slideout

tsoileau · Nov 11, 2009

I have a Big Country 3250TS and the flooring on the large slideout with the stove and ref. tore the vinyl flooring. I want to change out the entire flooring with laminate. I read where the rollers may need to be adjusted but on the slideout there is a hard beveled black bar all across the slideout. I cannot see any roller at all. What am I not looking at? Also, can you and how do you tell if the slideout is "out of adjustment" and how can you correct this?

Thanks,

ted

Ray LeTourneau · Nov 11, 2009

ted, Changing to laminate flooring may not solve your problem. The laminate is thicker than the vinyl. Here is a link to Lippert's slide out manuals. This may help you with the adjustments but it may be best to have it done by a dealer. http://www.lippertcomponents.com/in...ner-manuals&catid=38-owners-manuals&Itemid=66
I have installed laminate in our kitchen floor but only on sode of the Dinette/LR slide goes over the laminate and that part of the floor is several inches in from the slide out floor. By the time the slide reaches the laminate, it has already been raised and doesn't touch the floor at that point. I'm not saying it shouldn't be done (the laminate) but it sounds like your slide needs adjustment first.

biggziff · Nov 11, 2009

This is apparently a fairly common issue that hasn't been addressed at the factory.

//heartlandowners.org/search.php?searchid=609714

Take a look.

tsoileau · Nov 12, 2009

flooring

Thanks for the replys. I believe what really happened is that the vinyl flooring wasn't glued down and came up with the slideout catching it. I put a 1/4" plywood down and closed the slideout. It did place some black marks on the plywood(the slideout seems to have a black plastic bar instead of rollers) but the plywood did not have any finish on it to help the bar slide on it. Hopefully, the finish laminate flooring will not allow the marks. Plan on buying cheap flooring so that if it does leave marks, I will be out less money and some time, which is cheap.

tsoileau · Dec 1, 2009

changed flooring

Pulled out all the old flooring including carpet and vinyl. Replace with snap together laminate flooring. Bought flooring at Lumber Liquid. and some prefinished molding at Lowes which match the molding already in the camper--plastic with glued on wood grain. Looks great and no marks on flooring from the slides. Went camping this past week and floor helded up. Wife loves the laminate floor vs the carpet.

jbeletti · Dec 1, 2009

tosoileau,

Need some pics. Sounds very nice.

CrazyScotsman · Dec 1, 2009

My BH is doing a similar thing, it hasn't ripped the vinyl flooring yet, but it has it bunched up, where the rollers stop when slide is all the way in. my dealer took pictures of it last Saturday and was e-mailing them to HL. So as soon as I hear something back I will post .
Meanwhile dealer put some slider thingymajigs, that go under the slide roller so it slides on this thing and not the vinyl floor.

tsoileau · Dec 1, 2009

flooring

Will go ahead and try to post some pics this weekend. It's raining outside and I'm going out of town. The vinyl bunched up on mine also and stayed rippled. I believe that it was not glued down (if at all) very well. It looked like it was some kind of double stick tape. The hardest thing about the job is taking all the staples out of the floor. Again, will post pics this weekend. Really looks better with the laminate.

tsoileau · Dec 27, 2009

Finally Pictures

Was finally able to open the slides. Have had snow to contant rain. The flooring is still holding up well. Will also post pictures of a tv installation that I did--will place these in another post. Happy New Year
ted

SilverRhino · Dec 27, 2009

Floor looks Great!!....you did a very nice job. In our previous 5er ( sob ) when the carpet became bad....I re-carpeted the entire thing with a good foam pad and residential grade carpet......looked real nice....but what a job!! After we did this....we discovered just how many little spills and accidents happened.....DW said she wished we would have gone with the laminate floor....much easier to maintain.

When our BC needs new flooring.....I think I will follow your path and go with laminate.

Again, Great Job!

Travel Safe & Happy New Year!

Nabo · Dec 27, 2009

The only thing I can say is WOW - looks great. DW is having a fix for me to do this also. We have just finish putting in a sunroom on the house with laminate flooring and I have found out there are alot of different flooring with different thickness out there on the market. Did you also put down a pad under the flooring or just the plywood you talked about on an earlier post? Also how did you terminate or attach the flooring along the edges under the sides?

tsoileau · Dec 28, 2009

flooring

I decided not to put the padding since I was concerned about the thickness that would be added. Some of the reasons to use the underlayment is to compensate for uneven floors and a vapor barrier but neither is a problem with the BC-the floor is very even and there is already a vapor barrier built into the RV. Since the flooring is smooth, it will not limit the minor movement due to temperature changes. I did not attach the flooring around the edges-you need to leave a gap around the edges-about a quarter to three eights inch so that the floor can expand. I purchased some prefinished molding at Lowes which is exactly the same finish that was in the camper and use staples with a small air nailer. The molding is plastic with glued on wood grain-the molding in the RV is made the same way. Hardest part of the quarter round molding is around the electrical panels-rest was easy. If you have any other questions do not hesitate to ask. My wife really likes the flooring since she says it is easier to clean.

caissiel · Dec 28, 2009

We have the same floor in our porch at the house. It is never heated and it has lasted 4 years so far. The temperature drops to way under freezing on a cold winter day. I would believe it could stand very well in a trailer.

Nabo · Dec 28, 2009

Ted - I'm still a little confused. My concern is when the slide is coming in - what is to keep the wood from curling up enough to catch the bottom of the slide. It sounds like you haven't had it out alot but did you run the slides in/out a bunch of times to see how the wood reacts to the weight of the slide rollers?
Nat

tsoileau · Dec 29, 2009

Nathan,

I have been having the flooring in for about a month and a half and the slides have been in and out many many times. There is a lip just in front of the slide which is just a bit lower than the flooring. My slides do not appear to have rollers but a white plastic guide. The guide, from observation, does not contact the flooring at the beginning of the flooring planks. There is no movement of the flooring what so ever from either slide. There are currently no marks on the flooring from either slide as can be seen from the photos. I was also concerned about the clearance of the slides and the flooring but I have had no indication of a problem. The flooring is snapped together which I believe would prevent the slide from curling up the planks but as stated above, no indication of any movement of the flooring. Hope this helps. We are very happy with the new flooring especially my wife. Good luck,

ted

Nabo · Dec 29, 2009

Thanks for your reply. No, I haven't gotten on my knees (haha) to check out the actions of the slide as it is coming in. Right now we are not planning on using the rig until Feb. and was hoping that the weather would warm up enough for us to install the flooring. One more question, what year is your BC? Our will be 3 years old as of this upcoming Feb. When we first got it, the dealer had to add a wood stripping under both slides because the slides would not pick up when coming in, dragging on the vinyl and the carpet. The stripping help give it enough left to clear both. I'm not sure how this will effect the installation of the flooring.
Anywhoo-thanks again for your assistance.

Happy New Years

RubiconAg · Jan 4, 2010

So if I understand the installation, you didn't glue or nail the flooring, its essentially a floating system? The DW wants the carpet out soo bad and this seems like a great solution for the spring time.

tsoileau · Jan 7, 2010

It is a floating floor and the wife is trilled. I am starting to wonder if maybe she didn't pull up the vinyl just so I would have to pull out the carpet-lol

tsoileau · Oct 3, 2010

Well it is now October 2010 and the flooring looks the same as it did when it was first installed. I haven't had any problems with the flooring and am thrilled that I did it. I just removed the cabinet in the bedroom that holds the tv and will put in a 32" with a wall mount. Just wanted to update anyone considering changing their flooring from carpet to laminate.

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