Rip in flooring

[dlzeller]

We have stored our Wildwood outside for many years, this spring when I opened the door, the flooring had torn in a half circle by the heating vent and sink near the front door. Has anyone else had this problem and what was the cause. It is a clean rip and actually looks like cut with box cutter. No one has been in the camper since end of Sept till now. Does the flooring expand during the cold? I am one confused camper and now have to replace the flooring. It was one cold winter. Thanks

[Wildcat661]

Sorry to hear about your tear. We had the same thing happen to us last spring. The tear started at the wall under the slideout and went under the bed. It was about 5 feet long. I'm sure that it was because of the cold winter we had. Just was in to check it last night and everything seems fine. Did not open the slideout though. There is still some 3 feet of snow around the trailer. When they build the units, they do not use adhesive. I'm sure that the units still flex in the cold which would contribute to the rip in the flooring. We were fortunate that it was still covered under warranty and our dealer did an excellent job at fixing it. Would have a hard time telling that it was a repair. Good luck with your decision.

Bill and Diane
Cobalt Ontario
2012 Grey Wolf 18RB
2011 Dodge Ram
Equalizer Hitch

[WFD]

That's caused by the cold weather and the freezing in your trailer while stored...actually from the freeze warm up cycles. The flooring is not glued down, which, I am told, allows the flooring to expand and contract over the winter and causes cracking.....extremely common where I am from in Winnipeg where we get very cold weather for prolonged periods....common phrase around here: "Has the flooring in your trailer split yet? Just hang on to your trailer long enough and it will!"
People have told me they resolved the issue when they replaced the flooring by gluing it all down, not just around the edge like the manufacturer does and that resolved their problem. Others have also replaced with laminate flooring and no more issues.

[Wiscampsin]

Sorry to hear about your floor. It really didn't expand but cracked/tore/ripped because of contraction due to cold. If you can check to see if it's Beauflor because they have a warranty against cold cracking. IIRC it's 7 years on our Sabre.

[keep camping]

Ours cracked too, but we also had a water leak that I thought contributed to it. We live in northern MN so the cold is an issue. We replaced it with laminate wood flooring which I love.

[MillerTime]

Originally Posted by Wiscampsin

Sorry to hear about your floor. It really didn't expand but cracked/tore/ripped because of contraction due to cold. If you can check to see if it's Beauflor because they have a warranty against cold cracking. IIRC it's 7 years on our Sabre.

Im thinkin the same thing. I think I have seen the 7 year on beauflor too.

MillerTime- Future Sabre Handler!!

[dlzeller]

Just was at at dealer, the ripped flooring was due to the cold, they have had over 10 campers come in with same issue. No Warranty however, but now I will have a new floor....

[RTB]

2010 Surveyor SP280
Pulled the trailer out of storage and was hoping to get it ready to use. However, when we opened we noticed to big tears across the vinyl floor. One tear is from the sofa (on the slide) across to the table and the other comes from underneath the stove/sink and stretches across to the bunks. Needless to say I am not impressed. Dealer said there is not much they can do minus 45 - 50 temperatures play havoc with these things and sorry for your bad luck. But for $1500 - 1800 they will gladly replace it for me. Well since we will continue to have winter here in Saskatchewan why would I spend the type of $$ on something that will likely tear again. Should not a company's product be appropriate for where it is being sold? Any ideas? I believe the type of flooring is beau floor.

[dlzeller]

I spoke with the adjustor from the Company I have the trailer insured with and he had never heard of such a thing. He took a copy of my dec page and is taking to the claims manager to see if it might be a covered peril. I will keep everyone informed if I do have a claim that might be paid.

[WFD]

RTB....your situation is actually very common..happens alot here in "Winterpeg" Manitoba as well....last I heard...our winters might actually be even worse than Saskatchewan( I know our football is definitely worse)!!!!!
Problem is that the manufacturers don't glue the flooring down, except for the outer edge, and some don't even do that...so in the sub zero temps, it contracts...some people have told me that when they replaced the flooring they glued it all down, and never had another problem...others have just replaced with laminate, problem there is extra weight and that changes all your heights for everything in the trailer.

Rick

[spierce617]

I had this happen to me this year also. I did replace it with Vinyl floor planks. Here is a link to the thread that I started on the forum. It only cost about 300 to replace the floor with the planks and about 20 hours of my time.

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ing-59151.html

[dlzeller]

The good news for me is that our Insurance Company, Auto Owners has decided that this is a covered peril and will be taking care of the damage. Auto Owners always looks for a way to pay claim. I am a happy camper.