I also would also like to know how you approach your flooring solution when you get to it!
I'm guessing you are not going to do anything to the front door steps or the bedroom, but maybe you are?
Do you have tile in your kitchen area or bathroom? Are you going to remove it?
We have a 2004 Itasca "Horizon" 40AD and would like to upgrade our floor in 2020. I have not decided on vinyl or carpet. I like the modern look of vinyl, but I'm concerned about those "flat-floor-rollers" under my driver's slide causing scratch marks in a new vinyl or engineered wood floor.
Winnebago sells a "Carpet Shoe Glide" for ~$150, but I can't find anyone who has installed one. This glide shoe is supposed to replace the OEM plastic shoe under your large slideout. (See picture.)
Note: I think you can only access the carpet shoe after you pull the large slide out about 4". Has anyone done this? It seems like you have to have some custom made supports for your slide? Not to mention knowledge on how your slide releases. (Not to mention how to keep it from falling out or off it's slide rails.) No wonder most RV shops will not even adjust a flat floor slide!!!
The idea is that a carpet shoe will glide over your new vinyl floor without scratching it. The cost of this glide shoe from Winnie is cheap (~$150), but messing with that slideout and installing the shoe might be expensive. I just don’t know. I’m thinking 2 hours which in Winnebago terms is $600, but could be more.
I also called the famous RV flooring installer “Earnie" in Texas last week, and he swore he would never do another flat floor with one of those hidden kitchen cabinets that slideout, because they weigh so much!
…And there was no convincing him to take my job even if I left the tile floor in the kitchen!
…Which I would think avoid any weight concerns with this kitchen storage slideout. (But no cigar.) So there has to be other factors about this installation Ernie did not want to go into details about. Either that or he botched that job and the owners gave Ernie a bunch of grief. (Rightly or wrongly.) Either way, Ernie did not want to talk about it. So I'm still not sure what to do about my floor upgrade?
I'm thinking this: If you have tile in your kitchen and you are happy with it (like I am) then leave it. Plus this will allow your slide rollers to roll on top of the tile just like normal. Same goes on the passenger slide area.
I think I will remove the tile between the two chairs up front so the entry way can be finished-out...and down the steps. That looks best to me. And while this is the highest traffic area, the new vinyl floor can take the pounding!
My Work Around Idea: Leave the carpet under your couch. Then add another carpet layer on top. (See Picture of one owner's slide with vinyl flooring.) Only then make the carpet 1.5 inches longer, and bind the ends pretty-like, so it hides the metal carpet strip you see in the picture.
Note: This "work around" will also leave a 1.5 inches of carpet protruding into the middle of the floor when the slideout is all the way in (retracted), but maybe that will not be a problem?
The Carpet metal strip is there to protect the vinyl edge; and so the slideout floor rollers can ride up during retraction. …And the woven/bonded new carpet you put under your couch will now cover the metal carpet strip even when the slide is fully extended. (Note: The attached picture is not my RV. But you can see what will be covered if you add another layer of thin carpet under the couch. ...I might even go to Walmart an buy a Mohawk "throw carpet" with finished edges, and then cut it to fit. TBD. Or have a custom piece made to fit. TBD.
* My thinking is that if you leave the old carpet wrapped around the main floor and you leave the old carpet wrapped around the slideout floor, then you don’t have to worry about jacking up the slide to remove it and those stables or screws. (Just leave them.)
* Now all you need to do is protect your vinyl floor from being scratched; and it would appear these floor protectors are the best way to go:
https://www.amazon.com/Lippert-13499...omotive&sr=1-2
So far, I see no way of avoiding the possibility of scratching your floor without these floor protectors; or you can pay Winnebago $$$ to replace the OEM plastic glide shoe with a carpet shoe.
I am also not sure why some people are complaining about their floor getting scratched while other owners do not seem to worry about this problem? I have to wonder if it has to do with the floor height or maybe people with scratched floors don’t like talking about it?
Note: The old carpet is very, very thin. Just go to your bedroom and in between your bed and the sidewall you will find carpet you can remove. It’s a lot thinner than you think and no where can I find a supplier of this stuff. (Maybe someone can tell us?)
I also think those floor tiles in the kitchen are only 5/16in tall. So if you use “engineered wood… my guess is that your new floor will be relatively high and that too will promote scratching.
Likewise, if you just slap thin vinyl down over your RV floor, then you might have a floor that is relatively “too low” and then your slide will not be steady when it’s fully retracted.
Therefore, I think it would be very important to replace your old floor with a material that is the same height as your old floor.
OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
• How you finish out your bedroom.
• Do you remove the tile in the kitchen so your new floor will go “front-to-back” which will make your RV look more modern and bigger inside.
• How you finish out those front steps is very important too since this is your first impression.
• How you finish out the driver’s side floor board is another area your floorboards are not flat.
Please take pictures of your project and let us know what you do or who you contract with to do the floor for you?
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