Bottom Rail of Top Side Replace with Poplar?

Bottom Rail rotted away on one side of 88 22 foot Hi Lo Funchaser. Have been searching forum and idea I wanted to do to replace based on reading is Oak 2 x4, there is significant rot. 5 feet of the bottom rail gave up last time I raised the camper (to unload from camping trip) including the guide blocks on two the glides. Area is under the window by stove. Insurance company totaled it a few weeks ago due to golf ball size hail storm we had. Do not want to put a lot of money and work effort into it due to salvage title now.

2x3 actual dimensions is what I need to use as bottom rail, Have room to place the wires on top, due to the rot. Issue I have is finding a low grade oak. Can not get a construction type of grade, only a cabinet grade and it is $7 a foot. That equates to $105 for the 15 feet I need. One 10 foot section, and one 5 foot section.

Poplar would be $3 a foot. So $45 dollars for what I need. Do you think Poplar would be a wise choice or keep searching for oak in a lower grade then cabinet? Perhaps do the poplar and get steel angle iron to reinforce the board for the cables to rest on? Again, only looking to repair bottom rail of that side from front to back.

Welcome to the forum. Have you considered "blue wood"? They use this alot in home renovations for areas with moisture (bathrooms, basements, etc). I don't know what type of wood it actually is, but it is a treated wood. Try looking at your local lumber yard or big box store that carries lumber. This might be a less expensive (I hate the word cheap) option for you to take. Good luck in your project.

Bob

That's what other members have used Blue wood around where I live it is green colored wood, either way it is pressure treated wood, which resists moisture and rot. After you repair be sure to fix all water leaks. Personally I would not worry about the salvage title, fix it and use it. A salvage title on that old of a trailer won't make much difference.

By blue wood, do you mean pressure treated lumber, I thought chemicals used to pressure treat release poison fumes when used in interior spaces. Did internet search for blue wood and blue lumber and did not get any favorable responses. I have also read that pressure treated wood will pit metals such as aluminum.

Is this the bluwood being referenced that J&R uses?

Perfect Barrier

Sorry, I just assumed it was pressure treated wood. I will have to be more carefully as I hate to give bad information. I will be researching BluWood more.

It seems it is pressure treated but not the same as the Green pressure treated wood.

Rebuilding rail

Dh said he is not sure about the questions you raised concerning treated lumber. You could ask JR in Ohio what he uses? You could also consider using marine grade plywood. No matter what you use it is going to cost you some $. Is your roof dammaged? I think it is? Years ago we had baseball sized hail and it trashed the roof of my house and other parts of my house.My advice would be that you must repair your roof or you will have leaks that will also trash your walls. In other words you must repair your roof or their is not any point in doing other repairs to your trailer. It was a good thing you had ins. on the trailer. We also have ins. on our 90 25ft. Classic. Keep us posted.

Plan on recalcing with Lexall caulk and painting the metal roof soon. Did some research on lumber tonight. CCA treated lumber is the bad stuff. The only seller of Kiln Dried After treatment lumber in our area (Louisville, KY) uses CCA in manufacturing process. Worried about getting normal Treated lumber due to putting it in confined space and it not being allowed to air dry as typically necessary to stain, 90 days suggested. Worried about warping and splitting. Going to local big box stores tomorrow on way home from work to see what is available.

Many of the internet sites do not specify that since 2003 the green pressure treated wood sold to the home owner no longer contains CCA, chromated copper arsenate. The new chemicals that are used are not considered toxic, but they are corrosive to metals. CCA is still used for some applications.
Pressure Treated Wood - Its Uses, Limitations and Safety Considerations

PopRichie77 said:

Many of the internet sites do not specify that since 2003 the green pressure treated wood sold to the home owner no longer contains CCA, chromated copper arsenate. The new chemicals that are used are not considered toxic, but they are corrosive to metals. CCA is still used for some applications.
Pressure Treated Wood - Its Uses, Limitations and Safety Considerations

Click to expand...

PopRichie77, That is good information. It is very important to NEVER put aluminum against ACQ pressure treated lumber.

yes, blue wood is the waterproof wood that j & r uses to rebuild their lower rails. they replaced all of my rails on my 22l and since I have had no problems what so ever. if you do the repair yourself just take your time and do it right. also replace your body seal at the same time.

Wood to replace rail.

Robod, good advice. Spot on.Do they carry blue wood at Home Depot? or do you have to special order it?

Home Depot or Lowes don't have BluWood in my area and they are about the only lumber stores left.

I am not sure where they stock this type of wood, but it is becoming more popular with tv shows like Homes on homes using it frequently. if i need it i special order it from the lumber yard and they have it within a week

Getting Blue Lumber.

Does this cost more than treated lumber? I have several specialty lumber places in my area. DH needs to build a small shed for the garbage cans. This would be for church. Someone built one several years ago for a community project. They didn't use treated lumber and it leaked and now part of the roof is rotted out. I think it would just be easier to tear it down and to build it right way from the start.

Update, have not been able to locate bluwood dealer in Louisville, KY area. Called number on bluwood website. Answering machine not a real person, left message. No call back received. Been to two Home Depots and Lowes, looking for driest treated 2x4 10 footers I could find, all or soaking yet. Very likely going to go with poplar.

Replacing rails with poplar.

DH suggested that you consider putting 3 coats of a clear waterproofer on the poplar before doing your repair. Best of luck with your repair.

Pressure treated lumber is usually not a good grade of lumber. I think going for a good grade of lumber and using a good sealer will be better. It will not be in constant contact with moisture and will last many years if the trailer seams are well sealed.

Update, wife spent weekend in hospital. Unable to work on camper until tonight. Jacked camper up at each corner one at a time, cut 2x4's to length and placed under steel beam of bottom. Then lowered, have more lowering to go, but first going to disconnect lift cables on side I am repairing bottom rail.

Was very worried about breaking off the bolts cables attach to, liquid wrench and careful tightening and then loose they are backing out. Going to get aerosol penetrating oil prior to continuing.

Also for bottom rail, someone suggested to me using an engineered deck wood like "TREX". What do you think of this idea? Going to research strength of this wood tonight. I think it is half the price of the poplar, plus, wouldn't have to seal it.

Below from Ehow.com on TREX strength. Poplar will be what I use.

Trex Strength
The flexural stress of Trex is 250 psi for a 3-inch board, and 600 psi for Baluster. Tensile strength (the pressure it take to shear or snap the material) is 250 and 350 for 3-inch Trex board and Baluster respectively.

Comparison
Trex compares favorably with soft-woods, which average some 160 psi less than Trex on flexural stress, and about the same for tensile strength. Hardwoods average about the same flexural stress, but have much greater tensile strength.

Difference Explaination
Because Trex is a composite material, it can only be as strong as the adhesive that holds it together. The grain and cell structure of hardwood forms a sort of internal reinforcement that homogeneous Trex lacks.


Read more: Trex Strength Vs. Wood | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/facts_5682759_trex-strength-vs_-wood.html#ixzz1xdVUcFdi

Bottom rail repair.

My friends have a Trex deck and also a custom fabric awning with metal posts. The installer set the awning metal posts on top of the trex (caps) post. All of the trex caps have split and broken. In other words the trex couldn't take any weight stress. The floor and stairs of her deck are fine. Trex is about $30.00 for eight feet( a few years ago. I wouldn't use it for your repair. No short cuts. Get poplar,waterproof and do the repair right. Hope your wife is feeling better.