Camper Floor Rot Hidden by Scammer Seller - Tearing It Up 

Here is the update video of the finished floors: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-pPuepqvZayY.html

Dude - you are my hero; thanks for never giving up and taking the easy way out!!

Yup,I feel ya,just bought my first camper,all 3 slide outs,floor completely rotted,and a out 12" by 25 feet of floor on outside wall under water heater,I'm a builder and here's my thought on that stupid plastic membrane under the entire floor,once the floor gets water on it,there is no way for the water to get. Out and so the floor can never dry out and the rot spreads,I will be painting the underside of the plywood floors

Join the crowd my friend, I just spent a week replacing 40 percent of the outer framework of one my daughter bought. One small roof leak left to leak had destroyed the entire front and side all the way back to the door. Then covered up for the sale. Too bad it's ileagle to shoot people like that

Wow, I am really impressed with your tenacity and patience. Thanks for posting.

There are three parties to blame in this situation…The RV industry for building stuff like crap and charging a fortune. The seller who knew and did a crap repair. And the buyer. I am the third in this very same situation. On my trailer I am now in the process of replacing the wood frame under the side walls in the front of the trailer. I learned a very valuable lesson. Thanks for making this video.

Thank you for sharing, I purchased a used camper in October 2019, all in all I feel like I got a good deal. I broke and awning bracket and while replacing I did find some wood rot that needed repairing. I took it out dried the area for a couple of days with a fan and put it all back together and all is well. Their past weekend 1/18/2020 I replaced a valve on the toilet that was leaking. I've owned boats for over 40 years and learned there there's always a repair needed. And water and wood do not do well together for very long. But with your issues, this guy sold you knowing what he was selling you. Now if you got it for a real steal I wouldn't say much. But he knew better. Trying to unload your troubled camper that has mold all in it can create someone serious health issues. All that black stuff you saw in the video was black mold. Would you try to sell someone your home with that throughout it. People should consider that when selling a camper. Be right do right. Someone's life may depend on it.

4500 is cheap mate here in Australia nothing less them 10k anything here for 5k have to work on it. don't feel so bad at least you know how to fix it . like your show keep it up

Just discovered your channel. I can sympathize. I bought a class C with hidden damage. The more stuff I go to replace leads to discovery of more damage. I’m patiently working towards close to a complete rebuild.

When I was looking to buy an rv, this was a HUGE problem in all of the ones I looked at, nobody mentioned it, and they most likely won't tell you because they are trying to sell it. I haven't torn up my flooring yet, but I haven't found anything yet that is a major concern, I know how frustrating and difficult it can be to try and fix it, so fingers crossed I won't have to deal with this. I know this was probably extremely stressful, so hats off to you! 👍

Great job glad to see your doing it right. I’m in the process of repairing one i bought that was covered up to sell. I’m cutting wood today to finish up the floor.

Same thing happened to me. First time owning a camper and I had no idea what to look for. I'm having to replace the whole floor in almost the same area. It's a shame people can't just tell you what problems things have.

Thanks for making my search for a good used camper that more terrifying.

If that bill of sale doesn't say "as is" take him to court. We got scammed hard on our camper too. I wanted to go burn their house down, I was so mad. But it's fixed now and we've been living in it for a month.

What a massive undertaking! At least for me it is. I would have definitely been one of those people you mentioned and just junked it. You have my respect for sure for taking on that restoration.

Absolutely .. I respect you brother.. just showing us? That this person did this to you? And your handling it .. good will come for you .. god bless you

God Bless YOU... You are right... it was hard to see what was hiding... You did a great job fixing though... I'm impressed...

Oh man, im on my mothernity leave and tought to help my husband to fix our camper that we got year ago. We are 100% sure that it has same problems..better start soon i guess, if we want to use it this summer😂😅 Thankyou for precise video👍

Great video. I had a very similar experience and had to replace my whole floor with 3/4 Advantech plywood. While i was at it, i ripped out the very small sink sized tub and the super small plastic toilt and replaced it with a 38 inch stand up shower and a house toilet. I made a short video of it with pictures i had taken. Thanks again.

Buying a used RV is a huge risk seeing how most don’t do proper roof maintenance. We also got burnt on our first travel trailer. Seller covered a soft floor with rugs. At that moment I vowed to never buy a used rv ever again.

So sorry you got screwed, but thank you so much for showing what happened to you. I've been shopping for a motor home for some time now, and I've been paying attention to Craig's List. I will keep your expierence in mind when I look at things. Thank you again.

You have gorgeous hands. we bought a travel trailer, in Florida from another Canadian couple and boy did they get us. long story, but the last thing we have to fix is the floor. the floating floor was pretty and it is cracking 2 ends of trailer. i am gonna watch this with my husband. scary when you said junk yard, because we paid 8k Canadian. no canopy no AC roof needed cleaning and caulking and taping and 2 coats of rubber. our internet is to store it here and return next year stay in in for 1 to 4 months and sell it at a lower price but in perfect condition. we added canapy and AC.

This is literally the exact same thing that happen to me. Im debating taking everything out and doing the whole floor

Coming across your video has given me hope! I bought a 20ft RV trailer for my mother to live in while she's on the waiting list for a senior living apartment near my home. She's a stubborn woman and refused to intrude by moving in with me but she's having heart issues and many other health problems and I want her close by. She currently lives 6 hours away and is alone after my sister passed away recently. I GOT SCAMMED big time! The seller did a descent job hiding the water damaged floors. I noticed some water damage to the ceiling and the kitchen cabinets which I was confident I could repair. He strategically placed piles of cushions, a removed cabinet and boxes of miscellaneous items in the backside of the trailer where I was unable to walk back there and it was also blocking the bathroom door. In my desperation to find something I could afford I looked past it since he showed me pictures of the bathroom on his phone. Turns out that there is no floor under all the crap! He placed crappy laminate flooring on the liner and then covered it with a big rug. The bathroom floor is rotten and there is holes in the shower flooring. The entire ceiling in the bathroom is falling in ( Didn't show me that part in the pictures). After peeling back the ceiling and looking in all the cabinets I realized that I have to replace the entire ceiling, the floors, the cabinets, countertops in the bathroom and kitchen and 3 walls. I would just dump the dang RV at a scrap yard if I wasn't so desperate to help my Mother. Thank you for your video. I have a ton of work ahead but after seeing what you were able to do, I feel confident I can do the same. It's going to be hard on a tight budget but Thanks Man!!

That sucks people do that when they should tell the truth good thing you pulled it up all that mold wow hope you didn't pay a lot for it

We are seniors and got "taken" by a young couple...sad...found out that the back of the camper was rotted...ceiling looked good...floor felt firm...of course, they werent' hooked up to electric/propane to check everything out and they had some of their stuff up on countertop that blocked us seeing the wrinkled paper/board above and could not see the rotten floors under the cabinets...our fault...we trusted and we all know you can't do that...we are in the process of tearing out the back and the cabinets...being 70 sure doesn't help...but we spent our stimulus money on this and we can't sell it...so...the journey begins

Woah, we have a lot of wet wood and rot repairs to make right now, unfortunately we have the entire from wall including the curve all the way to the rubber roof and a bit under that, some floor rot and the top of the side walls along the front. So yeah I hear ya. What I’ve found out is that better trailers a have sterefoam insulation as fiberglass holds the water and causes more rot and better campers also have aluminum frames to wood also unlike ours. It would’ve really helped though if the screws used along the exterior corners were put in straight and the right tapes and sealants had been used in the original construction. 😡 yeah I’m finding out way more than I ever wanted to know about RV construction, maintenance, and diy’s. Sigh.....

Thanks for sharing we got scammed to 3 months ago. I least I learned a lesson dont trust anyones word. Observe everything in detail myself.

I bought a 1990 Mallard camper. The lady didn't scam me she told me that the roof had collapsed from the weight of the snow. I looked at it before I paid for it which was very low. It was what I was looking for anyway a frame to build a new camper on and insulated with foam that I have on hand.

Thanks, I just bought one and live in it. Got scammed and now got major leak and old water damage. Someone is coming out next week to give me diagnostic. Ugh.

Check the plumbing there could be a leak at one of the joints and leaking valves even a small unnoticeable fissure in the pipes. Some people forget that you need a pressure reducer for city water and it causes leaks. Another thing that could cause damage to the plumbing is poor winterizing. Some lines especially the toilet line gets forgotten. RV antifreeze should be pumped into all the lines.

It helps to buy original vehicles. No mods, upgrades etc. Helps a lot when referring to factory manuals and schematics. Be hard on the vehicles when testing, check every single thing. Before buying, take it to a dealer or shop for inspection. Stay gold.

This was so interesting to watch and listen too. Sorry this purchase was such a rip.

Hello, DIY Car Guy. You mention having to jack up the walls to get rotted wood out from under them. What sort of jack can do this? I need to do the same but have no idea, it’s all new to me.

Good thing you know what you're doing. I'm in the same boat as you but NO clue ( yet) I bought a camper last month rotten roof, floor all water lines burst as well as hot water heater. I'm a first time buyer and and had no clue he bandaged this pretty well, of course I didn't notice until I got home hooked it up to the water and shit was blowing everywhere. Live and learn. Good luck.

The seller was obviously just trying to get out of the headache caused by such cheap construction by the RV manufacturer (they are almost all like this, slap em together as cheap as possible but they look nice when new). It's so common, dealing with similar issues with a trailer I'm trying to sell - not trying to hide anything and it's not as bad as this one, just a matter of how much work I need to do myself. It's amazing the lengths that a scammer will go to just to fix it incorrectly when it's not all that much more work to do it properly.

I picked up a free camper... Everything worked but floor is bad. Doing my homework on floor repair then giving it a try myself... I did a walkthrough on my channel of how trashed it was. Almost cleaned out now, accept floor work

That looks like my Jaco. The problem with this design is the bottom membrane catches every little leak. Even if you have one leak, it will catch it as it pools, the insulation gets soaked, and the floor is rotted out. I think I will just replace it with treated, and not bother with the membrane. That way the floor can always dry out.

I'm sitting here clapping for you 👏 undertaking a job like that! I DEFINITELY woulda' sent that rig to the scapyard! I have no patience anymore! YOU DA MAN!

Wow that is definitely a project.

I am super curious, what did you pay for this thing? Have you also addressed the frame issues in these? They need reinforcement.

We took the whole frame away from our camper to replace the whole floor! Hate those patch jobs! We also got rid of that plastic bag material from the underside!

I bought one that the owner had all sorts of crap in it and said it only had 'that one spot" that was soft. Well it was the only spot that was not covered!!

Scary part is not knowing if still leaks.

I’d be really pissed. I’d be visiting that dude!

Hopefully you got a decent deal on this to account for the work needed

Bought a soggy floor caravan myself too

Well at least I know my smoke detector works 😂😂 I just bought a 1997 prowler bumper pull camper with a big slide out and I've got a lot of the same things I got to take care of not too much in the floor there's one bad area going into the bathroom there must have been a leak for the water line going to the toilet or something and then a couple spots on the walls and one on the ceiling and then the rest is just really cosmetic stuff new flooring new walls and a few minor things pretty much all the utilities work which is a huge plus and I got the RV for super low price so I'm really excited but I'm in the trades I'm a carpenter so I'm definitely not a stranger to the work so that'll make it a little easier but the only thing is I'm living in it full-time so this was the first RV rental video I found that was very similar to mine so thank you for posting

I just got scammed this weekend. It was the roof and walls. I removed the 1/4 inch plywood, only to find everything was rotted away.

Holly cow how much did you get that camper for!? I also got scammed with water damaged camper and felt so frustrated when I found out about rutted thru the outer type water damage under the bench. but after seeing this, I feel that I should feel thankful for the corner I just need to deal with😇 thank you for your work and you made my day

We just got scammed too. The trailer had had a bad leak that was eventually fixed and instead of repairing the damage to the main support beam over the slide out the asshat covered it up with decorative panels. We are in the beginning of a reno on a place we have to be in in 6 weeks.

I feel for you. It’s sad that someone would do that to you. It’s been done to me also but not that bad. Hope you got it fixed.

I paid $1500 CAD for my trailer and it was in worse shape then yours. I ripped it down to the frame and now I'm making a tiny house.

Should have pulled the roof pulled all the cabinets through the roof and other things you can't get through the door and then use pressure-treated plywood Edge seal with some type of tar. Do not use MDF for some kind of particle board. Roof vent covers will prevent a lot of leaks. Corner seal tape on all the exterior aluminum flashing. When putting turn back on use 3M Automotive seam sealer

Buy a nice Honda, stop at Holiday inn . No frustration, no sweat, and in the long run cheaper. They all leak and are worthless in 10 years.

Bought my camper 5 months ago. $8500 for an '06 travel trailer. All looked good. No worries...until I moved the couch away from the wall. Big time water damage! Bummer.

That wet rotten wood looks like the floor in my trailer.

Sorry about this. Going through the same thing. Im going to sell as is and take my loss. I am very crafty but have no energy or time to fix a busted camper. Nothing like camping in a tent!

Always inspect the underside before buying if a buyer wont let you dont buy

You know there's the stuff called hardibacker or wonderboard or better yet and this is waterproof Dens shield it's on the pricey side comes in a 4x8 sheet but it is waterproof it's like fiberglass heavy duty stuff good stuff I recommend using that either on the floor or on the wall good luck you're doing a good job hang in there.

How did you remove plywood under cabinets when the plywood is screwed down to the frame and screws are likely under cabinets?

Couldn't you smell the mould when checking it out before buying?

Damn I hope everything turned out to be good for you same thing happened to me with the travel trailer I just bought when I first saw it I was trying to look for soft walls soft floors but the guy kept trying to distract me from doing that while he was showing me how the things be working I still didn't get distracted that guy wanted $5,000 and I told him hell no I told him I'll just give them two thousand Ford if not I'll leave he need the money so bad he took the $2,000 with the rest of the money not even $800 I fix the floor no lately it's been raining here in Texas and I have not found one leak but still I got to check the outside to make sure everything sealed up

Same thing happened to me but I got a valued $11k-$17k 26’ travel trailer for $6500. Now I know why.

The main issue which was not addressed. Black mold. Toxic poison in mold. A big problem with anything previously owned. The silent killer.

I bought one of these, only worse. And I am old enough to be your mom and not a handy person. Not a happy camper! Trying to resell it as a handyman special and I refuse to lie at all. So no bites of course. A real blow when you are a senior living below the poverty line. I thought this might be my home "just in case". Oh well, we all make huge mistakes at least a few times in our lives. What a big one though. I don't dare tell my family. And here I was laughing at the CRA scammers.

that is a standard trailer built when they were throwing them together and charging way toooooo much. you were about as smart buying and the guy selling, but you have heart to follow through. Buyer beware is said for a reason. good luck

you're a trooper that's for sure

Same thing happened to us all four corners had water damage and the back floor

I have to do the same to my camper , a git sold me a 1989 coachmen catlina 34 foot camper and said other then when it was used a fes times a year it was stored in his warehouse, and it looked super nice inside and out , until i get it to my house and i start filling up the water tank and turn on the pumps, leaking like a siv somewhere in the bathroom , so whole rear of the camper has to come out and up , not looking forward to it at all since i have no clue where to start

You should have taken him to court for selling you a complete piece of junk. You have the video of all the patch and coverup work he did to make it look like it was a good trailer. It's not like he didn't know it had severe water damage and needed to be repaired properly. When in fact it should have been junked or repaired by a professional.

Just thinking watching this could you use fiberglass resin to fill the cracks and strengthen the wood butt sections

How do you figure out how far to put the saw blade down, before you use it?

We were scammed too with ours. We bought ours to live in after my husband almost died from covid. Now we are dealing with black mold and trying to find where the leaks is from in the roof after they masked it.

2 years later. I'm watching and wondering. Did you not smell the damage?

Add me to the list of people who got screwed by the seller. total cover up job. Thanks for the video. At the moment I just want to sell as is for whatever I can get for it.

that's not plywood, its OSB, and yes he did a terrible job, Just bought a Lance that I should have looked at closer, the heavy caulking job on the outside was a dead giveaway, had to remove the siding and replace the 2x2's and luan

Good job!! Rv needs some love! Your not play!!

An oscillator saw would cut those screws that attach the cabinets from the outside without taking the outside skin off.

I'm in the same boat, just found out my floor under my bed and the back wall is rotted out, I am NOT impressed

The build up of water if most likely a crack or leak in the safety over flow they have

Did you consider placing aluminum square tubing under the floor as bracing so at least that wouldn't rot? I have a 2014 ultra lite. It appears there was a leak in the water lines which went unnoticed until the floor was literally rotted.

Where is the water coming from? I wouldn’t want this to be a repeat job forya.

What comes around goes around...that person will receive what he deserves soon buddy.

Be proud of yourself for sticking with it and doing a Proffecional fix. karma's coming for him!

The former owner did a poor job repairing the floor, but good work comes with experience and name-calling only lowers you. Other than that, I really enjoyed watching your restoration and I look forward to seeing more.

If you work in fire and water damage restoration, you'll be doing tedious dirty shit like this all day every day you work....for $10/hr.

Wow man I feel sorry for you, jerk selling something needing that much work

Wow what a mess.

I got scammed too i am currently doing same job my floor had been repaired 4 times with 4 different woods on top of each other

I got scammed to. I spent 4000 on a motorhome with 15,000 miles. Runs god except the ignition switch went out.also there is soft wall in back in the front and small spot on celing. There now is a smell of mold. Im going cheap as possible to fix it so i can get on the road asap.

Mental note: avoid Facebook marketplace.. :3c

They should outlaw peel and stick flooring.

I'm in middle of fixing mine now. I don't want to sell it until it's properly fixed.

That is not plywood it is wafer board the best thing to use is Marina treated plywood

Can u explain how the shower goes back on

Say it loud, he didn't know shit. He said no damage. Lie. I have never seen such shit as on the rv I bought. I expected some, but this is exceptional.

Late question. How did your repairs affect the Dry weight of the camper?

Just picked up an 03 Thor Wanderer Lite Hybrid Toy Hauler. INstalling the wheel chocks for dirtbikes discovered damp insulation between joists and frame. Checked roof, ALL the lap seal needs redone. Some minor separation on the from wall with the foldout looks like it'll be a new front wall and sill boards front and sides to the wheel wells. In your video you said your jacked up the walls - how'd you do that?

Wow that wood was like papier-mâché