2005 Tab floor replacement

Heavysquad

I bought a project this spring, and have recently started digging into it. The poor T@B is heavily rotted and poorly repaired at one point. My dad and I think we can repair it correctly, but, we need your help! Any information you might have, would be greatly appreciated! 

 We are replacing the floor with the Nucamp fiberglass version. We will be replacing some of the walls where it has rotted away.

1) If anyone has good pdf blueprints, I have a copy that were faxed and scanned at one point, but they are very hard to read.  They seem to be missing the rear hatch and the roof construction. I'd like a good quality pdf so I can blow it up and print it. 

2) Does anyone know what "EGS" is? It seems to be a construction material but google has no idea.

3) Wire diagram would be nice to have if we ever get to that point.

4) Anyone who used the replacement floor, did you treat it with anything before mounting it? Did you re-use the fabric that was under the old floor?

5) Also the clear coat is peeling, any ideas other than sanding and re-painting?

Here is the progress so far.  

Ratkity

WOW!! What a project. I have nothing to aid you. There are some Dutchman folks here. I can't remember, but someone on their website did a floor replace, but my one brain cells has long ago since become decaffeinated due to the hour of the night. Keep us posted on the progress!!

dragonsdofly

@Heavysquad, please use the search feature and look up the discussion "soft floor repair/replace". 2 of our active members here have experience with your situation. @Geo did a complete floor replacement with pics and directions. @Irving did a repair and reinforcement of the floor. Both comment and post pics on each process in that thread. Good luck with everything and keep us posted as to how this turns out.

jgram2

Probably not an outlet cover huh? Egs https://www.elliottelectric.com/P/Item/APP/4SD1/ If you search on floor replacement, you have to wade through some pages, and I didn’t find any where floors and walls needed repair. I didn’t read them all, but there might be some that could be helpful. Good luck!

Heavysquad

Thanks guys,  I've done a ton of searching around figured I'd start a thread to show my progress and seek additional info.  

Rokko16v

@Heavysquad, I am also a Dutchmen tab owner with similar concerns. Our floor does not need immediate replacement, however there are 2 spots of concern in the front corner and rear tire tub. We are storing the trailer in a garage, so hopefully that can prolong replacement for a little while. 

Is the Nu-camp floor one piece of material? Is it layered? Do you think it's possible to just fabricate your own floor with marine plywood and resin? the reason I ask is I've heard quotes of nearly $1k for a Nu-camp replacement floor.

Heavysquad

The floor is an aluminum frame with styrofoam between the frame rails sandwiched between 2 pieces of fiberglass board.  I think the cost was $550 for the floor And $600 to ship. 

Rokko16v

Interesting. Do you have any pictures of a side profile? Maybe it is worth the expense of purchasing a nucamp floor. Was the removal process challenging?

mash2

would these help?

Rokko16v

Interesting. Those prints are very useful. So the original floor does have aluminum supports beneath that black tarp shield?

ScottG

Nice drawings. I've also posted them in the Dutchman Resources in the User's Manuals category.

Heavysquad

mash2 said:

would these help?

Ha! I have this exact copy! It is a scanned copy of a fax.  Thanks for digging them up.  Still want to find a better copy I can print and hang on the wall and read from a distance.

Heavysquad

Rokko16v said:

Interesting. Those prints are very useful. So the original floor does have aluminum supports beneath that black tarp shield?

Yes,  aluminum frame with wood in the aluminium tubes to hold screws,  styrofoam between the framing and plywood on top and bottom.  Pics to follow

dragonsdofly

@Rokko16v, if you will read some of the other threads about repairing/replacing the Dutchman soft and/or rotted floors you will find mention of the fact that many times the aluminum braces in the floor were broken or damaged. You can find some of these threads mentioned earlier in this discussion. There are methods mentioned in those threads of doing spot repairs and reinforcements that are adequate short of entire floor replacement if only spot repair is needed. A spongy or sagged floor may not be all due to rot, but can be caused by the aluminum supports failing. Good luck.

Mouseketab

Rokko16v said:

@Heavysquad, I am also a Dutchmen tab owner with similar concerns. Our floor does not need immediate replacement, however there are 2 spots of concern in the front corner and rear tire tub. We are storing the trailer in a garage, so hopefully that can prolong replacement for a little while. 

Is the Nu-camp floor one piece of material? Is it layered? Do you think it's possible to just fabricate your own floor with marine plywood and resin? the reason I ask is I've heard quotes of nearly $1k for a Nu-camp replacement floor.

One of our original floor replacers built his own floor from scratch, and he stated that his materials cost and building and welding himself cost more than purchasing the replacement floor from NuCamp.

Shipping is the big thing. If you have a way to pick it up, or maybe have a local T@B dealer have one put on the same truck as a 4-pack of T@Bs to their dealer, or something like that.

Rokko16v

I never thought about the aluminum supports failing. Ours has a slightly soft spot at the left front corner. It's not through, and certainly not a concern for a while. I think it's just the plywood reacting to getting wet from years of road water being sprayed up from tow vehicle.

I had a hair brained idea that If I were to remove the body of the tab, I could then tow the bare trailer with some temporary lights and drive up to the factory and pick up the new floor. My wife would probably advise against this... 

dragonsdofly

@Rokko16v, novel idea. A simple call to tech support at nüCamp will answer the question if it is feasible or not. Also, Dutchman t@bs are known to have water infiltration through the front curved surfaces and trim. Removal of the trim and recaulking of those particular areas may be very beneficial. Also, the more advanced the rot or soft floor areas become, the greater the possibility of the side walls separating from the floor. We have had more than one member post just this year that the first sign of trouble was seeing the outdoors through the gap between the sidewall and floor.

Heavysquad

Here's a picture of the floor as I dragged it off the trailer and to the dump.

jgram2

You must love projects-didn’t I see a boat next to the teardrop? It appears you know how to have all kinds of fun!

rfuss928

The floor design relies on being a laminated structure and acting like one solid piece.  When the bonding between the layers fails, the collection of parts that remains are all on their own and not up to the task individually.

Hopefully the new construction method has solved this weakness by eliminating wood on the surfaces.  SUNT@B had a NuCamp floor installed in 2016 and I am sort of counting on it!

Good luck with your project.  You look well prepared.

Have fun!

Bob

irvingj

Haven't visited the site for a while (on the road with T@B's replacement) -- but just saw this. YEs, good luck, and keep those pics coming!! The one thing you'll notice about the DM T@Bs is that their simplicity -- relative to newer models-- will grow on you. We really loved  ours!

Heavysquad

jgram2 said:

You must love projects-didn’t I see a boat next to the teardrop? It appears you know how to have all kinds of fun!

Thanks! The boat belongs to my dad, he kinda spurred me on to taking on this project, now the jokes on him as he can't launch the boat till this is out of the way.  Would be way easier if it wasn't there.

jgram2

Well thought out-now he’s got a vested interest in helping with the project!

Heavysquad

People with soft floors, just a heads up. The collapsing floor bent the ends of the frame down and in. We were able to pound them straight but will be taking it to a welder to add some stiffness. Before and after


How we made a brace to hold the front of the camper, I can now work on the bottom of the walls to replace the rot with good marine plywood and epoxy. 




phase IIII will be to strip and re-clear coat the skin. 

ericnliz

@Heavysquad, That's quite the undertaking. I totally re-built a pop-up about 10 years ago, and had to deal with a lot of wood rot,  & total re-paint on the outside, so I can empathize with the work involved. The up-side was it turned out to be basically a "new" camper when I was finished. It appears you've got the situation well in hand, and I'm sure the end results will be fantastic. Great idea on holding the shell up. Keep the pictures coming on the progress, and best of luck in your endeavor! 

Heavysquad

Thanks guys!  Yes it's a huge project, if I knew the walls were as bad as they are, I'd have skipped it. I've got some really good boat builders to help rotten plywood is common, should be stronger and more water tight than when new. 

JonInHouston

I just bought a 2005 Dutchman T@B a few months ago & just discovered today that I will unfortunately need to replace the floor too.  Please send me any tips & advice that you have as I will be doing this same project soon.

jgram2

@JonInHouston I know @Heavysquad will reply, but in the meantime, search on “soft floor” and read up on what others have encountered and how they’ve dealt with it.

Heavysquad

JonInHouston said:

I just bought a 2005 Dutchman T@B a few months ago & just discovered today that I will unfortunately need to replace the floor too.  Please send me any tips & advice that you have as I will be doing this same project soon.

So far, I would say make sure you have some help when you jack it up, the body is not strong when it is detached from the floor. We built some stands for it to sit on. take a bunch of photos before you tear into it. Label parts as they come off.

Heavysquad

 If you’re on face book, I’ve made good progress on it. Here is the new frame I’ve installed to replace the rot

https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/fr/cp0/e15/q65/59386060_10212563357633749_3076058686951522304_n.jpg?_nc_cat=103&efg=eyJpIjoidCJ9&_nc_eui2=AeEKjvQtPsjUJyxQJz4DnClJERCM6Q36Cld7kQW5NNgZMVZGtcD27fAAV3abJtVSiQ5IvgjLKs0BwKRhRokhQ-9610PmOWEgfHVJnzjjXqIXmg&_nc_ht=scontent-lga3-1.xx&oh=9377287eb48a36736245587fc782e263&oe=5D6E00BA

Heavysquad