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Old 01-28-2018, 11:43 AM   #1
deehazel57
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Carpet on stairs

We have a 3440rl fifth wheel. I hate the carpet on the stairs going to the bedroom. Some fifth wheels have vinyl or wood trends. Has anyone replaced their carpet. Thanks
 
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Old 01-30-2018, 01:37 PM   #2
beeje
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Yes I have. But went a bit farther. I demoed the entire staircase and built a new one with 3 steps ( stained wood) instead of the 2 that existed so now the rise is 6" instead of 8". The treads are also hinged and open up for storage underneath. Also there was linoleum under the landing carpet at the top. I removed the carpet on the landing and moved the edge back to the bedroom door. Now we can come in from outside to use the bathroom without stepping on any carpet.!!!!
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Old 01-30-2018, 01:57 PM   #3
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Yes I have. But went a bit farther. I demoed the entire staircase and built a new one with 3 steps ( stained wood) instead of the 2 that existed so now the rise is 6" instead of 8". The treads are also hinged and open up for storage underneath. Also there was linoleum under the landing carpet at the top. I removed the carpet on the landing and moved the edge back to the bedroom door. Now we can come in from outside to use the bathroom without stepping on any carpet.!!!!
Ahh you did what I wanted to do to ours but ran out of time for major rework.

Not only are the step risers more or less 7-8 inches, they are not all the same height.

OP - be advised that this is not a job for the faint of heart as these steps are most likely individual frames screwed together with the carpet wrapped down the sides and in my case, even wrapped around the bottom with many - hundreds - of staples including to the insides of the frames. This means everything has to come out. I rebuilt ours and evened off the riser height, My wife found a much better quality carpet and way better padding that works well with the color scheme. I also cut the top landing back to the bedroom door - much nicer look.

You do need a pretty good selection of tools and fair amount of time if a DIYer. If not, a plump wallet for someone else to do the work
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Old 01-30-2018, 05:25 PM   #4
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Since I am a carpenter it was not really a big deal. The org steps were removed in 10 mins. A few hidden screws through the carpet.

The new steps are all 3/4 plywood. I was going to do oak treads but said to myself (Its only a f-in camper not a piano ) Used the carpet on the landing for the risers.

Its really not that big of a deal. Had to shorten up the treads so the strairs would not extend out too far
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Old 01-30-2018, 05:28 PM   #5
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Here is a pic of the old steps removed in one piece.

Sorry for the sideways pics. I know how to build steps but cant fix the pics not posting right. LOL
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Old 01-30-2018, 06:39 PM   #6
donhov
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On my 375 FLF the bottom step was a platform with a smaller platform on top of it. As above carpet was stapled every where with many staples. Top step came out with a crowbar and just removed carpert from bottom. Had just replaced living room carpet with laminate so had a little left over. built a new box for the upper step then used laminate to cover the uprights with some cheap plastic trim. Then used 3/4 pine to makle the treads. Glued a small piece on the bottom to thicken the step (about 1 1/2" thick), cut the curve then routered the edges round. Tried stain but didn't like the look so bought some Rustoleum black hammered finish. It gives a little traction and looks good. Next project laminate the carpeted kitchen floor in the slide. Carpet goes up the wall so may be a bit of a project but time will tell. We full time so thats all we have is time.
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Old 01-31-2018, 06:14 AM   #7
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Looks good but no return for the furnace. Your furnace will now will have to get what air it can from around the basement doors and that air is cooler than inside air. These furnaces are inefficient enough already
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Old 01-31-2018, 07:23 AM   #8
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I removed the carpet, did some improvements to the stair supports while I had the grills off the risers etc and then installed two stair treads that I bought from Home Depot. |Bought the maple ones to match wood already there that are solid not press board and I cut them to length, as the bottom stair was significantly deeper stair tread than what can be bought I then drilled the back edge for dowels, glued and clamped on an extension piece of maple stock bought from Home Depot, sanded it all smooth, applied a stain that matched then applied 6 coats of latex urethane, installed with a pneumatic nailer and some PL 200 right over the aspenite/chipboard tread that was under the carpet and they look great and work awesome. The hard part of it was getting the damn staples out of the existing aspenite/chipboard treads... pretty simple job great results.... I then reinstalled the original grills on the risers to ensure return air to the furnace... If I can figure it out I will try and attach a picture...
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Old 01-31-2018, 07:44 AM   #9
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The return air issue has been talked about for years. The consensus is that there is more than enough return air pulled from other places and the grills are not really needed.

We do not use the propane heat at all anyways. If we camp in cold weather we will only go if we have electric hook ups so we can run a ceramic heater or 2. The only time it may run is upon the first arrival somewhere in cold weather just to warn it up quick and then the heaters take over.

Besides I could easily create the returns by simply drilling holes in the risers and very back of the stair case and insert round grills for the return air.
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Old 01-31-2018, 09:10 AM   #10
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The return air issue has been talked about for years. The consensus is that there is more than enough return air pulled from other places and the grills are not really needed.

We do not use the propane heat at all anyways. If we camp in cold weather we will only go if we have electric hook ups so we can run a ceramic heater or 2. The only time it may run is upon the first arrival somewhere in cold weather just to warn it up quick and then the heaters take over.

Besides I could easily create the returns by simply drilling holes in the risers and very back of the stair case and insert round grills for the return air.
I understand what you are saying about not using a very loud furnace but with that said, I;m guessing that a majority of us will use the propane furnace.

Why would you not want to use at least the partially heated air and recirculate it through the system. The return air will have some level of retained heat even though the basement is for the most part unheated. There is a ceiling high baffle though somewhat open at the overhang floor stringers between the actual storage area and the return air area and though some heat will be lost, it will still retain a fair amount. Then, by using the partially heated air (regenerative), there will be some level, though minor in the grand scheme, propane and dollar savings.

But like everything - it is your 5er to use as you feel proper
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Old 01-31-2018, 10:48 AM   #11
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Great stuff! It is on the list.
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Old 01-31-2018, 11:35 AM   #12
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beeje what did you do with the furnace return?
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Old 01-31-2018, 12:19 PM   #13
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I did absolutely nothing for the return. If you look behind the convenience center with the panels removed you will see that there are large areas that go straight into the under belly of the camper. The furnace has plenty of air supply from where it is sitting to get air.

But like I said, we don't use it for more than 5-10 min at a time, maybe once a year just to get the trailer temp up a bit so the electric heater/s can sustain the desired temps. We will use the campground's electric before I burn up our propane $$
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Old 01-31-2018, 03:57 PM   #14
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No doubt the furnace will get enough air with the return blocked off. My thought is the 150 cfm of heated air that is being blown into the camper has to be blown through all the leaks to the outside. I know your going to have a lot of leaks in these rigs but with a return some of that air would supply a little warmer air to the heat exchanger.
The 150 cfm was a guess, could be more or less.
As always just my thinking.
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Old 01-31-2018, 04:35 PM   #15
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I understand what you are saying. Like blowing air into a baggie with no holes in it. If I used it more often, like most people I would be more concerned.
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