2007 Safari SE "Lino Flooring Buckling"?

[LavendarMoon]

Greetings...It's our second year with our AS and this summer I noticed the flooring is buckling in some areas, like the bathroom and in front of the stove (bedroom is fine as it is carpeted). The flooring is made out of a linoleum (?) type product and made to look like a hardwood floor. We haven't experienced any leaks in our AS (thank goodness), so I'm curious to know if others have experienced this and whether it's a common issue with AS's that are a few years old (2007 is still a "baby" in my eyes). What's the cause... dried up adhesive? Floor slightly shrinking over time? I've thought of repair options: fix by applying adhesive, remove lino flooring and upgrading to the real stuff (wood). Any other suggestions? Thanks!

[Wayward]

Water is the most likely cause. My guess would be damp plywood causing the adhesive to come loose.

You say you have had no water leaks but they are not always visible. We had damp carpet under a bunk that we finally tracked to a toilet fill valve which leaked only when filling.

You will have to pull up a section of th vinyal to feel underneath for dampness. You pull it awaw from the edge by a wall or use a sharp razor knife in strategic places. Yyou "may" be able to replace it after you fix what is causing the problem.

If it is wet you'll have to find the source.

If it feels dry underneath. it may be from a previous bad repair or bad installation.

If you find that it is the plywood buckling rather than the vinyl, the repair will be more work. But you would still want to find what is causing it before repairing it.

[StreamNTyme]

I agree w wayward
Get a moisture meter and check the entire floor. Our plywood was wet and soft, rotten! You could poke a screwdriver right through it.
We had a bad leak in the rear area under the panoramic window and around the bumper area. Properly repaired the leaks, tore out everything, inc. the floor and sub floor. The vinyl Airstream uses is very thin and cheap. We sealed all areas & seams, installed insulation (there was none) under the new sub floor and a nice product, "Ceramatique", new floor. Beautiful. See our pics on my info pg.

[dkottum]

The vinyl and carpet flooring hides water intrusion into the plywood subfloor. You can pull the vinyl/carpet up to see but it is easier to probe through it with a Moisture Test Meter.

Only way to know.

Here's the one we (and many others) use, cheap and effective. Should be part of any RV toolbox and used as part of a quarterly inspection and systems check.

Sonin 50211 Rapitest 10% to 28% Pinless Analog Wood, Concrete, Plaster, Carpet, and More Moisture Meter - - Amazon.com

[KJRitchie]

I have some slight buckles developed in my 2008 Classic 25fb. Didn't occur until I moved to a colder climate this past winter and temperatures got down below 10F. I tested with a Sonin moisture meter on the buckle by the kitchen cabinet and one by the street side rear dinette seat and found no moisture. The vinyl floor floats and is only adhered to around the perimeter but the cabinetry is screwed down through the vinyl to the floor so if there is excessive contraction and expansion due to temperature extremes some buckling will occur. Mine has flattened out mostly now that temperatures are in the 90's here in Missouri.

The only cure is to lay down a new floor but most vinyl is not rated for RV temperature extremes. Vinyl planking with adhesive joints will form gaps due to temperature extremes. The locking vinyl planking may be the solution. My floor is not bad so I'm not going to worry about it but it is disappointing.

Kelvin

[RichHog]

Hey Lavender, if you dig deep into these threads you'll get to a common root cause of the problem of trailers in this age range. Mine is a very new looking 2006 that is in the age bracket where airstream didn't seal the floor to the shell at the rub rail in the back leaving an open channel for water to invade the trailer. Like Yoda said to Look Skywalker, "you won't like that you find when you go back there." There are a number of other Airstream owners that have logged many threads of this whole mess. It took Airstream about 4 years to silently fix the manufacturing problems.


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