Rubber floor???

[Scott>72-GMC]

Any of you guys remove the rubber floor out of these trucks?? Do they tend to be less rusty then the carpeted trucks or about the same?
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[Ziegelsteinfaust]

They tend to be more rusty because once water gets under there it stays. Where as water can evaporate through carpet. At least in my experience.

I want the rubber floor in my truck because I don't have paved sidewalks where I live. So I am going to do bed liner with heavy rubber floor mats. That way I can sweep out the rocks, and dirt easily.

[Scott>72-GMC]

I'm hoping my floor isn't bad the rest of the truck is solid felt solid when I drove it a year and a half ago but never looked. Getting it soon so can't wait. I was thinking the same with the coating before re installing the rubber.
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[Daner]

Mine has the rubber floor mat. It caused my dimmer switch to rot away. I was lucky I made it home that night.
I found rust along the kick panel and a patch sorta where the clutch foot sits. I was thinking of fixing it then just using bedliner since the current mat is old and cracked up.

On the passenger side this summer I had seeds germinating and coming up between the mat and the kickpanel until I clean the dirt out. lol

[Olive1970]

Definitely more rusty! I pulled mine out the 2nd day I got my truck. The mats below felt damp and have kept the rubber floor out ever since. I just have a few carpet remnants in there for now.

[burnin oil]

I always found that carpet was worse. Mainly because the sound deadening material soaks it up like a sponge and holds the moisture but still lets air get up in there. Rust needs moisture and air to form. I think people find alot of rust in floor pans under the rubber mat because trucks used to be work vehicles and were treated as such. People typically beat on trucks but pampered their cars. Don't forget that back in the day trucks cost 1/2 the price of a car.

[Scott>72-GMC]

Originally Posted by burnin oil

I always found that carpet was worse. Mainly because the sound deadening material soaks it up like a sponge and holds the moisture but still lets air get up in there. Rust needs moisture and air to form. I think people find alot of rust in floor pans under the rubber mat because trucks used to be work vehicles and were treated as such. People typically beat on trucks but pampered their cars. Don't forget that back in the day trucks cost 1/2 the price of a car.

I'm finding this is going either way like u said it depends on how the truck was used I guess. I was just assuming that carpet was worse because it holds in that moister
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[AirSpeed]

When I got my 72 it had the original rubber mat in it and my floor was rust free. When I got my 69 it had carpet and there was surface rust all over the floor, my dimmer switch was heavily pitted. It seems like it should have been the other way around so I don't know which would be better!
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[~Whitey~]

Mine had the rubber in it that one of the PO's had done.. Factory it came with carpet. I had rust around the feet area and kick panels, rest of the floor was fine. Putting carpet back in, but it's going to be a street cruiser for the most part.. If it were going to be a work truck I would definitely put rubber back in it.

[AirSpeed]

When I rebuilt my 72 I used some 3/4" rubber mat left over when I cut out my new bed mat, I glued it down first then put down some foil faced insulation then the original rubber mat then new carpet with attached padding. It made a big difference lowering the sound level and helped a lot to keep it cooler. It's been in there three years and no rust yet.
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