spongy floor

[thomasgs527]

when I step into my x139 the floor feels somewhat spongy in the main traffic area. Is there a brace or a metal bar I can install outside and under the wood to run the width of the trailer to give additional support so the spongy feeling will disappear. its between the door and in front of the shower.

[FFX160_CT]

Do you think you have some water damage there? You may want to rule that out first.

[thomasgs527]

no water damage. I think its just been walked on so much that the wood is getting weak

[Mooreagreen]

I reported same thing on a brand new Shadow Cruiser and my dealer said it was because the tanks are underneath so they could not reinforce the area even if I wanted to.....

[profdant139]

If there is no tank immediately below the spongy area (or if there is a gap between the tanks in that area), you can reinforce the underside. What year is your trailer? If it is fairly recent, it probably has pink fiberglass insulation underneath the floor, covered by a thick shiny black vinyl sheet. If there is no insulation, the project is a lot easier.

Anyway, cut the vinyl carefully and remove the pink stuff. You may have to put in new pink stuff if the existing fiberglass is glued down. You will also have to glue a vinyl patch where you cut the black cover -- use a good vinyl glue.

To reinforce, I would run a piece of angled perforated steel across the bottom. Drill into the steel cross beams and use short self-tapping sheet metal screws. If the brace does not put enough upward pressure on the floor, you could shim the top of the brace with a piece of marine plywood.

Once the bracing is in, replace the fiberglass and the vinyl cover.

If this sounds like a lot of work, it is. (I did something similar on my old T-139.) One more thing -- when drilling up into a metal beam while laying on your back on the driveway, be sure to wear a full plexiglass face shield. Ordinary safety glasses may not provide enough eye protection against the metal fragments.

[thomasgs527]

there is a tank right where i need to put the brace at. sounds like a lot of work to get the job done. is it hard to remove the plastic tank and then reinstall? if so, i might just leave it as it is.

[profdant139]

Two problems with removing the tank: first, it is often suspended by a thick plastic lip resting on top of a steel crossbar -- you can feel it if you go under the trailer. Don't remove the lip, of course. You could cut the flange of the crossbar. That might affect the strength of the crossbar. And you would have to replace the steel flange with a piece of angled steel, bolted into the crossbar.

The other problem is that the PVC connections to and from the tanks are very fragile. Tough to repair properly.