Floormats or Bedliner?

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

misterpepper

misterpepper

10 Year 15 Year
Joined
Jul 5, 2010
Threads
13
Messages
310
So my cruiser is just about ready to come back from paint and I want to do something to protect the new paint. We're not talking restoration here. Even though the cruiser started out pretty rust free and straight, it had pitting and dents in the rear cargo area and floorboards. I left all that, so I guess I can't be too concerned about the paint getting scratched. I'm torn, though, between getting some aftermarket floormats or bedlining the floor. If I go bedliner I'll color match it to the paint (I'm leaning towards SEM because of the smooth texture), but that again raises more concerns because I'm painting it spring (seafoam) green and I don't know how well they can match lighter colors. If I do floor/cargo mats I still have to be careful of dirt getting under them and doing just as much damage as not having floormats. The cruiser is going to be used to haul kids around more than as an all out rock crawler, so it's going to get dirty inside. The other option is to just leave the paint unprotected and make the floormat/bedliner decision later. What would you guys do?
 
I am going with Monstaliner color matched with a front floor mat. Black tub is just too hot for texas sun and dog feet :meh:

attachment.php
 
one vote for bedliner, if its not a purist restoration there is no point in not going the most practical route, quieter, better rust protectant, and safer (for the cruiser from the kids)
 
I'll likely bedline it once I do the outer 1/4s. I'd likely still throw a Costco anti fatigue mat on the rear floor area... 1/8" steel isn't very forgiving of electronics and things dropped on it by the kids. Don't know if bedliner would offer much cushioning for iPads, dishes, bottles and other stuff that sometimes get dropped on the floor.
 
I say bedliner, and if you want a floor mat. A floor mat will trap moisture mud and sand under it, and it will then damage the paint and let that trapped moisture do what it does best. The bedliner will do a great job of preventing that, even the cheap ones if applied right.
 
I vote a heavy rubber mat. It will insulate the floor better than bed liner. If you don't like it you can always add bed liner later. All you lost was the cost of the rubber mat. Not sure what year or how you rig is set up but up until 75 the muffler was right under the rear floor on the left side. I know here in AZ a lot of heat comes up thru the floor. There was a heat shield on some of the pre 75s but don't know if I have ever seen a picture of one posted on Mud. I bought one from my 68 back in the eighties. Post 74 had a heat shield above the muffler but a lot of those were switched to the earlier muffler set up to make room for a spare tank.
 
Living in the Past said:
I vote a heavy rubber mat. It will insulate the floor better than bed liner. If you don't like it you can always add bed liner later. All you lost was the cost of the rubber mat. Not sure what year or how you rig is set up but up until 75 the muffler was right under the rear floor on the left side. I know here in AZ a lot of heat comes up thru the floor. There was a heat shield on some of the pre 75s but don't know if I have ever seen a picture of one posted on Mud. I bought one from my 68 back in the eighties. Post 74 had a heat shield above the muffler but a lot of those were switched to the earlier muffler set up to make room for a spare tank.
Click to expand...

Gonna have to agree
 
if you go with bedliner, be aware that with some brands the smooth finish can be slippery when wet
 
Those of you with bedliner, how do you deal with fasteners in the tub? Do you just line over them? Do you take them out beforehand and then replace them when everything has cured? Do you mask around them? If I bedline I will definitely do the transmission hump seperately, but I don't want the bedliner to render parts of my truck unserviceable.
 
I did the cheap spray can liner as a quick fix and it has been great. I taped off and just did the pan and wheel wells to avoid the covered bolt problem. I also have some rubber floormats on top that have been very nice. Easy clean up.
I'm looking for the right mat to go in the rear and help with some noise and heat transfer.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Back
Top Bottom