Trailer Flooring Replacement

[Quality_Johnson]

I have to replace the vinyl flooring in my older 19' Dutchmen TT because it split from end to end in the cold of the winter of 13-14.

What's the easiest way to do this that ends up with a decent result? Can I use self-stick 12" square tiles? The subfloor is plywood, not OSB, and is pretty smooth, but I don't know if that stuff will stick. Maybe I need to prep the floor with something?

Do I have to go with continuous sheet vinyl? That would be pretty difficult to get in there, I think. I would have to do it in at least three sections, with little strips of aluminum over the joints. If I have to go with this, should it be glued down? The original has no glue under it. At least that makes it easy to remove the damaged material!

Thanks in advance for the advice I know I'll get!
Al

[subcamper]

Back about 15 years ago,I replaced the sheet vinyl floor in our kitchen. Armstrong had a template kit that consisted of a bunch of paper sheets, tape, and a pen that had a wheel at the end to follow wall/cabinet contours. You would overlap the paper sheets, tape them together where the edges roughly followed wall/cabinet contours, and then use the rolling pen to draw the exact edge needed. The edge draw was 1" inside the actual edge, so you added 1" all around to the border line. This created a full-size template of the area that you placed over the (unrolled) sheet vinyl (on a large floor or outside). You then cut it out and it fit well.

I don't know if the template kit is still sold, but I would recommend it for sheet vinyl as it is pretty hard to cut it around things as you unroll it without ripping it.

Steve

[myredracer]

If it were me, I would go with interlocking vinyl laminate planks. The trick is to ensure the floor is free-floating everywhere and does not get hung on anything, and has an expansion gap all around the perimeter. Laminate planks are easy to work with since you're only working with one piece at a time and can easily measure one piece at a time and scribe pieces where walls and cabinetry is wonky (very common). I would never use self adhesive laminate or glue down sheet flooring in an RV as the flooring will shrink and expand summer to winter and cause problems. Many owners have successfully installed products like Allure laminate without any problems. I installed laminate planks in a previous TT and it worked out great. I can't imagine how much harder it would be to install sheet flooring in a TT with the tight spaces and all the jigs and jogs.

[jfkmk]

SoundGuy wrote:

Quality Johnson wrote:
I have to replace the vinyl flooring in my older 19' Dutchmen TT because it split from end to end in the cold of the winter of 13-14.

What's the easiest way to do this that ends up with a decent result?

Just a suggestion but you may get more response to your query if you make it clear in your title that it's the vinyl flooring you're wanting to replace, not the floor itself. As far as replacing the vinyl flooring is concerned I have a friend who did this exact repair to his Starcraft TT and has detailed the repair here. I remember following his progress at the time and his approach wasn't for the faint of heart but the results were outstanding. :B

I checked out the install...what a beautiful job! It also underscores the amount of work involved if you want to do it right.

[4X4Dodger]

Quality Johnson wrote:
I have to replace the vinyl flooring in my older 19' Dutchmen TT because it split from end to end in the cold of the winter of 13-14.

What's the easiest way to do this that ends up with a decent result? Can I use self-stick 12" square tiles? The subfloor is plywood, not OSB, and is pretty smooth, but I don't know if that stuff will stick. Maybe I need to prep the floor with something?

Do I have to go with continuous sheet vinyl? That would be pretty difficult to get in there, I think. I would have to do it in at least three sections, with little strips of aluminum over the joints. If I have to go with this, should it be glued down? The original has no glue under it. At least that makes it easy to remove the damaged material!

Thanks in advance for the advice I know I'll get!
Al

First off this is not an overly difficult thing to do and you do not need a pro to do it. It is time consuming and can be frustrating but taking your time and getting set up correctly is half the battle.

I would use the vinyl sheet flooring in a pattern that is NOT geometric. This will help the results look better.

consider taking up your dinette or a few of the cabinets, they just screw down to the floor.

Precut a piece off the roll that is a bit wider than the widest point you have to cover. Get a very good and sharp linoleum knife and blades and go to work. If you misjudge an area then put in some molding/trim.

Good Luck!

[krobbe]

The 12" self stick tiles will expand and contract causing the gap between them to open up. I used them on an older MH and after a year hated the results.

[SoundGuy]

Quality Johnson wrote:
I have to replace the vinyl flooring in my older 19' Dutchmen TT because it split from end to end in the cold of the winter of 13-14.

What's the easiest way to do this that ends up with a decent result?

Just a suggestion but you may get more response to your query if you make it clear in your title that it's the vinyl flooring you're wanting to replace, not the floor itself. As far as replacing the vinyl flooring is concerned I have a friend who did this exact repair to his Starcraft TT and has detailed the repair here. I remember following his progress at the time and his approach wasn't for the faint of heart but the results were outstanding. :B

[westend]

If you've never done sheet vinyl, I'd suggest to take it to a flooring installer. t won't be that much for a trailer and there are too many nuances to learn without an instructor.

[robsouth]

We used Allure flooring from Home Depot. Easy to work with and looks great.

[Big_Love]

Some folks just overlay laminate flooring over the linoleum. Looks great, does not add much weight and is easy to care for.

[pira114]

If you've never done it, squares is easier. But I don't like the self sticking ones.

You can skim the floor with a watered down "thinset." Tile stores or Home Depot will have it. Mix it so it's thin enough to slide completely off a trowel. Skim the floor and it'll fill in any cracks or grooves. Remember, your goal is just skimming. Not coating. Lightly sand it afterwards to remove ridges. Vacuum and sweep. Get all dust off.

Then use the vinyl tile glue with a small notch trowel and do small sections at a time.

The most important thing is to figure out your layout first. Don't just start in a corner. You'll end up with small odd cuts that way. Figure it out so that the cuts even out on each side the best you can. With all the corners in a TT, that won't be perfect.

That's one way.

The single sheet method is better, but much harder if you've never done it. I'll try to explain.

Skimming the floor is the same. Glue is the same.

First thing you want to do is remove everything you can that's not bolted down. If it is, and you can remove it and find the holes later to cut through the vinyl, then that's better.

Then lay down construction paper (usually in the paint section of the store) and cover the whole floor. Tape all the paper together so it can be removed in one piece. This is your template. You may find it easier to do large sections of the trailer separately depending on layout, but that'll cause seams in the floor.

Once you have your template, lay it over the new vinyl and tape it down here and there. Just so you can work on it without it moving. Then use a cutting tool (they make rolling razor cutters for this, but a box cutter works too) and cut out your piece of vinyl.

Then you need to check that it works. Lots of people cut the vinyl backwards, so watch that. Once you know it fits right, spread your glue on the floor in manageable sections starting in the back.

If you roll the floor up it'll be easier to carry into the trailer to start laying it. Don't spread more glue than you can reach across. Two people makes this so much easier in a house, but a trailer will be cramped.

Start laying the floor and spreading more glue as needed.

I hope that made sense. It's really hard to teach that in one post. There are youtube videos on it. This is a big job. Most trailers have a floor laid before furniture is put in. That furniture is going to be your obstacle. That's why sections or, better yet, squares will be easier.

It can be done fairly cheaply. I just hate the self sticking type. They peel often leaving you with a worse floor.

I've done it. In two days. Day one: cut out old floor and skimmed it. Let dry overnight. Day two, figured out my layout, spread glue in small sectiins, laid tiles. Done. That's really what I'd recommend for someone who's never done it.

Whatever you do, don't lay new vinyl over old. Just won't work out.

Hope this helps. Feel free to message me for clarification. I used to be a tile setter and did an awful lot of vinyl too.