Cruisers Forum

Main Forum => General Discussion => Topic started by: P.Roetter on June 19, 2018, 08:42:20 pm

Title: floor replacement on my 2010 2551
Post by: P.Roetter on June 19, 2018, 08:42:20 pm: We own a 2010 Phoenix 2551and would like to replace the mixed carpet/vinyl floor with vinyl. my local dealer claims that the slide must be removed to replace the floor and gave a $3600 estimate for the job. We are located in mid Michigan. Any suggestions?
Title: Re: floor replacement on my 2010 2551
Post by: Ron Dittmer on June 19, 2018, 08:55:52 pm: Wow! $3600 sounds like highway robbery.

Keep in-mind the entire interior of your PC was built on top of a full-covering vinyl floor. It was done intentionally to protect the plywood sub-floor from potential water damage. I would not want to cut and remove portions of that excellent water barrier.

The carpet is stapled over the original vinyl floor. I would remove the carpet & staples and then install your new floor on top of the original vinyl. Some PCs, the vinyl flooring stops 1 or 2 feet shy of the front cab so you might have bare plywood in that area. The floor needs to be level for any kind of new flooring so I advise covering it with other vinyl flooring or stick-on floor tile to level it.

I personally would opt to install a laminate floor directly on top of an original vinyl floor instead of installing a second vinyl floor. Laminate floors can take a good beating and they clean up nicely. Now-a-days, not just the wood-floor look, but you can buy laminate flooring looking like bamboo, stone, ceramic tile, and other interesting patterns. They are also relatively easy to install for a home improvement contractor or even a do-it-yourselfer.

Volkemon recently recovered the vinyl & carpet floor of his 2006 with a laminate floor and I think he has the same slide out mechanism as you. Hopefully he will provide some input on the change in floor thickness and how it affects the operation of the slide out. I assume he had to adjust the slide out floor rollers.

If you are worried about the extra weight of laminate flooring, a 2010 2551 is built on a current-day-rated E450 chassis with piles of extra load-carrying margin. Adding a laminate floor over your original vinyl floor might quiet down the road noise and maybe even smooth out your ride a bit. If resale value is on your mind, a laminate floor would surely contribute more to it's value than a replacement vinyl floor.
Title: Re: floor replacement on my 2010 2551
Post by: Volkemon on June 20, 2018, 05:56:00 am: Quote from: P.Roetter on June 19, 2018, 08:42:20 pm
We own a 2010 Phoenix 2551and would like to replace the mixed carpet/vinyl floor with vinyl. my local dealer claims that the slide must be removed to replace the floor and gave a $3600 estimate for the job. We are located in mid Michigan. Any suggestions?

I suggest you find another opinion on slide removal... I did my 2006 2350 without slide removal, and it came out great.

https://forum.phoenixusarv.com/index.php?topic=3016.0 (You must be a registered member and logged in to see pictures, for all the visitors that follow.)

I still have not finished the bathroom... >( I REALLY want white tile in there.. But the front mat and rear flooring have gotten many compliments from friends.

** On reading your post again, maybe I am misunderstanding... when you say ""like to replace the mixed carpet/vinyl floor with vinyl"" I sorta jumped to the conclusion you meant Vinyl PLANK flooring as seen in this install pic -

(https://thehoneycombhome.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/tongue-and-groove-wood-plank-flooring-diy-install-550x759.jpg)

you may mean Vinyl roll flooring -

(http://primedfw.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/brilliant-bathroom-solutions-and-vinyl-flooring-gardiner-haskins-homecentre-within-vinyl-flooring-rolls.jpg)

If so, that might be a bit easier to install with the slider removed. But NEED to be removed... I wouldnt.
I extended the slide, removed the support wheels, and there was plenty of room to work to the edge of the floor. The slide support wheels (on my coach) did not need any adjustment. (See pic # 9077 on page 1 of my post linked above - shows that edge well! )

Quote from: Ron Dittmer on June 19, 2018, 08:55:52 pm

Keep in-mind the entire interior of your PC was built on top of a full-covering vinyl floor. I think even the exterior walls rest on the vinyl floor. It was done intentionally to protect the plywood sub-floor from potential water damage. I would not want to cut and remove portions of that excellent water barrier.

The carpet is stapled over the original vinyl floor. I would remove the carpet & staples and then install your new floor on top of the original vinyl. Some PCs, the vinyl flooring stops 1 or 2 feet shy of the front cab so you might have bare plywood in that area. The floor needs to be level for any kind of new flooring so I advise covering it with other vinyl flooring or stick-on floor tile to level it.

On our PC, the vinyl floor was under cabinets, etc, but not a full floor cover under the carpet. It was bare almost to the stair edge... (Pics 9079 and 9083)

Also, leveling the floor was not a big problem with the planking. It hid all. ;) Bolt heads, previous flooring level changes... nothing visible.
BUT...Roll flooring will need the leveling Ron describes above or it will 'telegraph' all surface imperfections.

and as far as $3600 being a "fair" price... I would have to see a detailed estimate. If they are pulling the slide, and interior parts to lay down roll flooring, and doing a top notch job... I could easily see 25+ hours of labor in there. Add materials, etc... and profit, the job is not done for fun... It adds up quick. The estimate should tell the whole story, would love to see a copy.