Any TM owners leave rubber mat on van floor?

[Rick F]

I bought a 2019 GMC savana 2500 last night. The van already has the rubber mat. I ripped the mat out of my last van before installing my TM. I know they can trap water under the floor. Just wondering if anyone left it in and what happened down the road? Thanks

 

[wandwizard]

I was told by https://shop.truckmountforums.com to remove the insulation or padding that was under the floor mat from my Savana if I wanted to leave it in there and that's what I did. It was kind of a pain, but I didn't want to leave a bare metal floor. At the time I either didn't have or didn't know of any other options. Some kind of bed lining would no doubt be better. I wouldn't leave a bare metal floor again. I haven't had any issues doing it the way https://shop.truckmountforums.com told me, but it clearly wasn't the best way to go.

 

[AZHome&Carpet]

Congrats on the new GMC!

 

[Mark H.]

Linex or rhino liner. Have them remove the plastic trim if any and spray under there too

 

[Dafloorman]

How do you like the van? I have a GMC Savana with almost 413k miles!

 

[Jim Davisson]

In our Chevy we rolled on white durabak marine non slip deck coating and installed all the equipment. Then we put these antifatigue interlocking rubber mats on all exposed floor. No trapped moisture, nothing slides around at all and if you need to work under the truck or on equipment we pull out one or two for a comfortable work area. Since we did everything, it was less than a sprayed in liner and not as dark.

 

[Rick F]

How do you like the van? I have a GMC Savana with almost 413k miles!

I am trading in my 2004 savana, i pick up new one tomorow. We pulled out the TM already took a hour with fork lift! I love GMs!

 

[wandwizard]

I am trading in my 2004 savana, i pick up new one tomorow. We pulled out the TM already took a hour with fork lift! I love GMs!

If I remember correctly https://shop.truckmountforums.com actually refused to install unless the padding was removed. It was like I had to do it or else, not do it if you want to. I did not really want to, but I knew I had to get that padding out of there.

 

[North County]

Spray on liners are legit but my older spare van is a 2000 E250 with the original rubber mat and lots of drill holes. Had several mounts installed in this van and floor is still in great shape. Once in a while, I park it on a slope and hose the whole thing out.

 

[brian3180]

If you can it will be a good idea to take it out and put a spray in bed liner. It looks good and protects the floor from rusting out and looking like Sh*!t.

 

[Jimbo Williams]

I left mine in my 2004 Chevy and it rusted big time underneath. My new van I rolled on Herculiner before the TM was installed.

 

[mrotto]

I would never install a TM and hose reel over a plastic mat.

My vans were sprayed with bedliner, then install the TM with the SS pan under. Then install all other equipment. Then install 5/8 inch underlayment and glue some nice commercial carpet over.

I like the interlocking deck idea but keeping it clean would be a pain. The carpet makes it look so professional. My carpet is finally starting to wear from the 11 years of use so in January I am just going to screw a thin layer of plywood over the carpet and glue new carpet on the plywood. it will look good as new.

 

[Luky]

Guilty as charged. Fresh water tank overflows at least twice a week.I carry about 75 gal on board and tank is filled to the brim and I see water flowing from underneath of rubber mat on my Chevy Express 2500. Even though underlay padding is thin, still retains moisture and that's no good. Once a week I park my van uphill and get most of the water out. I'll asses damages in few weeks, once everything is out of the way and new setup is bolted in. I would have to scrape padding off, put rhino in or similar .. I'm only hoping that floor won't be too rusty
(in use for 8 months only)

 

[Rick F]

If you can it will be a good idea to take it out and put a spray in bed liner. It looks good and protects the floor from rusting out and looking like Sh*!t.

How much was a spray in liner? I am going to call linex tomorow its not close by. I have to install my TM right away. Pic of my new van!

 

[Rick F]

I left mine in my 2004 Chevy and it rusted big time underneath. My new van I rolled on Herculiner before the TM was installed.

I just bought herculiner at lowes thanks for the tip. Line x told me $599 plus $100 if i want the good stuff. Did you just do the floor or go up the walls a bit? I left the factory mat in the front of van by the seats. Thanks for any input!

 

[Ymetimme]

My van has rubber mats and I can tell you first-hand they hold water underneath badly my son and I are going to remove them try it out and bedline it probably the only way of preventing rust enough carpet cleaning van

 

[Jim Davisson]

We put black herculiner in a van and up the walls a few inches back in the early 2000's. It worked well, but the only thing we didn't like was the black showed everything, any spills dried whitish, any leaks from the vac hoses dried gray. It was tough to keep it looking clean.

 

[Luky]

We put black herculiner in a van and up the walls a few inches back in the early 2000's. It worked well, but the only thing we didn't like was the black showed everything, any spills dried whitish, any leaks from the vac hoses dried gray. It was tough to keep it looking clean.

So Jim, I pull the mat out and there is a padding underneath( to my sorrow is wet as can be). If you do remember situation with your van, what did you use to scrape off existing padding with? I suspect that this is going to be hardest thing to face. Rest of it is easy( relatively). I rarely ask someone to help me, so I do heavy lifting myself, 340 lb, 200lb , etc. , but I can get van empty in few hours, applying coats of bed liner is no problem, what about drying time in this funky weather?
Would surface be inviting enough for a layer of comercial grade carpet, like someone already mentioned?
As always , your response is grately appreciated and in event that you and " not too" Old carpet Vet get together, I'll leave a nice tip for your hot waitress.....

 

[Jim Davisson]

This is what we used for surface prep, it's messy but not terrible.

We choose the antifatigue mats with holes for no trapped moisture. Carpet or anything else is going to eventually mold and since these are our offices that we spend a huge chunk of our day we didn't want to deal with mold issues.

 

[Bob Savage]

The reason they want the factory mat removed is it's a bit trying to drill through that rubber/insulation to install equipment. The insulation wraps around the drill bit and it is difficult to remove. You will be cussing.

However, I left mine in after installing 40# roofing felt (used to make patterns) and 3/4" pressure treated plywood over the van metal floor, and then re-installed the factory rubber/insulation.

Then I installed the truckmount, recovery tank, hose reels, fresh tank, LP heater, etc.