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.

[loulou57]

We checked our trailer today.

We were -45C or -49F last week and today 13C or 55F

We had over 2ft of snow on the roof.

Paddington was just as snug as a bear in hibernation.

[charlysmom_dad]

So glad you asked this question! It caused me to go out to the mh to check the floor. The electric was accidently unplugged at the side of the house due to a pile of snow on the cord. Got that back together.

Anyway, back to your question. We replace our carpet/vinyl that came with the motorhome with Armstrong sheet vinyl. We're in the Chicago burbs. I don't think we were as cold as you were, but we got down to -15. The floor is okay.

[Old-Biscuit]

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

[tvman44]

IMHO your only option is to rip it out and replace it. 😞 :M

[loulou57]

I have never heard of that happening. I would think something other than the cold temps has caused the crack. Would there not have to have been some kind of movement? There hasn't been a leak anywhere that has froze causing the floor to lift and crack? Just a thought.

[carpetguy2]

There is a cushion vinyl sheet goods that looks like wood floors and dont have to glue it .
Most vinyl planks or tiles will shrink a little as time goes on

[spoon059]

Why not remove the cracked vinyl and replace it? They make all kinds of options for vinyl now. In the basement of our house we used vinyl strips that simulate wood flooring. Its very realistic.