What type of floor in your home on wheels?

[tigger_mommy]

One of the first things we will be doing in our new to us airstream is pulling up the carpeting and laying new flooring. Carpet is not an option for us. The more I look into it, wood (was really wanting bamboo) seems to be low on the line along with tile. Seems this Pergo or Allure floor is what all the kids are doing these days.

All that being said, what did you put in your home away from home when you did the flooring? Any tips or hints?

 

[photogal06]

When we bought our vintage motorhome, the previous owner had just put down Pergo-type flooring. I really like having it....super durable and easy to keep clean, even with 2 big dogs on board. I don't have any tips for installing it in the motorhome, since the previous owner did that, but we have put it into several homes we've owned, and it's quite easy to do.

When we laid real hardwood in our home, it required a lot of nailing (vs. the snap-together Pergo), and even though we bought higher-end material, the dogs are scratching it up pretty well just from walking and running on it. It also dents badly when heavy things are dropped on it.....ours has lots of character now I prefer the look and feel of hardwood over Pergo, but the hardwood just isn't wearing as well for us with our lifestyle.

 

[vtwinwilly]

I put a Pergo floor in our last class C motorhome. I used the flooring that looked like a simulated ceramic tile. For whatever reason, I decided to make my runs the length of the motorhome which made trimming in around the edges very difficult. After it was done it dawned on me that had I made my runs across the motorhome (side-to-side), then I'd only have to trim the edges a little at a time (12 in). This would have been much easier considering the way Pergo slips or snaps together.

So my recomendation if you go with a Pergo style floor, make your runs across the trailer. Now if you use a simulated wood Pergo style floor, some folks think that it looks funny going side-to-side, but then I've heard other say running simulated wood the length of the trailer makes it look like a bowling alley. I did read a post on an RV forum where some fella laid his Pergo simulated wood floor at a diagnal. That seems like a lot of work, but it did look nice.

The Pergo flooring in my old class C was very durable. It held up well even with 2 kids and 3 big dogs. It felt good under foot, cleaned up easily, and looked great when I finally sold the coach.

The only couple of negatives I can think of are:
1) if you do manage to scratch it, there is no repair. you must replace the section (panel).
2) if it becomes suturated - as in the event of a plumbing leak - it will most likely have to be replaced. It handles commons spills very well but if water gets up under it and saturates the back side, it will start to come apart.

Good luck with your project. There's nothing quite like the satisfaction of doing it yourself!

 

[Mcert01]

We just replaced ours this spring and used the Allure FLOATING floor. We found it at Home Depot. It is durable, light, looks great and installs easy. It was also a lot less expensive than pergo or hard wood.

Make sure whatever you get is a floating floor - no glue. We were told to do this by several RV shops. Extreme temps and flexing make for a bad match between glued floors and an RV.

You secure the floor down at the edges with molding. We had a handyman install it for us for about $150. Given all the small cuts for the molding it was money well spent. Also, he did it in about 4 hours, and it would have taken us A LOT longer than that!

 

[vtwinwilly]

We just replaced ours this spring and used the Allure FLOATING floor. ...:

Mike, I put Allure flooring in the bathroom of my current motorhome. It was easy to install (I really liked that), and looked great when first installed. However, over time it appears that the seams are starting to separate. I don't know if this is from the flexing of the floor, or from tempurature changes, but there are definate gaps in the seams that weren't there when first installed.

Others may have better luck than I, and I'm not saying that people should shy away from this product. I'm just trying to share my experience.

Your mileage may vary!

WillyB

 

[Mcert01]

Mike, I put Allure flooring in the bathroom of my current motorhome. It was easy to install (I really liked that), and looked great when first installed. However, over time it appears that the seams are starting to separate. I don't know if this is from the flexing of the floor, or from tempurature changes, but there are definate gaps in the seams that weren't there when first installed.

Others may have better luck than I, and I'm not saying that people should shy away from this product. I'm just trying to share my experience.

Your mileage may vary!

WillyB

Interesting. We had the same issue right after we installed the floor, but the gaps have closed and stayed closed. I think it has to do with temperatures. When it was cold a few of them seperated. When we turned on the furnace they sealed again. This happened a couple of times, now they have just stayed sealed.

I think it has to do with how tight the floor is installed, another reason we went with a professional.

 

[retired and happy]

After flooring our house with Pergo (or equivalent) I would not put it where water is likely...kitchen. bath. I understand there is a sealer you can put in the joints in wet areas, but ours doesn't have the sealer and most joints have bulged up.
For those who have seams separate, it sounds like the edges might not have been left floating. If molding is used, it must be loose enough for the entire floor to move with temperature, humidity, etc.

 

[AuntBJ]

We were in Lowe's looking at flooring this weekend. Armstrong has two types of vinyl laminate strip floating floors I thought would be perfect for an RV. One type had adhesive strips where the pieces lock together and this was supposed to be water resistant. The other type locked without glue like wood laminate floor and is supposed to be waterproof. If I were doing an RV floor, this is what I think I would go with.

 

[vtwinwilly]

We were in Lowe's looking at flooring this weekend. Armstrong has two types of vinyl laminate strip floating floors I thought would be perfect for an RV. One type had adhesive strips where the pieces lock together and this was supposed to be water resistant. The other type locked without glue like wood laminate floor and is supposed to be waterproof. If I were doing an RV floor, this is what I think I would go with.

Did you happen to get a brand name?

 

[tigger_mommy]

Thanks for all the input! Went to Home Depot yesterday and took a look. Looks like the Allure Ultra is the way that we will go. It is waterproof, so with 4 kids and a dog, I think that will be the best thing. Should have pics of my new to me airstream posted later today.

 

[Mcert01]

We were in Lowe's looking at flooring this weekend. Armstrong has two types of vinyl laminate strip floating floors I thought would be perfect for an RV. One type had adhesive strips where the pieces lock together and this was supposed to be water resistant. The other type locked without glue like wood laminate floor and is supposed to be waterproof. If I were doing an RV floor, this is what I think I would go with.

You are correct. No Glue. The floor needs to "float" in an RV, so the latter type of floor would be appropriate.

 

[Mcert01]

Thanks for all the input! Went to Home Depot yesterday and took a look. Looks like the Allure Ultra is the way that we will go. It is waterproof, so with 4 kids and a dog, I think that will be the best thing. Should have pics of my new to me airstream posted later today.

That's what we got and love it so far. Fingers crossed

 

[AuntBJ]

Did you happen to get a brand name?

No but I was confident they were both Armstrong but I can't find it on their website. The first type had a small adhesive strip where the two pieces would fit together. The other type had the tongue and groove and just locked together. They had them color-coded. The tags were either orange or green. One meant water resistant with adhesive and one meant waterproof and interlocking. Both were still floating floors as the adhesive just held the strips together but did not stick to the floor.

 

[tigger_mommy]

The Allure Ultra was Trafficmaster brand. Not sure if this will help you.

 

[vtwinwilly]

No but I was confident they were both Armstrong but I can't find it on their website. The first type had a small adhesive strip where the two pieces would fit together. The other type had the tongue and groove and just locked together. They had them color-coded. The tags were either orange or green. One meant water resistant with adhesive and one meant waterproof and interlocking. Both were still floating floors as the adhesive just held the strips together but did not stick to the floor.

Went by Lowe's this weekend and now I know exactly what you're talking about. I was confused earlier because when I read "tongue-and-groove" I thought Laminate flooring which this is not. My bad. This is an all vinyl plank flooring. The Lowe's guy explained that the tongue-and-groove is water proof becasue it has no adhesive at all. The joints just lock together (similar to laminate flooring). The one with the adhesive strips is water resistant becasue it can get wet, but if it stays wet the adhesive will eventually let loose.

Unfortunately the water proof stuff (tongue-and-groove) only comes in wood grain styles and I'm looking for a tile design. I'll have to see if Alure (Home Depot) offers the same water proof, tongue-and-groove type flooring in a tile pattern.

Thanks for the informaiton.

 

[AuntBJ]

Went by Lowe's this weekend and now I know exactly what you're talking about. I was confused earlier because when I read "tongue-and-groove" I thought Laminate flooring which this is not. My bad. This is an all vinyl plank flooring. The Lowe's guy explained that the tongue-and-groove is water proof becasue it has no adhesive at all. The joints just lock together (similar to laminate flooring). The one with the adhesive strips is water resistant becasue it can get wet, but if it stays wet the adhesive will eventually let loose.

Unfortunately the water proof stuff (tongue-and-groove) only comes in wood grain styles and I'm looking for a tile design. I'll have to see if Alure (Home Depot) offers the same water proof, tongue-and-groove type flooring in a tile pattern.

Thanks for the informaiton.

Thanks. I was beginning to think I imagined it.

 

[Tigger1966]

When I replaced the original carpet in the MH I went back with the thickest commertial pad I could get and the heaviest pile carpet to try to keep road noise and heat undre the MH. It is more trouble to keep clean but it made a big diffrence on the road. As for the spare room/trailer it has vinyl flooring since nobody rides in there

 

[ban26ana]

We did Pergo-type flooring, and we love it. I can't remember what brand we used though. It's actually the nicest feature of our 1992 TT!

 

[2goofycampers]

I was watching an RV show on HGTV it showed a new flooring called Marmoleum. It looked very nice.

 

[AuntBJ]

I was watching an RV show on HGTV it showed a new flooring called Marmoleum. It looked very nice.

Was that the one from last night? "Extreme RVs" or something similar? I caught some of it and there were definitely some RVs that were really amazing.