On Sun, 9 Mar 2008 08:17:59 -0500, with neither quill nor qualm, "Karl
Townsend" quickly quoth:

"The Kid", my 25 year old, got a fifth wheel travel trailer for free. So
far, he's taken the backhoe and ripped the whole top off. Now there's a
ripped up floor on what looks to be a decent fifth wheel frame.

It looks like they used self tapping screws to attach one layer of plywood
to the frame. Then a second layer bonded over the top with zillions of
nails. The deck is not prying off the steel frame no matter what he's tried.
He's about to say UNCLE and send it to the dump.

No doubt they used construction adhesive, too. sigh


Any suggestions on what to try?

I'm guessing that they sent the self tappers the wrong way (through
the wood into the properly sized holes in the trailer frame) vs. the
proper way (through clearance holes in the frame and sunk into wood)?

I'm about to go through the same routine after seeing the flooring
disintegrate on my old travel trailer frame after a season in the rain
here with the lid off. Termite barf (aka particleboard, mdf) is
showing. I thought it was lino over ply. sigh2

I'll be putting a new floor on, probably treated plywood. If I find
the same connection he did, I'll probably flip the trailer over on its
back and shear the screws off with my air chisel, then center punch
and drill out the remainder until the floor falls off.

Another possibility is to chisel through the edge of the ply at the
top of the frame. When the floor is off, a drill might turn the screws
the rest of the way through the frame. I wouldn't bet on it, though.

Let us know how it turns out. As I said, I'm faced with a similar
conundrum here.

--
The best and safest thing is to keep a balance in your life,
acknowledge the great powers around us and in us. If you can
do that, and live that way, you are really a wise man.
-- Euripides