Replacing the carpet in a 5th wheel

How hard is it to replace the carpet in a 5th wheel? Has anyone ever done it or should it be done by a professional carpet layer. We have a 34' Bighorn and I would like to get rid of the carpet or replace it. I was wondering if anyone had ever had the flooring replaced.

Went to a local RV dealer and they recommended an installer. Got them to do it and they did a great job. It's not easy to do yourself.

I really did not want to do it anyway. I live in it so they are going to have to pull it off in one day. I will holler at a dealer to see who I can find.

Thanks,

If you were down south, I can do it.

Ernie isn't supposed to advertise here, but I can tell you he has many very satisfied customers. See http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/erniesremodelingandrepair/ for samples of his work.

The present carpet is likely to extend under cabinets and such - it is typically laid before the furnishings are installed. You may have to cut the old stuff out. It is probably stapled at the edges rather than using tack strips. If you have some experience in carpeting, you can certainly do it yourself. If not, getting a pro is probably a better choice.

I am more then willing to offer tips, suggestions, step by step guidance to anyone that would like to do it yourself. After all of my 38+ years in the business, I have lots of info in what's left of my brain to share. ;D

that is really a shame. I just left Runaway Bay 4 months ago. I wish I had of known then. Well my parents still live there and I may go back this summer. If I do i will give you a call. Maybe I can get a number so I can reach you. I can always get you here anyway.

Thanks again for the tip.

flynlow said:

How hard is it to replace the carpet in a 5th wheel? Has anyone ever done it or should it be done by a professional carpet layer. We have a 34' Bighorn and I would like to get rid of the carpet or replace it. I was wondering if anyone had ever had the flooring replaced.

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We, at Route 66 RV, have been in the RV flooring replacement industry since 1976, and over the years, this question comes up a lot.  The biggest challenge with any RV flooring replacement is the intricacy of cuts and custom work needed to complete an RV installation.  With many moving parts in a 5th wheel, be it a slideout, a door to access batteries, etc., an experienced RV flooring installer would be advisable.  On the other hand, 5th wheels are among the easiest RV floors to replace, mostly because they are much wider and open spaces than Class A or Class C motorhomes.

The biggest hurdles you will face doing this on your own are probably going to be your slideouts.  There are generally two types of slideouts in a 5th wheel - one that's raised and another that sits flat on the floor.  The raised slideout can be wrapped with carpet, much like the bullnose on a New York style staircase in one's home.  The flat resting slideout will need to be bound with carpet binding along the inside edge.  This binding will overhang the threshold between the slideout and the main floor of the 5th wheel.  Typically, this space is bridged with an unsightly metal.  As a result, the bound piece will need to be pre-cut to fit in the slideout and brought to a bindery so that the outer edge of the piece could be stitched with a matching binding.  Once down, this edge will cover that unsightly metal.  This edge should overhang about 2-3" beyond the metal threshold you are trying to hide.

If you choose to do this yourself, also have a helper standing by, as you are going to need him or her to feed bolts through the subfloor to tie down your furniture in need of removal and replacement.

While we have had RV owners across North America, including Canada, make the trip to have us do it, you could pull it off if you have a lot of flooring experience.  Keep in mind though that over our 34 years in business, I have had many carpet and flooring installers that have worked for our residential flooring division that couldn't install floors in an RV.  Even they were overmatched by the intricacy of the project.  It truly takes a professional sometimes to get you the professional results you desire. 

There is no way I would do it myself. My slide outs are level. The carpet is serged around the edges of the carpet that lays on the slide outs. I would want it done the same way. It looks good that way. Mine is a 2007 and the slides come up just a little when going in. The carpet does not wrap around, it can't due to the way the slide out is made.

Thanks again for your help.

I would really like to try replacing my MH's carpet myself, either this year or next.  I have NO SLIDES which I'm sure will be a huge help, and I'll only be replacing the front half living room and driver's area of the RV.  The two captains chairs and our L-shaped couch is all that sits on top of the existing carpet, maybe 14-16 bolts total.  When installing the new stuff, is there any kind of special stretching that needs to be done like household carpet?  Unfortunately I'm nowhere close to Ernie in TX or Rt. 66 in CA to physically utilize your services... but I'll gladly take any pointers you can offer here.  ;D

Scott- I may be coming up to Wisconsin this summer. I have a coach to do up in Germantown. Fortunately my client has a big shop and he works on coaches. He will be doing brakes, transmission service, etc. Stuff I can't do. Maybe I can install your on the way up?

WOW what an offer!  I can give you all the specific details and measurements via PM so we don't clutter up the thread.  I'd love to get a quote from you.

I can give you ... via PM

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Yes, PM or email is the place for this, thanks Scott & Ernie.

Flynlow: I see you are in Canada as we are we are in the Hamilton area and would like to replace the carpet in our 5th wheel also.  Were you succesful in finding someone to do it if so who was it and did they do a good job also how costly was it? any help would be appreciated.

scottydl said:

I would really like to try replacing my MH's carpet myself, either this year or next.  I have NO SLIDES which I'm sure will be a huge help, and I'll only be replacing the front half living room and driver's area of the RV.  The two captains chairs and our L-shaped couch is all that sits on top of the existing carpet, maybe 14-16 bolts total.  When installing the new stuff, is there any kind of special stretching that needs to be done like household carpet?  Unfortunately I'm nowhere close to Ernie in TX or Rt. 66 in CA to physically utilize your services... but I'll gladly take any pointers you can offer here.  ;D

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If you're the least bit handy; don't let the flush floor slides worry you.  Here's our floor my wife and I put down two years ago. 

Beautiful!  My rig doesn't have any slides at all, so I don't think it should be too difficult.  But I don't want the carpet bunching up as soon as I get the furniture back down on it.  Having the equipment/skill to stretch the carpet properly is my main concern.

scottydl said:

Beautiful!  My rig doesn't have any slides at all, so I don't think it should be too difficult.  But I don't want the carpet bunching up as soon as I get the furniture back down on it.  Having the equipment/skill to stretch the carpet properly is my main concern.

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If you're going to install carpet, then you must use tackles-strip along the edges.  After the tackles is installed you would have to rent a "kicker" to draw the carpet tight.  Then you would use a rubber mallet and bang the carpet down onto the tackles strips.

I just pulled out most of my carpet and all of the sheet flooring in our 83 Fleetwood Pace Arrow, is there any tips and or recommendations you can offer as I move toward replacing everything? First of course I must still remove all of the tacks and other thing use to hold down the carpet and the padding.  I am sure that will turn out to be more difficult that removing everything else. We also did it because the wood on the floor seems spongy, and I now think that some of the floor wood will also have to be replace, anything you can offer to make that job easier?

Ernie Ekberg said:

I am more then willing to offer tips, suggestions, step by step guidance to anyone that would like to do it yourself. After all of my 38+ years in the business, I have lots of info in what's left of my brain to share. ;D

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Have you located tthe spongy parts of your floor? What material is your floor made from- plywood, OSB, chipboard? Lets start from there. Ernie

Yes, I spent more than a day removing all of the carpet tack strips and nails, tacks and staples. Then I removed the 1/2" plywood floor only to discover that to solve the problem they last guy just installed 2 wood cross-member and it seems as if all area that seems soft was in the voids. I have provided you with a link to what I found:

http://1983pacearrowmotorhomerestoration.blogspot.com/2010/08/removed-and-re-shored-floor.html

So my current plan is to install more support attached to the metal frame work, to provide better support over the entire floor. Once I removed the floor it seems as if it had endured many soaking.

So once I replace the section I removed, which I will first seal with a cost or two of paint, I will install new carpet tack strips and then replace the carpet with some new carpet.

Would yo have any advice of hint you could provide me with to make the job easier and the end result better?