5 Unique Ways To Use Carpet Tiles In Your RV
When you think of carpet tiles or carpet squares, hospitals, high schools, and offices usually come to mind. However, the carpet tile has come a long way since its commercial and industrial beginning.
The contemporary carpet tile can be colorful, utilitarian, and waterproof. They are also an inexpensive way to show off your personal creativity with options for unique patterns and shapes.
What are carpet tiles?
Carpet tiles are squares of carpet that are attached to non-slip vinyl squares and can be used in a variety of ways in your travel trailer or camper. Not only are they extremely durable, but they are much more lightweight than traditional RV carpet.
In addition, they are easy to clean and can be used both indoors and outside. Unlike traditional rolls of carpet, they don’t require any special tools or even a professional carpet layer to install them.
Some drawbacks of carpet tiles are that they cannot be installed over painted, varnished, or waxed floors or on top of existing carpet. They can only be installed on hard smooth surfaces.
This is not much of a hindrance for RVers since most camper or trailer floors can be easily prepped for carpet tile installation. In fact, the Trek With Us blog has a great tutorial on how they replaced out their old RV bedroom carpet with carpet tiles for less than $60.
Full-time RVers Rich and Kathy used a single box of eco-friendly, self-stick carpet tiles. Their tiles were 18×18 inches square, but carpet tiles come in several sizes.
Once you start looking at the creative options for carpet tiles, you’ll want to tear up your old RV carpet and get to work. Before you do, check out these five additional ways to can use these handy, inexpensive squares.
1. Portable pet pads
Carpet tiles usually come in boxes of 10 or 20, but sometimes you can buy as little or as much as you want. This comes in handy if you want to use a few to test out sizing or colors. It also comes in handy if you need a small space to place your traveling companion.
Both soft and more waterproof carpet tiles can be used as a pet area inside an RV or outside in a pet run or travel cage. The tiles offer protection from the cold or muddy ground and they can be easily removed and packed away when not in use.
2. Waterproofing and insulation
Carpet tiles actually offer a fair bit of insulation and can be used in areas that need some extra padding or lining. How about placing a few inside a pantry or cabinet that is next to an outside wall? Or a few basement tiles on the floor of an RV bathroom? Even just a few can be used to make a waterproof, non-slip “rug” in the kitchen.
3. Filling in tight spaces
Have you ever tried to drag a large rug or rolled up carpet into a small space like an RV? It’s no fun. Carpet tiles come in various sizes as small as 12×12 inches square.
They are perfect for those hard to fit spaces inside a camper. This includes stairs, closets, powder rooms, laundry areas, slide outs, and even entryways.
4. Decorating an RV wall
There’s a reason why RV manufacturers use carpet on the walls of some of their products. It offers good insulation and warms and softens up the hard lines of some RVs.
If you have an RV wall that needs a little color and softness, try carpet tiles in a decorative pattern. They even help to dampen outside and inside noise. A good adhesive or contact cement can be used to attach the tiles to a wall.
5. An alternative to an outdoor rug
Outdoor carpets are handy when you need to extend your RV’s living space. While they are great for camping, they can be a pain to clean and roll up and store when not in use.
Carpet tiles can be used instead to create a custom outdoor carpet. Use a few indoor/outdoor tiles with rubber backing and place them next to each other in the size area you need.
Many of these types of tiles have interlocking edges that keep them connected until you are ready to pack them away.
