Flooring question/review

[Teresa G]

We just put down a deposit on an E23 and have the first draft of our configuration. We're really struggling with the flooring choices. We have a 130 pound Newfoundland dog and will likely always have at least one large dog. It is the most difficult to change in the future, so we want to get it right. We are leaning toward the Escape standard flooring colour "Coral Bay". We know this is Mannington's product number 4171. Mannington has five levels of flooring Luxury in Platinum, Gold & Silver and Resilient in Jumpstart and Benchmark. The specifications vary as follows:

The Coral Bay Resilient Benchmark flooring is Mannington's lowest level of flooring. I'm concerned over the scratch resistance of this level of flooring with such a large dog.
Armstrong has similar levels of flooring.

I'm looking for your experience with your Escape flooring, including, but not limited to:

1. What flooring did you choose?
2. Did you got with one of the Escape standard or custom?
3. Why did you make the selection you made?
4. How has your flooring stood up to the test of time and camping?
5. If you were to select flooring again, would you make the same or a different selection?

Thank you,
Teri

 

[OneCentHillman]

Would advise putting down a wall-to-wall layer of foam puzzle-mat flooring over the vinyl flooring to protect it. Benefits:

• Provides insulation from cold and heat
• Nice and cushy to walk on
• Not permanent - can easily pick it up to replace/remove entire floor or just damaged pieces as needed
• Comes in many colors/patterns including very realistic wood grains

 

[Teresa G]

Would advise putting down a wall-to-wall layer of foam puzzle-mat flooring over the vinyl flooring to protect it. Benefits:

• Provides insulation from cold and heat
• Nice and cushy to walk on
• Not permanent - can easily pick it up to replace/remove entire floor or just damaged pieces as needed
• Comes in many colors/patterns including very realistic wood grains

Thanks for that suggestion. Have you done this in your trailer? Would the flooring underneath get scratched up from sand/dirt that makes its way through the puzzle-mat?

 

[brroberts]

A while back, someone did a custom flooring option when ETI was doing those kinds of things. They were told ETI would only do light to mid weight vinyl. The heavy weight was not pliable enough for ETI.

 

[Ron in BC]

I don't know how our flooring is holding up because it's been a long time since I saw it. My wife keeps it covered with throw rugs, nicer to walk on in sock feet and easy to take out and give a shake. Our dog probably liked the carpet better too but she didn't get a vote.

Ron

 

[OneCentHillman]

Thanks for that suggestion. Have you done this in your trailer? Would the flooring underneath get scratched up from sand/dirt that makes its way through the puzzle-mat?

We have... in our E19 and our E23. We have two dogs. I took it up once to vacuum/mop (numbered the pieces to get them back in the right places) no scratches.
Originally did it in our E19 to insulate the floor when we camped in colder months. Had planned on taking it up for warm weather camping, but it felt so good to walk on that we left it in place.
First thing DH said when we ordered our E23 was, "You are going to put down the foam flooring, aren't you." Yep, I did!

 

[OneCentHillman]

A while back, someone did a custom flooring option when ETI was doing those kinds of things. They were told ETI would only do light to mid weight vinyl. The heavy weight was not pliable enough for ETI.

Good point as there are some tight corners in the E23.

 

[Teresa G]

A while back, someone did a custom flooring option when ETI was doing those kinds of things. They were told ETI would only do light to mid weight vinyl. The heavy weight was not pliable enough for ETI.

Thank you. I’ve also sent an email to our ETI configuration specialist. I’ll post in this thread what I hear back from her.

 

[Teresa G]

We have... in our E19 and our E23. We have two dogs. I took it up once to vacuum/mop (numbered the pieces to get them back in the right places) no scratches.
Originally did it in our E19 to insulate the floor when we camped in colder months. Had planned on taking it up for warm weather camping, but it felt so good to walk on that we left it in place.
First thing DH said when we ordered our E23 was, "You are going to put down the foam flooring, aren't you." Yep, I did!

Thank you. We’ll keep that in mind.

 

[DT6]

If you opt to add the foam puzzle-mat flooring or something similar, you can buy heavy duty paper that is sold for home construction/remodeling to protect floors, and put that down first. It can be cut to fit and taped together, then the puzzle-mat on top of that. However, you are likely never going to stop all of the dirt, sand, etc. from falling through to the vinyl, but it would likely stop quite a bit of it.

My thought is that it mostly depends on how often you want to remove the foam puzzle-mat flooring and sweep/shake everything out. We use throw rugs instead, but I have to admit the foam puzzle-mat is an idea we are going to consider. With the throw rugs, I usually take them out and throughly sweep the floors once or twice a week when on longer trips. If we switch to puzzle mats, I would hope I could get by with once a month or maybe even a whole winter trip.

 

[OneCentHillman]

My thought is that it mostly depends on how often you want to remove the foam puzzle-mat flooring and sweep/shake everything out.

Vacuum - not sweep. Does a more thorough job of getting debris that may fall between cracks. Only took my puzzle-mat floor up once and that was probably unnecessary.

 

[Teresa G]

Thank you all for the suggestions. We have a Dewalt vacuum for the trailer. It uses the same batteries as the drill we use for the stabilizers. In our current trailer, I should sweep or vacuum daily to keep up with the sand and dirt. Realistically, I do it every few days.

I heard back from ETI. They do not install commercial grade flooring. They provided a standard document with instructions on customizing the 3Fs (fabric, formica and flooring). Screenshot of the flooring section below. I think we will need to find a retailer near us or order some samples to determine if a flooring upgrade is worth it for us.

 

[iamunique127]

We ordered custom fabric and counter tops back in 2014 but decided to go with the standard flooring. We keep it covered with rubber bottomed throw rugs for the warm feel and so it's not slippery. My wife usually takes care of that and cleaning the floor but I did take up all the rugs to do some work in there the other day. The flooring looks like it did the day we got the trailer.

We had a 100 lb. dog when we got the trailer and have a 60 pounder now. Neither of them has done any damage but they do bring in a fair bit of sand and dirt. My wife shakes out the matts and vacuums the floor every day or two and we're good to go again. The mats are laundered when they get dirty but the rubber backing wears off in time. They are easily replaced at a big box store.

 

[Centex]

I heard back from ETI. They do not install commercial grade flooring.

Similar response when I was configuring back in 2021, looking for more robust material than the very thin samples I received from ETI. I was told that the reason was flooring thickness, any substitute needed to be very close to the OE offerings thickness for them to handle the installation.

I ended up taking the ETI standard Shaw Shadow Grey #557, both for the neutral color and the minimal surface relief (figured that some of those with more relief like the faux stone might 'telegraph through' any overlay material I might want to install later).

Though very thin, It's proven robust enough and I'm happy with it. YMMV.

 

[Teresa G]

Similar response when I was configuring back in 2021, looking for more robust material than the very thin samples I received from ETI. I was told that the reason was flooring thickness, any substitute needed to be very close to the OE offerings thickness for them to handle the installation.

I ended up taking the ETI standard Shaw Shadow Grey #557, both for the neutral color and the minimal surface relief (figured that some of those with more relief like the faux stone might 'telegraph through' any overlay material I might want to install later).

Though very thin, It's proven robust enough and I'm happy with it. YMMV.

Thank you. This is what we are thinking as well. We're also thinking the additional cost of customizing the flooring may be more than having to replace the flooring at some point in the future.

 

[TheNiceFamily]

re: foam puzzle tiles - has anyone tried them in a 17? I'm trying to wrap my head around how many cuts might be involved with 24" x 24" tiles. Length not an issue but the width....not so sure. We got custom flooring in our 2024 17B and promptly covered it with two thick foam mats. Very comfy but the dirt that gathers around them drives me crazy. I've taken the mats up and do enjoy the flooring BUT I'm missing the cushion feel underfoot. I know, never happy!

 

[OneCentHillman]

You can also get puzzle-tiles in 12" x 12" size if that helps your planning. That the size I used when I did our E19.

 

[TheNiceFamily]

Thank you! I've just ordered a 16 piece set of 12x12 foam faux wood tiles. I'm very much looking forward to seeing how they work out! I may need another 6 or 9 tiles but this is a start.

You can also get puzzle-tiles in 12" x 12" size if that helps your planning. That the size I used when I did our E19.

 

[Teresa G]

Thank you all for your responses and suggestions. I got some pricing for the custom flooring. We've decided to go with one of the Escape standard flooring options. I took my keys to the flooring sample Escape sent and with all my might couldn't scratch it. There is also enough variation in the pattern and a texture to the flooring that I think any potential scratches will just blend in.

 

[John in Santa Cruz]

our 2014 E21 has whatever standard cheapest flooring Escape was using in 2014. we've dragged all kinda sand and gravel and grit into the trailer during the multitude of trips we've taken, up to and including 4 months in Mexico last year, and the linoleum still seems to be holding up fine. We don't clean the floor nearly as often as we should, but we do try and sweep and/or vacuum it about once a week while camping. We have a carpet runner down the middle of the 'hallway', and its been replaced once or twice in the last 10 years.