Replacing the carpet...what about the slides?

[TravelingJ]

We picked up this used fifth wheel a month or so ago. There is a really white, really annoying carpet that we have already started to stain up something awful.

So, out it's going to come. I'm handy enough that I don't think we will have an issue putting down a floating wood floor for the room. My question, is the slides. The way the carpet hangs over the slide floor, has me concerned. Worst case-we will find a way to have that carpet swapped out with something darker. Best case-someone here has an idea for wooden floor there as well.

Thanks in advance!

[DriVer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TravelingJ We picked up this used fifth wheel a month or so ago. There is a really white, really annoying carpet that we have already started to stain up something awful.

A lot of folks that do the main floor with vinyl of other materials often choose to leave the rugs in the slideout alone. White rugs you say ... OMG! In an RV it seems like such a bad choice from the get go.

[450Donn]

Personal preference mind you and I can understand why folks want to get rid of the carpets, but I like it warm under my feet. So I will replace my carpet with carpet when the time comes. I already have a good installer to do the work for me, I can strip the loose stuff out myself so it is only a matter of taking the old stuff out, installing new better pads and picking a good quality carpet to have him lay for me. As for the piece in the slide out, I will simply take that piece out in one chunk and he can use that to cut to match, send it out for binding and relay for me when it gets back. Total time plus binding will probably be a day spread over a couple of weeks.

[TravelingJ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DriVer White rugs you say ... OMG! In an RV it seems like such a bad choice from the get go.

Yeah, that's what we said before we even bought it. We knew before we ever saw it in person, that it wasn't going to last. Luckily, the price allowed for future plans of ripping it out. I guess, in all fairness, it's a cream color. Even still, it's entirely too light for a RV.

I had a feeling most people left this carpet alone, I can't seem to think of a good way to get around it.

[RickO]

Full time with three dogs, the carpet in our new DP didn't last long. We replaced it with Allure planks. The floor IS cold under foot while traveling in the winter but we use a lot of throw and area rugs and live with it.

As mentioned, we too used carpet on the floor of the slides since they aren't walked on it hold up pretty well and is still easily replaced if necessary.

The bigger issue with slides, IMO, is having them retract without damaging the new floor. If you use our search feature, you'll find a lot of stories about how folks have addressed this... some more successful than others. Our Allure has been damaged by the slides retracting since they were designed to slide over carpet they have a hard surface which will grind debris into the floor.

Best of luck

Rick

[TravelingJ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RickO Full time with three dogs, the carpet in our new DP didn't last long. We replaced it with Allure planks. The floor IS cold under foot while traveling in the winter but we use a lot of throw and area rugs and live with it. As mentioned, we too used carpet on the floor of the slides since they aren't walked on it hold up pretty well and is still easily replaced if necessary. The bigger issue with slides, IMO, is having them retract without damaging the new floor. If you use our search feature, you'll find a lot of stories about how folks have addressed this... some more successful than others. Our Allure has been damaged by the slides retracting since they were designed to slide over carpet they have a hard surface which will grind debris into the floor. Best of luck Rick

Thanks. I spent several hours today reading through a bunch of those threads. Certainly some good information there.

However, I can't seem to find much about people talking about changing out the carpet on the slideout. Is that just because...you can't? I know it can be swapped for a different carpet, but part of me would like it to be all fake wood.

[Mr_D]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RickO Full time with three dogs, the carpet in our new DP didn't last long.

Not full time yet but two grandkids and seven cats make short work of clean carpet!

[Arctic Owl]

I changed the carpet on the main floor of my 5ver 2 years ago. I had to make sure the slide room cleared the floor when brought in. I used laminate flooring. The laminate I chose was a little thinner then the carpet & under covering I took out. I just make sure we thoroughly clean the floor before bringing the rooms in. We also use a circular throw rug when we arrive @ our destination. We could not do the floor in the slide out as it is a level floor slide & drops down when it is full out. We just bought a very good quality carpet & replaced the old carpet. It works great because, other then under the dinner table, we are not walking on the carpet all the time. Love it. Am removing my bedroom carpet this winter & get rid of the smelly carpet there also. Since I did our living room area, they have come out with this real thin stick on flooring your can use similar to laminate. The only problem with doing laminate in the slide is you then have to fasten down the furniture that is sitting there. Chairs, Tables, etc. Hope this input helps you somewhat.

Reg

[RickO]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TravelingJ Thanks. I spent several hours today reading through a bunch of those threads. Certainly some good information there. However, I can't seem to find much about people talking about changing out the carpet on the slideout. Is that just because...you can't? I know it can be swapped for a different carpet, but part of me would like it to be all fake wood.

I assume you have a "flat floor slide" which becomes level with the main floor when extended. I have probably read hundreds of threads on replacing carpet with hard flooring and can remember only ONE who had also replaced the slide carpet with the hard flooring. There were pictures of it and it looked very nice but I think it's pretty tough to do because of the gaps which exist between the slide and main floors when extended. I think there needs to be some "slop" in there, which is the challenge. I just went back and searched for that thread but couldn't find it. Sorry.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr_D Not full time yet but two grandkids and seven cats make short work of clean carpet!

I hear ya Mr_D! We love spending time at the beach. We found ourselves getting all worked up over the dogs (and us) tracking in dirt and sand. It just wasn't worth it and with the vacuum and our little steam mop it's now a snap to clean.

Rick

[TravelingJ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RickO I assume you have a "flat floor slide" which becomes level with the main floor when extended. I have probably read hundreds of threads on replacing carpet with hard flooring and can remember only ONE who had also replaced the slide carpet with the hard flooring. There were pictures of it and it looked very nice but I think it's pretty tough to do because of the gaps which exist between the slide and main floors when extended. I think there needs to be some "slop" in there, which is the challenge. I just went back and searched for that thread but couldn't find it. Sorry.

That's what I was afraid of. Thanks for validating that fear, at least now I know! I'm sure we could figure out a way to make it work, but generally speaking-I'm far too lazy for that level of patience.

[Ramblin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TravelingJ We picked up this used fifth wheel a month or so ago. There is a really white, really annoying carpet that we have already started to stain up something awful. So, out it's going to come. I'm handy enough that I don't think we will have an issue putting down a floating wood floor for the room. My question, is the slides. The way the carpet hangs over the slide floor, has me concerned. Worst case-we will find a way to have that carpet swapped out with something darker. Best case-someone here has an idea for wooden floor there as well. Thanks in advance!

I haven't done it, but I have heard that wood flooring can be scraped by the slide if the slide is not on rollers, but uses glides instead.. Might be worthwhile to figure out how the slide supports itself when retracted before deciding on a floor covering.

[TravelingJ]

It's all done, and we wisely skipped replacing flooring on the slides.

I was scared that things wouldn't look right with that setup, but the carpet on the slide actually looks really good with the 'wood' floors. I don't know exactly how to explain it, but the carpet slide over a carpet floor just makes the 2 different pieces more obvious. Carpeted slide hanging over the wood looking floor, is just slick.

We followed the advice on the boards, and went with Alure Ultra. I'm not exactly sure how people were trimming it to fit around weird shapes, but we had picked up a Milwaukee 12v dremel like tool. My biggest issue was that some time after this thing was built, someone had stripped out the kitchen and installed a laminate floor over the linoleum, and then put the cabinets on top of them. Since I didn't want to remove all the cabinets to rip that out, I had to get the saw that would allow a flush cut to remove it. I know many people mentioned using an air gun with finishing nails-thems lucky! We also did the finishing of this when we were on the road, so I didn't have access to my chop saw for working with the 1/4 round trim. If at all possible, I highly suggest NOT cutting all the trim by hand.

It IS cool under foot, and at times I like that. It can be refreshing, but when it's 27* outside, the vinyl floor isn't all that great at retaining heat. Now that we have the fake wood in the living room/kitchen, it's time for fake tile in the bathroom!

[Ramblin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TravelingJ It's all done, and we wisely skipped replacing flooring on the slides. I was scared that things wouldn't look right with that setup, but the carpet on the slide actually looks really good with the 'wood' floors. I don't know exactly how to explain it, but the carpet slide over a carpet floor just makes the 2 different pieces more obvious. Carpeted slide hanging over the wood looking floor, is just slick. We followed the advice on the boards, and went with Alure Ultra. I'm not exactly sure how people were trimming it to fit around weird shapes, but we had picked up a Milwaukee 12v dremel like tool. My biggest issue was that some time after this thing was built, someone had stripped out the kitchen and installed a laminate floor over the linoleum, and then put the cabinets on top of them. Since I didn't want to remove all the cabinets to rip that out, I had to get the saw that would allow a flush cut to remove it. I know many people mentioned using an air gun with finishing nails-thems lucky! We also did the finishing of this when we were on the road, so I didn't have access to my chop saw for working with the 1/4 round trim. If at all possible, I highly suggest NOT cutting all the trim by hand. It IS cool under foot, and at times I like that. It can be refreshing, but when it's 27* outside, the vinyl floor isn't all that great at retaining heat. Now that we have the fake wood in the living room/kitchen, it's time for fake tile in the bathroom!

Would love to see some pics!

[EMD_Driver]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ramblin Would love to see some pics!

X2!