Glue down vs floating wood floors

[Cfnocn]

Looking for some pros and cons of each so I can figure out which way to go. Doing this in a 40 foot Monaco diplomat

[kawchop]

Planning on doing the same thing to our 35' Georgie Boy, any info greatly appreciated.

[Nana25K]

We previously replaced the living room carpet in a 5th wheel with a high quality laminate

We recently did the living room and bedroom in our Dynasty with an engineered vinyl called Smart Core ( manufactured by US Floors for Lowe's) it click together like a laminate but is 100% waterproof and it floats. We did have to glue the step well sides. We just love it and it cost less than $500.
Our only issue was transitioning from the flooring to the tile as the tile was so !much thicker. We had use a wooden transition strip that my brother still had to mill down a little and it had to be screwed down. But we used brass screws so it looks fine

[jcgribks]

You're probably going to get a 50-50 response for or against a floating wood floor vs a glued down floor. I personally did my 96 Itasca 34' Suncruiser with a floating floor. One reason was the extreme temperatures that we have here in Kansas. -0 up to over 100 to make sure I didn't have any buckling. The other reason is if any piece gets damaged, I can just take it apart and replace it. If its glued down you can't do that.

[tombottcat]

wood moves a lot in extreme temperatures, shrinking and expanding-the advantage of glue is it helps to stabilize the floor from doing this but is harder to repair. love the look of wood. all products require a expansion gap around the edge for movement glued or not -so the biggest issue is finishing to the cabinets and walls ,what I have found is a finishing edge called a reverse quarter round which can be stain and finished to match the new floor, really fun project with amazing results TOM AND JOANNE 2016 THOR TUSCANY

[SMB]

Did min in '15 with Allure from Home Depot. Entire floor except bdrm, slide and cockpit No glue, the planks stick to one another but no glue to the subfloor on which we used 1/8" Luan as a leveling base over the actual subfloor. This helped equalize the height vs. the old hardwood. 3/8" or larger shoe molding can be bought pre-stained and installed to cover any variation at cabinet or wall, waterproof and cleans up with a damp mop. We use a vinyl floor cleaner twice a year to dress up.
I seriously doubt shrink would be a problem, if any microscopic in a 6-7' wide coach floor.
The flooring was easy to work with, inexpensive. The hardest part was the Luan install, altogether I think it took 8 hrs. once the old was gone.

[Wbonsell]

We had our carpeting replaced by Southland Flooring out of LA with Luxury Vinyl Tile planks. The old carpeting was removed, the flooring tightened up and then the planks installed over pressure sensitive adhesive. Floor looks absolutely stunning. It's actually easy to replace a damaged plank by simply heating it up with a heat gun and removing the damaged plank and reinstalling a new one.

We clean it up with a Swiffer. Only downside is the floor is colder than carpeting when the temps drop.

[Cfnocn]

Thanks for the info. Was leaning towards floating. I am going to install on a 45degree angle so that will be a little more challenging. I have huge temperature changes where I am as well

[TR4]

I installed mine at a diagonal as well. I did the glue down method using a 5/8" engineered maple. It has a solid maple cut veneer (versus a rotary cut veneer).

You will get slight gaps between the planks due to expansion and contraction when using engineered flooring with thick veneers versus using a laminate floor.

[wileyw]

What product did you use for your steps? Those look really nice.

[rvharry]

Research post by Ernie Ekberg here and on other sites (fmca, rvforum, yahoo), he has been installing floors in motorhomes and trailers much longer than most installers and will offer advice (everything from removal, prep and installation)
Typically Allure and floating floors have not had long term good results- the best installations have been glued (with proper glue), not the big orange and blue bldg. homeowner/diy offered materials
Higher end engineered flooring (bruce and urethane), carpet and vinyl planks (I used Centiva) with urethane (messy stuff) suggested and sold by manufacturer.
I have had glued floors (all commercial products) in motorhome for 6 years (3 years full timing) in all climates (snow country and AL/FL humidity) without any joint separation or buckling.
just my cents worth as motorhome owner and architect

[TR4]

Originally Posted by wileyw

What product did you use for your steps? Those look really nice.

The steps are the original Country Coach rubber treads (similar to these: https://www.uline.com/Product/Detail...g&gclsrc=aw.ds) . The risers and side skirts are the same 5/8" x5" maple used on the floor.

[wileyw]

Originally Posted by TR4

The steps are the original Country Coach rubber treads (similar to these: https://www.uline.com/Product/Detail...g&gclsrc=aw.ds) . The risers and side skirts are the same 5/8" x5" maple used on the floor.

Thanks for the reply. The contrast between the light colored maple and the black stair treads looks awesome and would probably be just the right amount of contrast needed during low light instances exiting and entering the coach.

[Ernie Ekberg]

If you want some different color treads Roppe in Fostoria, Ohio is the manufacturer. Raised round square nose are the easiest to keep and do not have the front to back lines to trap dirt.