2003 Brave Renovation

[bigenna]

2003 BRAVE RENOVATION On this forum (and others) I have read how folks have removed carpet from the main floor area in their units and replaced with allure or laminate planks. I would love to do this, or actually to have my husband do this but because we have not read of anyone doing it on our particular year and model, he is concerned that it might not work.
The way it is now, when our slide is out, there is a deep depression that shows where the edge of the slide ends when the slide is in. My feeling is that with the carpet removed, the main floor area would be lower, so there should be less of a problem with the slide causing wear and tear on a new, lower height flooring. But could there be damage or extra wear on the slide mechanism itself by not having the extra thickness of the carpet to hold it steady?
I am really hoping someone with a 2003 Brave has done this reno successfully so I can plead my case.
(now don't all you guys stick together, here .)

[John Hilley]

The slides are pretty much the same from model to model. The main difference is the kind that stay raised above the floor and those that go flush. We redid the floor on out 1999 Brave. There is a plastic shoe under the slide when the go onto carpet and a wooden shoe wrapped in carpet for floors with tile. Ours was on carpet. I talked to Winnebago about switching the shoes, wouldn't five me a definite price as there are a lot of variables. You are right about the height. We didn't change ours and it works fine. There are some strips of plastic available from RV suppiers that you can put down on the tile when you put the slide in, these keep it from scratching the floor. People also use them with carper.

Slideout Slicker

[bigenna]

Thanks John

But is there nobody out there that has done the reno on a 2003 Brave?

[ihbond]

We kept the carpet bump under the platform floor, event extended the platform. We also used furniture glides (from home depot) and epoxied them on the lip of the slide, really was not necessary, but just in case. We took lipstick and put it on the lip to make sure their was no rubbing anywhere. Took me 3 days to figure out how to extend the platform, relocate the subwoofer, move out the jackknife couch, remove carpets (really easy), put in allure flooring, and custom make transitional pieces. Oh yea, also to make a man door that can be lowered by the steps.

Here is a link. MobileMe Gallery
Shots 92-98 Slide out is closed (lots of room still).
Shots 93 (man door opened) 94 (man door closed) (supports over 300lbs)
shots 96 (hardwood to allure with custom transitioning) inside steps still have carpet
shots 97 (custom molding, and extended platform)
Shot 98 (subwoofer relocated)
Shot 100 (custom food pedestal ..does not slide and made of foam) short people...
shot 108 & 109 (custom wedges ..rubber and microfiber to prevent rocking while going down the road)
shot 111 putting the la-z-boy on the bed to make more room if needed
shot 112 - 113 side by side laz boy...CAN BE FULLY EXTENDED ON PLATFORM WITHOUT HITTING WALL
Shot 114 side by side for tv nights!
since i got rid of the dinette table and went to bar configuration we can easily accommodate 2 GSD and a crate comfortably or 3 GSD's ,for limited time (they got on our nerves...

Love the allure floor. Decided not float it, and have had no issues in damp or dry weather. Just love it, no buckling so far. I though it would have made the road noise noticeable, but according to my sound meter it dampened it. Now it did make interior noise louder (like tv, speaking, dog panting) but we put down some carpets and its quieted it down some.

Next time I will post picture of a dog run we fastened to underneath the frame of the coach...

[pace89]

Originally Posted by bigenna

2003 BRAVE RENOVATION On this forum (and others) I have read how folks have removed carpet from the main floor area in their units and replaced with allure or laminate planks. I would love to do this, or actually to have my husband do this but because we have not read of anyone doing it on our particular year and model, he is concerned that it might not work.
The way it is now, when our slide is out, there is a deep depression that shows where the edge of the slide ends when the slide is in. My feeling is that with the carpet removed, the main floor area would be lower, so there should be less of a problem with the slide causing wear and tear on a new, lower height flooring. But could there be damage or extra wear on the slide mechanism itself by not having the extra thickness of the carpet to hold it steady?
I am really hoping someone with a 2003 Brave has done this reno successfully so I can plead my case.
(now don't all you guys stick together, here .)

We have replaced the carpet in the lounge area of our 2004 Winnebago Sightseer 35N with a "Pergo" Laminate, and are very happy with the results. If interested photos of this project & other RV projects are at:
Picasa Web Albums - Terry & Bev + Cookie - 35 N Remodel

[ihbond]

Tried Pergo once in the NW..did not do well in the moist areas..Still beautiful job you folks did!

[bigenna]

Wow, thanks for the photos ihbond and pace89.
What a beautiful job you both did.
Still hoping we can do something similar.

[pace89]

Originally Posted by bigenna

Wow, thanks for the photos ihbond and pace89.
What a beautiful job you both did.
Still hoping we can do something similar.

Hi ihbond/bigenna. I hear your concern aout the moisture, if I have issues & need to resurface I think I will use the "New" Alure Floating Resilient Plank Flooring. This relitavely new product is a tongue & grove vinyl plank flooring (as opposed to the older Alure that had a peel & stick edge). I am currently resurfacing our Laundry room at home with this product, & it looks like it would be perfect for an RV. Our stick house is in New England & we winter in Fl from 3rd week of Dec/Apr so far the "Pergo" has held up well for 6000 + miles & many slide cycles & the New England & Fl weather. Good Luck with your choice of flooring material.