Very unhappy with quality of flooring material

[Spinonedad]

Why would airstream use soft crappy vinyl material for their floors when there are so many good life time materials out there to pick from?

We have only owned our 2016 flying cloud for a month and it is already showing wear on the floor, just from apparent rocks on the bottom of a shoe,,,the material is so soft, that any little stone will cause an indentation in the floor

I guess we aren't ever going to wear our shoes in it in the future ,,,
We are extremely happy with everything else....just seems a shame they cut corners on the floor material
We have added throw rugs in the mean time

[rmkrum]

Uh, my family was taught a long time ago not to wear shoes in the house. However, my very Asian wife has made exceptions for areas that are not subject to wear, like tile floors throughout the house (we have doggies with sharp claws).

In the AS, it's take shoes off at the door. The dog claws are nothing we can change, so a lot of rugs and mats on the floor are for just dog protection. Besides, the dogs are either up on the bed, or in their crates. They think they are getting away with something. They are not allowed on beds routinely at home.

I agree. The factory vinyl is very soft, but it's ok for now. When wife decides what to replace it with, then the fun begins...


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[HiJoeSilver]

Vinyl is easy to roll down in one big sheet and then put everything down on top. Quick easy and low cost.

They are trying to crank out 80 of these a week, no time for anything else.

[rmkrum]

True, but high quality vinyl flooring purchased in volume is not that expensive. And it is not any harder to install. It just lasts a lot longer.

And, I don't like vinyl either.


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[cameront120]

They use cheap flooring so you don't feel bad about pulling it up when it's time to repair the wood subfloor from water damage...

[Blackdog06]

We use a WaterHog doormat from LLBean directly inside the door and sweep the trailer out at least once a day. I haven't noticed any issues with the floor. We also don't remove our shoes.

[rmkrum]

Originally Posted by cameront120

They use cheap flooring so you don't feel bad about pulling it up when it's time to repair the wood subfloor from water damage...

Hey, that's a really good way to look at the flooring issue. Where's the like button?


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[cameront120]

Originally Posted by rmkrum

Hey, that's a really good way to look at the flooring issue. Where's the like button?


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I'm a 'glass is always half full' sort of guy.

[SteveSueMac]

I post this with the disclaimer - I realize everyone's mileage varies. This is just my story...

DW and I took our sister in law camping with us the first year we had our brand new trailer. This was maybe our 5th trip or something like that. Our SIL had a long history of tent camping with the family supported by a conversion van (like from the 70s).

By this time, we had tracked dirt in to the small grooves in the vinyl floor and I was kind of embarrassed by it and mad that it looked so used so quickly. Our SIL nearly laughed out loud comparing her tent experience with this amazing palace on wheels and said - "it's just camping!"

We had a good laugh, we learned a few ways to dig in and scrub differently, and mostly, we learned to relax and enjoy our "alumi-tent" and just camp.

See disclaimer above.

Happy camping!

[CRH]

I don't like cheap vinyl, but I don't like my trailer's carpet either. I want a floor I can walk on in my AS and house. To heck with that shoe taking off business. I am in and out too much for all that.

[FCStreamer]

My wife is very happy with her vinyl flooring, and we trample on it with our shoes all day long.

[Gene]

If you lived in a very cold place like the north or the Rockies where temps go below zero, the floor starts to buckle each winter and may or may not become flat again in the summer. They do roll down sheet vinyl and then put the cabinets on top of it. Because they trap the vinyl, it does not expand and contract with temperatures properly. It is not glued down. This is the cheapest way to install the cheapest vinyl ever made. It looks cheap because it is cheap. When I searched on the internet to learn about the floor, I discovered the OEM vinyl was thinner than the thinnest vinyl flooring you could usually buy.

After a couple of years, I removed the vinyl, sealed the subfloor with spar polyurethane wherever I could to prevent future water damage and put down a much better quality vinyl plank floor. It looks much better and I can remove it if there is a problem. It is called "loose lay" and is not glued down.

Flooring should be installed to about 3/16 to 1/4 inch from cabinets and walls and then covered at the edges with molding. That would require more labor and some expertise plus more materials (moldings are not cheap).

There are many threads on flooring. You should be able to find them pretty easily. People use rubber tiles, vinyl, carpet, wood, cork, even ceramic tile. Remember, thin cheap vinyl is lighter than all of the alternatives and you will add weight to the trailer if you replace the floor.

Gene

[rmkrum]

Originally Posted by cameront120

I'm a 'glass is always half full' sort of guy.

As an engineer, I've always been a "the container is too large" kind of guy. 😀


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[Phoenix]

We have seen SOBs at RV shows with white carpeting and chandeliers over the dining table. We got our 19' Bambi to go "camping & boondocking". Consequently, vinyl flooring doesn't matter to us, as it will have dirt, mud, wet grass, snow, etc. on it wherever we stay.

We use Costco heavy-duty entry mats in the main traffic area of our Airstream (which is about the whole floor in a 19' Bambi), and we don't worry about most stuff getting tracked in.

[Dingo Girl]

Originally Posted by Blackdog06

We use a WaterHog doormat from LLBean directly inside the door and sweep the trailer out at least once a day. I haven't noticed any issues with the floor. We also don't remove our shoes.

I have a LLbean water hog in my home kitchen on a vinyl floor. It has discolored the floor under it.
I'd take it out when you aren't using the trailer to avoid discoloring. Just in case.

[BassCan]

No problems so far with our Eddie Bauer flooring.
The dark flooring seems to be holding up to the rigors of camping.
We throw kayaks in through the back hatch, several bikes and a couple of grandkids camping ....a tough floor.

[KJRitchie]

While my vinyl floor looked like its wearing well the problem it has buckled under the rear dinette and in front of the kitchen cabinets. Noticed this after moving to Missouri and the first winter it got down close to 0F. Its pretty cheap stuff and paper backed. Going with Marmoleum as a replacement.

Kelvin

[Ted S.]

It think its a good question, we use carpet runners and now that they are removed for cleaning, I realize how much I dislike the vinyl flooring.

So this begs the question, what do you replace it with? It must be lightweight and pliable. cork? Carpet?

???

[ShinyPete]

As I sit here writing this at Pete's dinette prepping for a long weekend trip to our favorite campground with our nearly 3yo and 6 yo grands along, I'm reminded that we really like the FC vinyl.

And I remember how much we didn't like the light green deep pile carpet in our 2000 MoHo. That was Not for camping. With this floor, we don't worry.. Yes the grooves in the FC vinyl trap dirt, but a steam mop is your friend....


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[lovetokite]

Originally Posted by cameront120

They use cheap flooring so you don't feel bad about pulling it up when it's time to repair the wood subfloor from water damage...

low blow...