Floor cracked

Yes, good point. Why would the factory have installed interlocking type laminate under the cabinets without an expansion joint around the perimeter? That doesn't make sense and of course it would eventually pull apart somewhere in cold temps. I googled 2009 models and the photos I saw all show lino, no laminate. Are you the original owner or did a previous owner install it? Does it look like it goes under the exterior walls? If it's an ultra-lite, I can't imagine a manufacturer installing laminate plank flooring due to the additional weight. If cabinets and anything sit on top of the flooring, someone did not install it as per the flooring manufacturer's specs. The only lmainate flooring I've heard of is laminate-looking lino. and is what we're getting in our new TT. Can you post a photo?

Hank MI wrote:
I wouldn't think the laminate flooring goes under cabinets. They usually are floating floors with space around the outside edges to allow for expansion and contraction. If yours is laid under cabinets, etc that could be why it cracked.

I've never seen an RV that wasn't built with the laminate under the cabinets
Heck, I built my house that way.

Not nice in just a 5 year old camper. Sounds like temperature changes caused that. Not sure what your layout & length is. I installed laminate in our old 20' TT. If you're thinking of laminate, here's my experience with it (sorry, long-ish).

Laminate is straightforward to install but in a TT, and especially a smaller one, you're working in a confined and sometimes cramped space and there's lots of jigs and jogs. You may well find that walls and cabinets aren't square and parallel and that you need to do a lot of measuring or scribing piece by piece. You may find that you have to cut maybe 75% or more of all the pieces. It's very time-consuming and don't expect to slap it in over a weekend. A chop saw and table saw will speed it up and having them close to your camper will help a lot.

You need to watch the built up height of the floor for the toilet - you may need to use an adapter ring or even a wax gasket in place of the standard foam one. You don't want the toilet to leak. I ended up halfway between the standard gasket and a spacer but it seemed okay. Don't re-use the old gasket.

Getting an expansion gap is really important as there can be a lot of expansion and contraction from temp. fluctuations summer to winter. I had the laminate pull apart in one spot after the first winter because it contracted more than I expected. I used 1" x 3/8" (actual dimension) square molding for baseboard around the entire perimeter to hide the expansion gap. Lower cabinet doors were installed by the factory almost touching the lino so I had to raise the doors a bit. It's important to ensure the floor is fully floating and not "hung up" on something. A table floor flange is not a good idea, but you may have no choice. You might be able to drill and oversize the holes for the screws. I removed our 2 floor flanges and attached the table to the wall with a standard RV table bracket and used a folding leg. Way more stable anyway.

I used an interlocking 1/8" ABS plank laminate. 100% waterproof. Easy to cut with any saw. It added about 150 lbs. I left the original lino in place in case for any reason the laminate had to come out. It would probably be better to remove the old lino to reduce built up height and reduce weight. The old lino looked like a 70s kitchen redo and the wood-look laminate made it look way nicer. Lot's of people have reported success with the Allure stuff, but if it were me, I'd avoid the sticky edge version. Be careful though - Allure says you're not supposed to use it outdoors where it's cold like in an RV or in an unheated sunroom.

If you have a slideout, you have to watch the built up height as the slide moving in and out can damage the floor.

You could consider laying down new lino. I would cut out the old stuff in one piece, or maybe a few, if possible for a pattern. Then I would just lay the new down and install a baseboard molding around the perimeter. I'd allow a small expansion gap and let it fully float.

I would recommend against any type of glue-down or sticky back product on the old lino or sub-floor. The flooring material wants to shrink and expand from summer to winter. Sticking something to the existing lino could be a problem with differential expansion/contraction rates and you *could* end up with a ruined floor in a short time.

Rowdy3803 wrote:
Hello I went to check my camper the other day and found the laminate floor had a crack from the front of the camper to the back. The camper is stored outside on concrete pad and not been towed. It's a 2009 jayco jay feather sport called my dealer and they said it would be a minimum of $1000. Just wondering if that floor tile with the sticky back that comes in squares would work.

Rowdy3803 wrote:
Yes it is under everything . I'm thinking about just cutting the laminate around everything and replacing it.

That should work fine if you're handy. Nothing magical about putting laminate or sheet flooring in an RV.

Yes it is under everything . I'm thinking about just cutting the laminate around everything and replacing it.

If the laminate is under the cabinets.Rent a toe kick saw and just cut along the cabinets.
if you put sheet goods or planks down (which is easier door people) have to put quarter round down or some base to hide the height difference under the cabinets.
Should be very easy to see if its under the cabinets though.

If you want to put down some new flooring, go for Beauflor. It's the best, non cracking flooring available.

WoodGlue

x2 on sheet vinyl, or you could use allure grip strip flooring at home depot. been there done that with vinyl stick squares. they don't work and will peel up

The vinyl goes down and then everthing goes on top of it.

Jayco Tour

They usually lay the laminate flooring over the entire floor and then add furnishings, walls, etc.
So yes, it will be under cabinets and everything.