Venetian Basement

[Mccowboy]

My wife is set on a Venetian but I'm concerned about the basement construction, more specifically, that they use plywood in the floor. I've read a number of posts about rotting basement floors and I'm hoping some of you can shed some light on this.
Thanks very much.

[TurnerFam]

sometimes they can be problematic, depending on where you travel, the weather(wet/humid,etc), and how much they are exposed to it.

We had the Thor Service Center in Wakarusa replace our main and wetbay compartment floors due to sagging, mold/growth at the edges, and separation at the door frames, back in early 2016, under warranty.

I would say that what they've not done correctly is to make sure that ALL edges, especially those CUT edges, to be totally wrapped and sealed with both caulk AND the white 'water proof' covering that they use, AND to use Marine Grade Plywood, which is already impregnated with moisture resistant and mold growth chemicals. The other side of the issue is the infiltration of WATER into the bays, while driving. If the bay doors, door frames, and compartments are not TOTALLY sealed from the elements, then water will certainly find it's way in. If it does, the compartments should also have some type of 'drain' to be capable of getting rid of it.

It's doubtful that you'll find many manufacturers not using the same or similar builds, but some days are better than others on the lines where they are built.
As an owner, the best course is to be proactive, CAULK each and every edge, corner, and possible meeting of every piece, and also FOAM every conceivable place, hole, or crack/crevice where air and water might come in, even if it's at the ceiling itself.

[Mccowboy]

i've read a lot about the water intrusions on the early Aria's and Venetians that was attributed to the seals and baggage doors. I was told by Thor reps that the issues was resolved in the 2019 models. It seems that the seams and corners on the basement flooring is a whole different issue or maybe the water intrusion is compounding the problem. At any rate I'll need to do more investigating before we buy the Venetian or any other brand on our list. It's a bit disappointing because the L40 has what we consider the perfect floorplan with the right features we want.
Thanks for your response.

[lwmcguire]

I haven't compared a Venetian side by side with my Tuscany however the Tuscany basement is holding up very well so far and stays very dry as well

Mine is a 2016 and I know they made a model change about that time

If your shopping Venetian take a look at Tuscany as well, both are very nice

[Mccowboy]

Thank you for the reply. I can see there have been a number of reads to my post but only 2 replies so perhaps my fears are unfounded. I've learned that there are valid complaints about every manufacturer but many more that are not. So far I've not been convinced that there is a manufacturing defect in the Venetian's basement construction but I will certainly continue to investigate. Thor's West Coast Sales Manager often visits one of the local dealerships here in Southern CA and I'll be asking him about this next time there is a show.

Thanks again.

[NCVenetian18]

I just had my bay floors replaced due to this very issue. Thor sent larger weather stripping for all the bays. Plywood floors were replaced with marine grade and everything was generously caulked and so far no more leaks.

[Mccowboy]

Thanks for the reply. I can't understand why they would not use marine grade in the first place.