Rotten floor/Black mold - R-pod Owners Forum

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lostagain

Senior Member

Joined: 06 Sep 2016
Location: Quaker Hill, CT
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Posts: 2587

Topic: Rotten floor/Black mold
Posted: 28 Jul 2020 at 5:00pm

It seems to be getting worse and worse.

Never leave footprints behind.
Fred & Maria Kearney
Sonoma 167RB
Our Pod 172
2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost

D&H

Newbie

Joined: 08 Jun 2020
Location: AK
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Posts: 32

Posted: 28 Jul 2020 at 4:37pm

This makes me sick to my stomach. My wife and I went through something similar recently with the misrepresentation of a truck that we purchased from a private seller. They lied about the truck's origin and former use. We ended up getting a lawyer and got our money back thank goodness, but it still weighs heavy on us.

I have also been on the receiving end of buying an old RV as-is that ended up being a complete money pit. Thankfully we didn't pay much for it, but it had eerily similar issues with rotten walls and portions of the floor, leaks around vents, etc.

If you have a friend who is a lawyer, have them send a note on their letterhead detailing the purchase, fraudulent information, and recourse of taking them to court. Give them a deadline of X-days to respond, get it notarized and send it certified mail. Request a full refund for the delivery of the trailer back to them. In our case sending a letter on legal letterhead that said we would take the case to small claims was enough to levy a refund. It took a number of weeks to resolve, but in the end we got our money back (less several hundred in inspections, gas and misc.).

Bottom line... some people just really suck! I am sorry this happened to you.

2017 R-Pod 182G Hood River
2017 Tundra TRD Crew Max 5.7L V8

StephenH

podders Helping podders - pHp

Joined: 29 Nov 2015
Location: Wake Forest, NC
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Posts: 6288

Posted: 27 Jul 2020 at 2:03pm

Unfortunately, tlauterio, you got scammed, much the same as I did when I thought I was purchasing a used Casita. As much as the warning bells should have been going off in my head, they didn't and I allowed my desire to purchase a Casita to override my common sense. I'm afraid you are out more than I am with your purchase though. I feel bad for you and hope you can make the best of a bad situation.

StephenH
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,...

ouR escaPOD mods
Former RPod 179
Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS

Phil from Maine View Drop Down

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Joined: 12 Jul 2020
Location: 04074
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Posts: 19

Posted: 27 Jul 2020 at 1:57pm

Originally posted by lostagain

It is unlikely that GA and/or FL are very friendly to the idea of consumer protection either.

Some times it's best to cut your losses as fast as you can.

I think all the responses to your dilemma are spot on. Move on.

lostagain

Senior Member

Joined: 06 Sep 2016
Location: Quaker Hill, CT
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 2587

Posted: 23 Jul 2020 at 11:32pm

It is unlikely that GA and/or FL are very friendly to the idea of consumer protection either.

Some times it's best to cut your losses as fast as you can.

Never leave footprints behind.
Fred & Maria Kearney
Sonoma 167RB
Our Pod 172
2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost

tlauterio

Newbie

Joined: 05 Jul 2020
Location: SC
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 6

Posted: 23 Jul 2020 at 10:11pm

We actually bought the trailer from someone in GA, who bought it from a dealer in Fla...so tracing it back, finding out what happened and getting to some level of recourse is unlikely. On top of it, this is SC is not one of the consumer friendly states with regard to trailers.

lostagain

Senior Member

Joined: 06 Sep 2016
Location: Quaker Hill, CT
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 2587

Posted: 23 Jul 2020 at 9:39pm

Good point. There are a huge amount of vehicles that come out of hurricane disasters and other floods that are cleaned up and sold on the used car market. There is no reason why that may not be happening with RV's too. If that is the case and can be proven, some states may give the buyer some recourse. As for SC, you'll have to check with local folks to find out.

Never leave footprints behind.
Fred & Maria Kearney
Sonoma 167RB
Our Pod 172
2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost

mcarter

podders Helping podders - pHp

Joined: 07 Apr 2016
Location: Greenbrier, TN
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 3419

Posted: 23 Jul 2020 at 6:29pm

I wonder. If it is possible these trailers where involved in flooding. I recall a guy I met in Huntsville, AL that had purchased a trailer in LA. That trailer had obviously been in a flood. There were water marks on it. As I recall we had some flooding last year and in the spring, and we seem to have a odd number of really water damaged trailers. I've had leaks, each time I've been able to isolate and repair, I never had damage that was the whole floor or side walls. Wasn't SC a flood area? It would take awhile to get it market ready but would always be an issue. Granted you could have a long term leak, that could cause extensive damage, but something is fishy here.

Mike Carter
2015 178
" I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability."

lostagain

Senior Member

Joined: 06 Sep 2016
Location: Quaker Hill, CT
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 2587

Posted: 23 Jul 2020 at 8:29am

tiaterio, you face the same problem as another new member who recently posed pictures of a rotting floor, except your purchase seems to be more recent. Most used trailer sales are "AS IS." That means you get what you get and there is no warranty in most states. If the seller actively misrepresented the condition of the trailer by deliberately concealing the damage or making representations that there was no damage, then you may have a theoretical claim. If you bought your trailer from a dealer, you should look into your state's consumer protection laws, however, I note you are from SC, so I wouldn't get my hopes up in that regard.

Since the trailer is valued at around $6K or $7.5K, your best bet is to prove fraud or misrepresentation in your local small claims court. To hire a lawyer would not be cost effective. Legal fees, especially if you bought it from a dealer, would exceed the value of the trailer by orders of magnitude.

As for fixing the trailer, that, too, is pretty much a lost cause from a financial perspective. Replacing the entire floor, and probably a good deal of the lower wall paneling is going to cost far more than market value of the trailer. That's not to say that it cannot be fixed if you are willing to sink unlimited sums of cash and labor into the project, but for most people, it isn't cost effective.

Replacing the floor, since the whole body of the coach is built on top of the floor means, as was suggested in earlier posts, effectively disconnecting the walls/roof and lifting it up to allow access to the floor. Even if you get access, you don't have the giant rolling press that FR uses to make the sandwiched panel that comprises the floor structure. You may also find that, when you disconnect the floor from the frame, that the that portions of the frame are rusted and in need of repair. And with the mold, it has probably grown into the plywood of the wall panels and the styrofoam insulation, necessitating the replacement of those components as well. And we haven't even talked about the mold growing into the particleboard and 1x2 framing of the cabinetry and interior components that will all have to be removed.

Sadly, you bought a trailer that belongs in trailer heaven. My suggestion is that you remove the sellable component parts and sell them. There are a lot of rPods in your area of the country, so there is likely an active used parts market. Best of luck in this unfortunate situation.

Never leave footprints behind.
Fred & Maria Kearney
Sonoma 167RB
Our Pod 172
2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost

offgrid

Senior Member

Joined: 23 Jul 2018
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 5290

Posted: 23 Jul 2020 at 5:35am

Originally posted by tlauterio

Thank you.

Yes, I'd seen that video already...that's what kind of set my heart to sinking. I'm sorry, but I don't see the sense of how they constructed the walls on top of the floor as opposed to mounting them on the sides of the frame. Surely at some point in a trailers life an issue or two has to emerge with the floor and repair/replacing necessary? Oh well....it is what it is I suppose...something will shake out either way.

It makes perfect sense to the trailer mfs, it is cheap and light, and their warranty doesn't cover water damage, which would typically be considered owner's neglect. Consider too that to succeed in a claim against the sellers you would probably have to prove they knew about the water damage (lawyers reading this please correct me if I'm wrong - that's you LA Tongue

)

The issue that makes things worse with rpods is that the main frame rails are inboard. That makes the floor a cantilever structure with the wall loads resting on the ends of the cantilever. Since the floor is a glued up diaphragm panel it partially relies on the strength of the plywood to take those wall loads.

You could consider welding up "outriggers" from the main frame rail and supporting the walls that way, but just replacing the outside edges of the floors probably won't be enough to keep the walls from settling.

If its any consolation, you are not alone, take a look at the other thread on this same topic from the past couple of weeks, the damage there is worse than what yours sounds like.

1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold