Front Corners pulling Apart

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   I noticed when I removed the cover on my 2014 178 this spring that the front corners seemed to be coming apart.  I crawled under camper and discovered a tear in the membrane at the front edge.  The screws were all gone from the bottom of the rock guard.  The front fiberglass/laminate was pulling away from the floor in the middle as well.  Decide to pull it apart and see how bad things were.   The screws going into the rock guard at the top were fine.  The screws through the fiberglass into the floor of the trailer had all pulled loose or were rusty.  What a great way to fasten that into the end of the plywood...not.   So the floor has only absorbed water less than a 1/2 inch back and the fiberglass luan piece appears to be mostly ok.  I will leave it open for a few days to dry out but insulation isn't wet and don't believe there is major damage.  However not going to be able to refasten wall to the end of the plywood without some modification.  I did look on forum for post on this issue and found Mike Carters post that he had run some straps to support corners.  Mike is it possible to get more info as to your fix, also saw you thought you potentially had a bigger problem you need to look at as well.  I am trying to determine the best way to rebuild/ support the front edge all the way across the trailer but because of the lack of much for a frame it's a bit difficult to figure out how to fasten everything together and have it hold.  Anyone dealt with this and have a recommendation?  
  I would also recommend to folks as part of normal trailer maintenance you check the membrane, if you could call it that, underneath where it meets the metal strip edge on front and back edge of trailer.
 I see there are the beginnings of a problem on the rear edge of mine as well.
Thanks, Dave 

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DaveS Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 06 Nov 2014 Location: Vermont Online Status: Offline Posts: 17	Topic: Front Corners pulling Apart Posted: 02 May 2020 at 3:55pm
	I noticed when I removed the cover on my 2014 178 this spring that the front corners seemed to be coming apart. I crawled under camper and discovered a tear in the membrane at the front edge. The screws were all gone from the bottom of the rock guard. The front fiberglass/laminate was pulling away from the floor in the middle as well. Decide to pull it apart and see how bad things were. The screws going into the rock guard at the top were fine. The screws through the fiberglass into the floor of the trailer had all pulled loose or were rusty. What a great way to fasten that into the end of the plywood...not. So the floor has only absorbed water less than a 1/2 inch back and the fiberglass luan piece appears to be mostly ok. I will leave it open for a few days to dry out but insulation isn't wet and don't believe there is major damage. However not going to be able to refasten wall to the end of the plywood without some modification. I did look on forum for post on this issue and found Mike Carters post that he had run some straps to support corners. Mike is it possible to get more info as to your fix, also saw you thought you potentially had a bigger problem you need to look at as well. I am trying to determine the best way to rebuild/ support the front edge all the way across the trailer but because of the lack of much for a frame it's a bit difficult to figure out how to fasten everything together and have it hold. Anyone dealt with this and have a recommendation? I would also recommend to folks as part of normal trailer maintenance you check the membrane, if you could call it that, underneath where it meets the metal strip edge on front and back edge of trailer. I see there are the beginnings of a problem on the rear edge of mine as well. Thanks, Dave
	2014 RPOD 178 2018 Toyota Taco SR5

mcarter Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 07 Apr 2016 Location: Greenbrier, TN Online Status: Offline Posts: 3419	Posted: 02 May 2020 at 6:15pm
	Hey DaveS. Odd thing about this is I have spoken to several folks with same issue and they all owned 178s, about the same year, mine is a 2015. I can't say my fix is the best answer, but it worked for me. I saw the floor had dropped below the rockguard. Front part of floor was in fact wet. I use sheet aluminum in approximate 4" strips, wedged it between rockguard and floor, srewed that into floor and longer screws to pull floor up with help of a floor jack. Once I had the floor back above the rockguard and longer screws in place, I sealed the whole area with a brush applied black sealant. That was more than three years ago and it is still ok. The only thing I could blame this on were short screws in an area that had stress, rusted and they pulled out which let the floor drop. My other issue was not uncommon, a wet floor at rear of trailer due to a spoiler leak. Send me PM if I can be of further assistance.
	Mike Carter 2015 178 " I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability."

Junkinpod Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 04 Jun 2019 Location: ON Online Status: Offline Posts: 18	Posted: 22 Jun 2020 at 8:00pm
	Hi! I have a 2014 182g and the floor had dropped on the slide side, from the slide to the rear corner. I'm concerned that the wet floor (I believe came from the slide) has compromised the structural integrity of the floor and the outer wall has also dropped. (rear hatch is not closing properly and there is a bulge in the wall). I took out all of the flooring late fall - to ck ... and found this mess. Floor was entirely wet, but black along the slide area. Any suggestions or ideas how to fix this??? Thanks!
	Belinda