively use the search function! :angel:

There should be a award for that! 🥇

[greyhair]

Nothing to be bothered about. Also rushed to the dealer when my floor was cracking..for 1 week I did not step in that area as it might collapse. I didn't beleive my dealer and went again to another dealer just to check..they both said the same thing.

[LOCALOUTLAW]

My 2015 creaks in the same spot by the fridge/furnace. No big deal.