Covering not removing carpet on ceiling

[michelehart]

Has anyone covered the carpet on the ceiling instead of removing it? I've been looking at several older models all of which have dark shag carpeting on the ceiling. I like the idea- noise control and insulation- but I hate the look. I don't feel confident in my ability to remove and replace so was wondering if anyone had simply covered it with fabric. Could I staple gun, velco, etc new fabric over the carpet?

[Jay H]

Removing the carpet is easy, but your right replacing it is more time consuming and takes some patience. I can't see how attaching another carpet overtop of an existing one would work. If you are looking at a fiberglass trailer you certainly don't want to use staples, the shell of the trailer is too thin at the very least!
I replaced the carpet in my trailer and I know of at least one other owner who has as well. It is possible and if you start with the walls it is not much harder than putting up wall paper (really!). The ceiling is a challenge because of gravity but perhaps if you put smaller pieces on it would be easier.
Above all you need to know your comfort level and DIY ability. Perhaps a trailer with ensolite would be more to your taste?
Good luck in your search.

[Donna D.]

I'm willing to do a lot of things to a trailer to improve it. Replacing the wall covering isn't one of them! Too much time, too much money and not enough skill. I'm sure I'd make a huge mess, then it would cost me even more money to have someone else fix it. YMMV

[Jon in AZ]

I'm with Donna on this. I don't see any satisfactory way to cover carpet. To strip and replace it is a big job. As Jay says, it can be done, but it's not a beginner's project. To do it right you have to take out all the cabinets and windows. Cutting and fitting the curved corners is tricky. Beyond the cost of the lining material, the adhesive is expensive. I've seen more than a few gutted "project trailers" for sale where someone got in over their head.

I'm curious what kind of trailers you're finding. The only ones I know that came from the factory with something like what you describe are early Casitas. They came with a sculpted carpet in a couple of colors, bluish and orangy-brown. Don't care for it myself, either.

More commonly, vintage units come with an Ensolite lining (closed cell foam with a textured vinyl skin, usually white or cream colored). Scamp switched to light beige marine headliner in the early 80's. Newer Casitas have an off-white cut pile carpet. All are better choices.

I'd keep looking...

[Casita Greg]

In two words...Bad Idea.

[Byron Kinnaman]

No matter what the wall and ceiling covering is I'd leave it alone. Most of us don't spend enough time inside the trailer to be wort fussinng over it.
Our typical fair weather camping goes something like this. Sun shines through the windows waking us up. Get up get dresses and go outside or if it's cold stay inside long enough to cook and eat breakfast.
After breakfast sit down outside with a cup of coffee and watch what ever there is to see.
Lunch is outside.
Dinner is outside.
Dark comes along, move inside and read or play games a little while then to to bed.

Altogether about 2 to 2.5 hours inside and awake.

Along with most campers only spend a couple week-ends a year out.

[Jennifer Minogue]

We stripped the foam-backed polyester double knit fabric from the interior of our Captain and replaced it with a layer of closed-cell foam which was then covered with boat-hull liner (looks like fuzzy corduroy). The Captain doesn't have so many curvy spots so wasn't an impossible job at all. We used spray adhesive as recommended by the foam manufacturer so it didn't dissolve the foam. And yes, we did remove all the cabinets (not the one with the stove and sink though) and the window gaskets. Actually, we had to remove the windows because we couldn't get the closet out the door - it went out the end window.

The boat hull liner is designed to be wet and not turn into a moldy mess, not that we plan on a lot of leaks. Plus you can stick stuff up with velcro like signs that say "back at 3 pm - make sure the beer is cold". Stay away from "natural" materials like cotton.

It was a big job but worth it in the end. You will need a good big space to lay everything out. We made paper patterns so we didn't randomly cut up materials and waste it. The foam didn't matter so much because it got covered with the hull liner.

We replaced the vinyl flooring at the same time, when everything was stripped out.

We were also told to use butyl caulking, NEVER silicone. The advice was absolutely correct.

[Indiana Lynn]

Hang pretty fabric you like over the carpet on the walls using pinch pleate curtain pins. They have a sharp straight end that will stick through the carpet and slide behind it. Left on the inside is a hook that you can hang things on. Use small round curtain rings to hang on the hooks - the kind that have a clip. Clip the curtains to it. Twin sheets make good curtains because they are already hemmed all around.

[Carol H]

I am with the others changing the marine wall covering is a bad idea.
Better to add some nice bright curtains and cushion covers and the wall covering just fades away into the background.

[CampyTime]

Originally Posted by Byron Kinnaman

No matter what the wall and ceiling covering is I'd leave it alone. Most of us don't spend enough time inside the trailer to be wort fussinng over it.
Our typical fair weather camping goes something like this. Sun shines through the windows waking us up. Get up get dresses and go outside or if it's cold stay inside long enough to cook and eat breakfast.
After breakfast sit down outside with a cup of coffee and watch what ever there is to see.
Lunch is outside.
Dinner is outside.
Dark comes along, move inside and read or play games a little while then to to bed.

Altogether about 2 to 2.5 hours inside and awake.

Along with most campers only spend a couple week-ends a year out.

I'm with you Byron. Only time I ever spent extended was with days on end of cold, drenching rain. Read a lot, napped quite a bit and watched TV. I was even so close to home that I went and did laundry and returned to find things fairer. 😊



Sent from my iPhone using Fiberglass RV

[MattMcD]

Hi. I just inherited a casita where the previous owners had removed the carpet on the ceiling and walls. I have not found very much information on how to proceed with this process. Do you have a link or instructions,on what you used to do this? Did you use bubble insulation or the foil insulation?
Did you replace it with carpet squares or what? Very frustrating not to find the best way to do this. Any helpful response is much appreciated!

Originally Posted by Jay H

Removing the carpet is easy, but your right replacing it is more time consuming and takes some patience. I can't see how attaching another carpet overtop of an existing one would work. If you are looking at a fiberglass trailer you certainly don't want to use staples, the shell of the trailer is too thin at the very least!
I replaced the carpet in my trailer and I know of at least one other owner who has as well. It is possible and if you start with the walls it is not much harder than putting up wall paper (really!). The ceiling is a challenge because of gravity but perhaps if you put smaller pieces on it would be easier.
Above all you need to know your comfort level and DIY ability. Perhaps a trailer with ensolite would be more to your taste?
Good luck in your search.

[MattMcD]

Curious about the closed cell foam you used. Did you have to smooth it out?