RV floor repair, have you done it

[NOCK NOCK]

Need to remove all front cabinets to repair water damaged floor. Any tips/help info?

[Humptulips]

I have done it. The deeper I went the more I found. In the end I made a good repair but for all the work I would have been better to have just scrapped the whole thing.
I would be willing to bet the rotten floor extends under the wall, in which case it is not worth making it all right. You might be better off cutting to the edge of the cabinets and replacing just what is bad that you are standing on and forgetting about the rest. IMO it is on borrowed time. Probably not what you wanted to hear.

[Widgeondeke]

Agree that you will be chasing it. Very likely the joist underneath are bad.

I tore apart the entire kitchen area of an older trailer. It was worth it at the time.
Had a new trailer that had a water leak from wind storm debris damage and by the time I found it, 1/3 of my 24’ floor was rotten. Insurance paid me more than I paid for the trailer.  I walked away from that one.

Yours doesn’t look bad and hope you are find no surprises.  Good luck

[Kingofthemountain83]

Mark your cabinets on the wall and floor before you take them out... Just trace around them... You'll cut some of the floor out but it's nice to have as a reference for install... They probably used these cheap square drive screws to mount the cabinets like the few that I've worked on... They strip out rather easy and break... So that adds a level of fun to it... The cabinets aren't made to be moved around... Had some just fall apart from removal... Probably cause they got beat being in the trailer... So get them out the way and set them on a flat surface... I've seen a couple different ways the subfloor is mounted... Screwed to wood 2x3 carriage bolted to the frame every 24" spanning the width... Or the subfloor screwed directly to the angle iron frame every 24"... Either way block your seam in between with a 2x4 and screw that off... I prefer using a torx type screws when I can... A little more expensive then phillips or square head... If you have to connect directly to the metal they have 2" self tappers with a tapered head that will hold it down just fine with one every 6"... But the torx stay on the bit, drive so easy without wobbling, don't strip out, rarely break a tip... Screw the cabinets back in where they were screwed in or as close as possible without any extras added... Unless you know you're not going to hit anything that you may regret... Found that out once too... Either way it's a trailer and they are known for this... Probably way worse then what you see... It always turned into way more because they hide the rot very well...     

[Mike450r]

I have done it. The deeper I went the more I found. In the end I made a good repair but for all the work I would have been better to have just scrapped the whole thing.
I would be willing to bet the rotten floor extends under the wall, in which case it is not worth making it all right. You might be better off cutting to the edge of the cabinets and replacing just what is bad that you are standing on and forgetting about the rest. IMO it is on borrowed time. Probably not what you wanted to hear.

This is my recommendation as well.  If the cabinets are sitting sound and the source of the water damage is fixed, just replace the floor you will be walking on with the rest is out of sight, out of mind.

[Scruffy]

I had a friend who's parents were in the RV business.  He told me it isn't worth trying to fix a trailer, it's a can of worms.  The deeper you get the worse it gets.  Especially if you have a roof leak.  My kitchen floor got soft due to a leak I had.  I forgot to drain an outside faucet and it froze and cracked the line.  I just cut out a piece of 3/8" thick plywood and laid it down on top of the existing floor.  I plan on scrapping the trailer in about two years once my cabin is finished.

[NOCK NOCK]

I have done it. The deeper I went the more I found. In the end I made a good repair but for all the work I would have been better to have just scrapped the whole thing.
I would be willing to bet the rotten floor extends under the wall, in which case it is not worth making it all right. You might be better off cutting to the edge of the cabinets and replacing just what is bad that you are standing on and forgetting about the rest. IMO it is on borrowed time. Probably not what you wanted to hear.

This is my recommendation as well.  If the cabinets are sitting sound and the source of the water damage is fixed, just replace the floor you will be walking on with the rest is out of sight, out of mind.

Unfortunately the soft spots go under the cabinets, hence removal.
The bath wall side is all good and solid. Damage is only about 14" out from cabinets.

My main question is how are the cabinets attached to the unit? Are they screwed to the walls and floor, come out in one piece, or do ya have to disassemble the cabinet to got it out?

Appears that on the stove/oven side cabinet is screwed down to floor from inside the cabs. On the sink side there is no visible way to get to the inside if it is screwed down same way.

I have thought about maybe just notching along the bottom of the cabinets to allow sliding a 3x3 piece of 1/8th aluminum plate under them and back in as a patch over job. 

[NOCK NOCK]

I have done it. The deeper I went the more I found. In the end I made a good repair but for all the work I would have been better to have just scrapped the whole thing.
I would be willing to bet the rotten floor extends under the wall, in which case it is not worth making it all right. You might be better off cutting to the edge of the cabinets and replacing just what is bad that you are standing on and forgetting about the rest. IMO it is on borrowed time. Probably not what you wanted to hear.

Are you talking about the wall to the right (outside wall) in pic?   Could be the case. Did have a roof water leak above that area 10/12 years ago, but got that repaired.
Last year we had issues with rusty/stinky water in hot water tank, so that could be the source of floor damage. HW tank replacement is the other/next challenge.

[fowl smacker]

I was going to replace a soft spot that was "only in front of the door" on one.  I chased it all over.  Ended up tearing the whole thing apart and made a flat bed trailer out of it.

[CP]

If it is still structurally sound, and dried out, maybe just treat it with something like this:

[Kingofthemountain83]

I have done it. The deeper I went the more I found. In the end I made a good repair but for all the work I would have been better to have just scrapped the whole thing.
I would be willing to bet the rotten floor extends under the wall, in which case it is not worth making it all right. You might be better off cutting to the edge of the cabinets and replacing just what is bad that you are standing on and forgetting about the rest. IMO it is on borrowed time. Probably not what you wanted to hear.

I fully agree with this for all the repairs I have done for people on the three I worked on... They are rot boxes... If it got to where you noticed the floor is soft... It's way worse then you think... I told the people that before tearing in beacause my experience scraping I've tore down many...

[Kingofthemountain83]

[Kingofthemountain83]

The cabinets appear to be a two piece set... Stove side one piece... Sink side one piece... They screw to the wall in the backing... The floor along the edges... And each other where they meat... Pull the doors off so you don't break them or the hinges... Then get a flashlight and find out what bit you need and crawl around with some knee pads and reach through the openings... If you leave the counter top on you can't get them out the door so there's that to think about... Unless your door is wide enough with a good angle... One of my least favorite things to work on... Trailers...