Van Flooring Options

[F451]

Plus, with stall mat, if you need to transport your horse and your horse trailer is unavailable for any reason, you can use your van, Lol.

Just kidding, I've just got a personal grudge against stall mats after wrestling with them over the years, but I would agree with everyone who has listed its advantages, its is TOUGH stuff. It has to be to survive horses and their steel shoes.

 

[pugslyyy]

Plus, with stall mat, if you need to transport your horse and your horse trailer is unavailable for any reason, you can use your van, Lol.

yes, or for unruly children.

 

[pugslyyy]

Here's shot of what mine looks like. For me, having small rugs on top of the mat works well. I can shake the rugs out when I need to, and take them out completely if I need to haul lumber, etc.

 

[Mwilliamshs]

My plan is 1/2" plywood with the "Costco" flooring (actually from home depot, but same material, same size) adhered on top. This bolted to the floor with felt washers between ply and sheet metal (or a fullsize piece of roofing felt?). On top of the vinyl flooring I'll use a carpet remnant trimmed to fit but still easily removed. I use carpet now, just remnants I get free or cheap, and throw them out when they get dirty or worn. I use the van mostly as a utility vehicle so this versatility is key. When it's time to build out a camper and hit the road, I'll complete the plan.

For the plywood I'm planning tongue & groove joint, glued together. Anybody have any other thoughts? I also considered 2 layers of 1/4" ply, glued together, with joints offset to add up to the 1/2" thickness (for the purpose of stiffness) with the joints offset it should be stiffer still.

 

[kpec]

I was able to find 3/8" marine grade plywood for our truck. I never finished it off with any type of actual flooring. I also never screwed it down, did not want to have a rust issue down the road. It does not move but I am wondering how folks are trimming these thick floors out at the rear and side doors? The plastic step and rear trims don't cover the plywood so the ply sticks up. Not very clean looking install in my opinion. Looking for suggestions to tidy it up a bit for a more factory look.

 

[pugslyyy]

I was able to find 3/8" marine grade plywood for our truck. I never finished it off with any type of actual flooring. I also never screwed it down, did not want to have a rust issue down the road. It does not move but I am wondering how folks are trimming these thick floors out at the rear and side doors? The plastic step and rear trims don't cover the plywood so the ply sticks up. Not very clean looking install in my opinion. Looking for suggestions to tidy it up a bit for a more factory look.

I haven't tackled that yet - pretty much all of my trim is out right now as I'm still working on insulation. For the side door steps/trim I was thinking I would slice them in half horizontally, make them taller, and plastic weld them back together using bumper repair 2-part epoxy.

 

[Jsweezy]

I am not sure about the rear but for the side door trim you could just buy another step, cut the base off the original one and mount it up and then cut the new one to the correct height and plastic weld them together. Basically the same idea as ^ but with two steps instead of one

 

[Pinnacle Campers]

Or leave the plywood out? I hear it sucks up moisture like a sponge and most find it moldy and moisture stained when they pull their flooring up, besides being heavy and costly...easier to trim the edges...

 

[pugslyyy]

I am not sure about the rear but for the side door trim you could just buy another step, cut the base off the original one and mount it up and then cut the new one to the correct height and plastic weld them together. Basically the same idea as ^ but with two steps instead of one

Yeah I thought about that too. If it isn't to expensive that would be a whole bunch easier, for sure.

 

[pugslyyy]

Or leave the plywood out? I hear it sucks up moisture like a sponge and most find it moldy and moisture stained when they pull their flooring up, besides being heavy and costly...easier to trim the edges...

I would not be a huge fan of plywood on the floor, for the reasons stated. Of course, any type of barrier floor covering will trap moisture between it and the van sheetmetal - I had to clean up a bunch of surface rust on my van floor before I put the acoustical dampening down - this from the moisture barrier that is part of the factory flooring.

 

[villageidiot327]

Or leave the plywood out? I hear it sucks up moisture like a sponge and most find it moldy and moisture stained when they pull their flooring up, besides being heavy and costly...easier to trim the edges...

but what about the lumps/ribs in the floor? if you're trying to get a nice smooth floor, how would you go about that with no plywood to smooth things out?

 

[pugslyyy]

but what about the lumps/ribs in the floor? if you're trying to get a nice smooth floor, how would you go about that with no plywood to smooth things out?

So far that has not been a big issue for me (the stall mat I'm using does a pretty good job of smoothing it). I've been looking at adding foam strips to level everything out, though. Thinking I would use the type designed for "floating" laminate floors. I've already bought a pack of this stuff to try out, just haven't got around to it yet.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Pergo-GOLD-100-sq-ft-Premium-3-mm-Flooring-Underlayment/1000094785

 

[villageidiot327]

So far that has not been a big issue for me (the stall mat I'm using does a pretty good job of smoothing it). I've been looking at adding foam strips to level everything out, though. Thinking I would use the type designed for "floating" laminate floors. I've already bought a pack of this stuff to try out, just haven't got around to it yet.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Pergo-GOLD-100-sq-ft-Premium-3-mm-Flooring-Underlayment/1000094785

yeah, i currently have a vanrug floor in my van, but its empty back there. its hard to build off of without having something to screw into, and i don't want to screw direct in the van's floor metal.

i think plywood in most cases is a necessary evil. i plan on cutting strips of ply to level the floor ribs, adhered with some sort of adhesive, then screwing a plywood floor into the strips, but not into the floor of the van. then installing some sort of vinyl floor into the van. and building my interior and screwing it to the plywood flooring.

 

[F451]

Or leave the plywood out? I hear it sucks up moisture like a sponge and most find it moldy and moisture stained when they pull their flooring up, besides being heavy and costly...easier to trim the edges...

I'm dealing with this very issue in my E350 Turtle Top RV right now. I had some water getting into it this fall and the carpeting was soaked through in spots before I noticed it. Of course the plywood flooring was soaked through as well. There is some rot damage so I suspect it has been leaking for some time (and why the previous owner sold it - without disclosing the damage to me when I bought it).

I'm planning on replacing the rotted plywood with marine grade ply and will likely prime and paint it in an effort to stop, or slow down, any further water logging and rotting issues. And of course I'll be trying to identify where the leaks are and remedy that situation as well.

Once I get in there and see how everything is constructed I'd like to see if I can get the flooring coated with bed liner with the coating extended up the interior side walls 6" or so since my primary usage for the van is as a moto & camping van.

We'll see, I wasn't planning on doing major repairs on the thing (have enough projects going already), but I am going to try and rally and get this thing repaired, I'm not even sure it would be safe to drive around and use it with any significant load in it right now. -Eddie

 

[jhill15]

If you wanna go with something that is completely waterproof and get a sweet wood floor look go with some natural floor vinyl planks.

https://m.lowes.com/search?searchTerm=natural+floors+vinyl+planks

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