Floor/carpet question

[Naio]

I was planning to take out the OEM carpet in my new van and put in lino, but I am so broke this year, so I might put it off. Had a lot of trouble last winter in the old van though -- the carpet got wet and I never could get it dry.

On sunny days I would open the doors and set a heater blowing on it, and it would get 100% dry, but then be damp again in the morning. I finally deduced that there was an absorbent layer under the carpet that was wet, and the water wicked upward.

So I did some investigating of my new van's carpet. Pulled up a corner. The carpet has a vinyl backing, and then under it is that multicolored fuzzy blanket stuff -- and a thin layer of pasteboard, which I guess is to even out the corrugations of the floor. It all just lays on the bare metal floor, no adhesive that I saw.

What if I take up the carpet, remove the underlayers, and put the carpet back, as a cheap and temporary solution for a year or few? I realise it will be less nice -- lumpy from the corrugations, and hard. But it might be better than the bare metal and more dry-able than the stock setup.

I don't really ever see the carpet, except once a year when I clean it for allergies, because I have a big plastic mat under my ice machine and a throw rug for the rest. Prolly get some of those heated rubber mats for under the rug, too. So it is just for slight insulation, keeping the noise and dust out while driving, etc.

But I figured I should first ask you guys if this was a dumb idea for some reason I am not seeing :B

[pianotuna]

Troubledwaters,

Naio is not a male.

[troubledwaters]

pianotuna wrote:
troubledwaters,

That depends on where you live and how you heat.

For example one member here left his underwear on the floor and when he got home they were frozen down.

And I'll bet he had frozen drops of water on the ceiling also (raining from the ceiling). I've been there done that, lots of cooking and boiling water inside the popup while deer hunting in the UP. Raining from the ceiling, but that is due to the activity going on inside, not normal condensation. You can tell, cause it always forms on the ceiling first. Maybe I misinterpreted his issue, A simple vent fan will usually eliminate the cooking/showering caused issues.

[kerrlakeRoo]

Naio wrote:
Lol! The wet spot was right in front of the microwave, and after months of experimentation my best guess is that the moisture was coming from steam.

Then I guess that was telling ya sumthin, cook real food, no microzap.
G'luk

[Naio]

Lol! I was not anywhere that cold. I don't think I had a leak. I never could find one, and had no trouble the previous years. That van has the original factory metal roof, and no perforations for fan, AC, etc. The wet spot was right in front of the microwave, and after months of experimentation my best guess is that the moisture was coming from steam.

[pianotuna]

troubledwaters,

That depends on where you live and how you heat.

For example one member here left his underwear on the floor and when he got home they were frozen down.

[troubledwaters]

It would be nearly impossible to get your carpet wet enough to even feel it with just condensation. The old van would have to have had leaks somewhere to let that much water in. It would be raining from the ceiling in your van if you had that much condensation to make the carpet wet.

[kerrlakeRoo]

Naio, that fuzzy layer serves a couple of purposes, along with insulation for heating and cooling purposes it also is a noise dampener. Also living in a closed container that size, moisture from your breathing keeps the humidity higher than what would happen in a vehicle only occupied for a couple hours a day.
Depending on how you are doing your build out, you may want to cut the flooring and build in the permanent parts, framed base for bed or cabinets with maybe just a rubber sheet bottom. And after everything is fixed in place, cut and relay the factory type flooring in the areas which will be open. It should help keep you more comfortable and quieter, and maybe you can keep those open areas removable so you can literally hang them out to dry occasionally if needed.
Happy motorin

[pianotuna]

If it is a condensation problem, removing the fuzzy underlay may not improve the situation. You need a vapor barrier. Since it is a surface that will be subject to being walked on, I'd suggest 12 mil poly between the carpet and the underlay.

The above is a temporary solution.

The best solution may be to have the entire bottom of the RV sprayed with closed cell foam.

The interior surfaces need to be kept above the dew point temperature.

[Naio]

BFL13 wrote:
You said the wet carpet happened in the old van. You ASSume this will happen again in this van. IMO wait and see. Then do something if need be.

Are we talking condensation? Are the various coverings preventing airing-out?

I'm probably going to be in a humid area again this winter so yeah, I think the same thing is likely to happen. I didn't have any trouble in desert winters!

I took up the coverings in order to dry out, of course.

Yeah, it's possible I would have no problem. But if I do, it would not be practical to remove the carpet while I am living in the van. It extends under the bed, cabinets, etc. So I would end up with a mold pit like I did this year.

[BFL13]

You said the wet carpet happened in the old van. You ASSume this will happen again in this van. IMO wait and see. Then do something if need be.

Are we talking condensation? Are the various coverings preventing airing-out?