Inspection

I understand that in 2003, Trailmanor started utilizing an aluminum shell frame. I have a friend who is contemplating a 2000 2720. How can they inspect for rot if it has a wood frame? Is it obvious visually?

[Wavery]

Originally Posted by Michael

I understand that in 2003, Trailmanor started utilizing an aluminum shell frame. I have a friend who is contemplating a 2000 2720. How can they inspect for rot if it has a wood frame? Is it obvious visually?

We haven't seen many complaints about wood-rot in these frames. That doesn't mean that he shouldn't try to find some.....I'm just sayin'.......

The most obvious place to look for wood-rot would be in the lowest points of the upper shells. I don't know how the current owner would feel about him probing around with a screw driver but he could check latch and bracket mounting screws. Just see if the screw easily free-turns without gripping, while tightening the screw. If it does, pull out the screw and see if it has black residue on it. Even that test may only tell you that there is a small amount of wood rot it the screw hole though. However, if all the screws are tight and secure, that could be a good sign.

Check for water stains in the ceilings around the hatches and in the corners & seams. Also check the walls, especially around the windows. If there are water stains, that could be an indication of wood rot. Again, check the screws.

The bottom edge of the roof frame should be solid, if it feels spongy or bends easily, that could be an indication of wood-rot. Same with the floor.

[Wavery]

Originally Posted by startc

We just bought a 2000 2720SL that does have wood rot in the lowest points at the back of the front shell. Had we know to look for this, we likely would not have purchased the Trailmanor. So wood rot can definitely happen in a 2000 -- it would be a good idea to look for it.

harveyrv - What causes the wood root to form at those locations? Of the eight lowest points on each shell, only the back ones of our front shell appear to be affected. Taking your advice, today we pulled out some of the screws to the left of the door on the side of the frame. We went up four screws from the bottom and they are all rusted and breaking down. Not good. Are we going to have to replace the front shell entirely?

Wood-rot is caused by repeated soaking of the wood and not drying out between soaking or standing water inside the assembly that can't get out.

Gravity will take most of the water to the lowest point and that point will be the last to dry. That's why the most common rot would be found there.

As long as the rot is contained in the lower framing, it isn't that hard to replace that wood. You will need to poke around and possibly drill some holes to find exactly where the wood rot ends. You may even find that it is localized to the screw holes. You could start by drilling out a hole that you know is rotted with a 1/4" drill and keep going bigger until you find all good wood. If that entire section is rot, it will have to be cut out anyway. If you get to a 1/2" drill and find all good wood, then move on to the next hole. Glue a 1/2" dowel in the holes and it's all good.

I doubt very much if you will have to replace the entire shell.

[MariaG]

If you click on the link to my blog in my signature below, you'll find our saga of replacing rotted wood in a 1986 TM25. I'm not sure if the construction is exactly the same in a 2000 but I'm sure it's very similar. I seriously doubt your rot issue is anywhere near as bad as ours was, but it will give you some idea of what you will be dealing with - as Wayne said, as long as it's in the lower frame it's a fairly easy fix if you're handy. There's lots of pictures, click on them to enlarge them and you can see quite a bit of detail. Hope this helps!