2012 Cougar Soft Floor

[tledfh]

We just purchased a used 2012 Keystone Cougar 318 SAB in April...have only camped 2weekends in it due to weather conditions. Before the second weekend I noticed a spongy spot in the floor in front of the refrigerator right at the base of the steps...today we moved the camper in prepping for this weekends camping and I now have noticed the spongy area has grown to a couple feet towards the door and a couple feet wide. We are no longer covered under the dealers 66 day warranty. Anyone have any ideas, could this be from water damage? Are there any lines in this area? Could it be from the refrigerator, or is the furnace duct work located there? Or could it be the sub floor separating? We usually camp every weekend from end of April till late October. Have lost a big part of the season already, not wanting to take to dealer right now if we can repair ourselves...help?! Thanks

[therink]

How close to the entry door? Have you been able to tell if softness has been caused by structural or water damage?

I had a similar issue in my previous Keystone caused by the factory over cutting the corners of the heat vent opening. This caused the floor to give when weight was applied in the area. I ended up repairing it myself by reinforcing the vent opening.

In my current Keystone, I had a soft floor issue near the entry door which was caused by a cracked weld where one of the exterior wall studs joined the sub floor framework at the door. This condition also made the floor drop when weight was applied onto the entry steps. I had this repaired under warranty.
Steve

[tledfh]

It is probably over 4 ft from the door. I just assumed that water damage is the best probability..wondered about water lines going to bathroom..or draining from...or with the drain on the fridge...could not find any links to lay out of plumbing in these campers and read on another thread that they don't exist. I was guessing water simply because it came suddenly and has grown rather quickly.
:confused

[therink]

I checked out your floor plan. Have you checked that your refrigerator condensate drain is discharging outside like it should. If that is ok, are the water valves in your shower on the rear facing wall in the shower. If so, I would remove the valve set from the wall and check the hot and cold pex and threaded connections for leaks.
Steve.

[tledfh]

we did check the refrigerator drain tube..We bought this April 16th...got a 66 day warranty on it, because of flooding we didn't get to camp but once in that 66 day time, then once more since. Called the Dealership today, they aren't promising anything, but said they wanted to see it..so we drive the 20 miles to our permanent site...pull it out...after we just put it back in last night from the river flooding, drive the 40 miles to the dealership and left it after hours on their lot. We did remember when we did our walk thru on Delivery day...I was looking under the stove, in that cabinet door to make sure the counter top extension was there, and there was standing water under there...they said it was probably from the cleaning crew...and mopped it up, never have thought anything about it till tonight...wonder if something under there was leaking? My husband is calling them in the morning to remind them of it...just sad that we are at day 87 of our 66 day warranty..ugh 18 seasons of camping, and gradually working our way up to this camper and now I am just sick over it. Thanks for your suggestions....lol by the way...was telling my daughter about all of this and said "I am one unhappy camper" not even thinking anything...till she burst out laughing...yes I am literally one unhappy camper

[atrochman]

We noticed that our floor was getting very spongy in the same area (between the fridge and table) last summer when we were in upstate New York. I contacted Keystone and they told me to take it to dealer. Dealer told me it had to be water leaking that caused the softness and was unlikely to be covered by Keystone as our 2 year warranty was long gone. They would be happy to fix it for an estimated $3000. So today I crawled underneath and cut out large sections of the underbelly cover only to discover that there were large expanses where there were no cross supports that supported the floor under the soft area. There was about 70 inches between the rear floor support by the kitchen sink and the floor support up front in the living room by the entertainment center. There are 2 cross members in between that support the galley tank, but they don't support the floor as there is about 1 inch clearance between the floor and the top of the tank supports and tank. So, when we stepped on the soft area, it pushed the floor down 1 inch until it reached the tank support cross beams. This gave a very bad feeling and it was so 'off' that we would sometimes lose our balance. I also discovered what appears that the underside plywood floor felt broken. As it's under a plastic covering, I couldn't see it but I could feel a crack in the plywood. You might not know that these Xtralite trailers use a sandwich floor construction with 1/4 inch plywood layer on top with another 1/4 inch layer on the bottom with 1 1/2 inches of white Styrofoam sandwiched in between for insulation and weight saving. Looks like my problem was caused by a poor floor support design combined with the sandwich flooring giving way when someone stepped on it thereby breaking the lower floor plywood layer and causing the mushiness.

We love our Cougar trailer, except for this issue and the dealers lack of support to help us resolve the issue. So, I am fixing this myself by placing 1/2" plywood strips between the tank and the floor and adding more cross braces especially in the kitchen and table area which has the unsupported 70" span across the trailer. I also have the same issue to a lesser degree in the bathroom as I have found that the direct floor support cross members are not adequate there for a good solid floor either. So I am going to metal supply tomorrow and Home Depot to buy more plywood and make some new cross members. Hope this helps -