Replacing carpet with wood flooring

[Waggin Wagon]

Has anyone had experience replacing the carpeting in your coach with wood flooring? I am in the process of purchasing my first RV (2001 Newmar Dutch Star) which has carpet. This is a full time life change for me and I will be traveling with my dogs, 2 Basset Hounds. One is a very old gentleman who has bladder problems. Carpeting is NOT an option with Mr. Winslow along for the ride. I would love to know if anyone has done this and if they were happy with the results or if they ran into any problems. I've considered tile but would much prefer wood.

Thanks so much!

Julie
Waggin' Wagon
Beauford
Winslow

[VSPA]

There have been several on this forum that have done the carpet to wood flooring and/or tire. Giving it some thought myself as carpets to hard to keep clean between boondocking and pets. Check the follow as I did carpet replacement on the search box.

http://www.irv2.com/forums/search.php?searchid=1919424

[Possum]

We relaced the carpeting and the tile in our old girl with laminate. SWMBO is super happy with how easy it is to clean when we go boondocking at ocean beach spots. She is not working hours trying to get the fine sand out of the carpets that we (us and the pups) drag in, no matter how hard we try to get the sand particles off our feet.

[dkwalsh]

Just made this change ourselves. I ripped out the carpet and put linoleum in the bathroom and laminate flooring in the rest (except in the front driving area). We travel with two dogs and it is super easy to keep clean. I absolutely love it! My husband didn't want to make the change at first, mainly because he thought he'd get stuck doing it, but I (the wife here) did it all, including the baseboard molding! Now, he admits it looks pretty sharp. Dirty carpeting, especially in the bathroom, is just plain gross!

Debby

[Francesca]

Hi, Julie

I haven't done this in a coach, but I've done it in rental houses!
If you're concerned about incontinence in your dogs, you might consider sheet vinyl rather than wood flooring. Even the laminates can soak up urine, and most of them have seams that can allow urine to get through to the underlayment.
It's almost impossible to get rid of the resulting odors without tearing up the floor!
I know this from hard experience...

Just my two cents worth-

Francesca

[VSPA]

Originally Posted by Francesca

It's almost impossible to get rid of the resulting odors without tearing up the floor! I know this from hard experience...

Had that on Town house we bought a year ago, carpets almost solid yellow on backside. Might try removing all, including tack strip, Chlorine/emzyme wash and double coat of oil based Kiltz. Worked fine for us.

[LibbyLA]

Julie,

I wouldn't put wood down for dogs. Consider either sheet vinyl or vinyl plank (like Allure or Allure Ultra).

liz

[Z714X4]

Just 2 more cents....

We have vinyl tile and absolutely love how easy it is to keep clean. However, our two big dogs slip-n-slide when we're traveling from point A to B. When we're parked they are fine and have no issues with the vinyl... at least none they talk to me about.

So, DW bought several throw rugs at Costco that we use when moving. When we park we simply roll them up and stash in the bedroom.

Works for us!
Good luck!!

[IC2]

Our 5er has about 50-50 carpeting and wood floor. The wood looks really nice, but it does require extra care to keep the gouges and scratches under control. I do have to admit the wood care is much easier - damp wipe it down regularly (sweep it daily) and wax it once a year vs getting out the Bissel shampoo gadget, a cord, mixing the solution, doing the shampoo, waiting for it to dry, etc, etc is a royal PITA.

I replaced carpet with vinyl in an earlier TT, very simple and satisfying job. I suspect wood would also be as good, but you do have to have some carpentry skills and a fair selection of tools if you are a DIY'r.

[Midniteoyl]

My MIL has two dogs and a laminate floor.. No swelling/smell or even scratches so far. Been down since 2006. Border Collie and Boxer.. I'll see if I can find out what kind it is.. All I know is it was Blue, looks like wood, was foamed backed and snapped together..

[Ernie Ekberg]

Engineered wood, or luxury vinyl tile- do it all the time

[bosshawg]

I build custom homes for a living. I would like to see you put down a product that you call vinyl plank. Looks just like wood but wears like vinyl.

[deanjeep]

Waggin wagon,
We have a 2000 MADP and I have just finished replacing my carpet and tile with new porcelain tile. I know you want wood but I think what I found will apply to you as well as the thickness will be similar.

First of all you are almost stuck with carpet in your slideouts. Otherwise you will have a gap once the slideout goes out. On our coach we only have one slideout (living area).

The thickness of your new floor is the key. As your slideout comes in and lifts up you have to hold your new floor back far enough that the edge of the plywood under the slideout does not catch on the edge of your new floor. You will also need to bevel the edge of the wood floor where the rollers hit.

The thickness of your new floor will also determine whether or not you need to change the rollers under your slide to a smaller diameter. I used an ECB membrane for underlayment under the new tile so I was dealing with approximately 1/2" thickness total and barely squeaked by without having to change the rollers.

Last you will have to replace the carpet in the slideout with new carpet that is banded just like you have now but with enough overhang to cover the gap.

The step area can also be a challenge because of the differing thickness. We tiled our steps including the powered step cover but it took a lot of thinking it through to get it right. I'm a cabinet builder, if your a home builder I'm sure you'll figure it all out.

Good luck. I love the way ours has turned out. Lot easier to clean. We have a bulldog that sheds like a beast.

By the way, if your planing on pulling up the old tile in the kitchen and bathroom, get ready for a job. The underlayment is glued to the floor and runs under the walls and cabinets at least 1/2" everywhere. Kicked my butt.

[deanjeep]

Originally Posted by deanjeep

Waggin wagon,
We have a 2000 MADP and I have just finished replacing my carpet and tile with new porcelain tile. I know you want wood but I think what I found will apply to you as well as the thickness will be similar.

First of all you are almost stuck with carpet in your slideouts. Otherwise you will have a gap once the slideout goes out. On our coach we only have one slideout (living area).

The thickness of your new floor is the key. As your slideout comes in and lifts up you have to hold your new floor back far enough that the edge of the plywood under the slideout does not catch on the edge of your new floor. You will also need to bevel the edge of the wood floor where the rollers hit.

The thickness of your new floor will also determine whether or not you need to change the rollers under your slide to a smaller diameter. I used an ECB membrane for underlayment under the new tile so I was dealing with approximately 1/2" thickness total and barely squeaked by without having to change the rollers.

Last you will have to replace the carpet in the slideout with new carpet that is banded just like you have now but with enough overhang to cover the gap.

The step area can also be a challenge because of the differing thickness. We tiled our steps including the powered step cover but it took a lot of thinking it through to get it right. I'm a cabinet builder, if your a home builder I'm sure you'll figure it all out.

Good luck. I love the way ours has turned out. Lot easier to clean. We have a bulldog that sheds like a beast.

By the way, if your planing on pulling up the old tile in the kitchen and bathroom, get ready for a job. The underlayment is glued to the floor and runs under the walls and cabinets at least 1/2" everywhere. Kicked my butt.