new RV flooring

[Big Jim]

Thinking I'm wanting to ditch the ancient, original issue 1976 carpeting in favor of a fake wood floor in the RV. Having not had an RV in the past, I'm assuming that I'll be dealing with a plywood subfloor?

Just thinking that a "floating" floor woud be best (something off the shelve from Home Depot), just needing a chopsaw and pretty much nothing else. What do you guys think? (the plank-type that snap together like pergo or something similar with a foam liner underneath)

I did consider a linoleum floor but think there'd be a bunch of cutting and templating to get it all to fit right; could also go with those self-adhesive linoleum squares but kinda cheesy?

I'm open to any and all suggestions!

Thanks-Jim

[ePatrick]

Not sure if you have seen it but there is another material that is available that looks like wood, goes together like the latest laminates, but is actually more of a rubber that is completely water proof and only requires a sharp blade to cut. I'm considering using it in my pop up.

I stayed at a cheap hotel once that had it in the kitchenette, it looks nice enough for an rv if you ask me. It is on the same shelves as the laminate stuff.

[doug1980]

I thought about using pergo in my camper, but decided not to. I don't think it would hold up well in a camper. With the constant change in humidity and the fact it will get wet often I think it would start to warp and separate. Linoleum is by far the best product to use. Never heard of the stuff ePatrick suggested but it might work well too.

[alaskamokaiman]

Come look at my $4000 Pergo floor.....bet you won't use the stuff after you see my floor. Pergo Sucks.

Better yet come pull all the Pergo out of my house you can have it for free even the extra boxes, but you got to take it all.

[FamilyMan]

Think linoleum, but those new 1x2 squares that overlap a good bit, Easy to cut, resistant to water, and traffic both. Go to Hilda's Barber shop in Eagle River to see it in a worst case scenario; it doesn't get the best care and does get the most traffic, right off the street, year round.

[Big Jim]

Thanks for the replies guys; will consider what's out there but seems the linoleum squares might be the way to go or the stuff patrick mentioned.
Jim

[MRFISH]

Jim, I've been thinking about re-doing the floors in my old RV, too (but I probably won't get around to it anytime soon). Even though it's showing it's age I kind of like the carpet. It keeps that gritty feeling off your bare feet in the morning and it's not as chilly. I can only imagine there's a few pounds of sand/silt under it, though. I like the idea of linoleum or some other easy-to-clean hard surface but I'm thinking about a hybrid approach...linoleum over the subfloor with a removable marine grade carpeting (held down with a few velcro strips or something to keep it from slipping. The carpet could be taken out when you want (or replaced easily), and if it gets grubby just hose it down and hang to dry.

[FamilyMan]

Thanks for the replies guys; will consider what's out there but seems the linoleum squares might be the way to go or the stuff patrick mentioned.
Jim

Plus you can lay it over any surface that is smooth. If you have a sturdy floor, just think 1/8" masonite or possibly 1/4" AC plywood as a cheap and light sub floor. Or just take a sander to the floor ya got.

Prices for this stuff at Home Depot vary from 1 - 3 bucks per square foot; each piece is about 1 foot by 2 feet. And yeah, cut it with an knife.

[Bassdogs]

Ditto on the Pergo floor. Definitely not for an RV and for that matter no where that has a chance of getting any moisture. Put it in my new family room and withing 6 months had 4 or 5 places with puffed end seams. Dog peed next to a table and we didn't find it until next am. Bingo we have a puffed seam. DON'T GO WITH PERGO. NO GUARANTEE FOR WATER DAMAGE. What RV doesn't get wet around the door, galley, or in general from wet feet?

[Rock_skipper]

I'm redoing my 71 school bus and was thinking about carpet squares, little spendy but the bus is'nt that big, lol, ( Pic's coming soon on the "whats your summer project" on the gen. discussion thread. )

[MRFISH]

Well, I went ahead and did it: I started tearing out my old carpeting this afternoon. Had to pull out the dinette bench seats, and the fresh water tank because the carpeting was laid unerneath those.

Not quite sure yet what I'll do until I see the full flooring. I still think I want to do removable marine carpet, but not sure if I'm gonna just paint the floor or put down some kind of linoleum or vinyl.

[FamilyMan]

second take on Home Depot's Allure Trafficmaster

Plus you can lay it over any surface that is smooth. If you have a sturdy floor, just think 1/8" masonite or possibly 1/4" AC plywood as a cheap and light sub floor. Or just take a sander to the floor ya got.

Prices for this stuff at Home Depot vary from 1 - 3 bucks per square foot; each piece is about 1 foot by 2 feet. And yeah, cut it with an knife.

I just laid 500 sq. feet of this indoors, and have enough of a box left over to do my little camper, but I'm thinking now, maybe not. I'm really happy with it indoors, but have now learned enough about it to shy away from subjecting it to any cold temps. Waterproof? Yeah. Looks great indoors? Yeah. Easy to lay? Yeah, just need a square and a sharp knife. Great guarantee? Yeah, 25 years.

But it pretty explicitly says that if it gets too cold, you'll see seams, and when it warms up, the seams will rise up. So its a nogo for camper use unless you live in Florida.

[MRFISH]

I just laid 500 sq. feet of this indoors, and have enough of a box left over to do my little camper, but I'm thinking now, maybe not. I'm really happy with it indoors, but have now learned enough about it to shy away from subjecting it to any cold temps. Waterproof? Yeah. Looks great indoors? Yeah. Easy to lay? Yeah, just need a square and a sharp knife. Great guarantee? Yeah, 25 years.

But it pretty explicitly says that if it gets too cold, you'll see seams, and when it warms up, the seams will rise up. So its a nogo for camper use unless you live in Florida.

FamilyMan, is that the stuff you'd mentioned earlier -- the stuff with the overlap?

I looked at something similar, I think, at H Depot last night...something called "Allure" that comes in laminate-sized strips, but it's a thin, tough vinyl and has about a 1-inch overlap (underlap) strip w/adhesive. I guess it's a floating floor, too. I liked the look, it seems tough, and the price is okay (about 1.75-2.25/sf).

I may just go with painting the floors. We'll see. The old carpet comes up today...removing the dinette seats and water tank was a total PITA.

Hopefully, after I get all of this done, I can guilt my wife into sewing some new covers for the foam seat cushions.

[MRFISH]

out with the old...

Down to the subfloor (finally). That was one nasty, dirty, dusty job. I pulled out thick shag carpet that was in there before (sorry no before pics).

The subfloor is in good, solid shape -- even what was under the water tank (where the staining/minor mold is the worst). The fan is on it overnight and I'll put down a couple coats of kilz tomorrow.

Since I have the dinette seats out, it's a pretty easy project to make a template and put down a single piece of linoleum/vinyl...rather than tiles/strips and risk it all coming apart with the freezing.

Any suggestions how to fasten down the linoleum? I don't want to glue it down, just need to keep it from slipping. Staples in just a few places?

[FamilyMan]

FamilyMan, is that the stuff you'd mentioned earlier -- the stuff with the overlap?

I looked at something similar, I think, at H Depot last night...something called "Allure" that comes in laminate-sized strips, but it's a thin, tough vinyl and has about a 1-inch overlap (underlap) strip w/adhesive. I guess it's a floating floor, too. I liked the look, it seems tough, and the price is okay (about 1.75-2.25/sf).

Yes, that's the stuff. It's good stuff, for indoors use. Very easy to lay. Tough. Good lookin'.

While laying 500 sq feet of it, I found a couple of times I had marked the wrong end of it to cut; though I'd marked my spot with a black permanent magic marker, I found that licking my finger and rubbing it out actually allowed me to remove that "permanent" mark.

Score it with a knife and then just snap it apart. Obstacles (like the flange where I'll install the toilet) can actually be cut out using tin snips too.

I really like the stuff. But after doing a LOT of research on it before laying it, I found that the people that hated it either laid it poorly, or didn't have a smooth subfloor, or used it in a cold weather place (not indoors).