Vinyl floor lifting with air bubble

We just bought the Heartland North Trail 21' and went on our first trip. We got off the highway to use the bathroom and noticed the whole vinyl floor had lifted and a huge air bubble was underneath. The edges remained glued. When we got to the campground and got situated the floor was back down and looked normal. Has anyone else had this problem? We figure it is an adhesive issue with a leak somewhere.

I have not heard of this happening before on these units. I would contact your dealer as soon as you can to let them know. Enjoy your NT they are great.

Let your dealer know about the situation. Since you just bought the North Trail it should be covered under your warranty.

There is a thread ove on www.northtrailtalk.com that discussed this known issue.

Yeah, they know about it, but don't know why it happens or what to do, if anything, to stop it.
We've tried with vents/windows open, closed and it still happens.

tigerlily said:

We just bought the Heartland North Trail 21' and went on our first trip. We got off the highway to use the bathroom and noticed the whole vinyl floor had lifted and a huge air bubble was underneath. The edges remained glued. When we got to the campground and got situated the floor was back down and looked normal. Has anyone else had this problem? We figure it is an adhesive issue with a leak somewhere.

Click to expand...

We have a 2008 31QBS it has done the same thing 2 winters in a row. There are no leaks. I think there is a covering on the wood. I had a flooring person try and fix it. I just opened the camper for the season and where he fixed it and more has come up. He used industry grade Mastic to glue it back down with. Mine has ripped in 2 different places now. Love the trailer hate the floor.

Harley

Having some knowledge of sheet vinyl installation, there are basicly two types; full spread and parameter. Full spread means the adhesive is spread on the area that the vinyl will be placed. The parameter installation is where a 4-6" width of adhesive is spread around the parameter of the floor. The full spread is the best method. I am not sure which method Heartland uses.

When a bubble occurs it usually means that the adhesive didn't have enough set-up time. Sheet vinyl adhesive has latex in it and it must get tacky. If you install it wet, the gases from the adhesive have no where to escape, and form a bubble. A way of getting rid of the bubble is to get one of the cheap syringe injectors used for injecting meat and poke a small hole in the vinyl and release the gas. Then put some vinyl adhesive in the syringe and inject it where you poked the whole. Don't use too much and let it set up for about 10-15 minutes before rolling the raised area with a small pie crust roller.

Steve

Here are several links to other threads concerning this issue. I don't think that there was a definitive answer to the problem but there is more information:

http://www.northtrailtalk.com/showthread.php?t=203&highlight=bubble
http://www.northtrailtalk.com/showthread.php?t=620&highlight=bubble

One thing the factory rep did mention was that ALL of the TT industry glues the flooring around the perimeter. I think I would be hesitant to completely glue the floor down to a wooden sub floor that probably expands and contracts due to temperature and humidity changes, as well as considerable flexing while driving down the road.

Mike