RV & Trailer Composite Floor
Learn about Azdel’s Composite Floor that is now used by several popular RV brands.
Floor Applications with Azdel Onboard Composite
After two years of development, trialing and testing, we offer a durable and cost-effective composite floor solution that can be seamlessly incorporated into your existing process or that of your laminator.
The Azdel Onboard composite floor offers benefits similar to those of sidewalls made with our material, and eliminating the risk of floor degradation from mold and rot is critical. The configuration depicted exceeds the benchmarks of common floor construction in terms of resistance to flex, puncture and impact.
This is just one of many possible configurations and thicknesses available. RV makers can choose the construction based on the needs of their units.
Our engineers can work with your team to help determine the optimum floor construction, taking into consideration factors such as thickness, rigidity, hardness, weight, cost, etc.
Each is designed as a subfloor, allowing a manufacturer to add their preferred finish, be it “lino”, vinyl planking, etc.
Of course, a floor solution using Azdel is not limited to RVs. Other trailers and structures could benefit from such a floor as well. Our composite can also serve as underlayment for other flooring options.
Contact us for more information.
Floor Construction and Testing
This construction offers additional benefits such as a seamless top layer, excellent resistance to impact and flexural displacement, high strength-to-weight ratio, screw retention, and its production utilizes the same equipment, adhesives, and techniques required for wall lamination.
While the image here depicts our recommended design for RVs that can accommodate a laminated floor, a variety of configurations are absolutely viable for RVS, trailers and other structures. Contact us for alternative suggestions. For other floor-related ideas, you may click for commercial or residential Interior Floor Underlayment applications.
With the exception of the marine-grade OSB, all samples represented below were tested using an expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam in their construction. This foam adds rigidity, strength-to-weight benefits, and is already a commonly-used material in RV wall and floor construction. Read on for testing explanations and benefits.
Floor Weight
This is fairly simple. As most materials in the RV industry are priced per square foot, and it’s an easy and specific measurement, this is how we compared the weights of various samples.
The significant weight difference in the two 2.7 Lauan samples illustrates how inconsistent wood can be, as the 3lb foam sample should have been heavier than its 2lb sibling, but its lauan was far less dense.
Drop Ball Test
A 4″ diameter steel ball weighing 8.1lbs was dropped from a height of 12.3ft, reaching a peak velocity of 19.2mph at impact. While this is not a common activity for RVing families, it works well in measuring impact resistance.
Do not try this at home… or in your RV… or anywhere else.
The image below is of actual samples from the test in the adjacent impact test video. There was minimal damage done to the composite samples, but significant, permanent damage to the wood samples.
Knee Load Test
Screw Retention
While sidewalls and some other floor-mounted structures are generally bolted through the frame, having screw retention as a side benefit is still ideal. The seamless multi-ply fiberglass that we suggest for the top layer offers excellent strength in this area.
Janka Test
A standardized test in the wood floor industry, the Janka test measures the force required to push a steel ball into a wood sample distance equaling half its diameter. Since this group of materials respond to the force differently, we measured the permanent dent left by the test rather than the force.
