RV Floors
While functionally identical to your house’s floor, the materials in your RV put up with a lot more than in your home. On one hand, you travel in various climates, and on the other, moisture and mold form on the inside of an RV much easier than you’re used to. This may quickly lead to wood rot, which eats away at the structural integrity of your floorboards. Over time, such an issue will affect the overall look of your RV’s interior, make you uncomfortable, and possibly even create bigger problems, deeper than just the floorboards. This guide will walk you through some of the basic patchwork you can do in the case of floor damage, but we’ll also explain how to check for serious damages.
Unless you have experience replacing RV flooring yourself, we recommend bringing it into our service and parts department at Crabtree RV Center for repairs. We’ll gladly get you fixed up with some new, sturdy flooring, and you can come visit us right here in Aima. We serve the areas of Fayetteville, Russellville, and Fort Smith, AR, as well as Poteau, OK and Van Buren, Arkansas.
Determine the Damage
The main factor in figuring out whether or not you can fix it yourself is by assessing the damage. You’ll probably notice a damaged floor first by feeling a soft spot under the carpet. This doesn’t always mean rot, but if you feel this, you should pull up the carpet, linoleum, or vinyl to check out the floorboards. Simply use a screwdriver, knife, or other pointed tool. Poke the floorboards, looking for soft spots, and take notes of any areas that aren’t completely firm. Sometimes, you’ll find that the floorboards aren’t damaged, but it’s actually just the surface material. This situation is preferable, since you can easily replace linoleum or carpet yourself, and it’s affordable compared to replacing the floorboards.
What You can Do
Now if the floorboards themselves are damaged, we always recommend bringing it into our service department for repairs. However, if you really feel comfortable doing it yourself, you can at least take a stab at patching up any weak spots. To do this, all you have to do is cut out the soft parts, and get a piece of clean wood big enough to patch the hole. Then, get a cross piece to lay across that sheet, which will add stability.
Selecting new Flooring
Thankfully, RVs aren’t nearly as big as houses. This is fortunate, since you won’t have to spend nearly as much to replace the floors. When there’s only small damage to the surface material, you might be able to find leftovers from local flooring stores for next to nothing. Don’t sacrifice quality for price, though. You’ll regret it later if you try to patch up the floor with new material that doesn’t quite match.
Or maybe even small damages will inspire you to change the whole thing anyway. Sometimes we’re just waiting for a good chance to replace something we don’t like, so if you find a small damage, don’t hesitate to put down whole new carpet or vinyl. You can use this opportunity to switch the type of surface material, or simply to change the colors and patterns in your RV.
Professional Floor Repair
No matter how much you like to try doing yourself, never forget that we’re able to do the repairs for you here at Crabtree RV Center. When in doubt about your abilities to fix the floor yourself, you can trust us to professionally fix up any floor damage and leave it looking good as new afterwards. If you ever have any questions, or want to schedule an appointment with our service and parts department, come on into Crabtree RV Center in Alma, serving the areas of Fayetteville, Russellville, Fort Smith, and Van Buren, Arkansas, as well as Poteau, OK.
