Peel and Stick Tiles

daveyboy12 wrote:
Stay away from the peel and stick tiles, especially for a travel trailer or RV. They will peel, they will crack, they will separate, they are difficult to put down and have them look good.
Try getting a remnant piece of linoleum from your local flooring store.. Or spring for some new stuff.

Not ALL "peel and stick" tiles are bad or difficult to lay down not to mention not last.

Like everything else there IS VARIOUS GRADES of "peel and stick" tiles just like there is with SHEET VINYL.

The dirt cheap stuff which often is sold for less than $1 per square is what gives peel and sticks a bad rap. The glue is often weak and the tiles are extremely thin. But keep in mind the vinyl sheet which sells for a $1 a square ft suffers from being to thin, it rips and tears extremely easily.

The peel and stick tile I have used in TWO trailers now cost around $1.90 a square, is thicker than most sheet vinyl has PLENTY of sticky glue and so far after 6 seasons of usage in my current TT none have peeled up, none have separated joints and none have gouges nor rips or tears.

To get the same thickness in sheet vinyl I would have had to pay over $2.50 per square ft and would have been a royal pain in the backside to cut, fit, roll up (ideally you use rosin paper to make a "template" of your floor, roll out the vinyl sheet and lay the template on it, cut out the vinyl LARGER than the template then roll up the vinyl and roll it out in the trailer then make the fine finish cuts around the items) and lay out the entire 26ft length of my TT (IF you could get 26ft long). In my case I would have had to PIECE TOGETHER making sure I MATCHED the pattern at the joints. This would have wasted a lot of vinyl to make the joints match the patterns.

As with anything, taking your time along with a lot of patience can make EITHER peel and stick or sheet vinyl look nice. But I can tell you peel and sticks for someone who has NEVER laid sheet vinyl is most likely MORE "forgiving" and mistakes can be hid easier.

Make a mistake with sheet vinyl and you will end up tearing out starting over with a new roll and wasting a lot more...

Stay away from the peel and stick tiles, especially for a travel trailer or RV. They will peel, they will crack, they will separate, they are difficult to put down and have them look good.
Try getting a remnant piece of linoleum from your local flooring store.. Or spring for some new stuff.

A good, quality self adhesive tile floor, properly installed will last for years and years. Proper installation includes a perfectly clean floor and primer.
The biggest problems with tile flooring are: the straight lines can show how out-of-square your walls really are; in an RV, quality tile is heavy- this is going to adversely affect load limits.
A good, quality sheet vinyl will have pretty much the same installation requirements as tile. However, for the same coverage, the vinyl is going to weigh less. On the downside, if your vinyl floor covering gets cut by an out of adjustment slide or furniture being dragged across it, there is no easy repair, whereas tile can be individually replaced.
Allure has it's own set of problems, not the least of which is additional weight, as well as much thicker material.
It's a tough choice, but if you buy quality material you'll have far fewer problems down the road whichever covering you choose.
Good luck!

CavemanCharlie wrote:

westend wrote:

CavemanCharlie wrote:
I bought some peal and stick vinyl tiles at my local discount store for a older TT I had. I put down plywood first to deal with a soft floor. They didn't stick that well at first and I had to keep putting them back down. After a few months they were fine. I found that nothing in the trailer was square and putting down one big piece of vinyl would have been a real pain what with all the different corners and out of square walls cupboards etc. I would not have liked them in my house but, in that old camper they were plenty good.

Most folks are not familiar with sheet vinyl installation. It really isn't any more difficult if the walls are out of square since the sheet is not cut to a final size and then placed over the glued floor. The sheet is usually rough cut with a margin remaining and the margin is trimmed to fit the space.

I believe you; I'm no carpenter. I still think it would have been a challenging install though. All those jut outs for the cupboards, closets, dinette , going around the toilet. And, getting it in through to door by one person. For a unskilled person like me the pieces of tile were simpler.

Understood. I thought I'd throw that out there to let other folks know how it's usually done. I've only templated a dozen or so vinyl installs, the rest have all been fold-and-cut.:B
The newer peel-and-stick probably have a good adhesive, good enough at least for RV use. I don't install any of it so can't say. Yeah, there is a lot of cutting for an RV. Mine was pretty straight forward but a few cuts had me scratching the noggin. ;)

I have been looking at the Allure strip tiles after all the comments from everyone and they look pretty good and yes they have a edge on the ends and one side so as you can butt the next tile up to it for a close to seamless fit, but still haven't made up my mind on using it or just getting someone to put down the sheet vinyl and pay the price.

westend wrote:

CavemanCharlie wrote:
I bought some peal and stick vinyl tiles at my local discount store for a older TT I had. I put down plywood first to deal with a soft floor. They didn't stick that well at first and I had to keep putting them back down. After a few months they were fine. I found that nothing in the trailer was square and putting down one big piece of vinyl would have been a real pain what with all the different corners and out of square walls cupboards etc. I would not have liked them in my house but, in that old camper they were plenty good.

Most folks are not familiar with sheet vinyl installation. It really isn't any more difficult if the walls are out of square since the sheet is not cut to a final size and then placed over the glued floor. The sheet is usually rough cut with a margin remaining and the margin is trimmed to fit the space.

I believe you; I'm no carpenter. I still think it would have been a challenging install though. All those jut outs for the cupboards, closets, dinette , going around the toilet. And, getting it in through to door by one person. For a unskilled person like me the pieces of tile were simpler.

CavemanCharlie wrote:
I bought some peal and stick vinyl tiles at my local discount store for a older TT I had. I put down plywood first to deal with a soft floor. They didn't stick that well at first and I had to keep putting them back down. After a few months they were fine. I found that nothing in the trailer was square and putting down one big piece of vinyl would have been a real pain what with all the different corners and out of square walls cupboards etc. I would not have liked them in my house but, in that old camper they were plenty good.

Most folks are not familiar with sheet vinyl installation. It really isn't any more difficult if the walls are out of square since the sheet is not cut to a final size and then placed over the glued floor. The sheet is usually rough cut with a margin remaining and the margin is trimmed to fit the space.

I bought some peal and stick vinyl tiles at my local discount store for a older TT I had. I put down plywood first to deal with a soft floor. They didn't stick that well at first and I had to keep putting them back down. After a few months they were fine. I found that nothing in the trailer was square and putting down one big piece of vinyl would have been a real pain what with all the different corners and out of square walls cupboards etc. I would not have liked them in my house but, in that old camper they were plenty good.

I think a lot of these people responding are talking about "Peel and Stick" vinyl tiles. This is a lot different than Allure.

Allure installation states pretty clearly that the tiles are stuck to each other with a 1 inch glue strip on each tile. When they are properly installed it is a
"floating" floor, and is NOT stuck to the subfloor....

For whatever it's worth..

jjerrydghby wrote:
Thanks for all the feedback and it is very helpful it seems to be real mixed opinion's on the matter I will really have to weight the costs and aggravation associated with replacing the flooring.

I have used peel and stick tiles in two TTs, I would HATE to attempt to pull them up. I as of yet have not had any issues with them staying down in fact one of the problems I ran into was when laying them down. If more than a small edge is stuck down you WILL have a difficult time removing it. So placement can prove to be difficult.

The downside of peel and sticks is the glue just sticks to everything, tools, floor, clothing and FINGERS.

Would sheet vinyl be better overall? Sure, but it can be difficult for even PROs to deal with in a big open area like a home. In a RV you will find it harder to do because of the small area and all the cutting and fitting. Not for everyone.

If going with sheet vinyl I would recommend making a paper template of the floor then lay out the vinyl outside and tape the template to the vinyl and cut it outside.

Or check with your local flooring place to see if they would be willing to install the vinyl for you..