Am I missing the point of tile in a coach?

[ArmandV]

My previous MH had gawdawful mauve (ecch!) carpet that looked like hell when dirty.

I like my current MH with its vinyl floor. Easy to clean and comes in handy at night if a leg cramp hits and I can put my bare foot on it to get rid of the cramp.

[nothermark]

FWIW the point with the weight of tile is not that the vehicle can be made to carry it. The point is why have it in the first place? I really do not like tile anywhere except maybe the bathroom. I say maybe because there are issues there too. The only advantage I see is with hydronic heating that big thermal mass helps hold the heat once it is warmed up.

[Scarab0088]

The answer to "why" is ALWAYS "because buyers want it".

These premium coach features are more and more like the studs and stucco house that people are used to...even with GRANITE COUNTERTOPS in the fanciest rigs

Sure, the tile requires a special hardy backer to prevent flex cracks and the granite has to be milled to 1/2 or 1/3 thickness due to weight, but people want it = sales.

Same argument explains the continued traditional (i.e. Ethan Allen) vs. Euro (IKEA) styled interiors. If buyers demand it, the makers will build it.

Just my 2 cents

[Steve Ownby]

Originally Posted by smlranger

Lori, agree with you. Our coach has a lot of tile and I suspect it is due to the under floor heating grid which I assume works best with tile. I would have preferred some of the luxury vinyl plank flooring. We just put some Mannington Adura in our stick house and the stuff is beautiful.

I realize folks have different tastes and preferences. However, I do believe many of the complaints we read about RV's, especially class A motorhomes, are related to the plethora of complex features many buyers demand.

I remember a conversation with Joe K at the Ohio rally where we agreed that if we (buyers) continue to expect a motorhome to be just like our stick house, we were all asking for trouble.

We put Mannington Adura 16"x16" tile in our coach 4 years ago and we still love it. Easy maintenance and looks great, plus lighter than porcelain tile and flexible enough to resist cracking. Glues down & grouts just as residential.


Steve Ownby
Full time since '07

[Jupiter]

Good points all around. Here's my slant. We've had carpet in two coaches and we've had tile in two coaches. We both prefer the tile hands down. Carpet not only holds the dirt, it rather quickly shows wear in all the high traffic areas. Tile can quickly and easily be swept or washed. Our current porcelin tile is colored and patterned such that it doesn't quickly show a little dirt or dust. We're outdoor people and so for the most part, we don't want to have to slip in and out of shoes every time we're in and out of the coach. Tile works best for us and with a few runners here and there to give the dog traction

That said, I could probably be just as happy with a quality vinyl floor instead.

I'm just pleased we have so many choices in this business to meet all of our differing desires.

cheers,
Joopy

[gbburgess]

We have had three coaches. The first had carpet and parquet floors. Loved the parquet, hated the carpet. The second had carpet and vinyl - liked the vinyl and hated the carpet. The third has carpet and ceramic tile. Love the tile - hate the carpet. The current coach was built to handle the weight so the tile is not an issue. Twice a year we pay +$100 to steam clean the carpet. The tile we clean and wax in five minutes. I wish everything but the bedroom was tile.

[Mr_D]

How does engineered wood hold up to floor heat?

And our rig was also engineered to hold the tile weight with no problems.

[Papa_Jim]

When we renovated our coach in 2009, the first two things to go were the carpet and the ceramic tile. The carpet was too difficult to keep clean. The ceramic tile was w-a-a-y too cold for us in our part of the world.

We replaced both with vinyl sheet flooring. Great choice. To this day, the floor looks the same as the day it was installed.

The only mistake we made was to install new carpet in the bedroom. Never again. Next time, vinyl in the bedroom with a couple of throw rugs.

Jim

[vanbuskirk]

We have a combination of tile and carpet and love it. The tile is basically a path through our living area ,in our kitchen & dining and in the bathroom. The living room slides, the hallway and the bedroom are carpeted. Although we typically take off our shoes to enter the coach our dogs don't! The tile much easier to clean than the beige carpet and it doesn't scratch like engineered flooring.

[firedoc]

Originally Posted by ChallengerRN

So how hard is it to pull up the tile that is there. And can the wood get back under cabinets & such to look as factory??

Russell

It can if its done by a master craftsman!


Sent from my iPhone using iRV2 - RV Forum

[Clayobx]

Had both, first coach carpet and later coach tile with our FUR kids. Lots of fur! There's no issue with tile certainly by us. Sure keeps the fur down to manageable maintenance. I'm very aware (most recently) if proper diligence is not matched to handle weight vs allowable axle load there's a problem. That can happen with or without tile many factors are attributable faults. I'm a fan of tile floors and quartz tops. Quartz Weighs less per sq, ft. (thinner) It does not stain, is much stronger (composite) and appearance is the same as granite. It can be milled thinner than granite and maintain its integrity. We now have Corian in our coach. Looks good, light weight but shows marks fairly easy and will scar with a hot pan. Yes, buyers do want tile and granite/quartz so builders supply to create sales. Bet Newmar would supply a build sheet for engineered wood flooring on their DSDP 43 FWS.

[JMonroe]

Lori, you need to adapt a couple of fur kids.

Even without the dogs, the confined spaces of an RV force you to walk the same path, quickly wearing down the carpet. It needs constant cleaning and daily vacuuming when we're in more "primitive" campgrounds or parks (no concrete pads and paved streets). While people may be able to remove their shoes, we can't seem to get the dogs to do so. The legs on our dining chairs are wearing through the carpet and the dogs seems to like to use the confined and carpeted space under the dining table as their kennel. Bottom line, I ended up buying a carpet shampoo machine, just another thing to have to find space for.

I agree about the shiny tile floors. Wasn't going to work with our lifestyle so we're having a non standard matt finish tile installed in our new coach that otherwise comes with high gloss tile. I do also carry a hard floor scrubber/cleaner with us and it's surprising how much dirt it will lift off floors that don't look all that bad.

While I doubt tile adds 5 lbs per square foot, it is substantially heavier than carpet and significantly adds to the empty weight of any RV over carpeted or vinyl flooring. Part of your homework when purchasing a new rig is to delve into weight and balance.

Oh, and after five years our current coach has no cracked tiles. While the prospect of cracked tiles can't be totally eliminated, floors in even our stationary stick & bricks will develop a cracked tile now and then, chassis construction and the use of proper materials can significantly mitigate the likelihood.

[Luckiest Dreamer]

I recently took a tour or the Tiffin Factory. While there I viewed a chassis with only the tile installed. No walls or anything else yet attached. The one thing that I noticed was the tile was a sandwich of three parts. Much like a laminate of manufactured wood. One of the options was a heat grid installed under the tile. I never got around to asking about the tile, but expect it was manufactured especially for the industry for less weight and flexibility.

[vsheetz]

Have had carpet, sheet vinyl, and tile. Carpet too hard to keep clean, warm and comfy underfoot. Sheet vinyl easy to clean, not cold, looks good. Tile adds a lot of weight and is cold and not so underfoot friendly - but easy to clean and looks great. No clear cut best to my thinking - so very much a personal preference.