Forum Discussion

grandma-di's avatar
grandma-di
Explorer
Oct 01, 2014

Install vinyl floor planks

I HATE the light colored carpet in our fifth wheel. I would like to pull the carpet out and replace it with vinyl wood looking planks. When our slide is fully extended it is level with the trailer floor and is not raised like some I've seen. Would the vinyl planks work on our floor? Has anyone else tried this with a level slide out?
  • Lots have done it, including myself, Just be aware that temperature extremes can lead to problems. Some people even had vinyl sheet flooring develop tears from the extended low temps last winter. Allure actually says it should not be used in spaces like sunrooms.

    Only use interlocking laminate and it needs to be freely floating throughout, including at a toilet, door sill, table leg flanges, etc. Otherwise, you may, or will, get planks pulling apart. You should allow an adequate gap all around and will need to hide it with a piece of molding. I ripped 3/8" thick by about 1" high wood and used stained oak under cabinets and painted wood elsewhere. Do not glue down any flooring.

    It's very important to allow for contraction and expansion, summer to winter. I had the laminate pull apart in one spot because I had the perimeter gap a bit too tight in one spot. I pulled the baseboard off and trimmed the laminate some more and that solved it.

    Interlocking vinyl laminate is quite thin. I'm about to install some in our house which is 4mm thick (about 5/32"). If you ask me, carpet in an RV isn't the greatest flooring material to use because of all the dirt and debris that gets tracked in.

    If there's one thing I learned from installing laminate in our TT (a previous one), is that it can be hard on the back and knees because you end up working in tight spaces and the majority of planks need to be cut, unlike in a house. You will also likely find that some walls and cabinets are not square and in straight lines. I had to scribe a lot of pieces to get them to fit.
  • Ron3rd's avatar
    Ron3rd
    Explorer III
    Vinyl planks are a very popular mod for trailers. Lots of brands out there and they all work. The Alure brand has been referred to here many times and available at home centers. They break down into two categories; snap and lock and the type with the adhesive edge.