New Flooring for the Camper Van

JimK-NY wrote:
I would never use wood. It is too heavy and add way too much extra weight that I need to haul around the country. We have vinyl flooring that has held up well but is a sickly yellow-green color. I decided to try indoor-outdoor carpeting from Home Depot. The carpet was inexpensive, about $50, but it took me hours and hours to do the layout and cutting so there were no seems and it fit perfectly. I was afraid it would get dirty quickly but we travelled for 3 months and at the end it still looked clean. Even so I pulled it out and washed it on the driveway. I think it will last for many years and now I have a template if I want to replace it. The carpet felt great with bare feet and cold weather.

I'm glad you're really happy with your carpet and it's working out well for you. However, I think the concern over weight is somewhat misplaced.

Laminate and engineered wood flooring weighs somewhere around 1.5 pounds per square foot. Vinyl and lightweight carpet with a pad are roughly the same weight. Full thickness (3/4") hardwood flooring is maybe twice that weight, depending on the species. In any case, I wouldn't think that around 100 pounds evenly distributed should make that big a difference for most RVs unless they're very close to being overloaded to begin with.

Ceramic or stone tile (with the proper mortar to set it in) is a good bit heavier still and for that it could be a concern more of the time. Such tiles also don't flex, which can be a concern for an RV.