Has anyone used real tile in restoration?

[Acker997]

Hey, all,

I'm looking at a remodeled 1960s era Airstream. The bathroom looks beautiful, and has glass tiles on the floor. I'm wondering, though, if real tile will hold up through towing, repeated setting up/taking down, etc. Has anyone used tile in a restoration or remodel? Thoughts? Advice? Thanks! --Elaine

[Jim Clark]

I would think the weight is an issue and flexing would crack the tile or grout. Has the trailer been towed or is just a restoration with no road miles?

Jim

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by Acker997

Hey, all,

I'm looking at a remodeled 1960s era Airstream. The bathroom looks beautiful, and has glass tiles on the floor. I'm wondering, though, if real tile will hold up through towing, repeated setting up/taking down, etc. Has anyone used tile in a restoration or remodel? Thoughts? Advice? Thanks! --Elaine

Keep in mind, that an Airstream trailer "flexes" completely and totally.

The inner and outer walls, the floor, the cabinetry, all flex.

Anything that is as rigid as tile, will eventually crack and/come loose.

Andy

[HiHoAgRV]

I did ceramic tile in my bath...3 years and a couple of trips around the USA it's held up great. I glued down the tile with Liquid Nails and used a sanded silicone grout.

[Aviator]

I haven't seen them on the forums lately, but a family in our GA Unit used Travertine tile on the floor in their bath and it has held up very well. He put either hardboard, or cement board under it as a single piece, then attached the Travertine to that. It looks great!

[BigAl]

My trailer is a '94 and 12 by 12 ceramic tile was installed when new as an upgrade option. I bought in 2004 and it was flawless. I'm sure the trailer had not travelled much in those ten years. We have towed a lot and there are now two tiles with cracks in them and one grout joint has lost some grout.
My wife hates the floor because it is cold underfoot but it is very easy to clean.
When I bought the trailer my first comment was, how stupid to put in so heavy a floor finish.
When we go to rallies everyone goes on and on about the nice floor.
My personal choice for flooring would probably be real cork since it is light weight and warm underfoot.
Al

[Acker997]

Thanks so much everyone! It hasn't been towed much (yet!) and now I've got some great questions to ask the guy who did the work. I'll find out more about how the tile was installed. I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend! --e

[TouringDan]

Elaine

It may crack, but nobody knows how long it will take or how may miles you will travel before it cracks. When it cracks just replace it. It is a small area. I would not let this affect my purchase decision.

Dan

[tkasten]

I installed glass mosaic tile on the backsplash behind the cook top and it has held up perfectly with 8 trips most into the hunting property (very ruff dirt roads). I used flexible mortar and grout.

[perryg114]

I would not use it accept in the bathroom because of the weight and cracking issues. I put ceramic tile in a laundry room at home that was 6' x 12' and the tile amounted to a few hundred pounds not counting the grout.

Perry

[TouringDan]

Perry

I don't think that weight is a real issue since the amount required for an AS bathroom would be quite small- just a few square ft. Also flexible grout is available.

I am not a proponent of it but if somebody wants the look, I believe it can be done.

Dan

[Darkspeed]

Smaller the individual tile the better.. I.e. sheet of 1"x1" rather than a 12" tile.

They also offer a latex additive to make the thunder / grout more flexible.

[perryg114]

My point was to use in small area because of weight. Someone above mentioned silicone grout to solve the flexibility issues. I expect that small tiles and some sort of backer board would be sufficient for a bathroom especially a center bath one like mine where there is maybe 3-4 square feet including the toilet floor area.

Perry

[scorpiontimo]

Originally Posted by perryg114

My point was to use in small area because of weight. Someone above mentioned silicone grout to solve the flexibility issues. I expect that small tiles and some sort of backer board would be sufficient for a bathroom especially a center bath one like mine where there is maybe 3-4 square feet including the toilet floor area.

Perry

Sounds like a cool remodel. I have used tile in the smaller overlander and one in a Bambi. I have not tried it in a 30 or 31 due to the tail sag that is common in these lengths always try to keep it lite in the back but just my opinion pic's when your done would love to see your work good luck

[perryg114]

I am just commenting. I was not planning on doing this myself. I am still trying to pin down leaks before I decide on floor covering. It would be easy to keep clean.

Perry

[uglyduck24]

A lot of great answers here concerning tile in an airstream. A few points on my own trailer with travertine tile which has been hauled over some pretty rough B.C. wilderness;

• Ply floors in these trailers are only 1/2" in some, not thick enough by itself to properly support tile.
• I added thin ply on top (1/8 or 1/4"), then 1/4" hardi board, all glued and screwed down, then a flexible mortar, and a flexible non-staining grout. The extra sub-floor thickness brought the tiles up flush to the height of the wood as a bonus.
• I cut 17"x17" tiles I had down to about 3.25 inches to match up with the adjacent wood floor not only for looks but the big tiles are far more likely to crack and ceramic is the worst for this. For this reason and aesthetically I'd use no greater than 4" tile.
• Weight wise, I added about 60-80lbs, but in the bathroom this is negligible compared to the fluctuating weight of your black and grey holding tanks which can add up to 500lbs or more when full or even a full bathtub.
• My floor looks good, fairly easy to clean, no cracking, and it's different than everyone else's but I'd still recommend using tile sparingly nonetheless.
• Of course if you're concerned with weight, water, ease of installation and cleaning, the obvious choice is vinyl!

[Peter B]

There is a new tile out from Dal Tile that is 1/2" x 1/2" in size and is less than a 1/8" thick, use versabond flex glue from Custom Building products, most tile distributors carry this, and use epoxy grout, brand name is Mapie, Homedepot carries it and it is premixed. you wont be disapointed