wood floors?

[cjohnson]

i have been debating on what to do with the floors in my airstream and i have looked at new pics of some airstreams and have seen they have put wood floors in or laminet. i was thinking maybe a floating hardwood floor it would be easy to put in and it should flex enough not to break, and they look good i think what do u all think of hardwood?

[gloran]

Wood is always in style. There are a number of ones here on the Forum that have installed both and are happy with the results. Personally, I have real oak in the galley that I like quite well.

[cjohnson]

k thanks i have put hardwood through my house and i thought that it would be nice in the camper easy clean and not much up keep. I think that is probably b the way i go with it then. The camper isnt going to origional so might as well make it the way i want it and make the wife happy

[dkottum]

The trouble with hardwood is it's heavy weight, which would be subtracted from the load capacity of your trailer.

doug k

[c_lewis77]

Be careful with solid wood materials. They will be most likely to move,cup and bow depending on species and environmental conditions.
I have engineered antique heart pine floors in my airstream. I have been very happy with the install. I am in south Ga on the ocean, so I deal with high heat and humidity. The engineered product works best for my situation. (engineered wood floors have a veneer layer of the fished wood material over a plywood substrate that makes the combined system much more stable than.a solid product. Especially in the the wider boards)

[Pat Conway]

We have an engineered hardwood we like quite well that is floating and yes does flex, is also quite light. It is" Hardwoods by Bruce" available at Lowes. Some threads on the forum refer to sectional vinyl flooring coming unglued in the heat and not recommended for travel trailers, i.e. Traffic Master Allure. This would happen in extreme heat when the trailer is in outside storage in the south and then these sections curling up in extreme cold if the trailer is taken and stored in a cold climate. Those with vinyl flooring might hopefully chime in on whether this has in fact been a factor for them. My two cents, Pat

[cjohnson]

alright that sounds like the way to go with it then anything to keep it light i got plenty of truck for it but the way gas prices are getting the lighter the better

[VeggieBullet]

Remember reading in another thread that the difference in weight between Laminate and engineered wood floors in a 30ft trailer is only about 60 lbs.
Is that a realistic figure?

[dkottum]

cjohnson, the problem is not whether your truck can pull it, but whether the trailer axles, tires, and frame can support the extra load of a wood floor. You might want to bring some water and groceries along.

Engineered wood is thinner (therefore lighter) than solid wood because it is mostly glue and sawdust (or similar) with a very thin layer of actual wood on top.

doug k

[c_lewis77]

Originally Posted by dkottum

cjohnson, the problem is not whether your truck can pull it, but whether the trailer axles, tires, and frame can support the extra load of a wood floor. You might want to bring some water and groceries along.

Engineered wood is thinner (therefore lighter) than solid wood because it is mostly glue and sawdust (or similar) with a very thin layer of actual wood on top.

doug k

The material weight and composition can change from mfg to mfg.
My eng floor is the same thickness as the solid material. The price point usually indicative of the top "wear layer" and the quality of the backing layers. the material I used has a 10 layer plywood backing under a thicker wear layer.
I agree, it certainly makes sense to tale into account the weight of new materials. I think the Bruce product mentioned earlier is of the lighter, thinner variety.

[lunadog]

We are going with hardwood as we already have some maple from a school gym floor. Our plan, at this point, is to minimize the build-ins, keep the interior quite simple and thus save some weight there.

[overlander64]

I understand that this thread is mostly about hardwood floors, and their laminate variants, but I have noted at least one post asking about vinyl floorcovering. I had Congoleum Industrial Sheet Vinyl installed in my Overlander nearly ten years ago. I am thrilled with its quality and performance. The coach is in open outdoor storage next to my home so it is continually exposed to temperature and humidity fluctuations . . . sub-freezing winters to summers with highs in the low 100 degree range not being unusual nor are relative humidity levels of more than 80% for extended periods of time both winter and summer. The Congoleum was installed over a thin sheet of luan (didn't pose thinkness issues as the coach originally had sculptured wall-to-wall carpeting from the factory) with full adhesive binding to the luan. The floorcovering has not buckled nor has it experienced any damage due to the temperature and humidity fluctuations. My only caution would be to go to the modest extra expense of purchasing the raw material in a size that can be installed without seams as the one seam in my installation that is the only flaw that I can now observe today.

Kevin

P.S.: I had Armstrong Laminate floating floors installed in my Minuet more than five years ago, and again the coach is stored outside beside my home . . . absolutely no problems with the floor even with the huge swings in temperature and humidity.

[cjohnson]

i understand the weight u guys are talking about i have went through the frame and the suspension of the trailer and put new thick tires on i cant rember what ply they were but they are more than what it would ever need them were the first things i went through on the camper cause i pull it many many miles. Thanks for all the thoughts and i didnt know about that engineered wood i will look into that

[Bill M.]

Sitting in my 32' with 1/2" laminated wood flooring. Like it a lot. There is not a lot of square feet of flooring in an Airstream so it does not add a whole lot of weight. There is a lot of quarter round or base shoe trim. lots of miters. what little weight that is added is down low and up front, good places for weight.

[mnboy1960]

Another option that has worked quite well for us and has the ability to move with the trailer and can give an upscale look is cork tiles...
We laid a solid color 6" border around the perimeter and then laid a two color diagonal pattern in the field... Turned out very nice and after two years it still looks good.
Greg

[Skater]

We have a section of hardwood floor in ours (we didn't install it - it came that way). It looks great, but there are some downsides in actual use.

1. Our chairs and the table have scraped the finish off in a couple places - you have to remember the whole trailer is moving, a lot. (Ours has a dinette with two separate chairs, rather than a booth, and the table folds down. The leg of the table hitting the floor has rubbed a pretty decent spot in the floor.)
2. We track in things like sand, which can't be good for the finish.

Part of me wants to sand it down and refinish it, and put felt pads on the bottom of that table leg (I already replaced them on the chairs). The saner part of me realizes that's going to be a bunch of work.

[Hell Cat]

we just got a 67 Overlander. after some floor repairs ,I want to paint on a seel on the floor to water proof it , then use carpet tile/squares. that way when its looking grungy by the door, or where ever, i can switch them out.I feel this would be great for some insulation. any thoughts???