Installing vinyl flooring.
- Thread starter Craig64
- Start date
thewanderingeight
Well-known member
We did this on our previous Travel Trailer on all 3 of the slideouts. Overall it looked good but the nose trim was a pain to deal with and I didn't like how much weight it added to the slides.
Whenever we are in place long enough, we plan on replacing the carpet on our kitchen slide in our Milestone with the vinyl sheets, similar to what the MFG uses. I think will be a lighter option than the planks. We also need something that will slightly extend past the slide as the current carpet does since it's a flush slide.
If you have to remove carpet that is on the main RV floor, but not on the slide itself, sometimes it's easier to cut it rather than try and pull it up. I almost messed up the slide glide bar by trying to get every last staple out. I also used screws that were too long on the nose piece that looked ok but ended up scratching the floor once the slide was fully retracted.
Whenever we are in place long enough, we plan on replacing the carpet on our kitchen slide in our Milestone with the vinyl sheets, similar to what the MFG uses. I think will be a lighter option than the planks. We also need something that will slightly extend past the slide as the current carpet does since it's a flush slide.
If you have to remove carpet that is on the main RV floor, but not on the slide itself, sometimes it's easier to cut it rather than try and pull it up. I almost messed up the slide glide bar by trying to get every last staple out. I also used screws that were too long on the nose piece that looked ok but ended up scratching the floor once the slide was fully retracted.
Dahillbilly
Well-known member
Others have posted here on the forum. Open the tab above "search forums" & type in vinyl flooring or plank flooring; see what comes up.
Just finished earlier in the week, 17 Madison. We used a cork backed plank and I really like the cushion feel that it gives to the floor, and it weighs less than the others we looked at. It is a bit of a puzzle as I am sure you already know with lots of planks being cut. The trim work is a bit time consuming, but I work rather slow any more and never claimed to be much of a finish carpenter. We left the carpet on the slides other than the dinette, most of the others are covered with furniture anyway. I used stair cap to cover the slide transition, ripping the edge of it to the desired height. In some spots we used 1/4" stained oak for trim instead of quarter round.
Its time to revisit this thread, I have some questions of my own restoration process is going on. My next job is to remove the old carpet and replace with Linoleum or something. I would appreciate some input on this matter for those that have done this. If I chose to go with Linoleum does anyone know what mil thickness that the manufactures use for durability purposes ?? Can you get durable Linoleum at the big box stores to go in RV's ?? I could really use some input hear please. What should I look out for or be careful with ?? Thank you all
thewanderingeight
Well-known member
I'm sure the MFG buys whatever the cheapest product they can get that looks alright. If you will be doing a large area, I think one of your biggest hurdles is going to be deciding how you keep it flat.
When RV's are made in the factory, the flooring is put down first, and then everything is built on top of it keeping it tight and flat without the need for adhesives. I have seen people try to glue floors down to an RV subfloor, which works ok until they run into a lot of heat which messes with the adhesive. The flexing of the RV might cause an issue with adhesives as well. When I replaced the carpet on my slideout, I just used very tiny nails you could barely see. Worked well for a small area, but I'm not sure if the same approach would work for a long walkway that gets lots of traffic.
When RV's are made in the factory, the flooring is put down first, and then everything is built on top of it keeping it tight and flat without the need for adhesives. I have seen people try to glue floors down to an RV subfloor, which works ok until they run into a lot of heat which messes with the adhesive. The flexing of the RV might cause an issue with adhesives as well. When I replaced the carpet on my slideout, I just used very tiny nails you could barely see. Worked well for a small area, but I'm not sure if the same approach would work for a long walkway that gets lots of traffic.
Thank you for your input, yes I am aware of the vinyl gets put down first before anything, I have been to the factory several times and seen the process. I was at Home Depot yesterday to just look at there selection, they have several different thicknesses and colors. I hope someone else can chime in that has done this before so I can get their feedback on do's and don'ts. Thank you
