Putting in new carpet ...

[SuiteWheels]

has anyone replaced their carpeting in the MS? I'm so tired of trying to get up some dark spots (yes, we have had it professionally cleaned and done it twice ourselves) but I would love to put in new carpeting in dining and living room of our 38RL.
A neighbor here at the park told us they wanted to change their carpeting but were told the slides would have to be removed???? I don't know why that should have to be done but decided to ask here if anyone else has tackled this?

Thanks! :)

[SuiteWheels]

Well dang, NO ONE has replaced their carpeting????

[larry_electricguy]

Glad to say that we haven't had to do that yet! Since the Suites are not very old, it may be hard to find someone that owns a Suites that has needed to replace carpet yet. I'm sorry that has happend to you. Maybe you can share your experience, do's and don'ts, when you get it done! Wish you the best of luck!!!

Will you decide to use a color or go with something simular to what came in your suite?

Betty

[rverdlm]

Many dealers have needed to do this on trade-ins and also occasionally on new units that for some reason have become stained. I would talk to your dealer he may know of a carpet company that knows how to do this.

[SuiteWheels]

larry, I'd like to go to a mix color that doesn't show so much dirt.....living in our unit full-time, we just seem to bring in dirt and we actually take our shoes off at the door!!

Our dealer is in AZ and we are in CA.....but we may take one more trip to AZ and I'll check with them at that time. Actually since we are debating on selling the unit, it would be necessary to change this carpet as the two soil spots seem to be growing! LOL

[bstark]

The only slightly tricky part for any installer would be to have an oversize piece of carpet already prepared with the edging tape for the slideout. the rest of the job should be similar in nature to any house job other than having to move the furniture every 5 minutes so the next area can be laid down.

[jdwilson3]

I don't know about any other location, but we have two carpet installers here in Benson (AZ), and both of them do RVs. I would check with some installers and find someone local.

[Dsravenoaks]

My wife and I live full time in the 47th MS made-03 36 K.

We hated the beige carpeting it had since we owned it. It showed the dirt and never looked clean no matter how much you cleaned it.

I looked in to carpet replacement a several RV shows, Camping World and RV speciality shop. I got estimates from a thousand of to a over 3 K.

Most people told me they did not want to do it because of the slide, in particular the kitchen side slide. NOT A GOOD SIGN.. The bedroom and living room slide are not problem. You can get at everything.

We decided not to do it because of cost and then I got a brainstorm. Why take out the carpet under the kitchen side.

I cut old carpet right off at the edge of the cabinets. where they meet the carpet.

I then got a 3 inch wide piece of oak flooring and stained it to match the cabinets. I used a sander to create a ramp on both side of the board where the slide rollers, (two will hit it) so that the slide doesnt catch on the board when the slide goes in and out. Glue the board in place with industrial grade glue and nail.

Then pull out all the old carpet and pad. BUT KEEP THE OLD PIECES OF CARPET THAT YOU TAKE OUT OF THE LIVING ROOM (Door side). Actually I kept all the old pieces for a while. Use them as rough templates for the new pieces.

Then buy some high quality, darker (we went with a brown, low shag) carpet. Don't buy cheap stuff. Shag does not show slide marks where they go in and out. More importantly shag does not show stapes.

Get the best pad you can. I got Home Depot foam type. High Quality.

Take the new carpet and use the old pieces as a template. You will have enough left for al ot of scatter rugs.

Take the dining slide piece into a place that surges carpet, puts the thread edging on, a nice dark matching color and at the same time have all the
extra pieces surged for the scatter rugs. Check at the carpet store who in the area surges. Total surge costs $125

Clean the floors well and install the pad first. Then install the carpet using a carpet knife and power stapler (cheap stapler)$39 bucks No need for tack strips on edges along wall and with a shag, all you do is staple... use smaller, long carpet staples.

I really isn't that hard. I did it all in one day.

Total cost

Carpet $400 This was very good carpet
Pad 75
Stapler 40 You can rent at Home Depot, but buy cheap one for same
Misc 40

TOTAL COST $555 AND IT LOOKS GREAT....HAVE HAD IT IN FOR OVER A YEAR..... NO WEAR AND WOULD DO IT AGAIN IF I HAD TO....

DID NOT TAKE OUT SLIDE OR DROP IT. JUST CARPETED UP TO OAK BOARD..... YOU WOULD NEVER KNOW THE OLD CARPET IS UNDER THE CABINET.

[ChrisM]

I've replaced the carpet in many rv's. It can be tricky to get around and under the slides, but its not rocket science. Most of the time you can bump the room in just a tad and, using wooden blocks and a jack, pick the front of the room up just enough to cleanly remove the old carpet and install the new. Like Dsravenoaks mentioned, if you save the old stuff as a pattern, it goes much quicker. The only real problem is finding someone to bind the edges of the slide carpet.

[berghild]

there is a guyh in Buena park that will do any kind of flooring. ad is in back of God Sam magazine. My friends did mortorhome in tile...even the slides....i realize that is too heavy for our rigs but it can be done.
We had lousiana cut when we ordered our rig....linoleum on main floor just a little carpet around the edges and on slides...mainly because they didn't know what to do.
If we do it again it will be all linolem or pergo type. a mop and a throw rug and we're done!
Carpeting seems so silly where we like to go. If we are on cement all the time or have paved entries then ok....but most of the time that is not the case. Rain, snow, a mesy husband and a small dog realy take their toll!