(My apologies for putting this in General Q&A, and my searches here did not find a single match of floor, rip, crack, etc)...I ran down to my camper after work today, and felt sick when I opened the door and stepped in. My TT does not have any carpet anywhere - it is vinyl/linoleum from front to back (31'). I suppose the "Polar Vortex" or whatever goofy******the meteorologist called it really did a number on my TT - the floor was bubbled everywhere, and there are a couple of 10' rips running right down the middle. I've done some reading about it online, and found that its not terribly uncommon for this to happen, particularly during extreme cold snaps (I'm in the midwest, and it got down to about -10 a week ago), which unfortunately means that others are likely going to be greeted with this lovely surprise in the near future.If anyone has dealt with this before, would love to hear your experiences, how you repaired/replaced it, etc. If anyone had a dealer do it for them, would love to hear what they quoted you. I hardly have the health, spirit, or time to crawl around on the floor of my RV for a weekend (or 4) fumbling my way through this fun - so its something I will have to at least consider... I might just go with the plywood "eau naturale" look (spruced up with a nice teak stain, of course!)Hope you all fared better than me! If you havent checked, cross your fingers when you do!

Cut out old vinyl at the wall and cabinet joints, replace with new vinyl or different flooring. Any vinyl installer can do it. I chose this laminate plank to replace the vinyl, sold at Lumber Liquidators:

I was reading about some who have used some of these vinyl planks - and yours looks awesome! My challenge will be working around (under) my slide, which has my kitchen on it (so probably not as easy to disassemble as if it had a couch and table).

Happens when it freezes hard. Boats have the same problem.

Replace it with BeauFlor!WoodGlue

Any flooring installer can take care of you. If you take it to an RV dealer they will probably sub the job to a flooring installer.

Oh no! Ripped and bubbled floor! | Good Sam Community

Passin_Thru
Explorer
Jan 26, 2014
Depends on your insurance deductible and do you want it to go up that much?
westend
Explorer
Jan 26, 2014
jj95 wrote:
I am not sure, but I don't believe my floor was glued down - I say that because when I walked in it was all bubbled and raised. In one spot I put my hand through the crack and onto the subfloor. Although it might have been glued and the glue just failed in the cold. I hope to get down there this weekend and get a better assessment (and some pics).

My neighbor bought a new 5er today, and mentioned to the dealer what happened to me - they seemed to think this could only happen if I had a leak. I originally thought the same, but I didn't see any signs of it on the subloor or elsewhere (and I had just recaulked the entire camper last summer).

Thanks for the the advice!
If anything, it's perimeter glued--a 4" strip of glue around the outer edges, underneath the walls. This is a common installation technique for some vinyl floors. In your house, it has the whole length of the floor to contract and expand. After they assemble the RV, there is only the small dimension in between the partitions, cabinets, dinettes, etc. It is this capture of the vinyl between the fixtures installed that leads to the ripped floors. It doesn't have the full length of the vinyl to expand and contract and since there is no glue in the middle of the vinyl sheet, it is free to contract too much, hence, the ripping.
92DakotaHD
Explorer
Jan 26, 2014
This happened on my '08 Keystone. I went out to check on it and make sure no tree branches fell on it and opened the door and there's a rip/split in the flooring across the camper. Putting down a piece sounds great but working around the bathroom doesn't sound too fun. Hope it warms up soon so I can take some time to look at it some more and get a plan.
brulaz
Explorer
Jan 15, 2014
In our case, the linoleum lifted on our old trailer only where we had placed an electric heater on cold nights. Others had separation in front of the furnace vent. Guess localized heat on a cold floor causes the lino to expand there and lift from the heat-softened glue.

But as for plain cold cracking, getting back to the O.P.'s original problem, Outdoors RV linoleum floors have a "cold cracking warranty for 2 years down to 50 degrees below zero". So I guess there are some linoleum types/installations that don't have this problem. Or maybe it's just an sales gimmick ...
jj95
Explorer
Jan 15, 2014
I am not sure, but I don't believe my floor was glued down - I say that because when I walked in it was all bubbled and raised. In one spot I put my hand through the crack and onto the subfloor. Although it might have been glued and the glue just failed in the cold. I hope to get down there this weekend and get a better assessment (and some pics).

My neighbor bought a new 5er today, and mentioned to the dealer what happened to me - they seemed to think this could only happen if I had a leak. I originally thought the same, but I didn't see any signs of it on the subloor or elsewhere (and I had just recaulked the entire camper last summer).

Thanks for the the advice!
B_O__Plenty
Explorer II
Jan 14, 2014
I've had this happen to three of my trailers. It very common where it gets extremely cold. I bet we'll see a bunch of these posts in the Spring. Use a razor knife and cut around all the cabinets and walls. Remove the sheet and use it for a cutting template. Lay the new sheet loose on the floor. No glue. You'll have a hard time finding a glue that will handle the extreme temps anyway. It needs to be loose laid with nothing attaching it around the perimeter. Self stick or glue down tiles won't work. They will let go when it gets real cold. Just finish it around the edges with a 1/4 round or base shoe molding. Done! The loose lay floor will "float" with nothing holding it in place and will have enough give to not crack. I used a laminate in my last one that did this with great results..

B.O.
Dennis_Smith
Explorer
Jan 14, 2014
Our Fun Finder did the same thing, cut it out and put in a floating floor. Had a nail gun and put in quarter molding to hold it in place and give it a finished look. Easy to do and it was only $300 for the material at Lumber liquidators. I was worried about it getting wet and bubbling so I took a 6 inch section and ran it through the dish washer 10 times. It stayed together so I figured a little water from the kitchen or bathroom want hurt anything.
Denlor
Explorer
Jan 14, 2014
Had this happen to us the first winter with our Keystone (2007). Dealer said that when manufactured they lay the lino down then install walls etc. and no glue. The dealer got the approval from Keystone to pay me for removal and install and cost of lino. I hired a company to install and removed the lino myself. He glued it down and no further problems. I have been told the new lino as is in our new unit is a better grade and glued. Good luck with your situation.
westend
Explorer
Jan 14, 2014
BurbMan wrote:
Good to know. The vinyl planks I saw the big orange store were self-stick glue down, a floating floor makes more sense. Our OEM vinyl is still in OK shape, but we are thinking of re-decorating with a wood-look floor. laminate is a great choice but I need to watch the height with the slide out.

I think one of the issues with OEM sheet vinyl is that they cover the deck as one of the first construction steps, then the flooring is anchored as the install of the cabinets over top of it, so it can't move when it needs to in extreme temps.

I'm thinking of just going over the existing floor rather than cutting it out first.
Yup, you have nailed the cause of vinyl failure correctly. The sheet vinyl is perimeter glued and when they get everything installed, there is just a few feet in the hallways for contraction and expansion.

As long as what you put over your existing vinyl flooring won't telegraph the original pattern, you can cover it. In most situations, it's easier to just cut it out, about a 15 minute procedure.

The Home Depot vinyl plank product, Allure, has a glue strip to lock to the adjoining plank. It is a floating floor. Allure Ultra is a click lock product where the edges fit into each other, also a floating floor. I looked at the Allure products before I did mine and it seems they did not have control of the material ingredients at that time. The vinyl was being made from 25% recycled product, some of it from unknown origin in Indonesia. There were many reports of owners installing it and having chemical reactions, their dogs would lose their hair, and other health issues. HD was offering those folks a complete refund of the purchase price. They now have changed their marketspeak to "15% recycled of known origin". I don't trust them or I would have used the product.
JA722
Explorer
Jan 14, 2014
Oh my goodness, being new owners I had no idea this could happen. We are in Wisconsin and the temps have been below zero for many, many days so far this winter.

This weekend cant come soon enough for me to go check it out.

Forum Discussion

Oh no! Ripped and bubbled floor!

About Travel Trailer Group

Related Content

Insurance denying claim for ripped floor

RIP Propane

RIP - JohnnyT

Rubber roof bubbling

Bubbled Fiberglas