Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Linoleum - I wish I knew than what I know now when it comes to having linoleum on the floor of my teardrop, if I had it to do over again, I would NEVER have it on the floor!!! I see no reason for it except for 'LOOKS" but once you put the mattress in - question: who's looking at it???? so what's it propose?? Had my trailer built 4 years ago and have had off and on doors leaks and had always thought I had been ahead of the water wood damage in drying it up before anything happened. Well late last year, when removing the mattress I found floor bubbling and after more checking of it I found the plywood underneath was swelled up and separated =s water damage!!!! Pulled the linoleum back and also found that the builder had not glued and sealed it down, but had just used the "newer" and quicker way of installing it by just taping it down. I, after installing the linoleum in my own kitchen area of my house in 92 by gluing it down think this would have been a better- more water tight/sealed way of doing it (it's still doing great today!!) Well, today after finding more damage I ask? why is it even done this way and is it even needed?? My thinking now - NO linoleum, just leave it open for constant monitoring for moisture damage when removing the mattress. Also deciding that after any and "every" camping trip, remove the mattress for drying and airing out!! no matter how long in between trips!!!! Thank you for your time in reading this - just had to airy'ate some of my thoughts after getting so upset in finding what I found today!!!!!

Your thoughts are mine. I wanted sheet flooring but found some free commercial carpet squares I thought would be nice. Just a tiny bit of water got under the edge. The carpet has a plastic backing and sealed in the water so it could not dry out. The carpet is now gone and I'm thinking a nice painted floor would look good.

We labored over what mattress to buy and finally got a $100 futon mattress. It may not be the best. We take two ropes/straps under and taco the mattress. With the ropes tied tight it is easy to pull the mattress in and out of the trailer through the hatch. I can handle this myself but it is easier for two. A foam mattress is so light it would be easy to lift a side and wedge against the ceiling or cut in two pieces so it can be pulled out of a door. This if you have a traditional kitchen in the back.

T

My first drop had been commercially built and of course it had Linoleum on the galley floor. Any water that ended up there would just capillary to the edges and sit. It was a problem.

On my builds, I just soak the floor with epoxy and bring it up the walls a few inches. In the cabin? Two coats of poly.

Tony

Just about any type of epoxy, followed by polyurethane should do fine inside the cabin.

I used CPES (Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer) on mine; let that sit a while to "fume off"; then, put down my kraft paper floor with 6 coats of polyurethane. Of course, mine is a "walky" and the polyurethane does occasionally get scratches from small stones brought in on the shoe soles; but, it's easily fixed with a fresh coat of poly every couple years. ...Works fine for me.

On the underside of the deck, I used three coats of CPES, let it "fume off" and then sprayed it and the underside of the chassis with automotive undercarriage spray.

I just used polyurethane for the walls & floor (cabin & galley). No problems if the walls are joined properly to the deck & the glue squishes out enough to seal the joints properly. On the bottom side of the deck, I used some white elastomeric roof coat over 2 coats of polyurethane. So far so good. The galley is still like new with the urethane finish.

my point - you - as in, "I used" means you were the one building your own trailer - some of us (a lot of us!!!) are/were at the mercy of the builder who built it and how he assembled it (his sealing, screwing together, coating etc.,etc., etc.) and now after having owned mine for the last 4 years, my quote is "if I knew than what I known now" things may have been different now. You live and learn and ask the question "Why" is linoleum is even used except for the "decretive look of prettying it up for the buyer(me)" being it serves NO purpose except for holding of moisture/water where it should never be is why I wrote this. And yes, the wood is marine plywood coated with the poly/urethane coatings when new but water can still attack and damage it if left un-noticed as this was being the linoleum covered it. My new rule for me to follow is that the mattress is to be removed after "every" trip (along with the never having linoleum again) for the drying of moisture from here on out - not just when storing it in the winter!! As it was for the 4 years I have owned it - it has been covered every year along with the 'Dri-z-air' containers in it along with it having the 'Davis' trailer heater in it with the mattress removed when stored but that with the 'not knowing' that water.moisture had gotten under the "decretive linoleum" the damage still happened. (PS-I even have had a inside/outside electronic temp/humidly gauge here in my house so I could keep track of the temps/moisture content inside the trailer when it is being stored for what little good it may have done)

.
I'm sorry that this happened to you, Gudmund. I think that if linoleum is put down without taking short cuts, it's probably okay; but I really don't know why it is used. Maybe it's supposed to be an added chill and moisture barrier? It might make it easier to clean the floor than if nothing is put down and could make it easier to clean up spills, if you are aware them.

As we know, some RV manufacturers take the quickest and easiest way to do things to make a buck; plus, most of us know the old slogan "Time is Money". With a few exceptions, many RVs today are not expected to last ...oh, I dunno...more than 10 years? without major repairs of some sort being needed. As you have also learned, diligence is very, very important to these units because our enemy, moisture, tends to seep in wherever and whenever it can. I am glad you were able to discover and resolve the problem before your trailer became unusable! It sounds like your diligence is paying off for you. Pat yourself on the back.