Replacing Flooring In A Winnebago Adventurer

[mikendar]

I have a 2002 Winnebago that is in need of new flooring. I have been looking at materials and installations and have seen most installations with scratches caused by slides going in and out. Since we are full timers on the road, our slides get used a lot so this would be an issue. One of the materials I hve looked at is a wood look product from Nafco. Would laying a peice of plastic or flooring material on the slide path when operating them be a practical solution?

[rossboyer]

There is a plastic "board" to put under the slide runners before you retract your slide. When you extend the slide the "boards" are removed and stashed away. They are about 42" long, 6" wide and about 3/16" thick. There are pricy but work well. We bought four and have found we only needed two. I'll see if i can find a web site of a supplier.

[mikendar]

Thanks for the quick response. The plastic boards I have seen are made to use with carpet and have points on the bottoms of them to hold to the carpet. If what you have is made for vinly, that would be a solution. Any info you can supply would be very helpful and and much appreciated.

[rossboyer]

I have a vinyl like product on our floors. It is a resin and marble dust product that is flexible. I use the plastic boards I described above, but they only have a lip on the leading edge.

[glesniak]

I have been looking into replacing the carpeting in our 2001 Minnie Winnie with a high quality sheet vinyl. It appears that Winnebago has two kinds of slide out shoes - one for carpeting and one for hard surface floors - designed for the original flooring offered in the respective models. Winnebago technical support has assured me that many have done the conversion and that they recommend replacing the current carpet shoes with the shoes designed for hard surface flooring. In my conversations with them, they indicated that there was not a scratching problem, but over time one will see an indentation on the vinyl where the shoes rest on the floor when the slides are in.

I suggest that you call Winnebago technical support at (800) 537-1885. If you supply them with your rig's serial number and model number they can share with you all that might be involved with your specific rig from their experience.

When we do this perhaps next year, we are likely to get the slide shoes from Winnebago. I'm not sure of the cost, but the cost is minimal relative to the total cost of doing the job, i.e. big time labor costs. One of the cost items is the cost of actually removing the slide out to properly install the floor under the slide out.

I look forward to hearing about what you decide and your experience as the job proceeds.

[erniee]

You don't have to remove any slideouts when redoing the floors. That is just a big cash cow for the dealer. I know, I install floors in these coaches all the time. Instead of using those high priced slide slickers, go to a regular retail flooring store and get 4 pieces of luxury vinyl planks. Principal is the same- and you don't have to spend a bundle.

[mikendar]

Ernie,

Thanks for the feedback. The flooring I am looking at is about 1/8" thick. If I use a piece of that, is the thickness an issue?

If so how about something like a flexible cutting board which would be thinner?

Thanks,

Mike,

[rossboyer]

Your carpet and pad are thicker than the 1/8 inch material you plan to install. Mine is about 1/8 in thick too. The weight is less than the carpet and pad, too. Your greatest difficulty will be getting all the staples removed as you take out the old carpet. I took a easy 4 or 5 days to removed the carpet, pad, and staples. Some of the staples will be hard to see. I just scraped the floor with a wide drywall trowel. You will hear a click when you hit a staple that has broken or is unseen.

Take your time and you will be happy with your new floor.

[erniee]

I believe those planks will work, as they are usually 3 feet in length and will cover the whole tracking length of slide.

[mikendar]

Thank you, everybody, for timely responses and great info. I will post again when finished with the project.

[glesniak]

I'm looking forward to how your floor upgrade works out. Having said that I am interested in how the planks actually work. Do you place them on the rig floor before bringing the slide in with the length of the planks aligned to the direction the slide is moving?

Also, are you planning on one large sheet of vinyl for the entire rig floor?

How are you planning to treat the area by the steps and on the sides of the step well?