[Flick]

Well this last weekend the water heater in our 84 died. Looked like a straightforward fix so I ordered a new one and it should,be here by the weekend. Tonight I had a visitor from Canada passing thru who stopped for the evening. Retro was coming thru with his latest project which is a 76 Newell he picked up in Missouri I am sure we will all get to watch this old beauty come back to life in his very talented care. He showed me pics of his other two restorations and he did an amazing job on both. Keith is a very nice person and I hope you all get a chance at some point to meet him as well I was very glad he decided to overnight here.

i brought my coach to where he was overnighting to show him the result of all of our work the last couple of years I mentioned my water heater would be replaced this weekend and he asked about the flooring in the bay. He said many times that area is rotten due to the wood they used being sandwiched between metal on the bottom and a laminate ontop. Add some moisture from all of the water activity and you have a prime spot for rot. Well sure enough the wood was rotten underneath after we poked around it. Luckily it appears only to be that huge bay though. So the heater will go in this weekend as planned but later this year I will have to pull the heater, the water tank, the waste tank and all of the plumbing that's in the bay so that I can strip out all of the rotten wood in there and start all over. hopefully I don't have too much rust damage under the wood.

It's a daunting project but I also look forward to having a very clean looking and updated water bay. After talking to Keith I think it makes sense to use aluminum or metal on the flooring rather than wood again so that I don't have to worry about rotten wood ever again. He has done this to his coach and said he rebuilt and updated his water manifold at the same time as well.

So Gurus this is the planning stage for my project and I would like your input and ideas on this as well since I will have not done anything like this before. I will post some pics of the bay etc in the next day or so to help fuel your input. Thanks as always gurus for your support.

[Ozarkguy]

Todd compared to what you have already accomplished, the bay floors will be a walk in the park. I had to do that on the 74', looked daunting , but wasn't. The stuff comes out fairly quick (with the help of the Rhino to drag the tank out) strip it down to the square tubing, blast it and prime -n - paint (if any are rusted thru..patch them). I used a rust conversion primer, painted. I used a asphalt based to undercoat everything after. I went back with marine grade plywood + epoxy urethane coating.. I put 1/4" teak wood strips where the tank sits for airflow and sweating.. Steamed out the water tank, all new copper pipe n valves... done deal.. I considered metal, but think wood works better .. My thing..

Good times head!...

[Flick]

Jimmy did you largely leave the plumbing the way it was or did you change anything? From my standpoint being a very real novice I feel more secure carefully noting how things came apart and then putting it all back together that way. However I don't want to overlook this opportunity to upgrade anything I should that may have not been available in 1984.

Hope that makes sense.

[Flick]

Doing this from my phone so hope this works but here is a pic of my coach and Keith's 76 side by side. A very interesting coach which will be fun to watch transform.    

[Retro]

It was nice to meet you too Todd, your coach is very nice and all of your hard work shows.
I used http://www.por15.com it is alot less work to apply rather than paint and imho a superior product when it comes to rust. Sandblasting is not needed. After it was appied I glued and riveted sheet of 3/16 aluminum in the bay afterwards. For the wood blocking that was used I put an aluminum tubing frame under the tanks with rubber between the two. Wood would be fine and will last for a long time but it does trap moisture and eventually will rot out. The 76 is all redone as well but we welded all new steel including the sheet floor. When water does spill inside it dries up quickly and has nowhere to hide.
The plumbing was replaced with pex, new valves and used the stainless crimp rings rather than the copper rings. The crimper is smaller and I prefer them. Pex has more give and easier to work with.
Good luck with it Todd, Jimmy is right on when he says its not as bad to do as it looks!!

[Flick]

Safe travels Keith.

[Ozarkguy]

Todd Here is some before n after shots ... cut al the tubing n fit.. then solder ... piece of cake...

   
   

I used Rhino Liner to coat the sewer bay.. Bullet Proof

   

[HoosierDaddy]

Todd
I reworked my 1978 Newell. The floor was rusted so I removed all sheet steel and replaced it. I coated with POR15 then applied an asphalt waterproofing. I lined the compartment with FRP (fiberglass reinforced plywood) That is the material used for semi truck trailer sidewalls. It is 1/2" plywood with fiberglass matt bonded to both sides. I sealed the edge with silicone after I laid the FRP on the floor. I had some 3/16" steel bent and welded together to form the waste tank. The tank was coated inside and out with POR15. Periodically I would pour a half cup of vegetable oil in the tank to inhibit rust. The stainless steel water tank was re-installed. That was 15 years ago and it still looks great!!!

[folivier]

This product by Rot Doctor is really good for making plywood pretty waterproof. Read through the description for how it works. I've used it for a few projects and really satisfied with its performance.
http://www.rotdoctor.com/products/cpes.html

[Retro]

I don't see why any kind of wood is nessesary, once you screw into it moisture can get in, it will also sit between the wood and the steel and wont dry. Am I missing something here?