Which vinyl plank did you use and how is it holding up?

[daveinaz]

I just got finished reading a lot of threads about installing vinyl plank flooring which is what I’m in the process of doing. I know that’s what I want to put in but I am still not sure of which product to use.

It looks like there is still debate as to which is better — adhesive planks or the click-in-place floating type. Also thickness? I know that thicker is probably more stable for the click type flooring but the thicker, the more it weighs. What is the best compromise between plank stability and weight?

If you’ve installed vinyl plank, please let me know which type you installed (click/adhesive & how thick) and how happy you are with it now that it’s been in there a while.

I’ve been looking at the ProCore and SmartCore variants at Lowes. There is quite a range of pricing and thicknesses.

thank you.

[mtlakejim]

We went with the thick floating planking that has the glue edge (IE: only the tiles glue to each other on the overlap). Woodgrain and looks just like wood flooring. Very happy with it. Also have same product in our sticks and bricks and no issues after many years other than it can be scuffed and you can't refinish it. But its so easy to lay down that I will just do it again if need be.


I will warn you that while there are virtually no staples in the middle of the floors where it is flat, there are thousands if they go up a wall or in a slide!!! Be prepared to pull a LOT of staples out to get a clean floor.


Also they lay the carpet first then build the walls on top of it!!! That means you will never get all the carpet removed!! When you get down to the strings hanging loose just take a heat gun to them. They will melt without a flame that way and you can cover with the trim for the new floor!

[Our3231CK]

What vinyl planks did you use? can you post photos? We are planning to replace the factory flooring in ours because it constantly bubbles up and impossible to clean.

[Mikendebbie]

I have not installed any vinyl plank flooring in the RV but I have done it in a couple of rooms in the S&B. About 10 years ago I pulled up carpet in the living room/den and put it down, and I did a bathroom about 4 years ago.

The living room was the type described by mtlkejim - no sticky on the bottom but it has a peel-n-stick edge on two edges so that the planks stick to each other. The bath room planks had a click-in edge. I liked the click-in edge better. I think both floors came from Home Depot, or maybe the click-in was from Lowes.

We did a temporary relocation for my work 8-9 yeas ago, and we locked the house up and turned off the utilities. Evidently the peel-n-stick planks did not like that! I am guessing that my install did not take into account a drastic expansion or contraction. I may have installed the flooring too tight to some walls - I don't remember. The flooring got real hot in the house during summer and it got real cold in the winter. I have a few plank joints that are 1/4" apart permanently now. One joint runs for about 12' along the length of the planks, and a couple of others have separated along the short side of the planks. These joints drive DW crazy. She wants me to cover up the vinyl plank with real wood flooring! (it is on the to-do list!) I am not sure what I should have done to prevent that from happening - but I would encourage you to ask lots of questions about expansion and contraction of the floor and how to leave room for the movement to occur. For most folks - the RV will be stored during various seasons and the floor will be subject to expansion and contraction.

[Snowbear]

How much do I buy? What is the exact square footage I need to cover? 2009 mountaineer 324RLQ. Wanting to put it in everywhere.

[DutchmenSport]

I've installed a LOT of floor planking. Not in RV's, but in houses. After working on my very first floor, looking for short cuts, I used the self-sticking. The floor looked great when it was done. Next day, all the ends were popping up. I stuck them all down again. Even got a hair blower to heat them up a bit so soften the glue.

Next day, same thing. Ends curing and lifting up. I then had to put a dab of vinyl flooring glue under each one and press it in place again. It took another 2 days to do that, and then they stayed down. Lesson learned!

The next room I did, I used the self-sticking again. But I also laid the glue on the floor first, very thin layer and never had a problem again. I did that with each floor I did and stuck with that process. That was some 40 years ago and I've done dozens of floors since the same way. And by the way, I've done each one for either my own home, or a friend, and never for pay.

My suggestion .... use the glue and any kind of tile you like in your RV. RV's are subject to such temperature changes and humidity changes, self-sticking flooring will most likely not hold. Just think about it ... not to mention all the wiggle your frame takes going over dips and bumps. All of that wiggle on the frame also moves the floor and twists it. It doesn't take much for flooring tile to start popping up. So ... use the glue. They won't come up.