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This pretty long but this is what we did. I called the factory about what would be needed if I installed laminate flooring and Winnebago advised me that I needed to replace the existing shoes under the slides. The existing ones are made of high density polyethylene. I made an appointment for a couple of months later and stopped by the factory on our way from NH to CO. When I got to the factory, they made up the new shoes with carpet on them. The cost for them was going to be about $150. The shoes were 1 X 6 s about 3 feet long with an angle cut on one side and covered (glued on) with the material that is used to cover the floors of the service bay. There were six of them as I recall. Then when they were supposed to install them they came out and said they were afraid that the material would create too much friction running on the existing carpet and the slides would not function properly. I did not want to remove the carpet until I got to my sister in law's place where I intended to install the Pergo, so I did not have them install the shoes and decided to rethink the whole thing. I ended up deciding that I was going to install the flooring and see what would happen. I really didn’t think the existing shoes would be any worse than the carpet type. It seemed to me that the carpet type could catch dust and small rocks as easily as the old smooth ones. We used Armstrong's best grade of laminate. We picked it based on some tests that Consumer Reports did that showed it had better wear and scratch resistance than Pergo. It's 3/8 inch thick. We were surprised to find that a Carpet Time store had much better prices on the best grade than Home Depot or Lowes had on the middle grade which is all Lowes and Home Depot carried. The best grades were special order. We did the installation of our flooring ourselves. We couldn't find an installer willing to do the job. It took us about ten day’s altogether (we only worked about 4 hours a day though). It wasn't terribly difficult but did require a lot of cutting and trimming because of all of the corners. There were some challenges involving the front of the slides, around the stairs, underneath the dinette, the transition piece between the driver’s area carpet and the laminate, and the trim piece along the back wall. Before we did the installation we did a test by removing a square of carpet and making sure the slides would ride over a piece of T molding, laminate and underlayment. Some people try to cut the carpet back under the slide, but we cut the carpet in front of the slides leaving enough carpet to be stapled down. I was afraid the slides would catch the carpet when the slide went back out. A Tee molding covers it so it doesn't show. Also on my rig there is a transition from plywood to steel flooring under the carpet in the front - behind the captains chairs where the steel cabin cage begins. We did not remove the carpet in the cabin area. It is best to not put the laminate in the steel floor area because there is a small difference in height and the transition could be rough to handle. If you do the job yourself I would recommend a few things to have: 1) Table saw, 2) Chop saw, 3) Good saber saw, 4) Rotozip tool, 5) Air brad nailer, 6) Air stapler, 7) Utility knife and sharp hook blades. 8 ) staple puller. There were two grades of the foam underlayment available. We used the best grade - more expensive but thicker and provides a moisture barrier. We also used a special waterproof joint glue in areas that are prone to getting wet - like in front of the sink, refrigerator, and around the stairwell. (This is used to glue the joints so spilled water can't get in the joints - not to glue the flooring to the subfloor). We also used silicon caulk to fill the 1/4 gap at the edges in those areas. The caulk and waterproof glue are both recommended in the instructions from Armstrong. The challenge areas mentioned above might deserve more explanation if you actually decide to go ahead with the project. Regarding the project; we are extremely happy with the results. It is very easy to clean and it looks good. As far as the slides coming in goes, we have had one problem. The first few times we operated the slides everything was fine. Then we had a scratch show up in front of the dinette. The next time we brought the slide in we put a thin piece of plastic (flexible cutting board) down at that point. When the slide went back out the plastic was badly scratched and it left two paper clips on the plastic. Apparently our cat who loves to steal and play with them had batted them under the slide before we got the quarter round fixed to the front of the slide in that area. Since then we have had no more scratches. We do vacuum carefully before we operate the slides. The good news is that the scratch is not noticeable and if you don’t know it’s there I don’t believe you will see it. There were places where the quarter round trim molding was difficult to attach. It couldn't be bradded or stapled because the angle the brad had to enter the trim was such that it would angle down and hit the floor. We have decided to use some oak look 2 1/2 inch flat molding that I got at Home Depot. It can be attached on the edge of the bed and bradded to the bed. I also got self adhesive door sweep strips that will be attached to the rear of the flat trim. It is a rubber strip with a stiff plastic strip along the top. I used the flat trim and door sweep everywhere we had used the quarter round. The quarter round has come loose in several places because the contact cement and hot melt glue we had used to attach it didn't hold it very well. We sweep, vacuum and mop thoroughly before we bring the slides in but over the years we have developed a few scratches. Mostly due to small pebbles we somehow missed. The scratches are not noticeable and we both are very happy we got rid of the carpet and installed the laminate.
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Clay WA5NMR - Ex Snowbird - 1 year, Ex Full timer for 11 years - 2004 Winnebago Sightseer 35N Workhorse chassis. Honda Accord toad.
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