2x8 section of basement floor removedA simple project yesterday turned into much more, when I discovered the basement floor in the motor home was damaged due to water intrusion. I had intended to simply clean the basement, removing some unused items, and rearranging everything. That's when I discovered that a portion of floor was warped, and upon further inspection, found out the reason why..
Notice the gap in the silicone bead where the wood rests on the frame
At the time we ordered our Camelot from Monaco (late 2006), the RV industry was booming. We had to wait about 4 months due to the backlog of orders. In other words, many manufacturers were building their units as fast as they could. Whenever the basic principle of supply and demand is tilted more toward demand, one of the biggest challenges for any manufacturer is quality control.
Most of the years we were Harley-Davidson Dealers, we had a waiting list, and no product on the showroom floor. Everything that came off the trucks was already sold. Harley could not build nearly enough product to satisfy the demand, and the public had a hard time understanding why they just didn't build more motorcycles. To Harley's credit, they slowly increased production during those years, but kept a sharp eye on quality, refusing to sacrifice that precious commodity. Monaco should have taken some lessons from Harley!
I have been a sharp critic of Monaco, for a variety of reasons. This was our first Monaco, and most certainly will be our last. During our first 18 months of ownership, we had so many problems, mostly related to poor quality standards, that I was one frustrated individual. Knowing that we couldn't take a huge financial hit, I kept working on the problems, rather than get rid of THE problem. Fortunately, 4 years after taking delivery, most of the issues have been fixed, upgraded, or otherwise taken care of, and we are generally pretty happy with the outcome.
Most of the years we were Harley-Davidson Dealers, we had a waiting list, and no product on the showroom floor. Everything that came off the trucks was already sold. Harley could not build nearly enough product to satisfy the demand, and the public had a hard time understanding why they just didn't build more motorcycles. To Harley's credit, they slowly increased production during those years, but kept a sharp eye on quality, refusing to sacrifice that precious commodity. Monaco should have taken some lessons from Harley!
I have been a sharp critic of Monaco, for a variety of reasons. This was our first Monaco, and most certainly will be our last. During our first 18 months of ownership, we had so many problems, mostly related to poor quality standards, that I was one frustrated individual. Knowing that we couldn't take a huge financial hit, I kept working on the problems, rather than get rid of THE problem. Fortunately, 4 years after taking delivery, most of the issues have been fixed, upgraded, or otherwise taken care of, and we are generally pretty happy with the outcome.
When I discovered the problem yesterday, I think it's safe to say that I wasn't very happy, particularly when I discovered why the wood got wet. The photo that shows the gap in the silicone bead that is supposed to form a gasket, was the main culprit. Even though the bottom of the wood is treated with some sort of sealant, like an undercoat on a car, when water was able to reach the edges of the plywood, over time, it began to do what water does to plywood. How hard would it have been to make sure that the silicone bead did not have any gaps? The picture below shows the damage to the wood. After I had everything torn out, and cleaned up, off to Lowes I went for some new wood. Naturally, the width of this section was 26", so the other 22" section will probably be useless when I discover another area of the floor that is water damaged.
Today, I'll finish treating the new wood, and put everything back together.
Water damaged plywood basement floor
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