Keep the floor or not?

[belfert]

I'm almost done stripping my bus.  I now need to decide on the floor.

Is there a good reason to remove the floor?  This is a 1995 Dina and I don't believe anything under the floor needs repair as verified by JD at C&J bus repair.  I plan to keep at least part of the seat rail to build a dinette with the original seats.

What about covering the floor with another layer?  Any good reason to do this other than not having to remove the vinyl flooring?  If I put on another layer of flooring I would have to get longer bolts for the seats.

Brian Elfert

[Nick Badame Refrig/ACC]

Brian,

If the floor is good, You do what you want!  Whats works for your plans.

I left the vinyl and rails and glued and screwed 5/8 osb over existing floor. I did it that way to keep my marble floors stable.

Nick

[FloridaCliff]

Brian,

If its good I would leave it.

I don't know what kind of headroom a Dina has, but a lot of converters put a layer of insulation and then cover with plywood.

I put the Rmax 3/4" underneath and a new layer of 3/4" plywood.

Ran some 1 x's  at the edges and through the middlle to eliminate edge pressure on the insulation.

Cliff

[belfert]

The headroom is marginal now, so another 1" of insulation might not be a good idea.  I was thinking I could insulate the underside, but then realized I could only do so where the bays are, so it wouldn't make much sense.

I'll probably keep the existing floor with maybe another layer on top.  I do need to patch a few holes where they cut through in the bathroom.

Brian Elfert

[FloridaCliff]

Brian,

Yeah, I understand the height issue.

If it wasn't for my roof raise I wouldn't have insulated the floor.

They do make some interesting roll sheet insulation with reflective material that might be perfect for the roof of the bays though.

I used that 3M marine sealant to bond the replacement pieces I put into fill some of the holes in the original floor from bay lights..bus plumbing etc...   That stuff is awsome...   It would be easier to cut a new hole than knock those pieces out..

Nick,

Marble floors...No wonder that ferry was listing to the right in your pictures.

Cliff

[Nick Badame Refrig/ACC]

Cliff, You know,  Us Italians have to have marble. It's a symbol of strength!

You have to have alot of strength to lift all that marble into the bus

I'm sure it costs me in fuel milage a bit!

[jlaney]

hello from tyler tx
i left the old floor and covered mine with 1 half inch plyboard but the portion over the
rear wheel well is a little spoungy, maybe i woulld have been better to take that portion
out . but too late now. 3/4 would have been better. 1980 prevost le mirage slick slicksides
thanks j.t. laney

[belfert]

hello from tyler tx
i left the old floor and covered mine with 1 half inch plyboard but the portion over the
rear wheel well is a little spoungy, maybe i woulld have been better to take that portion
out . but too late now. 3/4 would have been better. 1980 prevost le mirage slick slicksides

The plywood in the very back of my Dina over the engine was completely rotted out.  The plywood literally delminated.  I believe the A/C evaporator was leaking water.  If not that, then the roof hatch for servicing the evaporator was leaking.  I am going to seal the roof hatch when it goes back on.

I will have to check the floor at the very back to be sure rot didn't get in there.

Brian Elfert

[FloridaCliff]

Brian,

I had three soft spots in my floor which I replaced.

It was definitely a pain in the %^&.

But I am glad its done and no future worries.


Cliff

[Danny]

What I did - I cleaned the old (good) floor and glued and screwed tongue and grove plywood to it.  I needed to cover the ramp on the MCI anyway.  It made for a really good and solid foundation.  One thing - you loose a little head room by doing this.

Danny