replacing carpeting in a motor home?

All of the info and suggestions is APPRECIATED! We are starting the task of removing the RV carpet today.....replacing with a luxury vinyl tile that matches the vinyl tile in the kitchen and bath area. Will be soooo nice to be rid of the light beige carpet that is impossible to keep clean!

Thankyou for all the helpful information. .we will be giving it a shot..just waiting for the weather to warm up a bit..and the project will begin...

toedtoes wrote:
You might look into the vinyl planks. They install like the laminate, but are water proof like vinyl.

Been down this road, the planks are the way to go. Just glue them down. The carpet removal was the **** hardest to do.

You might look into the vinyl planks. They install like the laminate, but are water proof like vinyl.

Yes, I used interlocking laminate with good success.

I tried to post pictures and details but the RVnet website is denying my post. You can see pictures in the restoration thread in my signature line, "The Cowboy/Hilton".

We also used the interlocking floor panels when we removed the carpeting in our MH. We have laminate flooring in much of home and were comfortable with the issues of "wear and tear" and moisture. So far (2.5 years) no problems at all, and keeping it clean is far easier than dealing with the carpeting! Good luck!

Be aware that most of the laminate products are very sensitive to moisture.That includes damp areas like kitchens and bathrooms and even includes high humidity. Climate control will be important. Chuck

Several years ago we removed all carpet and replaced it with laminate flooring. We used Armstrong's best grade of laminate. We picked it based on some tests that Consumer Reports did that showed it had better wear and scratch resistance than Pergo. Its 3/8 inch thick.

We were surprised to find that a Carpet Time store had much better prices on the best grade than Home Depot or Lowes had on the middle grade which is all they carried. The best grades were special order.

We did the installation of our flooring ourselves. We couldn't find an installer willing to do the job.
It took us about ten day’s altogether (we only worked about 4 hours a day though). It wasn't terribly difficult but did require a lot of cutting and trimming because of all of the corners. There were also some challenges at the front of the slides, around the stairs, and underneath the dinette.

Before we did the installation we did a test by removing a square of carpet and making sure the slides would ride over a piece of T molding, laminate and underlayment.

Some people try to cut the carpet back under the slide, but we cut the carpet in front of the slides leaving enough carpet to be stapled down. I was afraid the slides would catch the carpet when the slide went back out. A Tee molding or baseboard covers it so it doesn't show.


If you do the job yourself I would recommend a few things to have:
1) table saw, 2) chop saw, 3) good saber saw, 4) Rotozip tool, 5) air slight head brad nailer, 6) air stapler, 7) utility knife and sharp hook blades. 5) A staple puller - looks like a flat blade screwdriver with a V cut into the bent end of the blade. 6) heat gun for a few places where the carpet was glued down (stairwell for example)

There were two grades of the foam underlayment available. We used the best grade - more expensive but thicker and provides a moisture barrier.

We also used a special waterproof joint glue in areas that are prone to getting wet - like in front of the sink, refrigerator, and around the stairwell. (This is used to glue the joints so spilled water can't get in the joints - not to glue the flooring to the subfloor).
We also used silicon caulk to fill the 1/4 gap at the edges in those areas.
The caulk and waterproof glue are both recommended in the instructions from Armstrong.

We vacuum and mop carefully before we bring the slides in to avoid leaving anything on the floor that might scratch it. In spite of that over the years we have had some minor scratching in three or four places. One fairly deep place at the very beginning was due to our cat batting a couple of paper clips under the slide while we were working on the project.
I stapled door sweep strips behind the base boards in front of the slides because of that.
Even with the scratches it looks much better that the carpet did after only three or four years. In addition it is so much easier to keep clean.

I took out the carpet by cutting the carpet around some of the cabinets and the dinette benches and under the couch, then installed the floating floor boards, they glue on to them self's and placed small strips of molding along the edges and regular carpet to wood anchors at the step well and kitchen area where it meets the linoleum, having a C class I also used an L angle where the cabin meets the cockpit drop off, it is much easier to maintain clean than the carpet, in winter we use runners for comfort when walking to the loo.

Before laying the planks, place them on the longest run so that you have an idea where the smallest piece is going to land so that you do not end with a 2 to 4 inch piece at a high traffic area.

navegator