Trailer Floor Covering

[Tom Stephani]

Please help. I just bought a new enclosed 20' trailer. I'd like to cover the floor with something. I've looked at vinyl from Floor Source & Supply, Diamond Nitro Rolls, and LineX. Recommendations?

[Jeff Read]

https://www.rubberflooringinc.com/ga...tro-rolls.html

We used this in black. We did it 3 years ago and consider it a great investment

[Jim Edmonds]

Suggest you NOT use pickup bed liner urathane. Super heavy. I did it on a 20' about 2007. My bad . Sold the trailer. YMMV. Jim

[Purple Frog]

In 2003 I installed Armstrong Commercial VCT tile in my trailer. Tough as nails.
Still holding up great today. Use the trailer a lot.
Holds up to driving on it, etc.

Fairly inexpensive. Comes in a ton of colors. Mine is Purple and Silver checkerboard of course.

As always, YMMV

[bassracer]

I rolled hurculiner bed coating onto mine - it’s held up amazing Especially when Things are wet. Although it is slightly difficult to sweep and I gave up on trying to clean any water marks or oil stains off it. I put down tread plate where the tires are strapped down and over all it’s been fantastic. Would do it again for a budget trailer solution. Waaaay less weight and cost than rubber.

[Tom Stephani]

https://www.rubberflooringinc.com/ga...tro-rolls.html

We used this in black. We did it 3 years ago and consider it a great investment

Thanks.

[Jeff Read]

But don’t buy the glue from them. Buy it at Lowe’s or Home Depot

[sabre1fv]

I did find this subject elsewhere on APEX (Thank you APEX), but this seems the best place to start, so...

I have 2013 Carson trailer that had the floor painted and then carpet laid over it (with adhesive). Carpet is stained with engine/trans oil and needs to be removed. There are several good suggestions here and I like the Armstrong VCT the best for several reasons (flat, easy to clean, color choice, etc.) but Armstrong does not recommend the VCT for a trailer floor, possibly due to the limited temp range of their adhesive. Temps here the San Francisco Bay area rarely get down to freezing and rarely above 100 deg. F, but it can happen and that range is well outside that of the Armstrong adhesive. A local trailer sales company said that over time, tile edges tend to lift and suggested an epoxy coating... The plywood will obviously need a good cleaning to remove any oily residue and sanding to smooth it out. Any additional experience with this tile and /or other options not listed above?

Thank you in advance for sharing what you have done for this kind of project.

-Jim

[Lotus7]

While PFrog had good luck with commercial vinyl, I can say that lightweight household vinyl (to save weight and money) was not the answer for us 20 years ago, (easily damaged, and started peeling up after only a few months).
Vinyl was also very slippery when wet, and stained easily by engine oil spills or drips.

We had a much better experience in our next trailer using roll-it-on-yourself truck bed coating.

[billtebbutt]

I am in the midst of doing this exact work on my trailer. After much research, I will be using rubber coin flooring. You can buy it pretty much anywhere (Home Depot, even Costco will order it in).

bt

[Roland V. Johnson]

The rubber can be problematic. It will wrinkle and come up if used hard. I used a good non-skid paint on my entry door. It works great now for a couple of years and I just have to find the time now to do the rest of the trailer. I also now do not slip when pushing a car up the incline.

[WHOLLIS711]

I have heard that the two part epoxy garage floor coatings work well on the wood trailer floors, thats my plan when I get my new one, or the coin rubber stuff on Amazon.

[Lotus7]

I am in the midst of doing this exact work on my trailer. After much research, I will be using rubber coin flooring. You can buy it pretty much anywhere (Home Depot, even Costco will order it in).

bt

the weight of this coin flooring can be quite substantial, might want to check several different brands

[billtebbutt]

the weight of this coin flooring can be quite substantial, might want to check several different brands

I *think* it was 172 lbs for a 10' by 24' roll. So, not lightweight! But we'll be ok

Good thing I just upgraded the hubs from 5200 lbs to 7000 lbs. Which, btw was an accident. I was going to order bearings and races to redo the 5200 hubs (Dexter) when, in looking at the specs, I realized that the only difference was the bearing OD (the larger bearings had thinner races). Now the trailer is almost 30 years old, so maybe this no longer holds. But clearly back then Dexter used the exact same axles/hubs/drums from 5200 to 7000 lbs, and simply swapped in different size bearings to get to the desired rating

cheers,
bt

[DanW]

Previous owner of my trailer put this type of carpet down. After 20 years, a few oil leaks, it's time for new. Some places sell in 8' or 12' widths. Cheap enough to replace every few years.

https://www.lowes.com/pl/carpet-carp...-1420597349197

[BruceRace]

I had black & white checkerboard linoleum installed by the factory...slippery as heck when wet ... stained where tires sat.....

[Lotus7]

I *think* it was 172 lbs for a 10' by 24' roll.
bt

was googling, found this 8'6" roll (seems intended for trailers?)

https://www.rvsurplusparts.net/65mm-...tUxUHzbeSC6oU8

[sabre1fv]

Dan,

That carpet looks like what is in the trailer now that needs replacing. Another aspect of this upgrade that I hadn't mentioned previously, is that water has found a way onto the carpet which then retains it and has caused some other issues. I am working on fixing the leakage problem, but am thinking that a floor covering that doesn't act as a wick for water would be better. The epoxy floor coating is sounding better, but I will still investigate some of the other suggestions posted here.

The comment about the slippery linoleum was VERY valuable - I was wondering about that; thanks for mentioning it - the linoleum just dropped a notch or two on my list. Thank you to all posters that provided input, it is very welcome and helpful. Hopefully there will be a few other suggestions before I make a final decision.

Thanks again.

-Jim

[Arbitrary]

Cheapest and lightest method is just some oil based paint with sand (or proper anti-slip additive) mixed in. Depending on how hard you are on it, it will last 3-5 years.

[CGOffroad]

I have coated the floors in two different trailers with this product from Rust O Leum:

https://www.rustoleum.com/product-ca...-floor-coating

Both times I went with the dark grey color and I am happy with this color. I experimented with a couple different additives for non-skid.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...e?ie=UTF8&th=1
This rubber additive was WAY too big. I have some of this on the door of my trailer. It is OK in this area and will eventually be worn down. But, it is much too aggressive for use on the floor where you will be walking around and changing shoes or ever down on your knees.

https://www.amazon.com/Hygloss-Produ...00TCM3YIC&th=1
This is the sand that I mixed into the paint that went down on floors where I will be suiting up. I find this to make a nice grit level in the paint but isn't horribly aggressive.

I opted for painting floor because it is easily repairable. Regardless of what is put down on the floor in time it will need some sort of service. I think it is simple to mix up a little paint and do touch ups as needed.

[cjahn]

I have had all kinds of flooring in trailers over the last 30 years. Here are my experiences.

• Gloss paint was slippery - Painted by prior owner and it flaked off due to lack of prep or clean surface or no primer.
• Love the black and white checker vinyl (12" x 12" but often peeled up. (regardless of glue, prep, etc)
• One trailer had a single piece of vinyl that was black and white checker and that seemed to work ok. But again slippery when wet or with oil.
• The rubber coin floors for some reason wrinkle in every trailer I had them in when hot. (expand with heat and then look crummy but then shrink back into place. Seems common based upon pictures of used trailers I see.
• Always wanted a trailer with extruded aluminum flooring but never had one.
• My favorite of all experiences was a trailer with a traditional plywood floor (not OSB) that I stained black. It was a used trailer but good penetration so if it chipped you couldnt tell. Not as slippery as vinyl or paint. Oil and etc wiped right up. Allowed it to breathe and prevented rotting or soft flooring more than a covering which held moisture in.
• Wondered about racedeck or similar garage flooring solutions but never pulled the trigger.
• Also considered the squishy rubber flooring that has fingers that tie it together often used in gyms. Never did it.

In short my favorite was a stained plywood floor.

Best of luck
Cj

[J Leonard]

I've wondered how the wood or composite deck coating stuff would work. Exterior product for poor condition decks. Lots of brands, colors, non-skid. Rust-oleum, Behr, Kilz etc.

[DanW]

Dan,

That carpet looks like what is in the trailer now that needs replacing. Another aspect of this upgrade that I hadn't mentioned previously, is that water has found a way onto the carpet which then retains it and has caused some other issues. I am working on fixing the leakage problem, but am thinking that a floor covering that doesn't act as a wick for water would be better. The epoxy floor coating is sounding better, but I will still investigate some of the other suggestions posted here.

The comment about the slippery linoleum was VERY valuable - I was wondering about that; thanks for mentioning it - the linoleum just dropped a notch or two on my list. Thank you to all posters that provided input, it is very welcome and helpful. Hopefully there will be a few other suggestions before I make a final decision.

Thanks again.

-Jim

Yes, my trailer carpet needs replacing. The carpet is over 20 years old, has a big oil stain from multiple oil leaks over the years. I have an old upright vacuum cleaner that I use to clean it after the weekend. Since oil has soaked into the bare wood underneath, I'm sure paint/coating is out of the question. I have stayed on top of the roof sealing so I haven't had water on the wood floor.