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Mon Aug 22, 2011 7:41 pm

I drive mine through the Rockies on a daily basis and it really isnt that bad. I barrel up the mountain doing 55. Easily reach 65-70 on the straight aways. Have not noticed any difference in speed in the past few days since I did the floors.

Mon Aug 22, 2011 8:37 pm

Carver Dude wrote: I drive mine through the Rockies on a daily basis and it really isnt that bad. I barrel up the mountain doing 55. Easily reach 65-70 on the straight aways. Have not noticed any difference in speed in the past few days since I did the floors.

There's a ~600 lb difference between a tin top GL and a full Westy and it kinda takes the edge off the climbing performance, especially at altitude! ;)

Sun Oct 02, 2011 9:59 pm

Put in laminate floor today. .35 sq/ft close-out @ Ikea. The box cost about $8, and we still have to pieces left. It only took my husband an hour to install.

Just in time for mushroom picking on the Sonoma coast, will definitely make it better for our muddy boots!

Wed Nov 30, 2011 12:48 pm

westylife wrote:

Wow...beautiful color..what kind of wood is that?

Wed Nov 30, 2011 1:46 pm

I'm curious if anyone is putting down tyvek or similar, to keep the moisture from building up on plastic/steel surfaces which wont breathe once the subfloor/wood is anchored/bolted in.

Additionally, I am thinking a soundproofing material and some foam underlayment, anchoring thin marine ply, and then installing some of that black ash seen previously in this post.

The lady did want a more waterproof answer, and I'm still on the fence.

Fiber flooring was seen at Mclendons Hardware (more flooring options than Lowes/home depot put together) and the stuff is pretty tough.

Admitedly, the fiber flooring is very nicely padded, its very bendable, confirms to heavy bending without cracking.

a bit of info..
http://www.ehow.com/how_7183444_do-install-fiber-floor_.html

I was thinking about adding this atop of our black ash wood floor for longevity.. being able to drag the mat outside, and use as living surface.

Also, some sound proofing, even insulation factors come to mind..

Sat Jan 14, 2012 10:37 pm

I'm also wondering if after a few (many?) seasons of camping in the summer and winter if anyone has checked under their wood floor for anything going on under there?

Sun Jan 15, 2012 8:56 am

dubbified wrote: I'm curious if anyone is putting down tyvek or similar, to keep the moisture from building up on plastic/steel surfaces which wont breathe once the subfloor/wood is anchored/bolted in.

Additionally, I am thinking a soundproofing material and some foam underlayment, anchoring thin marine ply, and then installing some of that black ash seen previously in this post.

I have the stock '87 Westy floor, not custom wood, but I did install B-Quiet soundproofing on the metal floor. I used Boeshield anticorrosion spray on rust prone areas and when laying the B-Q put additional strips in the low spots to fill the space between the floor ribs and provide more sound damping, then I reinstalled the Westy floor that is ply with a rubber cover bonded to it. I figure the stock floor did not breathe very well to begin with and if any liquid spills it will leak down and come to rest on top of the B-Q layer. It'll be a long time before I yank a Westy interior again and I'm not worried about this one.

Others have recommended spray-on soundproofing and that may be a better approach (speaking here of better coverage and spill-proofing) if you have the means to apply it.

Sun Jan 15, 2012 11:42 am

elliottlemberger wrote: westylife wrote:

Wow...beautiful color..what kind of wood is that?

I cant remember the color but It's made by Bruce. I got it at Home Depot. The only bad thing was that I had to buy two boxes because I was one board short :shock:

Fri Mar 23, 2012 1:19 pm

So finally got to installing the flooring in my 84 Westie - Artie. A lot of thanks to this thread and the ideas in it. It really helped pull the job off without problems.

Took one box at about $60 of a flooring called Traffic Master Allure "Ultra" Vintage Oak from Home Depot. From what they explained it is the commercial high traffic version of the allure line of flooring and is water proof connections. Its a click together floating floor that is about 5/16 thick....so easy installation. Cutting was as easy as scoring the back and popping it like dry wall. After pulling up the nasty brown carpet I laid down some of the roof rubber/aluminum sealant over the subfloor.

Here is what it looked like with the barrier (which I have used all over the van for sound proofing...and yes gas off and all that...got it. Plenty other stuff being gassed off in my van so no worries from me :lol:

Here is Mid Installation. The first piece fit nicely under the lip of the bench and had to tap it in a little. From there its just score, click and move along.

Final product. I like it because it is textured, has a lot of color and is soft to the feet. Good grip and really hides the dirt when you are camping.

Finally I can painted the threshold brown and topped it off with a clear coat. Finished out with brass screws.

Also, if you are using these be careful that you don't make the pieces to tight, they need room to swell when they heat up. After I put it in had the sliding door open in the van with direct sunlight and the first one started to buckle...too tight. I ended up taking it out and cutting down the last piece so the whole installation is not as tight width wise. So far so good...really no worries the whole thing only takes about 10mins to pull all the pieces up.

In the End, it is one of the best mods I have done. It looks good, its durable and easy to clean and really makes a difference in the feel of Artie while hanging out...a touch of home. It only took 2 hours start to finish.

Thanks Samba! :D

Fri Mar 23, 2012 1:36 pm

Looks real nice Boot. One thing that I'm not clear on with these flooring jobs is what kind of prep to do to the van's factory floor. Did that shiny stuff you laid down go right on top of the factory plastic flooring or did that get pulled out? If you pulled it out, what did you put on the metal floor of van to get it level (I thought there were ridges in the sheet metal)?

Fri Mar 23, 2012 2:36 pm

I left the subfloor in and just put the silver overlay on top of it. Partly for soundproofing (don't know how much that helps) partly to give a little cushion (you can tell) and finally to bring the pieces up so that they slide perfectly under the bench and cabinets with minimal space. It really fits well. So if you have the flooring that I used no need to remove the subfloor....leave it be :)

PS. To clarify I have an 84 that had brown OEM carpet...no plastic flooring. My guess would be take it out if it were up to me...good luck, post up!

Sun Mar 25, 2012 10:25 am

From the research I've done, it seems that Traffic Master Allure can be laid on any type of flooring and no moisture barrier is needed.

My '89 Westy has the rubber flooring on top of a plywood subfloor. Thus, a built-in type of barrier. Is there any consequences to leaving the rubber flooring in?

Seems to me that it would not matter.

Sun Mar 25, 2012 10:43 am

I have the blonde laminate but I'm really liking that darker shade, much warmer and probably doesn't show dirt as much. But all of them are so easy to keep clean. Are you suggesting that I could just relay new laminate over present? i.e. not having to remove present floor.

Sun Mar 25, 2012 5:17 pm

The carpet was shot and with the dog always making a mess wood was the obvious choice : )

Sun Mar 25, 2012 6:03 pm

Rhinoculips wrote: From the research I've done, it seems that Traffic Master Allure can be laid on any type of flooring and no moisture barrier is needed.

My '89 Westy has the rubber flooring on top of a plywood subfloor. Thus, a built-in type of barrier. Is there any consequences to leaving the rubber flooring in?

Seems to me that it would not matter.

I think the only thing to be concerned with is the height...you want the flooring to fit under the cabinets. May may not...just gotta see!

Thu Apr 12, 2012 7:32 pm

Well, here it is! 11 sticks of Allure TrafficMaster. Total cost = $0 :D Gotta love friends that bought to many boxes of the stuff. He dumped a box off on me. How could I say no?

Wed May 16, 2012 11:32 pm

I've been thinking about putting some duck board (like in some VW Things) wood flooring in my '88 GL. I don't have a middle seat so it's just a big open space, I thought it might look good. Anyone have experience with this?

Fri May 18, 2012 6:59 am

I noticed a lot of you guys like to move out the cabinets to install the hardwood. I don't know how many of you just shaped it around the carpets? I like the idea of being able to take the floor out and replace it fairly easily if it gets to scuffed up or destroyed. Here's an in progress pic, I'll leave it up to your imagination of how awesome it looks now!

Fri May 18, 2012 11:40 am

Do you guys have any problems with it being too slippery or anything?

Thinking about doing it in mine since I put a lot of dirt and plants in the middle and the carpet is getting kind of grody.

1621 wrote:

Where did you get the cork? It looks awesome!

Fri May 18, 2012 12:31 pm

Colonel_Brown wrote: I noticed a lot of you guys like to move out the cabinets to install the hardwood.
Eh? Removing cabinets?