My soft spot...

Richard6959 · 01-11-2016, 04:36 AM

I have a 2014 Laredo that we have lived in full time for the last 14 months. About 6 weeks ago I noticed a soft spot appear in front of the main slide about a foot in from the edge of the trailer. the area was maybe 1 square foot. Over the last couple of weeks the spot grew and now I am very concerned. There has been no sign of leak anywhere.

Could this be delamination getting worse?

What are my best options?

Richard

**chuckster57** · 01-11-2016, 05:52 AM

I'm guessing that you mean the main floor right? Water can "travel" and the source maybe away from the damage.

Look under the slide at the bottom seal, pull it back and see if there is any evidence of water. If not, then you may have to drop the edge of the underbelly and look underneath. If it is water rotting away the subfloor it will get worse if not dealt with.

**JRTJH** · 01-11-2016, 08:03 AM

The Laredo line has a "sandwich construction" floor. There is, from top to bottom, two layers of "flooring material" (probably 1/4" luan), 2" of rigid foam with aluminum floor joists and another luan sheet on the bottom. This is "glued together" in a "vacuum bonded manner" to form the floor of your RV.

The first thing to do, is as chuckster57 said, determine if this is "water damage" or if the floor sandwich is coming apart. If it's water damage, the very first thing to do is FIND THE LEAK and stop water from entering the RV... Then, determine how to dry and repair the damage. If, on the other hand, the "sandwich" is coming apart, determine how to repair that. It will probably be much different than a water damage repair because the components may not need to be replaced, rather "reglued" into a stable assembly.

At any rate, the first matter of business is to determine why the floor is soft. As said, crawl under the trailer, look for signs of water leaking, if you don't see any, then removing screws from a portion of the Coroplast to get a better view may be needed.

If there are any young children who may tend to jump off the furniture, any repeated jumping on a spot of the floor sandwich could easily damage the construction and lead to what you're seeing as a "soft spot". So, it may well be caused by a water leak, but there are a number of other reasons why the floor may "give way".... Good Luck !!!

Pepamatip2sq · 07-20-2016, 10:04 AM

JRTJH has great advice. We have a 2013 Laredo trailer and I am having the same problem that just showed up about a week ago.

The soft spot is where the heater vent is by the frig. Our kitchen is in the back. I turned on the gas 3 mos ago to the frig and water heater to save money on electric. I was thinking the gas lines might be causing condensation/water underneath from the gas pipes. It is very hot where we are at. Our gas tanks are at the front and the frig is in the back. Structurally where the heater vents are on the floor (from inside) does not appear to have much support. No idea but time to crawl underneath and find out what is happening.

Festus2 · 07-20-2016, 10:32 AM

If there is a leak and it is near the fridge, the water may be coming from the plastic fridge drain hose at the back. Over time, this hose can become brittle and crack resulting in leaks or it may have simply worked its way loose from the drain outlet connection at the fridge itself. Instead of draining to the outside, the water may be dripping onto the floor beneath the fridge.

Richard6959 · 07-20-2016, 10:33 AM

Its a support problem for me. I dropped the belly pan and looked. From the water tank to the side of the trailer and about 4 ft long there is no support. The flooring just got weaker and weaker. I will tell you this, once it starts it wont take long and you will have an area the size of where there are no supports. It started in an area about 1 sqft. Now its about a 3X4 area.

Richard6959 · 07-20-2016, 10:36 AM

I would agree with you but the soft spot is on the opposite side from the fridge and the area in between is fine. I looked from underneath and saw no signs of dampness anywhere. Its going in soon to have a few issues looked at, then its up for sale. Never again Keystone. TOO many problems. Plus it was a first year model, which was a mistake too.

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