Community Forums

smittysrv · 10-12-2017, 10:53 AM

Our RV slide has rollers that travel over an old stinky carpet. I would replace the carpet with vinyl tiles (6" x 36"). Anyone know how to get the slide up off the carpet enough to change it out to vinyl?

Thanks!

jim27358 · 10-12-2017, 12:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smittysrv

Our RV slide has rollers that travel over an old stinky carpet. I would replace the carpet with vinyl tiles (6" x 36"). Anyone know how to get the slide up off the carpet enough to change it out to vinyl?

Thanks!

Put the slide all the way out, the carpet shouldn't go under where the rollers are. I put wood flooring in ours there was a metal strip where the carpet stopped and where the rollers were with the slide all the way out.

smittysrv · 10-12-2017, 02:33 PM

OK. I'll check it out. Thanks!

missourijan · 10-12-2017, 02:50 PM

If by chance your slide is still on the carpet when fully extended you can lift it a little to get under there to pull out the carpet and lay tile. We had a slide roller come out of the bracket. We piled up some wood outside and put a bottle jack in the middle under the slide. We extended the bottle jack and put a 2x4 under the slide to spread the weight. We lifted the slide only about 3/4" and were able to pop the roller back into the bracket. This would probably work to install tile.

smittysrv · 10-13-2017, 09:19 AM

I need to back out and look again. The rollers are definitely rolling on the carpet when it is extended out. I think that they are still sitting on the carpet when slid out. We are ripping out the interior now to replace all the carpet with vinyl and reupholstering the dining area. The open area on the right of the pop-out had a folding couch. It will be replaced with a lazy-boy love seat. You can see how much the carpet has faded where one of the bench seats were.

I think the approach you mentioned for picking it up off the carpet will definitly work:

MSHappyCampers · 10-13-2017, 12:10 PM

I replaced the carpet on the main floor with vinyl tile. With the slide fully extended, I raised the front edge of the carpet that is ON the slide, and used a razor cutter to cut the main floor carpet as far back as I could reach. I replaced the carpet on top of the slide with new carpet.

smittysrv · 10-15-2017, 03:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MSHappyCampers

I replaced the carpet on the main floor with vinyl tile. With the slide fully extended, I raised the front edge of the carpet that is ON the slide, and used a razor cutter to cut the main floor carpet as far back as I could reach. I replaced the carpet on top of the slide with new carpet.

THANKS! That worked. I cut the old carpet back as far as could. Then where the four rollers were on the carpet, I used a staple gun to tack the edge of the carpet to the plywood floor. Then for a test, I placed four of the new vinyl strips in front of the rollers and did a test, where the rollers come off the old carpet and on to the new vinyl. Now the slide motor even sounds less stressed when rolling on the vinyl, rather than the old carpet. When I get ready to put the new vinyl floor in, it will be laid horizontal to the slide.

Here's the vinyl I picked out:
Shaw 14-Piece 5.9-in x 48-in Resort Teak Locking Luxury Vinyl Plank

Here's my test:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbG5EmdHOaw

Motor7 · 10-15-2017, 04:22 AM

I will be doing the same thing, so will be watching your install.

smittysrv · 10-27-2017, 08:03 AM

When to Lowes and picked up the flooring. I figure about 5 boxes will do the trick. I will be installing it today and most likely tomorrow too, using the vinyl floor adhesive that Home Depot suggested. To the right of the flooring, are thin wood planks (aged) with peel-and-stick on the back, which will go up on the wall behind the bed, replacing the cheap fake headboard that looks like it came out of my Grandma's house.

BTW, we've decided to name our RV "Beulah".

Beulah is a feminine given name. It has been used in literature as the name of a mystical place, somewhere between Earth and Heaven.

grindstone01 · 10-27-2017, 08:35 AM

We installed the floating snap together wood flooring (no glue, easy to replace damaged boards) in the main section of our fifth wheel and also replace the carpet in both the slides and upstairs. Now the carpet is so easy to replace that we do it every two years. We can buy a carpet remnant, use the old pieces for a template, then have the carpet store bind the edges. A few staples along the edge and we are good to go and saves on carpet cleaning.

smittysrv · 10-27-2017, 01:29 PM

We were going to put a thicker laminate floor down, but the design of the slide-out has the rollers riding directly on the floor, coming in and out. It was riding on some thin shag carpet with no padding underneath. I tried a test roll-in-and-out on some thicker laminate, but it raised the slider too hide and messed up the alignment on the outside of a rig, which would have allowed rain water to get it. The thin vinyl flooring we are going to use is just the right thickness to get a good alignment on the outside.

smittysrv · 10-31-2017, 01:23 PM

Progress! I installed just enough vinyl to give the slider one final test. Since I was unable to remove all the carpet under the slider, it now transitions from the edge of the vinyl onto what's left of the old carpet. I put whatever I could find laying around on top of the slider floor to add some weight as a test. I also sprayed painted the exposed carpet with some flat black paint to make less visible.

More pictures and detail here:
Demo Day - Removing the Floor in the RV - ThisNewOldRV