Service Bay 45: Wet Bay Floor Replacement

Camp Tiffin — Red Bay, Alabama

Even before we left Bay 40, where our new levelers were installed, we had our next service assignment.  “Dump your tanks and report to Bay 45 to get the wet bay floor replaced,” we were told.  Since there are no appointments given for this recall item, we were delighted the work order had been processed so quickly.  Needless to say, we willingly complied with the request.

Not realizing that there is a dump station near the wash pads at the far end of the campground, we returned to our site to dump our tanks and empty the half-full fresh water tank.  No matter; with the workers’ lunch break upon us (11:20a to 12:00p), we had time to spare.  We even managed to grab a bite to eat ourselves before pulling up to Bay 45 just before noon.

Curtis greeted us at the door to switch places with Mui in the driver’s seat.  Since the rear tires had to be positioned on a ramp to give the guys room to get under the coach, he explained that he would be driving the coach into the bay.  He also said that we were welcome to stay in the coach, or wander around the bay to watch them and ask questions as they worked.  With the coach plugged into power, at first I thought I would work on a blog post or two, but then I found the work intriguing enough that I stayed outside to watch the guys instead.  (Which explains why I am so far behind on the blog.)

Look at all the dust the flash catches as I photograph Curtis bringing the coach into the bay;
no wonder my hands were itching like crazy by the time the work was done.

With the rear of the Phaeton slightly elevated, Sandy (left) and Craig prepare to get to work.

Here’s the problem with the wet bay floors as I understand it.  In the Phaeton and Allegro Bus models built between 2007 and early 2010, plywood was used as the flooring for the wet bay.  Over time, these floors have started to rot and sag.  I’ve heard that this problem affects some 9,000 to 10,000 coaches, so the time period for affected coaches may actually date further back.  Standing by their product, Tiffin is replacing these floors at no cost to the rig owners … as long as affected motorhomes are brought here to Red Bay within eight years of purchase.

When we arrived at the service center, we didn’t know for sure if we had a problem since the rot is not visible to the eye.  But Mui had noticed some sagging of the floor, so we suspected we were going to need to get this work done.  While in Bay 10 yesterday our suspicions were confirmed and we were added to the wet bay queue.  Admittedly, we got lucky and were able to get this recall work done before the floor became a real problem.  It pays to read what other Tiffin owners are saying on the TRVN (Tiffin RV Network) forum.

Left: the arrows point to the slight sagging of the floor Mui noticed in May 2012.
Right: no visible problem when you look at the wet bay itself; in addition to the floor,
the tub in the bay was also replaced today.

(that’s not a leak, by the way … just draining what’s left in the fresh water tank.)

The floor replacement was done by a two-man team — Curtis, who worked on the bay where all of our hookups are located; and Sandy, who worked on the side where the holding tanks are hidden behind a permanent panel (not a bay we get into; although we could since the panel is just secured with eight screws). There was a third man on the team, but as Craig described it himself, he was just helping out since he didn't have an assignment at that moment.

Craig and Sandy get busy removing the panel that hides the holding tanks;
the green tape protects the paint from getting scratched as the screws are removed.

Ta da — I present our holding tanks.
White tank is for fresh water; black water tank is on the left; grey water tank is on the right.
The box on top is the rear heat pump.  The white pipe to the left is the fresh water overflow valve.

The work involved disconnecting the pipes going into the tanks; removing the wet bay tub; and jacking up the black and grey water tanks and strapping them up to the frame of the coach so that the fresh water tank could be removed.  Then Curtis and Sandy got to work demolishing the plywood floor, and cleaning up the floor frame.  That completed, the new floor (made of a durable composite material) was slid into place, caulked, and secured.  A polyurethane foam was sprayed into the appropriate areas before the fresh water tank was re-installed and the pipes were reconnected.  The last step was to check for leaks — none were found!

While Craig helps Sandy jack up the black and grey water tanks on this side …

… Curtis works on removing the tub in the wet bay.

Left: the fresh water tank is out and placed on a riser to completely drain it.
(At one point, it is filled with air and checked for leaks.)

Right: Curtis has the wet bay tub and part of the flooring out.

The rotted out plywood floor is gone and the guys are cleaning up the frame.

Mui’s enjoying being able to watch the work up close and personal.

All this gunky stuff is the plywood and whatever else that made up the wet bay floor.

the new floor, made of composite material, is slid in ...

… and once the floor is secured, the fresh water tank is put in place,
(note the grey strips of metal used to strap the black and grey water tanks
to the body of the coach to keep them out of the way during this process.)

After placing wood blocks on either side of the fresh water tank to ensure the foam doesn’t dam up water from any leaks, Sandy filled the gaps on either side of the tank with spray polyurethane foam.

Speaking of gaps.  As our readers know, we’ve had occasional visits from little “Mickeys.”  All but one of the incursions happened while the Phaeton was in storage; they were successfully trapped and dispatched.

The most recent incident happened while we were staying at Pelican Roost (NS Mayport) in December.  It was a nerve wracking affair since it involved a very personal encounter between me and a wee mouse.  Yes, the mouse was trapped and dispatched by Mui, but it has left me nervous about the comings and goings of these critters.

We suspected the mice were gaining entrance through the wet bay.  We had our proof when the panel hiding the holding tanks was removed — a long-dried-out mouse carcass was found behind the foam in the tank bay.  Needless to say, the body was tossed out with the rotted floor material.  Mui asked if he could look around for any openings around the plumbing.  Sure enough, there were some big gaps around the pipes going up into the sub-floor.  The guys were very helpful, even going so far as to open up the ceiling panel on the side where our utility hook-ups are located.  Then, they filled every opening with spray polyurethane foam.

We know there are many other ways mice (and other critters) can get into the coach.  But every hole we can plug is one less they can come through.  Mui picked up some of the spray polyurethane foam from the camp store and plans to plug a few other holes in our continuous quest to make it difficult for uninvited guests to come calling.

In the meantime, we are very pleased with the work that Curtis and Sandy did (and Craig helped).  They paid attention to small details, and got the job done without rushing it.  And the best part, as far as our wallet is concerned — this being a recall item, the work isn’t costing us a penny.