Tips for replacing RV slide out flooring
This post was written by my better half, Eric, in 2016, but updated in 2023
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Are you planning to replace the carpet in your RV but not sure how to handle the slide out? This was certainly a concern we had once we made the decision to install new flooring in our RV.
We did some research and although there is some information out there, there isn’t much and every RV is different. So we did what anyone would do, and attacked it head-on. In doing so we’ve learned some things along the way, so we wanted to share some tips for replacing the flooring in your RV RV slide out.
For us, installing the flooring in the slide was as easy as installing it everywhere else in the RV.
You may have seen our previous video on how we installed the floating floors on our slide-out or read about it in this post about how to replace the flooring in your RV. In that video and post, we had suggested that you put an underlayment down in the slide-out before installing the flooring in order to ensure it’s level. This is especially true if your slide has rollers that make it uneven. We suggested that because we had skipped that step, bad idea.
After a couple of days of walking on the slide-out without the underlayment, we came to the conclusion that the trim piece wasn’t stable enough.
About 95% of the slide-out was perfectly stable, but the other 5% (the front edge) didn’t sit right with us, so we made a change due to the floor not being completely level. I originally thought the rollers were too small to make a difference. I was wrong.
WATCh our updated video that explains how fixed our mistake:
Step 1:
Remove the old flooring
You can see how we removed the flooring inside our RV over on this post.
Because we were redoing our flooring to add underlayment, we needed to remove all the plank flooring we had placed down on the slide-out.
As I was removing the floating floors I kept each row separate and in order, that way once we had the underlayment in place I could go down the line and replace the flooring that had already been cut to size. It didn’t take too long since we have a floating floor so the pieces snap together and aren’t glued down.
Step 2:
Choose the Underlayment
The main concern without the underlayment was the 4 wheel wells that caused the last row of flooring to be un-level.
I knew that the screws from the wheel wells came up about an 8th of an inch which meant I needed a piece of underlayment that was at least that size. We decided to go with the 1/4 inch OSB (oriented strand board), but you may want to go with a thicker/thinner option or some sort of plywood depending on your situation.
I knew that the 1/4 inch OSB would have enough of a lift to keep the cork backing from our new plank flooring from hitting the wheel of the slide-out, without being quite as heavy as the thicker options.
Step 3:
Cut the Underlayment
Due to the size of our vehicle, there are limits to the size of the items we can purchase. Because of that, I wasn’t able to get the entire piece cut to size when we bought it, instead, I had to cut it into two separate pieces.
At this point, I measure and marked where all the wheel wells were.
When cutting the squares for the wheel wells I first used my drill, creating holes for the jigsaw to get in and work its magic.
Then it was just a matter of cutting along the lines.
Step 4:
Paint the underside of the Slide-Out
The first time we did this (without the underlayment) we realized you were able to see a little bit of white underneath the trim piece we had installed. It wasn’t a lot of white, but one or two spots that stuck out like a sore thumb. So we used a little black chalk paint, but you may or may not need to do this.
Step 5:
Place the Underlayment-Down
I took an approach that was one at a time. Meaning I got my bigger piece cut and in place first.
I then cut and placed the smaller piece that would go in front of the fridge.
Step 6:
Install Flooring in the Slide-Out
This last step was fairly easy because all of the flooring was already cut to size. I went ahead and used the spacers along the edges to leave room for expansion and contraction then laid it all down.
When I originally installed the flooring in the slide I had removed the plastic flap from the edge as well as the lip from the last section of flooring as you can see in the photo below:
Step 7:
Attach Trim to the Slide-Out
One of our biggest concerns with replacing our RV flooring was figuring out how to tackle the slide-out transition. Our slide-out is raised when extended (rather than flush), so we originally planned to use Flush Mount Stair Nose Moulding (also known as bullnose stair moulding) or an overlap reducer. However, if your slide-out does become flush with the main flooring you may want to consider a different transition piece to avoid scratching the floor.
We were unable to find any that matched our specific flooring at the time, so we browsed the hardware store aisles in search of alternative solutions. This led to our discovery of outside corner molding, which we stained to match our flooring. We cut both ends to a 45-degree angle to create a finished look on the corners, gave it a coat of stain and then nailed them into place with our nail gun.
Compared to bullnose molding and other stair treads, this was a budget-friendly option that has held up great so far. However, as mentioned earlier, every slide-out is different so if these options don’t work for your situation, consider browsing the hardware store looking for alternatives. I also recommend researching RV forums, RV renovation FB groups, or Youtube to see what someone else did in a similar situation to your own.
You can watch the video at the top of this post to see how the slide looks with the trim piece added, but here’s a close-up photo where the slide-out meets the rest of the flooring:
The moment of truth happened now. I took my first step on the edge of the last row, and a smile took complete hold of me. Not only was the slight sway from before gone, but the entire edge was completely secure, not even the slightest wiggle.
Additional Tips
Here are some additional tips we learned in order to replace the flooring inside an RV slide out.
Tip 1:
If removing carpet from your slide-out, know going in that your patience will be tested. Pulling out every strand of carpet can be stressful, make sure you focus and push forward and you will get the carpet out.
Tip 2:
Once we removed the carpet we noticed a piece of black plastic had been stapled down along the edge of the slide-out. This long piece of plastic was there to act as a bridge for the carpet to rest on, meaning it moved up and down with any footsteps that came in contact with it. Considering our floating floors do not bend like the carpet does we needed to remove this piece.
Tip 3:
Once this piece was removed we realized there was a decent size gap between where the flooring came off of the slide and the floor of the main section of the RV. In order to combat this, we used a piece of outside corner moulding as a trim piece.
The outside corner moulding works well though we needed to still leave a small gap between it and the main floor of the RV so that the slide could move in and out without scratching the flooring.
Once we replaced the flooring with the addition of underlayment we realized the small gap does not affect the integrity of the slide-out flooring.
Tip 4:
Once you have laid your underlayment and placed the floating floors down, you may realize that they hang over the edge of your slide out a bit too far. Don’t freak out if this happens, use your best judgment and cut the pieces down a bit in order to add more strength to the lip.
We are so happy that we took the time to redo our slide out with underlayment, and would definitely suggest this route for anyone looking to replace the flooring in their slide out.
I hope this information was helpful for you and can at least give you a couple of ideas on how to replace the flooring inside your RV slide out.
Have you replaced the flooring in your RV slide-out and have any tips to share? If so we would love to hear about them in the comments so that others can learn from your experience as well!
Related Posts
- How to update RV flooring
- How to create a custom RV “doghouse” engine cover
- The Best RV Facebook Groups when planning an RV Renovation
Additional Resources
Check out Katie’s eBook, The Nomad’s Guide to Decorating, for more RV flooring tips and interior inspiration!
Awesome! I’ve always wanted to do this!!
Thanks Toni! I found that once I started it, it got easier with every piece I laid down. Best of luck if you decide to go for it.
What model rv do you have im looking to put in rollers in my slide out but can’t find any the hide in floor of slide.
Hey Joseph, We have a 2008 Tiffin Allegro Open Road 32LA. They kind of look like a a rectangle with the wheel in the middle and sticking up on both sides. We haven’t had to replace ours so I’m not even sure where to start looking. Though you could probably give the Tiffin service team a call and they may be able to provide the exact ones we have. Anyway I hope this helps, Best Wishes, Eric
What is the name/brand of the flooring you used? Hoping to do the same in my 5th wheel.
Hey Erik, the flooring we got is from Floor and Decor and is the Nucore Hand Scrapped Ashen Oak. So far since we’ve been in the RV it has been awesome, durable and very easy to clean up!!
What is the thickness of the flooring you used?
Hey Crystie, the thickness of the flooring we used was 6.5mm, which I believe is just over a 1/4 of an inch. Hope this helps.
Off topic a little. We just starting ripping things out of our travel trailer (replacing table, took couch out … well moved it to the bunkhouse, etc.) I noticed you painted. Did you remove the wall paper first? Ours is pretty stuck on here and I don’t see removing it as an option to be honest! LoL What would you recommend for painting??
Hi Sharon,
We didn’t remove the wallpaper texture that is throughout the RV – that’s more of a permanent wall texture attached to the walls – at least it was for us. Instead we cleaned, primed and painted that area. However, we did remove any wallpaper borders like in the kitchen and bathroom. Those aren’t permanently attached and are fairly easy to remove. I can’t remember if I just peeled it right off or if I had to use a putty knife. The residue on the wall is sticky afterwards but you can clean that off with TSP, goo gone, or you can put warm water and fabric softener in a spray bottle, spray that on, wait a few minutes and then wipe it off 🙂
Hope that helps!
Katie
I removed the border paper in my camper using a blow dryer, it peeled right off and left very little sticky behind. i highly recommend this method, it looks so much better without it!
We were told by the lot we bought our RV on, that we couldn’t have flooring because the slide had to slide on carpet Any advise?
Hey Jackie, that is interesting. If I were you I would reach out to the manufacturer of your specific unit. Our unit actually had stick down tiles that the slide slid across, but then again every manufacturer is different, which is why sometimes it can be really hard to figure out what you can and can’t do. But if you give your manufacturer a call they should be able to advise you on the best approach moving forward. Hope this helps and you are able to get your new flooring put in 🙂
we replaced our flooring and then found out when slide out was in, for traveling, it leaked! were told we have to put carpet back in !!
Oh no Melanie, that’s awful! I wish there was a bit more of a standard across brands and units that allowed things to work similarly! I hope you’re able to find a new option that still makes the space your own on the inside.
MOST rv’s you can’t replace carpet because the slide out rides on it and would scratch anything except carpet. I’m a RV technician. I actually work on them day in and day out. I’ve replaced many slide out floors to. Replacing carpet in the actual slide out is doable in any RV. Replacing that small strip of carpet that is just in front of the slide is not an option in most every RV.
Mr Reynolds, that is something my husband and i have been concerned about. we have a 1993 fifth wheeel that i leave parked at the lake. due to granddaughters asthma, we want to remove that carpeting. your info has helped us. thank you
Is there a way to replace the carpet that is under the slide?
So y’all used the floating floor that clicks and locks together right?
Hey Whitney, we did use a floating floor that locks together. It is the NuCore Ashen Oak Hand Scraped Plank with Cork Back, the specific kind we used is only available at Floor and Decor.
how did you all deal with getting the flooring on the main floor under the slide out?
related question, tips on cleaning the fuzzy ceiling material that has water stains? Is that ceiling paintable with stain blocking primer?
Wow that looks great. Im wondering when your slide out is retracted does the floor flex alittle bit in the middle? I have a prowler regal and my slide room is bare right now trying to decide the best course of action since my slide room bends at the middle of the floor unless extended because the room itself is so long that the plywood doesnt stay level so i guess im concerned if i used laminate that it might pull away or pinch once retracted. Any ideas? Thanks
Hi, I just purchased a 5th wheel over the weekend that has 3 slides! It is huge… It is pretty as it is because despite being older, it was hardly used at all… the colors aren’t bad, etc, but just not my style… The floors are probably the first thing I plan to change… My question is how long/wide is your RV and is that what you used to determine how much flooring to get? I plan to do my whole 5th wheel, bedroom and all, similar to what you did in your living area!
Thanks
I am a professional floor installer, the way I estimate the quantity of floor to buy is simple. You need to determine the square footage of the area to be cover. For that you can measure in small squares and add the quantitys at the end. Multiple the total amount for 1.1 and that is the amount you need to order. You may need to adjust the quantity to the amount of material that comes in every box.
How did put down osp? Nils, glue.?
Our slide out is higher than rest of floor; about 2 1/2 inch step up. How do we handle that?
Hey Maureen that is a tricky question. Ours was also a bit higher than the floor. When we first purchased the RV they had a layer of carpet that hung over the lip essentially creating a small “ramp” so to speak. In or for us to do the flooring on the slide out we needed to add a piece of 90 degree edge molding. With this approach it creates a bit of a lip that you have to be aware of but it also has a nice finish to it so it works for us. I hope this helps and please feel free to reach out if you have any other questions. Best Wishes, Eric
Hi Eric,
We totally appreciate you sharing your experience. From what we can see it looks fantastic. How is it holding up? Any pictures of the finished front including the dog house?
No worries at all Laurie, I hope some of the information has been helpful and thank you for your kinds words! The flooring is holding up great we have no complaints. We came out with a tour post that has a lot of pictures from the RV and we’re super excited that we just came out with our video walkthrough which you can see on that post page as well. I’ll leave a link below:
https://mountainmodernlife.com/rustic-modern-rv/
Hope that is what you’re looking for. Best Wishes, Eric
Hi your RV floor looks amazing. I would like to know if you have to put underpayment under the regular floor of the rv. Thank you.
Hey Diane, thank you much, we’re really happy with the way it turned out and how it’s held up. As far as the underlayment on the main floor, we did not add any. The main reason being that when we pulled up the old stick down tiles it was basically underlayment already. Our new flooring was also a little bit thicker than the old flooring we’d removed so we didn’t want to add any extra height. Anyway I hope this helps 🙂
Your work on these two videos seems to be the best on YouTube. Very thorough. Are you seeing any marks on the new flooring from the rollers travelling under the slide? How do the rollers make it up the ridge of the 6.5mm flooringwhen you first begin to close the slide? Did you bevel it somehow?
Hey Jim, I appreciate the kind words and hope the videos have been helpful. We haven’t seen any marks from the slide out or the rollers, which is great, I was a little worried at first. I know every RV is different so I’m not sure how it may work in different rigs but when our slide first comes in it drops at the farthest point outside and raises the lip on the inside probably about 1/4 of an inch. So it raises the rollers over the flooring, by the time it comes level and starts to slide in the rest of the way the rollers are positioned on the main living space flooring. I didn’t do anything to it to make it operate this way, it’s just the way it worked originally. I hope that makes sense and was helpful, best wishes, Eric
I left the carpet in the slide out as it was under my jack/knife couch and closet and had no problem with the transition as that carpet looks new and have be satisfied with it.
Hey Peggy that is a good approach to take for sure especially if you don’t plan on removing the couch or the closet. I know when we had the carpet on the slide out it created an easier transition over the lip of the slide out. But since we were removing everything we figured might as well put some new flooring down also. Nothing wrong with good new looking carpet 🙂
Your work is amazing and inspiring. We have taken the plunge and have removed all carpet and now removing the tile. Here is my question. How did you deal with the tile under the cabinets and shower, etc? It seems they (Tiffin) laid the tile and then put everything on top of it. So our cabinets, shower, and even toilet sit on top of the tile. When we started to remove it we got nervous as it seems to be a stabilizer. How did you tackle the tile? Any deeper details you can give would be great.
How did you remove the carpet from the main floor under the slide out?
I also would like to know how you removed every piece of carpet from the slide out bottom. I’ve tried everything. Pulling with pliers, all kinds of knives, some stupid tool.. Any advice would be great. Showing my Husband how you did yours..
Hey Kelly, sorry for the delayed response things have been a little crazy here at the RV repair shop. Anyway, I’d say needle nose pliers were my best friend during the process, and my carpet knife was a close second haha. With that said we focused on getting up as much as we possibly could, but there was some little pieces that were too stubborn. If we had a few pieces that were right against the wall and wouldn’t budge we’d leave them. Sometimes I’d walk away from the situation (because it can be frustrating) then come back later to find it was a lot easier because I wasn’t in attack mode haha. Overall I’d say get as much of it up as possible and if it isn’t going to create an uneven surface it may be fine to leave.
Side note: the best way I found to get out the stubborn edge pieces was to grab as much of the carpet as I could with the needle nose pliers then pull out, basically extending the carpet. At that point I’d take my knife and cut as close to the floor as possible. Anyway I hope this helps, and please let me know if I can explain something a little better 🙂
Very fired up about replacing our original (9 year old) carpet in our RV after seeing this. I’ve seen a couple of other folks asking about how and what you did to get the flooring underneath the slideout but didn’t seen an answer. I have a slide out on opposite sides of each other and the kitchen area has quarter round on it so I figured I’d have to start on that side and move towards the dining area. Once I did that I don’t know how I’d be able to use the locking mechanism of the flooring as the lip of the slide out prohibits this. Sorry for the run on but this is a major job and as you’ve pointed out.. has me in knots… Thoughts?
Hey Doug, our slide out lip actually sits about half and inch above the flooring. When we were placing it down I ripped the last row (closest to the lip) so that it would go under that half inch raise of our slide out lip. I think I was able to go under the lip by about another 1/2 and inch, this in turn creates the illusion of the flooring disappearing under the slide out. I’m not sure if your slide are the same as they seem to make every RV different. But I hope that helps and if you need me to clarify a little more please do not hesitate to reach back out. Best of luck1
I think it makes sense, thanks but then again I’ve been told I can be rather daft sometimes. So with that being said I have opposite side slide outs.. Side one is the kitchen side, I’ll call it which currently has linoleum much of the way and then carpet towards the back of the RV. There’s quarter round on this side of course. The other side which is the 14-16′ slide out has the carpet lip you described and looks like yours before. Given all this info and thanks for reading this long…I’m thinking the best place to start is underneath the slide out and work my way towards the kitchen so i can at least use quarter round to cover the gap. I envision connecting the first length wise run of the flooring and slide it under the lip and “float” it and work my way towards the kitchen. The “fun” part will be if the last pieces can be connected given the lip of the fridge and the cabinets. Making any sense? Really appreciate you taking the time Eric!! 🙂
It’s hard to tell from the picture, does the trim you used lay flush with the flooring? Thanks so much for the fantastic information. We have started replacing the old flooring with LVP and loving the look. Bit confused on what to do when the huge gap with the slide your idea seems the best I have found.Thanks again!
Hey Aerin Tew, I’m glad the information was helpful. The trim piece we have on the lip of the slide out doesn’t come completely flush with the main floor. But with the addition of the plywood underneath it’s plenty strong enough to walk on. I’d say it is about an 1/8 of an inch above the main floor. Every RV seems to be different but I hope that helps with the project. Let me know if you have any other questions.
Just wondering, does any one know where to buy the replacement carpet? Our carpet has a border that keeps the carpet from unraveling.
You may want to check with your manufacturer to see if they sell it, or have a recommendation if you want to match it. We’ve found Tiffin to be super helpful when we needed to replace something they had put in. Otherwise, you may just want to purchase carpet from any home improvement store. 🙂
Katie
Do you find a floating floor sounds “hollow” when you walk on it? For that reason, I prefer to glue down the flooring, even though its suppose to be “floating”. I dont think it matters since a rv is so small, the floor wont expand/contract like a family room floor in a house. So I wondered how you keep the slide floor from moving since you didnt glue it?
Hey Tom, I’ve definitely notice the “hollow” sound you are talking about when walking in homes. With that said we’ve not noticed of it in the RV. So, our slide-out where we put the flooring has the media cabinet built on top of the flooring. And we did secure the media cabinet to the floor and subfloor with some rather large screws. On top of that we did also put a piece of corner molding as the trim pieces which essentially acts similar to a wall on the outer edge of the slide-out. I hope that makes sense, but please feel free to reach out if it doesn’t 🙂 Best Wishes, Eric
great info, after laying my bamboo flooring in the living room I also noticed a cup in the underlayment, I was actually thinking of filling the gap with some foam in a can. I also created storage in my step and covered them with my bamboo flooring as well using bullnose on the steps. when I did our dining area floor I just couldn’t find anything that would work, then it dawned on me I checked a piece of scrap bullnose I had laying around and it fit perfect, I had to fabricate 2 corner pieces and to fill the 1/4″ gap bullnose and the kitchen floor I used adhesive backed weather foam seal. after applying it to the bullnose and installing everything I could not be happier it fit like a glove. with the foam seal in place nothing can fall into the gap and cause any issues while opening or closing the slide out. it also keeps it clean to bad I can’t post a picture here however if you check out my Facebook page “RV modifications and add on” you can see what I did.. good work, good read.
That’s so awesome Gregg, isn’t it great when a good idea comes from nowhere and works out perfectly. Again I love the work you’ve done in your 5th Wheel, the wood working and stones are amazing!!
Hi Eric, thank you for all the great info! Our daughter bought an RV to live in, while at college & we agreed to help with the flooring replacement. When installing the underlayment, did you screw it in, or glue it? If glue, can you tell me the type please. Thanks again! Brandi
Hey Brandi, That is such an awesome idea, I totally wish I would have had an RV to live in while at College :). So we only actually added underlayment to the living room slide-out, mainly because all of our underlayment was still in great shape. The reason we added underlayment to the slide-out was because ours doesn’t come completely flush with the main floor, and since we were replacing carpet with vinyl plank flooring we were no longer able to let the carpet hang over as a cross over. In turn we had to make the lip that hangs over the main flooring stronger. Once it came time to add the new underlayment over top of the existing underlayment we elected to use screws. The main reason was that the underlayment on our slid-out was much thicker than normal, it was at least an inch thick. Anyway I hope this helps in your project but please feel free to reach out if I can clarify more. Best Wishes, Eric
you guys did an awesome job doing your flooring and the best explanation I have seen on “how to”. Thanks for your efforts, as it will make it much easier for many of us to do our own.
Thank you much Brian Betts, I’m glad the information was helpful. I know for us it was kind of confusing and we had to try a couple of different things but I hope as you do yours, you’re able to skip some of our mistakes 🙂
what make and model did ;you remodel?
Hey Vic, our RV is a 2008 Tiffin Allegro OpenRoad 32LA
Eric thank you for posting this in depth look at doing this! My question is how well have they held up? I saw a comment where an RV tech (and even our salesman) said that removing the carpet and replacing with other flooring will cause scratches on the vinyl/floor. Have y’all experienced any of this? Thank you in advance!
It’s been almost 2 years and our flooring has held up awesome! There are zero scratches from the slide-out, which is something we were worried about too. I know all flooring products are different, as our slide-outs, but we haven’t run into any issues (and hope we never do!).
Good evening Eric. I have bought an older camper (2003) and not knowing what to look for, I found out that I had a leak on my roll out side and the boarding is soft. It must be replaced. What and how do jack up the wall and slide out and/or roof so I can put the new floor in? Also I think I have found the leaking area. Thanks
Ron Allen
Hey Ron, to be honest, we haven’t had to jack up our slid out before for a leak. However a while back I was curious as to how it would be done and found a couple of interesting videos on youtube. You can check out this search I did on youtube – https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=remove+rv+slide+out – It looks like it takes a bit of work but is feasible. Anyway, I hope this helps, but let me know if you have any other questions.
Eric
We have removed the carpet and found that one end of out slide out has a bow in it so it’s higher than the other end which has no gap at all when open
Any suggestions on what to do about it.
Thank you
Hey Debbie, that is a tough one. Our’s seemed to be pretty level across, do you plan to add new flooring to the top of the slide out with a trim piece? And does your slide out still operate properly? I think the first thing I’d do is try to find out why it is slightly up on the one side, like is the wood just warped, did moisture weaken the wood and make it sag? It’s kind of hard to tell without seeing it but if you’d like feel free to send me over some pictures to [email protected] and I’ll take a look to see if I have any suggestions.
We are having difficulty figuring out a transition piece between slide out & , floor. Whetr did you get yours?
Hey, Tetesa I’m sorry to hear that, but understand because finding the right transition piece can be a pain. We actually got ours from Home Depot it is called 90 degree outside corner moulding. Anyway, I hope this helps but feel free to let me know if I can elaborate any further.
where did you guys find your outside corner molding? and how did you attach it to the flooring?
Hey sina, we actually got our outside corner moulding from Home Depot I believe, and it is the 90 degree outside corner moulding. We actually used our nail gun to attach it but with so much traffic in the area we’d suggest using an adhesive, or staples, I think those options would give you a stronger hold as well as keeping them from sliding up a bit. Anyway I hope this was helpful but let me know if I can clarify anything a little better.
Good evening! Super inspired by your blog and love seeing how amazing the before and afters are!!
I am replacing my floors with a vinyl glueless plank flooring and was wondering how you got the very edge of the slide out to be solid where it tapers down. Was this from using the underlayment and 90 degree molding?
Thanks!
Mandie
Thank you so much Mandie, I’m glad we were able to provide a little inspiration for you :)! You’re exactly right about the added underlayment and the 90-degree molding being the key to making it stronger. At first, we used the 90-degree corner molding with the underlayment that was already in place and it was a little too weak when you’d walk on it, by adding the extra underlayment it was able to strengthen it up quite a bit. Hope that helps but let me know if you have any other questions, best wishes, Eric
How has your flooring in front of slideout held up? Ive heard stories of scratching happening when slideout Is used. Ive been researching To redo ours come spring!
Hey Elissa, our flooring is holding up great on the slide-out. We don’t have any scratching and it’s stayed really sturdy since we added the extra underlayment underneath. As far as the scratching goes, I’ve also heard of people having problems. When we were first doing our we took a couple of sample pieces of our flooring and laid it out in front of the slide-out then ran it in an out a few times to make sure it didn’t hit, and so far, almost 3 years later we still have no problems. Anyway, I hope this helps but feel free to let me know if you have any other questions.
We have had 2 instances of the slide damaging the vinyl flooring. Both were caused by unseen debris. The rollers themselves won’t hurt anything but the campground pea gravel will do a number on it. Broken glass is even worse. Always do a thorough sweep up before closing the slides and you will be fine.
Oh man what a bummer! Good tip, thanks for sharing! We try to sweep under outs pretty often just because that’s the area our pet fur tumbleweeds tend to hang out most.
I absolutely love this remodel of the slide out. Unfortunately, my slide out is flush with the rest of the flooring, but I’d really like to add the MOLDING as you did. Do you think, if I added a thicker underlayment, I’d be able to fake it and add the molding?
Saw this post as we are interested in getting rid of the carpet on the slide. We have already replaced all the carpet and linoleum throughout the balance of the coach with cork laminate floorin (lumber Liquidators). 3′ x 1′ planks that snap together and float. We went all the way from the back to the driver’s pedals. Now we have the crappy carpet on the slide out. Our wheels are on the main part of the floor, not the slide. In other words, the slide out moves onto the wheels in the main part of the coach. Not sure if your method would work. Do you have any suggestions? Thanks!
Wow I feel like I’ve hit the jackpot with your blog and especially this post. Thanks so much for detailing everything so well 🙂 🙂
Thank you, Karen! That means so much to us. We’ve learned mostly through trial and error so if nothing else, hopefully, we can help you with what to avoid, haha.
Hi Katie and Eric,
My husband and I live in Michigan and just bought our first travel trailer and would like to put new flooring in it. I have read your blogs on Pinterest and watched your videos and I think we would like to go with the same Nucore planks you used. My question is have you had any trouble with the planks separating with weather changes? Is 1/8 of an inch around the perimeter enough for expansion of the floor? Even though our trailer will be stored in a pole barn when not being used, we have extreme below 0 temps at tims and above 90 degrees at times. Your floor looks amazing. I hope ours turns out as well
Thanks,
Cindy
We haven’t had any issues with weather fluctuations affecting the flooring, it’s held up great over the last 3 years!
Thank you for this. We were always told we couldn’t put flooring on the slide outs had to keep the carpet there. Looking so forward to remodeling our RV.
Hey again Laura 🙂 We were actually told the same thing many times, but we just wanted the flooring over there I’m glad we were able to get it done. Make sure to come back and let us know once you get the flooring in and how it turned out!
Do you have a Youtube channel as well with this kind of content on it? I would love to see this post turned into a longer video if possible. Maybe I can share on it on my website.
We have a Youtube channel, but never documented the flooring process on video. To be honest, we had started our RV reno back in 2015, along with our Youtube channel and were pretty overwhelmed and nervous with the projects we wanted to tackle, so only some were filmed – others we just wrote about with photos and some we shared a video walking through the steps. If we ever do another RV reno, we’ll definitely do a better job documenting each project!
Here’s the link to our Youtube channel if you wanna check it out:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFdGRzP1H3pw-TRW9H3PlZg?sub_confirmation=1
And here’s our video page:
https://mountainmodernlife.com/rv-videos/