Extreme cold damage?

[mopar1]

Today I went out to see inside our camper since the last polar vortex came through. Actual temp was 10-15* below zero. All of the vinyl flooring is cracked. It starts in the master bathroom, and all through the kitchen. Cant see inside the 2nd bathroom because the slides are all in. Anyone ever experienced this before?

[bncinwv]

There have been reports of extreme cold weather cracking vinyl or linoleum floors on this and other forums. It is usually dependent on the grade of the flooring material that was used, which obviously in an RV is probably not top of the line material anyway. The only advice I can offer is to fully research the temperature characteristics of anything that you may elect to replace it with, if that is the route you take.
Bingo

[DQDick]

That will take some careful searching because most flooring products are made for indoor use and not expected to stand up to those extremes. The products are out there, you just have to research and not take the salesman's word for it.

[MDL]

There are some nice products in the aviation industry that do withstand very cold temps, but I'm not sure they have something really nice for RV interiors. There may also be something nice in the medical field, but not sure about the temp range. I have a friend that sells medical flooring, so if you get stuck, send me a PM and I'll go talk with him to get you some info.

[WaltBennett]

Probably a combination of the flooring AND the sub-flooring. If the sub-flooring has picked up any significant moisture - which that manufactured stuff will do and still not appreciably swell - it could move enough to make the brittle flooring crack. Problem is that thicker sub-flooring means more weight as does heavier/thicker flooring. Everything's a trade-off.

[mopar1]

Thank you for the replies. I never gave temperature ratings for linoleum a thought. We have those moisture absorbing bags hung inside and they don't have any water in them. I was hoping that would be all that was needed to protect the interior. I have not searched yet about how to replace flooring. I have considered taking it back to the factory. Is that a bad idea?

[Wayne and Carolyn Mathews]

Our linoleum/vinyl kitchen flooring cracked during the one winter we weren't living in our rig. The temperatures reached well below zero off and on during that whole season, which lasts about 6 months up here.

Carolyn

[The Weekenders]

A 35 below zero temp last winter here in ND cracked our kitchen floor about 4 inches long. After I warmed up the unit, I used some seam sealer glue for flooring pushing the crack together until it dried. It turned out quite well and can hardly see the crack.

[Slufoot733]

Extreme cold is no good for anything. Years ago (1994 or so) we had temps in the -20 area and the wall in the shower of our travel trailer cracked. So when things were going to get so cold this time I placed an oil radiator heater in the middle of the Monty and ran a small fan to move the air around. I check on it twice a day and so far things seem good in there. Come spring time I will know for sure but I am praying nothing happens. Right now it's 15* outside and 30* in the trailer. I'm using a remote thermometer I won as a raffle prize at the MOC Rally in Goshen.....Thank you! It works great.