paulfredricks
CT
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We are shopping for a new travel trailer. I've seen all the info about quality these days. Most issues sound small to me as I am very handy.
Some of the units we are looking at have a 2" laminated floor listed. A friend of mine had a laminated floor in the past and said that where ever someone spent a lot of time, like in front of the sink, the floor sagged. It was dented in. For that reason he will only go with a camper that has a plywood floor.
Is this still a concern with this type of floor?
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campigloo
Baton Rouge, La
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The laminated floors are usually pretty good. His probably got wet. They’re used because they have some insulation value and they’re light. Unless maybe it’s a toy hauler I doubt you’ll find any camper made in the last 30 years that will have plywood flooring.
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theoldwizard1
SE MI
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paulfredricks wrote:Some of the units we are looking at have a 2" laminated floor listed.
Never heard of any floor 2" thick !
The ones that had problems were foam core.
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jdc1
Rescue, Ca
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Stick to a good sheet vinyl floor. Less chance of moisture to penetrate down to the OSB sheeting.
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paulfredricks
CT
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Forest River makes a number of campers with 5/8" ply wood floors
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cougar28
Lowell,AR USA
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Jayco uses "5/8 in. tongue-and-groove joined plywood floor decking" in a lot of there models.
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CarnationSailor
Carnation,WA
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campigloo wrote:The laminated floors are usually pretty good. His probably got wet. They’re used because they have some insulation value and they’re light. Unless maybe it’s a toy hauler I doubt you’ll find any camper made in the last 30 years that will have plywood flooring.
My 2011 Keystone Cougar TT had a laminated floor (foam core) and it sagged in high traffic areas and it did NOT get wet. Also, I know of at least two others with Keystone products of that era who had similar problems.
I hope the current laminated floors are free of that defect.
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coolmom42
Middle Tennessee
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Lots of problems with the foam core floors getting soft spots. The stuff in the middle gets soft with use.
I would rather have a wood floor with vinyl tile or sheet vinyl on top.
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spoon059
Just north of D.C.
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I've got a 2015 Jayco with a solid plywood floor. Laminated floors are good when they are solid, but just about impossible to fix if they get damaged. While I hope that I never need to fix my floor, I am confident in my abilities to replace a section of plywood. I'd have to pay to fix a laminated floor, or scrap the trailer.
That played into my decision of what brand and type trailer I wanted.
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valhalla360
No paticular place.
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campigloo wrote:The laminated floors are usually pretty good. His probably got wet. They’re used because they have some insulation value and they’re light. Unless maybe it’s a toy hauler I doubt you’ll find any camper made in the last 30 years that will have plywood flooring.
The sandwich core flooring is used because it's cheap and light weight.
Lots of campers still use plywood though there has been a move to OSB. As long as it stays dry, OSB vs plywood isn't a big deal but OSB is far less forgiving if it gets wet. Not that you want plywood to get wet but if it gets wet a couple times then you fix the leak, good chance the plywood will be fine...the OSB will disintegrate.
Problem with sandwich core is they use very thin sheets of plywood, so the deflection goes into the foam core. In high traffic areas, that foam starts to break down, even if it never gets wet. So by the door or in front of the sink, the floor starts to sag. If you use the trailer a few weekends per year, it may be years before the issue is noticeable. If you use the trailer a lot, it can show up quickly.
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