The "Polar Vortex" ate my 5th wheel floor!! What to do?

[rkassl]

Well after 7 winters outside, this last week caused my vinyl floor in the 5th wheeler to crack right down the center. We pride ourselves on the appearance of the trailer and this really hurts. Has anyone in cold regions of the country experienced a major failure with OEM vinyl flooring? If so what did you do for repairs? I was wondering about vinyl floor boards but I wonder how this would handle some extreme cold temps?

Any ideas or suggestions would be appreciated.

[ktmc]

This happened to my TT too. My insurance company won't cover it. 😞

[2Bargos]

With my bounder the old vinyl floor was showing its age.I replaced it with the peel/stick vinyl flooring available at lowes.the flooring is available in 12 x12 squares or 4 x 16 plank style.
Its is very simple and easy to do .you can cut it with household scissors and install is as mentioned ,,Peel and stick.I installed over the existing vinyl.I purchased a few sheets extra for spares.

I have done this in three different campers and all have worked well.

[dkoley]

I've had it happen on a fifth wheel and on a motorhome. Replaced one with 12" vinyl tile and the other with a floating laminate plank floor. Both seemed to work out well. Also had the tub surround crack and the front cap crack on the 5er the same year as the floor. Insurance covered the front cap only.

[spud1957]

Keep in mind this is probably covered by your insurance policy if you have comprehensive coverage. Don't be concerned your rates will rise as comprehensive claims DO NOT increase your rates.

Depending on your deductible, may be worth a phone call.

S

[David_R]

Same thing happened to us; I found it last weekend when I did my routine check at the storage yard. It is under the kitchen cabinet in the slideout and only showed when I opened the slide. Temps here got as low as 15 below a couple of weeks ago.

[westend]

rkassl wrote:
Because of the potential temperature extremes where we live, I am rethinking my floor repair. This OEM floor lasted 10 years before it failed. I have found some beautiful vinyl sheeting with wood planking that would less than have the cost of vinyl planking and if installed correctly by gluing it total down, I could get 6 to 10 more years use.

Has anyone replaced their OEM vinyl floor with a new vinyl sheet of higher quality, like maybe Congoleum?

Thanks

The new vinyl flooring will outlast the original because it will only contract or expand within it's own dimensions. There are multiple threads about the typical perimeter glued vinyl flooring cracking during cold weather. Glue down the new vinyl sheet and enjoy with no worries.

[rkassl]

Because of the potential temperature extremes where we live, I am rethinking my floor repair. This OEM floor lasted 10 years before it failed. I have found some beautiful vinyl sheeting with wood planking that would less than have the cost of vinyl planking and if installed correctly by gluing it total down, I could get 6 to 10 more years use.

Has anyone replaced their OEM vinyl floor with a new vinyl sheet of higher quality, like maybe Congoleum?

Thanks

[down_home]

Old-Biscuit wrote:
Yep....very cold temps in an rv will cause flooring to shrink and crack.
Same can happen to ceiling covering at seams where ceiling trim is and can also cause the wood faux trim to shrink away/lift up.

Vinyl flooring cracked/shrunk will need to be replaced.
LOTS of choices.

Enjoy your new flooring :B

Another thing to watch, at home, is the garage door seal, on the bottom. It will shrink after installation especially when it gets cold and for some time from other causes. Lets all kinds of bugs in. I left two inches on either side and made certain what was in the track was not stretched.

[rkassl]

Today we talked to the dealer that sold us Montana and after few minutes discussion she told me that they see a few of these vinyl failures every year. She told me there is a flooring man in our area that specialized in flooring replacement in RV's and does a very good job. I talked to him and he agreed that vinyl planking is the way to go, but he goes one step further. He recommended a Mannington product, vinyl planks 4mm thick that is glued down. He has not had the best of luck with the free floating floor in RV's. This product can be glued down to the present sub floor. What is interesting is that it is designed so that if you have a failure or break in any of the individual boards by using a heat gun the section can be cleanly removed and replaced.

The flooring store owner who I know, said that he has the same product in his hunting cabin, that most of the time is not heated and the vinyl laminate just hangs in there.

Has anyone used a similar product like this?

[Oaklevel]

If you don't want to replace it yourself check out your local flooring shops as the guys that did our house do alot of motorhomes & campers as well.

[stubblejumper]

Not unusually up here. My son's and several of his friends had this problem. Apparently it is caused when the vinyl is only glued around the edges. Remember the vinyl flooring is one of the first things to go on during the build. Anyway when only the edges are glue shrinkage during extreme cold causes it to split. Flooring such as Allure or any floating floor is not affected because it can move. This has previously been discussed on here but a quick search did not get me a hit.

[camperforlife]

Over the years I have read about the cold-cracking problem in these forums many times. I never experienced the problem myself but I haven't been in my trailer since we just experienced a spell of -14. I think I'll go check int in the morning.

[Peg_Leg]

We had the flooring crack in a bath and kitchen area. I just glued the sub floor then heated and rolled it back down and covered it with a indoor/outdoor carpet. You could lay another vynil over it and trim a patch cutting the orginal at the same time. This is done to make the patch the exact same size as the piece you remove. Then glue and roll it down. With this you could leave a border of the old or make some design shape for the inserted piece.

[DutchmenSport]

Had our shower shroud crack several years ago due to extreme cold. All I could do was calk it with bathtub calk, didn't want to replace it.

How about cutting out the torn area and squaring it off. Then remove the flooring in the cut out area and use a totally different self sticking tile and fit it into the space giving the floor a decorative look then trim the seams with transition pieces like you would put at a door way between two rooms. It's an easy fix and might add more character to your camper too.