Rubber mat vs. Carpet

[4carbcorvair]

On a DD, here in the North east, rubber mats/flooring expedite floor rot. Water/snow/salt/condensation gets trapped between the rubber and floor, it never dries. With carpet, it can dry out. Seeing how most of these trucks may not be DD's, I would probably say personal preference. I'm going to install carpet in my 68 because it originally came with it.

[burnin oil]

I have had both over the years and one thing I have noticed is that make sure the shifter boot is sealed correctly on a stick shift or transfer case lever. I have seen the inner boot or foam seal break down and get alot of moisture under the carpet. I usually remove a little bit of the sound deadening from this area to help keep it from wicking in moisture during wet operation.

For a side note. I have a 95 dodge 2500 that kept soaking the floor boards. I finally figured out that the foam gasket for the AC at the firewall had broken down. Instead of sealing it was acting like a sponge. Every time it rained or I ran the AC the floor would have standing water. Sometimes there are other things that soak the floor. Dont forget the old leaking heater core.

SpecialK makes a good point about the rubber breaking down when trying to pull it up for maintenance. Honestly I have had it happen with old carpet also but not nearly as bad. My 76 Blazers carpet came out in about 75 pieces. After 14 clutches jobs on a granny low 4spd that carpet took a beating. Teenage years and a built motor got me real good at repairs

[Andy4639]

Just throwing this into the mix. I have used the diamond plate rubber Fatigue mats in a bunch of golf carts and it's in my 02 Cart since new. It still looks brand new and it's very soft.
I plan on putting it in the ramp truck when I get time. I don't know how it will do over the hump area but it should be ok even if I have to cut it.



https://www.amazon.com/Diamond-Plate.../dp/B00E7KYKSC