Hmm, I'll have to investigate this cork idea I think. I hope you can get darker shades, as I'm trying to give the trailer a little more contrasting colors than it has now.
Hi, in your pictures, as best as I can see, your bed frame looks like it is made out of plywood. On my 2005 Safari, all of my cabinets and bed frame are made out of plywood. Some forum members state that their 2006 & 2007 model year, Safari's cabinets and bed frames are made out of MDF, Press board, or ********. Is it possible that Airstream went cheap on wood for a few years and came back?
Hi, in your pictures, as best as I can see, your bed frame looks like it is made out of plywood. On my 2005 Safari, all of my cabinets and bed frame are made out of plywood. Some forum members state that their 2006 & 2007 model year, Safari's cabinets and bed frames are made out of MDF, Press board, or ********. Is it possible that Airstream went cheap on wood for a few years and came back?
I just went out and checked. Multiple areas indicate my cabinets & bed are in plywood. I remember John Irwin at one time actually giving the name of the lighter weight ply they use. Regular ply & MDF are heavy.
Nice project Airstream01! We custom ordered our '06 FB in July '05 before dealers knew what a hit it would be. Since it involved the factory taking one less step, they didn't impose the $500 change order fee when we requested linoleum throughout and no carpet in the bed area.
I was the one who was moaning about MDF. By coincidence I was doing my fall purge last week and got under the bed a LOT. I realize now that I misspoke.
YOU ARE RIGHT, the bed frame is mostly plywood!
I'll tell you one thing I've come to hate even more though - the sharp corners on the laminate. This week's "haul out everything, throw out excess" ordeal has left me battered and skinned. I need a tiny plane or some kind of attachment on my Dremel to take a bit off the edges.
Where I've found MDF is on the medicine cabinet door, the doors of the pantry and the closet. All of the lower cabinets, etc. I think the drawer fronts are also MDF.
I did notice one thing in the photos which I don't know if I have - and will be thrilled if I do... the light next to the garage door! Won't it be funny if it's been there all along and I just never saw it because of the bed's plywood and never having stuck my whole head through the garage door? That little "black hole" needs one. I'm going to check for it tonight.
Getting around the queen to side of the bed that faces the front wall always makes me "walk like an Egyptian" with my feet pointed sideways. I did do one thing that you might find controversial. I trimmed the plywood back about 3/4 of an inch on each side of the bed. I kept barking my shins against it, and just couldn't take it any more. Still have a queen, but the sides are a bit softer. Of course I'm single, so that extra inch and a half or support isn't an issue for me. I'm short enough that I actually could remove the bed and shorten it and make it a fore and aft bed, but that would screw up the resale and leave a garage door to nowhere.
Yes and what IS that mystery hole through the floor? I removed the plastic under the bed after hearing someone report getting mouldy smells under it. Guess that's where the moisture could come from.
CARPET - I have an 06, and I fulltime. I have to clean that little patch of carpet right in front of the hallway frequently. It is definitely a dirt/dust/ crush zone. It looks OK, but is wearing out faster than the rest of the carpet - so I heartily endorse your proactive change. I too second the idea of CORK: it is warm, it's easy to install, and it weighs less than Pergo. If they had to put in carpet I wish they'd chosen a Berber or indoor-outdoor with a tight loop, rather than the crappy "short shag" they use.
Good ideas all.
Paula
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removed bed from 08 25FB ...removed carpet...put prego hickory throughout the trailer......looks great as a contrast to the blond wood in the trailer.....moved the converter and all electrical stuff up and towards the right front of trailer...made a mechanical room where i put my inverter and then mounted my solar charge controller and automatic transfer switch on the outfacing side......
fabricated a 3/4 like horseshoe of the same width and height(, so now i have two great lounges fore and aft)as the rear seats around the dinette table (which I removed and replaced with continued seating where it was...) had new cusions made for the front, installed a table for my PC...came out with much more room and more comfortable sleeping than with the bed as it was originally......very happy with the results
removed bed from 08 25FB ...removed carpet...put prego hickory throughout the trailer......looks great as a contrast to the blond wood in the trailer.....moved the converter and all electrical stuff up and towards the right front of trailer...made a mechanical room where i put my inverter and then mounted my solar charge controller and automatic transfer switch on the outfacing side......
fabricated a 3/4 like horseshoe of the same width and height(, so now i have two great lounges fore and aft)as the rear seats around the dinette table (which I removed and replaced with continued seating where it was...) had new cusions made for the front, installed a table for my PC...came out with much more room and more comfortable sleeping than with the bed as it was originally......very happy with the results
Cork sounds like a great idea!
It should be a nice contrast to the existing floor as it is not linear.
We have a darker shade at our office.
It is also warmer and softer than Pergo. Great for a bedroom.
Robert, I believe most of it is made from the coated plywood. I will verify for sure tomorrow and report back.
Also, Ive done some research. I will be using cork tiles that you glue down, probably from Globus Cork, in the cherry shade. Thanks for pointing me in that direction.
Cork sounds good. That will solve the problem of fitting Pergo and whether to install it in the rest of the trailer—if you do it'll be easier to do than long strips of Pergo.
Post photos please. I have been thinking about changing the floor in our kitchen at home with something more forgiving than the tile. Rubber tiles are available and easy on your feet, but hard to find. When we bought our house, there was no carpet—tile, concrete (basement, now tiled) and some maple laminate. We had the stairs carpeted and have lots of small rugs. I still like the carpet in the Safari bedroom, but cork sounds good too.
Update. I've made the decision to go with Globus Cork as they offer numerous colors in practically any size tile you want. Unfortunately it takes them about 2-3wks to make it because everything is made to order and it isn't exactly cheap. I'll need about 60 sq ft x $7 a sq ft + glue/supplies/etc They sent me a sample of 3 colors I was interested in,so once I get those, I'll make a decision and order the cork. Until then I'll prep the floor and get it ready. I think this will be well worth the wait.
If you have any ideas on what size tiles I should use, I'm all ears. I was thinking about 12"x12" tiles, but 9"x12" might look even better? Unless you get some huge tiles or special shaped tiles, the price per sq ft doesn't change so I'm pretty much open to anything as long as it looks classy. What do ya'll think?
Also, I'm going with the glue down tiles for two reasons, 1. I can't exactly float the floor and screw the bed/wardrobe down like it was, and 2. the floating cork is about 1/2" whereas the glue down is about 3/16" thick. I don't want to have to trim the wardrobe to fit and I think with the glue down, that will not be necessary.
I'd think smaller ones would look better on a small floor. I prefer square. Rectangles are fine for subway tile or certain designs, but with a small area, I'd stick with simple.
I'd want to butt full sized ones against the vinyl so I could keep going if I liked it. I think the joints on cork aren't very visible, but you'd not like to have a small piece next to the vinyl. Then figure out how thin a piece will be alongside the bed frame—very thin never looks very good. I think you want to go under the frame, but before doing that, check with Globus about expansion and tell them the dimensions.
I don't know much about cork—I think of stuff with a lot of holes in it. Is it sealed so it doesn't collect water when you drip on it after taking a shower? How is it cleaned? Is this the natural stuff grown on trees or do they make it out of something else?
Now you'll have to get a bedspread to match the cork.
Now you'll have to get a bedspread to match the cork.
After 3 years of rolling down the 40 pound (or something close to that] OEM bedspreads and never using them, we moved them out of our Safari entirely this year -- probably never to return. They look mahvelous and lay awesomely flat -- but you'll have to go to the ER in the morning to have your toes splinted to repair the dislocations. [this has been documented at AIR for at least 3-4 years. recent bedspreads cannot be slept under due to significant weight they place on one's toes.]
Gene, cork is a very "green" product. It comes from the bark of the Cork Oak tree. They strip the bark (somehow it doesn't kill the tree), and in 9 yrs they can come back and harvest it again. Cork flooring is apparently made from the waste of making corks for wine bottles, so its a recycled material to boot. Its generally sealed with a polyurethane finish. Its also naturally insect and water resistant due to a chemical found in the cork celular structure.
Hi Airstream01,
Here are some pics of the little trailer we laid cork in. Sorry, I couldn't find any without the rug hiding the floor. The trailer is moulded fiberglass, so all the corners are rounded. We used a floating type, and yes it is much thicker than the glue-down variety. The glue-down tiles will be really nice. Because our trailer was small, rather than the bedroom in our house, we chose the finer "speckled" effect. In the bedroom of our house we used the larger "marbled" effect. I'm including the pics so that you can see that when it's laid, it looks very uniform and you don't see the seams at all, so it really doesn't matter if you choose to lay square or rectangular tiles. The floating floor we used was larger planks, but you really couldn't see the seams at the end. I love the look. It fit so nicely that it didn't need to be trimmed out. There was existing trim below the galley, so we slipped the cork beneath it. Where an edge was showing (at the entrance door and on the step below the bed) we used schluter strip (for ceramic tiles) to finish the edge.
Because cork is a natural product, it smells really nice. It does stand up to abuse too. On our first trip out, our fridge door clasp gave way, and all the contents fell. Beer and pop cans burst open...a mess all over the floor. It cleaned up lickety-split (the dogs helped) and showed no dents.
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Hi, in your pictures, as best as I can see, your bed frame looks like it is made out of plywood. On my 2005 Safari, all of my cabinets and bed frame are made out of plywood. Some forum members state that their 2006 & 2007 model year, Safari's cabinets and bed frames are made out of MDF, Press board, or ********. Is it possible that Airstream went cheap on wood for a few years and came back?
My bed is going back in
+ glue/supplies/etc They sent me a sample of 3 colors I was interested in,so once I get those, I'll make a decision and order the cork. Until then I'll prep the floor and get it ready. I think this will be well worth the wait. 
Hybrid Mode
