Is your RV feeling a little “meh”? Whether you have a brand-new-off-the-lot RV or a new to you RV, you may want to make it less generic and more “you.” RV flooring is an easy and impactful way to make your camper feel like home.
Why Replace the Flooring in Your RV?
There are many reasons to replace the flooring in your RV. If your RV is a pre-owned unit, there may be party stains or damage from previous adventures that are unsightly.
Water damage, playful children, muddy pets, dropped ketchup from that one hot dog launching itself across the camper…these things create a less than appealing entrance to your cabin on wheels.
If your flooring is looking the worse for the wear, it may be time for an upgrade. Not to mention, if you have allergies or aren’t a pet person, replacing old flooring can really help freshen the air in your rig.
If the flooring isn’t damaged or dirty, replacing it can really make a big bang for your buck in bringing your mobile cabin into a new, more attractive decor theme.
RVs aren’t known for their design aesthetic. By choosing RV flooring that works for your vibe, you can make your camper fit your personality. Updating your home may be a big and expensive endeavor, but your creativity can shine in an RV for much less money and work.
Most Popular RV Flooring Options
Some flooring options just don’t make sense for the RV life. Real hardwood, tile, stone, or other types can be very heavy!
Unless you have a vehicle with larger suspension and chassis components intended to increase their gross vehicle weight rating, you’ll likely not be able to afford the increase in weight. Vehicles like this typically include high-end custom fifth wheels, large diesel pusher Class A motorhomes, and Super C coaches.
For most travel trailers, gas coaches, and fifth wheels, carpet, vinyl, and laminate flooring with be your most popular options.
Carpet
Carpet is one option for an RV. Carpeting can be warm and cozy, especially if you camp in colder weather. Getting out of bed and having a fluffy cushion under your feet is nice. Besides, carpet insulates the floor from temperature, and it also has sound-deadening qualities.
Unfortunately, the carpet also holds dirt, sand, and pet hair. Plus, it can stain easily. All of this makes cleaning much more labor-intensive, especially if you have children, pets, or are prone to more rustic camping adventures.
Vinyl Plank Flooring
Vinyl plank flooring has come a long way in the last few years. Available in a myriad of wood patterns and colors, you can easily change the vibe of your camper from outdated to modern, beachy, or country chic. Changing the color of your RV flooring from dark to light can open up your space and make it feel much larger as well.
Some patterns of flooring can hide the dirt from a fun weekend filled with kids and dogs who have tracked in the outdoors. Sweeping or vacuuming vinyl plank is easier and quicker than carpet. And many are waterproof or water-resistant, making cleanups of wet spills extremely easy. Vinyl is also a great choice for areas with potential water issues as it doesn’t soak up moisture or warp. The look of vinyl flooring is nice, too. Luxury vinyl is fairly thick and can mimic hardwood with textures.
Of course, vinyl flooring is not without its faults. Vinyl plank can be tricky to install around vents and cabinets and not all types are good for moving and flexing floors. You’ll also be missing out on the warmth and quiet of capret, as vinyl can be cold and loud.
Laminate Flooring
Laminate flooring can look more like hardwood, with deeper embossing. However, since the middle layer is actually a wood product (vinyl is all synthetic), it is more susceptible to water and humidity changes. The interior can swell with moisture of any kind and may warp the boards. This makes it less friendly to the RV lifestyle and can even cause problems when storing your RV in non-climate-controlled facilities.
Compared to vinyl, though, laminate actually muffles sound and has more cushion due to the core of natural products inside the flooring.
How to Choose the Right RV Flooring Option for Your Lifestyle
To pick the best flooring choice for your lifestyle, consider how you use and store your RV. Do you have the RV climate-controlled year-round or is it sitting without heat in winter or without AC in summer? Do you have kids and pets? Is your RV cleaning style “immediately vacuum after every meal and constantly wipe up and clean spills” or is it more “have fun now and wait till we get home to clean”?
Best RV Flooring Option for Ease of Installation and Budget
Vinyl flooring is often the best choice for most RV lifestyles. It’s available in many colors, looks, and styles, and it can come in planks, squares, or sheets. Vinyl can be the easiest to install, with glue down, peel and stick, or click lock floating styles. The sheet vinyl style can be more difficult to install as it is big, unwieldy, and it’s harder to make detailed cuts on a large sheet.
Vinyl is also a better choice due to its water-resistant qualities, making it great for active RV lifestyles. And because it is more durable than laminate or carpet, vinyl is a great investment for the long term and is also a fairly reasonable upgrade for your RV.
We chose vinyl plank for our DIY RV reflooring project, as you can see in the video below:
RV Flooring for Any Aesthetic
There are so many colors and shapes for you to choose from for flooring. We personally chose the Khaki Oak vinyl plank by Allure to suit the look we were looking for. Here is a similar style to ours, as the Khaki Oak is no longer stocked.
Here are a few more of our picks for vinyl flooring to update your RV look and feel:
Vinyl Flooring for Beachy Vibes
This easy to install peel and stick flooring has a beachy feel. It’s also very reasonably priced, making this a cheap and quick DIY project for a weekend!
For The Rustic Look
This luxury vinyl has a real wood look and feel. It resists mold and mildew, which is great for humid climates and unregulated multi-temperature storage situations. It is also easy to clean and has a scratch-resistant finish. And rest assured, Lifeproof flooring comes in multiple colors!
Flooring to Make Your RV Feel Like a Cabin
Speaking of colors…this is another color option from Lifeproof and has the same quality feel and ease of maintenance. The warm oak color gives a cozy cabin look to your camper decor.
RV Flooring Updates Your Space
Replacing the flooring in your RV is an easy and relatively inexpensive way to update the look and feel of your space, making it your own. It will also give the space a clean slate. You’ll be removing allergens, mold, pet hair, and other icky things left behind in a pre-owned unit, reviving the space for a new adventure.
New RV flooring can be the start of an entirely new vibe in your RV!
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David
Sunday 25th of July 2021
We are getting ready to replace our flooring in our 2002 Winnebego class C motor home and was wondering how the grip strip flooring is holding up? any issues with seperation or buckleing? I have been considering a glue down vinyl plank rather than the floating plant that you used. While this will obvously be more difficult to install I feel like it will be more durable an have less chance for seperation at the joints.
Thanks, D. Pitts
Richard Hubert
Saturday 9th of January 2021
We replaced most of the flooring in our 38' 2005 Winnebago Adventurer Class A with a high quality vinyl plank floor. It does look a lot better - - but - as with many things in life there were unintended consequences: * Floor is a lot colder. In the living area we had 2/3 carpet and 1/3 1 x 1' square vinyl self-stick tiles. The carpet was thick, with a foam underlayment, so it insulated heat/cold quite well. Now we notice the new vinyl plank floor is much colder in bare feet or socks. * Beware your slide! What we did not realize when removing the main living area carpet was that it was there for a reason - to provide a slick surface for the big slide glide strip to slide over when bringing the slide in. When we did this there is a weight transfer (the weight of the entire slide) from the slide mechanism over to the glide strip & floor. With the carpet gone, and now the hard vinyl planks, we soon noticed that the glide strip (at the bottom of the slide) was scratching up our new floor! Did some research and discovered that Winnebago installed a felt covered glide strip (replacing the hard vinyl one) on models which were factory fitted with hard flooring other than carpet. So I built my own felt glide strip and had to replace some of the planks which we scratched up. So - just beware how the slide in your rig works - I think most have some kind of weight transfer onto your flooring when brought in. * Did save a lot of weight. The weight of the new flooring (~ 1/4" thick including a foam backing) was lighter than all the carpet and backing that was removed.
Bottom line - go with a high quality, edge locking plank flooring. Even though our manufacturer (Mohawk) did not want their flooring to be nailed or screwed down around the edges (they wanted a fully free-floating floor) I did anyway as being in an RV I wanted it secure. Plus - while we have some temperature fluctuation the floor is no narrow that any expansion is not noticeable. Also - I do not think that any real wood flooring would be suitable in a an RV. Not only it it usually much thicker but real wood will expand and shrink a lot more in changes humidity changes. So our new flooring looks much better and glad we did it. Just be aware of other issues.
Daisy
Saturday 19th of February 2022
Thanks for your insight! I’m wondering how you went about putting felt on your glide strips. We have a similar slide and aren’t sure how to do that. Thanks!
Mortons on the Move
Monday 11th of January 2021
Thank you for sharing your experience. Slides are definitely a consideration when replacing flooring. We discussed how we replaced the flooring with our slides here: https://www.mortonsonthemove.com/diy-rv-flooring-with-a-flush-slide/ Glad you like your new flooring!
John Meis
Saturday 9th of January 2021
I have installed carpet a few years ago now, dirt is the drawback. i have a carpet cleaner but can only use it in summer. but, its better to have carpet for now as i live in Washinton state. ive thought of vinyl flooring for the future as its light and easier to clean. and then covering it with space carpets in the winter. for now, i place extra carpet in the kitchen and living room to help keep the main carpet clean.
Mortons on the Move
Monday 11th of January 2021
Keeping carpet clean is the main drawback, but it definitely provides insulation and a nice cushy feeling under your feet. If you go with vinyl, having a few rugs is also a good idea.
Randy Shay
Saturday 9th of January 2021
Good info, thanks!
Mortons on the Move
Saturday 9th of January 2021
You're welcome!
Alan B
Saturday 9th of January 2021
We recently laid carpet squares down on our 2020 Grand Design 5th wheel. We wanted the insulating properties of carpet, and since the squares are only lightly adhesive, they are easily replaced individually if stained.
Mortons on the Move
Saturday 9th of January 2021
Smart! Hope the carpet is keeping your feet warm this winter! :)