Thor Forums

[RCCraig]

I have a 2012 Thor Tuscany 40LX which I bought used seven years ago. I recently discovered the floor of the water compartment had rotted out and I just finished replacing it myself. The original floor was 3/8" plywood with a black plastic surface inside (upon which the 91-gallon fresh water tank sat) and a thin aluminum skin bonded to the bottom (road) side. I believe there was galvanic corrosion between the thin aluminum skin and the metal frame upon which it sat, and this corrosion allowed water spray from the road to intrude and delaminate/rot the plywood. I pulled the fresh water tank from the basement on the curb side. (To pull it from the driver's side, I would have had to disconnect the gray- and black-water drains from their respective holding tanks -- didn't want to disturb any of that.) Following fresh water tank removal, I removed all the rotted flooring and found the metal frame to be mildly rusted. I used an angle grinder with a polycarbide abrasive wheel to clean the frame down to bare metal. Then I used three "POR-15" products to prep the metal: POR-15 Cleaner Degreaser; POR-15 Metal Prep; and POR-15 Rust Preventive Coating. Instead of using plywood and worrying about it rotting again, I instead used a 3/8-inch composite board called "COOSA Bluewater 26." (It is used in marine applications, it is totally resistant to water, stronger than plywood, and 40% lighter than plywood. It cuts just like wood with a circular saw.) A 4'x8' panel was all I needed to completely refloor my compartment and it was $197. Shipping was an additional $150. I read about two other men in the iRV2 Forum who did the similar job I did. One was quoted $10,000 to do the repair, and the other was quoted $7,600. I did the complete job in my storage barn for $590 in materials.