tile in motorhome

I have a motor home with ceramic tile in it. I am wanting to remove the tile and replace it with granite or porcelain tile. I also want to tile more of the floor of the motor home including the steps. It is a 40 foot Monaco Dynasty on a Freight liner chassis. I would also like to do some tile work on the walls around the sinks as back splashes. I do not know what backer board, mortar and what grout to use. Which would be the better choice to go with granite or porcelain? Thank You for any help.

Motor Homes are problematic in many ways. Maunfacturers keep installing tile in them and I keep repairing the tile installations. I love it.

Personally I think you are wasting your time and money.

Is there anyone else who can help me out. Thank You

OK, I see, your hard-headed and determined!

Forget the granite. For the floor, porcelain tile is your best bet and porcelain is available to mimic most stone tiles. Use an exterior grade underlayment plywood a minimum of 3/8" thick screwed 6" each way to the original factory subfloor. You must also use "epoxy thinset" and "epoxy grout" if you want the installation to last.

If it has air-ride the system must be perfectly maintained so as to minimize "chassis twist" and coach bounce. Tire pressure is critical also.

For the backsplashes DO NOT use wall tile with a soft bisque. Use floor tile. Epoxy thinset and grout there also. Be sure to caulk (not grout) all junctures and changes in plane.

There ya go, that's how it's done.

Good Luck!

Thank You for your help. Are you saying not to use any type of cement board? Just use treated plywood (is this what you are talking about exterior grade). Should I tape and mud the joints? Thank You again

No! NOT TREATED PLYWOOD, that would be the worse thing you could do. Treated plywoods come to you wet and will warp and shrink over time as they dry out.

You need some strutural help that cement board does not offer. Cement board will egg-out around the screws in just a few hundred miles. In this case plywood is better. Exterior grade-Exposure 1-underlayment plywood-plugged and sanded one side. The use of epoxy adhesive and thinset is critical.

Tape the joints with Fiberglas mesh tape as you install the tile. No mud is necessary in this case. The epoxy adhesive is the mud.

Thank you Bud. I will do just as you told me and I will post the results. It may be a little while but I will get it keep you informed. Thank You again

Been there many times and through trial and error over the years what I said above is what has proven to work the best. I've known a lot of people with motor homes over the years and every one with tile has had issues. A motor home is no place for ceramic tile, but hey! I hope it works out for you.

I am trying to remodel my motorhome and am considering using laminate tile instead of stone tile.

My coach now has both stone tile and carpet we want to remove both and it has been recommended to use hardi plank as the base for the laminate tile. My coach is 4 years old and has 44000 miles on it. The tile has done well but the grout has had some problems.

Any experience you have with this type installation?

Have no experience with laminate tiles in a motor coach but I wouldn't expect the tiles to stay together. My minds-eye is seeing contemporary laminate tiles that simply click together. Am I mistaken?

I guess a guy could glue those suckers to the floor.

Why/how on earth would Hardi be usefull in this application?