Well the -45 degree F Ate My Vinyl Floor! - Montana Owners Club

RKassl · 01-10-2014, 07:15 AM

Went out today to check the Montana and was shocked to see the vinyl flooring cracked almost the full length of the coach. Ever since we bought our 2005 after I winterize it I have it on boards next to the garage plugged in and it has survived, but this "Polar Vortex" -45 F actual temp took its toll this year.
The Montana performed so brilliantly on our Alaska Trip this last spring and summer that is deserves a good fixing up. Nancy and I have always wondered how that wood flooring would be. Has anyone put down that wood flooring in their Montana? If so do you remember the thickness you used? We would like to leave the carpet because it is in good shape, when you installed your flooring did you lift the existing carpet up and put the boards under it?

Any information and suggestion will be appreciated.

Art-n-Marge · 01-10-2014, 11:51 AM

If I was replacing anything in my rig, I'd remove the old stuff first. No sense adding weight on top of useless weight. As for the carpet meeting up with the floor, they should meet, not overlap. I recall using tackboards for the carpet and gluing the vinyl or wood. I'll say no more since I am not an expert, but it's what I've experienced the couple of times I've messed with carpet/wood or carpet/vinyl flooring replacement. There is molding you can end with to finish the seams. I call it molding but I think there's a different word for it.

There have been members who have replaced flooring in their rigs. I hope they post soon.

I would recommend doing this when the temp is NOT -45. Wow, I cannot imagine that. Worse it got around my house was at 30 degrees at night. Right now where I live it's over 81 degrees. Don't everyone all come out here at once. I pay way too much for the comfort and so shall you.

jsmitfl · 01-10-2014, 01:05 PM

Bob and Nancy,
Sorry to hear it is so cold there. In our 2001 2955 I put flooring down. You want to have the wood pushed up against the carpet, not under. As far as the vinyl, if you have enough height I would leave it in for your vapor barrier. We used the wood from Home Depot and it is made by DuPont. They have plenty of trims and moldings to match the floor. I replaced all the flooring on the main level except the slide. If your going to leave your carpet, you should not have any problems with the slide scratching the floor. If you have anymore questions PM me.

cdaniels · 01-10-2014, 03:45 PM

We also did our 2955 when we had it. Left all the carpet just replaced the vinyl. We also just put it over the vinyl. It really enhanced the RV and had no issues with the slides. We bought the flooring at SAMs Club. Total cost about $100.

RKassl · 01-10-2014, 05:00 PM

I went to Menards and looked at various flooring products. One caught our eye it was vinyl planking boards, probably around a 1/4" thick. The salesman said that this material is totally impervious to moisture and water. But the installation uses no glue or nails? How the heck does it stay down? What type of materials did you guys use and how was it attached to the sub floor? These products are called "floating floors", I wonder how it would of handled our recent trip to Alaska??

bncinwv · 01-11-2014, 01:03 AM

I have installed "floating floors" in our S&B and the mechanism that many of them use is a locking tab-like edge that snaps together. The overall weight of the floor serves to hold it in place. The product we used had a backing on the vinyl that served as the vapor and also prevented slippage of the floor. Very easy to install and there are many grades available. The product we used was manufactured by Pergo. There are many alternatives. We got our flooring at Lowes, here is the product we used:

Pergo Max Laminate Flooring

Bingo

cdaniels · 01-11-2014, 02:58 AM

That's exactly what we used except off brand SAMs club. It had a real thin padding on the back and interlocked together with moldings you could buy for trim. We actually made our own molding out of oak and stained to match. You have to look your boards over well for flaws because we missed a chip on one of the boards. Job all done .....chip on floor 5 boards in from entrance. Since they aren't tacked down, took off molding and took apart floor to chip and replaced it. You may have to tack down the first board your laying down just as your starter board. We had it down for years. It served well and was one reason we thought twice before moving up to our model we have now. Unfortunately we can't put it in our model because it has the kitchen appliances in a slide and that slide does not lift up to come in so there is not the room to put the flooring down. Bummer....or we would do it again.

richfaa · 01-12-2014, 12:50 AM

Our Vinyl floor split in one of our TT's when we stored it for the winter in Northern Ohio. It was a very cold winter down to -20's several times. The door latch also broke off. Cold temps do many strange things.

JandC · 01-12-2014, 02:51 AM

I have done a lot of hardwood floors and a few floated (engineered wood and laminates) over the years. I wouldn't be worried about it staying down. The newer floating vinyl floors are really nice. What I would be more worried about is making sure nothing else under that floor cracked or moved due to that cold spell. IMHO I would probably take the old vinyl off to put the new floor down.

Kimo · 01-12-2014, 12:48 PM

I haven't used the vinyl planking in the 5er but I did use it in our laundry room. About 200 sq ft and has held up extremely well. It has overlapping tabs that stick together (hard to pull apart once together) and are completely water proof. Looks good, very easy to install and cut. The product is a little heavy and it is a floating vinyl floor so if you are planning to use it in the 5er, you may have to tack it down.

jsmitfl · 01-12-2014, 02:39 PM

Everything should be ok under the tile. Unless you have nails or screws sticking up. The decking is all one piece or at least it use to be. That way they didn't have to deal with seams.

RKassl · 01-14-2014, 07:20 AM

I have been doing a lot of online research regarding my floor problem. I am not convinced that a free floating floor or for that matter a glued down vinyl plank floor is the answer especially with our temperature extremes. I am thinking of the possibility of having the installer lay down a nice wood plank pattern vinyl sheeting that this time is glued down. If I can get another 10 years this way it may not be a bad idea.

Has anyone gone this route for a repair?

Thanks

rafael33155 · 04-14-2014, 01:51 PM

check out the allure flooring in home depot i would go with that

steelpony5555 · 04-14-2014, 03:43 PM

Pergo is one of the top brands. They have a line of Pergo flooring that is suppose to be very scratch resistant. It'll be the one with the big dog on the advertisement lol lol. They do lock together but also where it meets the wall you will probably wanna put down quarter round to give it a finished look. They have all the trim to match the flooring. Once you do that I doubt it's gonna go any where...

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