How to repair a soft area in the wall

susaninnh

I’ve seen postings about repairs for sagging roofs and soft floors in Thor/Dutchmen t@bs, but what about a soft wall?  The wall under the round window on the drivers’ side of our 2004 t@b is very soft.  What is the repair for that? Is there way to replace a section of the wall? 

Geo

@susaninnh ,  You most likely have a slow leak of the round window. The window will come out by rolling the rubber gasket from the inside while pushing the window outward ( have a helper on the outside ). Inspect the wood frame around the window opening and use a wood stabilizer to harden it, then use a wood sealing product to water proof and seal that area. Inspect the rubber gasket for any tiny holes, reinstall the window using a caulk/sealer under the black rubber on the outside. The wall itself will dry out and will most likely be OK. 

susaninnh

Reposting resized photos. 

Thank you for your response. My husband isn’t excited  but he says you’re right. Needs to be done. 

Wall is spongy down to my finger which is little less than 1/2 way down.  The floor area is damp but solid. Do you think water from window is causing floor wetness or is that possibly from a different source. Rest of floor looks good. Little dampness near the door. 

Denny16

Pick so dry warm weather, remove the window, then let the wet area dry out, before adding any sealer or epoxy products to treat the wood.  You can pour in some denatured alcohol into the et area to speed drying and add a fan.

Once it is dried out, the panel should be less soft.  Then add the epoxy wood treatment, reseal the edges around the window opening and reinstall the window.  

Cheers

Sharon_is_SAM

To me it looks like the floor dampness is directly under that port hole, so I think it is from that.  But near the door?  Is there a leaky door seal?  Is any other part of the floor soft?

susaninnh

I'm hoping the floor dampness is related but I'm surprised that the wall is not spongy all the way down to the floor. 

Rest of floor is fine.

We will try sealing up the area around the door.

Thanks for your thoughts.

Geo

@susaninnh,  Our T@B had similar damp areas: the port hole window was leaking; the bottom of the door frame was leaking (no caulk/sealant between bottom edge of door frame and outer skin); wheel wells leaking; both bottom front corners leaking. 
Check carefully all around the bottom seam of the wheel wells as that is the most common area of water and dust intrusion for DM T@B's

This is our removed damaged floor - the area by the door was the worst.
Check top side and bottom side for softness.  DM T@B's are constructed with Luann plywood that does not have water proof glue used for assembly and is not water or rot resistant.  

Denny16

Yes, I often wondered why DM (more likely to do with cost $) used an interior grade Luann ply, which is designed for interior wall coverings in buildings, and not floors.  They should have used a marine grade fir plywood, which would have lasted longer, and been less prone to water damage.

Lluann ply is a relative soft wood, originally from the Philippine Islands, and is prone to water damage and easily rots when left at the right moisture level.  

Cheers

susaninnh

The saga continues in repairing our '04 t@b. We've popped out the round window and dried out the wall and sealed the opening as suggested. Does anyone know what type of epoxy was used on the outside of the window? It's a no drying type (stays pliable), is very tenacious and no solvent touches it. We'd like to use more of the same or something that would be compatible with it.

Geo

@susaninnh,  Do not use epoxy as it will permanently glue the window to the wall.  Use a flexible caulk/sealant under the black rubber gasket around the outside edge of the window opening.