Slide-in Camper Plywood Repair

[MT-Camper]

At some point in it's life, my camper must have taken a hit to this corner. There is no rot, just a small amount of water damage to the cracked area since it's exposed. Is there a good way to brace it? I'm hoping not to cut and replace plywood, but who knows...This is the front passenger side lower corner of a slide-in truck camper.

Also, do these campers have some kind of special marine-grade weather-resistant paint, or is this likely just run of the mill outdoor black paint?

Thanks for any insights.

 

[Mickey Bitsko]

Looks like quite a bit of dry rot,
Is the floor in that corner soft? Inside or outside?

 

[rruff]

Ya, that floor looks bad....

If I wanted to save it I think I'd slather it with thickened epoxy (fumed silica), and maybe some FG cloth too, and make sure it's sealed.

 

[simple]

What does the access to that area from the inside look like?

 

[Sparse Gray Hackle]

If it were my camper… I’d get some epoxy into all the wood, especially the exposed edge plywood to seal things. Fill voids with epoxy wood flour, then a good grade exterior house paint.

 

[FAW3]

If the wood is soft, replace it. Paint with a good exterior paint.

Hard to tell from photo…is floor bottom surface flat? Most camper floor bottoms have runners/slats that raise the floor about an inch or so to prevent just sitting in water. Something like pressure treated 2x2 running lengthwise spaced about a foot apart.

 

[MT-Camper]

Thanks. Yeah this lived it's whole life in dry, eastern Idaho, so no true rot, but some dry rot. I don't like that they left the plywood edges exposed. I will cover them with something. That bottom plywood is the bottom of the camper, no slats or anything. That's a good call, though. I'll consider adding some slats.

I'll post a photo from the inside after work. Everything inside the camper is solid. No soft spots, no water stains. I'm tearing the floor and some wall panelling out of my pull-behind camper right now due to wet rot so I definitely know all about rotted floors and walls...Luckily this slide-in doesn't have any.

No soft/squishy wood, luckily.