Opening The Camper....Literally!

So I took last Thursday and Friday off so we could go to camp and get things opened up for the season.  We knew the floor in the kitchen area was weak from a prior water leak that happened before we bought it, but never expected what we walked into on Thursday when we got there.

I'll start from the beginning....there was a leak from a previous owner that weakened the floor between the fridge and the bench.  We put a sheet of plywood down last summer and it stabilized it somewhat.  The table still had a weak post and would wobble a bit when walking past, but nothing major.  This year, probably from all the rain in early Spring brought a greater leak down the outside wall and under the floor.  It literally rotted the joists and when my husband walked into the camper he almost went through the floor.

After much thought and planning our next move, we decided to pull up the one bench closest to the door, and the entire floor.  There was about an inch and a half of water under the floor setting right on the skin that covers the bottom.  We had to cut a slit to drain the water and let it sit to try to dry it out.  Had to pull all the wood joists out since they were rotted, all the insulation that was soaked and part of the wall where the leak had come through.  At first we thought we would have to scrap the bench and table, but later decided to re-install them once the new floor was put down.

the new frame in for a fitting

We then got a sheet of 1/2" wolmanized plywood and a couple of 2x6's.  My husband ripped the 2x6's down to 2x3's to make a new frame for the floor deck and got that set into place.  Then he took measurements for the plywood, cut that to size and installed it on the frame. Now we have a solid floor.  He then put the bench back in place and secured it to the floor.

Next time we are out there, we will put down the Pergo that my mom had left from her house.  It will look great since it's very close to the color and grain of the cabinets.  We anticipate having this all completed and back to normal before Memorial Day.  Next step is to get the back side of the camper cleared out so we can reposition the camper back there and have more room in front for our picnic table and fire ring.

This is our first camper and we really want to make it last for a few more years so we are making the little repairs that come along.  It's not a really big one, but is just right for the two of us.

Updates to this saga will be posted when we make further progress.