fitting carpet in my van

there's a thought... I was amazed how much this Velcro stuff costs... this week I was pricing it for velcroing a curtain over the habitation door at night times to prevent heat loss....
 
I use Copydex to prevent fraying. You just need to ensure that it is rubbed well into the backing and allowed to dry properly. There is a brush built into the lid, Works like a charm. No need to whip.
 
n brown said:
i'd rather have vinyl with a rug or laminate

but that's just mr practical talking !
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my carpets are in the garage have been for 3 years they where always mucky and wet in winter anyway floor is easy for maid to mop:sleep-027:
 
Carpet or interlocking mats

If yo get carpet I suggest you avoid foam backed stuff..It disintegrates and creates a mess.
So normal "hessian backed is good"
We have in our camper but it came ready fitted (and whipped)
Cutting a carpet to size and preventing it fraying are both a bit difficult

S I like Runnach's idea
24 SQ FT Interlocking Black EVA Soft Foam Exercise Floor Mats

I might even get this for outside the van as well !
 
I have the rubber backed mats from Lidl 9quid each they are about 3ft x 5ft joined three together with gaffa tape underneath and just have a couple of sheepskin rugs down to keep my tootsies warm and as those that have seen it I run my trike in and out of my van all the time and these mats are great I just let any muck dry on them and brush off with a Stiff brush and wash them occasionally with a damp cloth/ sponge mop I did spray them with a carpet sealant stuff before I put them down.
 
All I did was go to my local carpet shop, they had a massive selection of "off cuts" which were huge, the piece I chose only came to £20 and on measuring I can replace the van carpet 5 times. It doesn't fray too badly at all and I don't cut it to the van dimensions, mine is about 10mm short all the way around as it's then easier to take out and shake or replace. At £4 a time it's not expensive if it gets ruined, I haven't stuck it down at all and this has been no problem as it's a smallish area just for cooking and sleeping after a day or so it lays perfectly flat, it definitely keeps my feet a lot warmer.
Could not see any reason to pay a lot as I've found that the carpet soon gets messy from hiking boots and in general usage,if it gets too bad I'll just cut another square out.
 
Thank you everyone... so many really interesting and useful ideas .... the new carpet I have been give for free is felt backed, I also hate foam back - as yes it does disintegrate .. I do have enough for more than one fitting.... so I could just lay it down, copydex it and wait till its too manky to clean properly and cut another lot !!! disposable carpet - I like it :raofl:
 
If the carpet is felt backed as you say if you cut to a good fit you should not get frayed edges, a tight fit will damage the carpet sides each time you remove it, too slack the carpet will move as you walk on it.

You could da as Auto-Sleepers do and use pop fasteners to hold the carpet in position these are easy to fit and obtainable as a Kit with a fixing tool from most Caravan Dealers.

Myself I would have left the original carpet down given it a good clean and fitted the new carpet on top More insulation for you.

Alf


delicagirl said:
Thank you everyone... so many really interesting and useful ideas .... the new carpet I have been give for free is felt backed, I also hate foam back - as yes it does disintegrate .. I do have enough for more than one fitting.... so I could just lay it down, copydex it and wait till its too manky to clean properly and cut another lot !!! disposable carpet - I like it :raofl:
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thanks Alf... the original carpet is still laid on the floor above nasty old vinyl .. but the carpet is only as thick as a postage stamp - but it is laid in several separate pieces so it will be useful for a template for my new carpet. I will probably continue to use the 4 ALdi mats I bought a few months aga as well for extra protection and insulation
 
I have just removed the original vinyl from inside the rear door of our van. 8 years old original vinyl the contact adhesive was still very tacky it took me ages to remove it in the end I gave up and covered with 6mm ply and then recovered the floor with new vinyl in all I wish I had left it as it was.
On top of the vinyl is carpet fixed with pop studs in winter I have a same colour loose felt baked carpet to take the winter dirt I remove and clean this in Summer ready for the next Winter.

Alf

delicagirl said:
thanks Alf... the original carpet is still laid on the floor above nasty old vinyl .. but the carpet is only as thick as a postage stamp - but it is laid in several separate pieces so it will be useful for a template for my new carpet. I will probably continue to use the 4 ALdi mats I bought a few months aga as well for extra protection and insulation
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runnach said:
Found the pics :D
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thank you very much for digging that out....

I love the "Anti Fatigue Flooring" label... does that mean if I sleep on it I need less sleep ??? :dance:

is it easy to clean as it looks as if it has a "textured" finish ....
 
I removed the old psuedo laminate self-adhesive vinyl tiles with a blowtorch and a scraper, and laid some thin insulation and proper laminate flooring.
I lay a rug over the living space floor during the day but roll it up and drop it into the side door step/footwell at night so it doesnt foul the bed sections sliding out.

I do wish Id laid some better insulation now, but its not too bad.

I have recently lifted the cab rubber and insulated mattig (I already painted and laid flashing tape throughout the cab floor for protection and sound insulation before) to add heavy foil faced underlay typically used under laminate floors, then replaced the van sound rubber matting. Then I added a thick offcut of carpet over that in search of more warmth and more noise reduction. To protect the carpet I then got some inexpensive rubberised car mats and laid them on top of the carpet.

Not worried about fraying as I will use an aluminium carpet strip between the laminate section and the cab, while the removeable footwell inners sit over the sides, and the front is tucked under the scuttle insulation. I cut around the wheel arches so no awkward fitting or sticky out awkwardness, plus the car mats on top protect the carpet there.

If you have a ply floor then you can screw down aluminium door runners to secure carpet in the living area open/trip/catch edges, or press studs as mentioned or even screws and washers in the corners/edges out of the way if you can live with that. Id be tempted to avoid glueing carpet down just in case you decided it had to come up at any point in the future.

G.
 
runnach said:
Depends what you are doing to quantify "need less sleep" :cool:

Very easy to clean, not really much texture to it. Plus if required, you can easily remove an area that say you have spillage on, take outside, wipe it down, re-fit. For me, it is ideal.

Fitting is simple, no need to worry about frayed edges and, cuts easily with a decent pair of sharp scissors.
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I was looking at this flooring earlier today. I was in a Buyology store (one of those sell everything discount type places in Barry) earlier today and they stocked it.

Looks like good stuff! Light but quite dense so it should be half-decent as a thermal barrier, and as said easy to lay, cut, join and remove to clean. It wont move about easily either by the look of it.

In fact I think I may get some to lay on the floor of the boot/storage area of my van. They might even be good to stick inside thd rear doors behind the cladding as firm insulation for the panels maybe?
 
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