# Get Out And Explore! > Tech Section >  Going carpetless

## ecgreen

To all who have she'd the carpet in your 4x4: how do u like it? Is it loud or too hot?

In my bronco I have three options:
1. New carpet - but carpets suck
2. Vinyl flooring - worried about mosture not drying enough
3. Durabak - I am thinking this which is why I ask about the no carpet deal

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## BlueberryHill

> To all who have she'd the carpet in your 4x4: how do u like it? Is it loud or too hot?
> 
> In my bronco I have three options:
> 1. New carpet - but carpets suck
> 2. Vinyl flooring - worried about mosture not drying enough
> 3. Durabak - I am thinking this which is why I ask about the no carpet deal


Qudratec floor mats on bare painted steel. Who cares about quiet or cool feet?

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## Mach2NH

Carpet and any sort of mat will stay wet for a long time.  On the YJ i didnt notice just a painted floor at all.  In the XJ its a bit warm in the summer but it stays dry and will no longer rot the floors out.    I wouldnt put any sort of liner or under coating type of stuff on the inside.  It will never %100 keep water from getting under it and the more rigid stuff wont show any sins of the floor rotting away till you push on it.  I just painted the floor with rustoleum and done.    The high traffic spots will rub off but im fine with that because high traffic wont rust out so still a win.

So easy to clean to.

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## NotThePainter

Agnes gets super hot in the floor area, plus she leaks so much the floor rusts out. (The leaks are from the door uppers which don't seal against the bashed windshield and yes, I still have Glenn's windshield in the basement, gotta put on on someday, but then she'll still leak from the square doors vs round roof problem!)

But anyhow, the plan, this spring, is to lizard skin the interior for heat insulation and then Monstaliner over that for durability/rust prevention. Hopefully this will also make her quieter but that's what Bose headphones are for.

I've always been carpet less and can't say it is better or worse. Agnes would be constantly wet so I've never considered putting one in.

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## Ivoryring

I go carpetless when I have the soft top on. I prefer it. 

It does get a bit warm in the footwell at times - primarily noticeable when spending time in 4Lo. I will occasionally throw the AC on in the footwells, even when doorless, because of this. If not in 4Lo, I usually get plenty of circulation from having the windows open. 

Noise level is a little higher but not objectionable to me.

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## ecgreen

Great advice guys. So to solve the heat issue..
Heat shielding underneath in key areas? And what about wire bundles on the floor? Any added protection?

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## Rubicon

It does get hot. It will be colder. Without the sound proofing, it will also be louder.




> Carpet and any sort of mat will stay wet for a long time.  On the YJ i didnt notice just a painted floor at all.  In the XJ its a bit warm in the summer but it stays dry and will no longer rot the floors out.    I wouldnt put any sort of liner or under coating type of stuff on the inside.  It will never %100 keep water from getting under it and the more rigid stuff wont show any sins of the floor rotting away till you push on it.  I just painted the floor with rustoleum and done.    The high traffic spots will rub off but im fine with that because high traffic wont rust out so still a win.
> So easy to clean to.


Agree ^






> Great advice guys. So to solve the heat issue..
> Heat shielding underneath in key areas? And what about wire bundles on the floor? Any added protection?


Shielding will obviously help, but as Derek wrote, anything that holds moisture can cause rust, though not as bad underneath in my opinion(with the right stuff).
Wire loom for the wires? But I would still electrical tape them first.

I run old horse mats that I cut up into easily pull-out/put-back-in sections for the heat, noise, traction, and cushion ;)
It would probably help in the cold a little bit, but I try to keep my Jeep out of the salt anyways, so...

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## ecgreen

> It does get hot. It will be colder. Without the sound proofing, it will also be louder.
> 
> Agree ^
> 
> 
> 
> Shielding will obviously help, but as Derek wrote, anything that holds moisture can cause rust, though not as bad underneath in my opinion(with the right stuff).
> Wire loom for the wires? But I would still electrical tape them first.
> 
> ...


This truck will see zero snow for the rest of it's life so I am not too worried about cold.

Your talking about the 3 foot by 3 foot 3/4 inch stall mats?

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## Rubicon

> This truck will see zero snow for the rest of it's life so I am not too worried about cold.
> 
> Your talking about the 3 foot by 3 foot 3/4 inch stall mats?


Not sure of the thickness, but I do know that their replacements were thicker, denser, and much heavier(more like rubber). The older ones I got were more foam like almost and are smooth on one side, while the other side has "lines" on it. They are much softer and way lighter. Next time I go back to the garage, I will try and remember to measure the thickness for you. These do make it much nicer than nothing at all.
I can also tell you that they were bigger than 3' x 3'. More like 4' x 8' sections?

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## ecgreen

> Not sure of the thickness, but I do know that their replacements were thicker, denser, and much heavier(more like rubber). The older ones I got were more foam like almost and are smooth on one side, while the other side has "lines" on it. They are much softer and way lighter. Next time I go back to the garage, I will try and remember to measure the thickness for you. These do make it much nicer than nothing at all.
> I can also tell you that they were bigger than 3' x 3'. More like 4' x 8' sections?


I think we are talking about the same stuff. I use it in pig stalls. U can buy it at tractor supply

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## jeep crawl

carpet less is the way to go ,no moisture that turns to mold then that smell you cant find.

like the horse stall mat idea ,i use a good floor mat and a  rubber type mat. not sure where i got it. its used in gym floors it interlocks.works very well on the noise 

i a small fan ,the type used in a school bus windshield ,mounted  on the floor for my wife's   feet ...does get very HOT on the passenger floor 

find  all the different  noises  very relaxing ,its a jeep thing

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## dun_right

Im pretty sold on taking the carpet out of my JKU. One less thing to have to clean. probably going to put some Velcro on the rubber mats and floor to keep them stuck. The rear mat floats when the doors are off. Honestly cannot wait to see how I like it.

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## mtyler11

The lizard skin or Durabak would help with resonance noise and heat.  added is the rust-proofing that would come along with PROPERLY prepped floor before applying (or you will hate yourself when you begin to see signs of rust and have to spend months trying to peel/chip/grind the stuff off... been there)
My old GMC I went carpetless.... until I did the floor I hated it.  But it was easier to clean.  and made for easier rust monitoring...  

For the heat, you can get some tin sheet (ok, not REALLY tin...) and form some shields/reflectors (or get some generic pre-formed) and rivet them to the underside...

For the wiring.... get some good quality loom... IMHO mesh style like this... plan out the wire runs, rebundle everything, and secure with cable clamps and either riv-nut & bolt or rivet them down... if you rivet, go slightly large, measure twice....  For tape, use fabric wire loom tape... it won't leave a sticky residue in 6 months or 6 yrs when you take teh bundle apart to add something...

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## farmer

Don't bother with anything expensive. I run carpetless, stock paint and/or patch panels with some thin rubber mats that cover ALOT trimmed to fit. The B2 is going to be a noisy SOB no matter what. Spend the money on a better radio to drown it out

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## ecgreen

> Don't bother with anything expensive. I run carpetless, stock paint and/or patch panels with some thin rubber mats that cover ALOT trimmed to fit. The B2 is going to be a noisy SOB no matter what. Spend the money on a better radio to drown it out


Bestpost yet lol

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## mtyler11

> ... Spend the money on a better radio to drown it out


Rofl....

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## KJ1H

> I can also tell you that they were bigger than 3' x 3'. More like 4' x 8' sections?


4' by 6'. I use one as a backstop for my archery target. Arrows bounce right off, it's so tough!  :Glee:

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## Rubicon

> 4' by 6'. I use one as a backstop for my archery target. Arrows bounce right off, it's so tough!


Might be. The old ones in my Jeep right now are not as tough, heavy, nor thick as what they replaced them with, but it does the job ;)

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## Dogbreath077

I'm in the process of converting my stock livingroom appearance for the hose-out interior.  I'll duplicate a setup i had in another rig.  I'll take out all the carpet, and prep and paint a good coats or two of rusty metal primer.  After a week of curing, I'll install rubber mats, cut to form.  At the top edges, I'll use velcro, but not on the floors, they hold dirt.  I'll them use lengths of roofing tin to shield the exhaust.  One layer does a lot to deflect the heat.  A half-tube, clamped onto the pipes does wonders, and a layer on top of the muffler too.  Since I'll use hose clamps, they'll be easily replaced.  One aspect that folks seem to overlook, is drainage.  If you don't have stock plastic plugs, then use a hole saw and make a hole for one and install an aftermarket plug. 2" minimum for good flow.  When you're hosing it out, they are priceless.  One for each floorboard and one in the cargo area.  The floormats will deaden the sound and heat, and the tin will reduce the heat a whole lot too.  My old rig had floors that bolted in, so i used a 3 washer stack and the whole floor had drainage around the edges.  I hope this helps, please post photos.

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## Sloth

Maybe just use header wrap on the exhaust under the passenger compartment to try to keep heat to minimum. Not sure if it would make a difference but you could also try to spray as much is the underside panels in rubberized undercoating to try to mitigate some noise.

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## mtyler11

> Maybe just use header wrap on the exhaust under the passenger compartment to try to keep heat to minimum. Not sure if it would make a difference but you could also try to spray as much is the underside panels in rubberized undercoating to try to mitigate some noise.


I'm not too crazy about header wrap as it holds moisture and mud.... so if you go through a particularly smelly mudhole you'll carry that stink for days instead of being able to just rinse it off teh pipes with a pressure washer, and if you don't get teh wrap good & hot it won't drive teh moisture from the wrap, leading to accelerated rusting... and that doesn't even take into consideration winter de-icing brine....  I've also read auto mags that have measured a loss of wall thickness in headers due to excessive heating of the headers.  If you don't mind replacing the exhaust every few years then the wrap might be a way to go... 

As for rubberized undercoating, if you don't prep properly and use a TOUGH chassis paint the rubberized coating can/will trap water next to the steel and rust faster, and you won't see it till it starts bubbling leaving you to cut & weld to repair instead of just touching up rockchips.  the rubberized also doesn't show off rockchips well but teh water/saltbrine can still get in.

I'm more a fan of heat control inside the cab...

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## Sloth

Sounds like Sean won't be driving it in the winter though. I have been running header wrap on my Doug thorley stainless y-pipe for a few years since to tucks up and a lot closer to my tcase than stock. Never hand any issues with smells after Wheeling. As far as rust it's only been a few years, but besides surficial rust that is inevitable it hasn't caused any rotate/ rust above what you would normally see from what I can tell. I check it every once in a while cause the little stainless bands that hold it on break/ rust occasionally. 

As for the undercoating maybe it would work, maybe not. He's already prepped the frame, why not just go full special and do the underbody panels too. At the very least it'll help mitigate some sound/ vibration just by adding mass.

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## mtyler11

> Sounds like Sean won't be driving it in the winter though. I have been running header wrap on my Doug thorley stainless y-pipe for a few years since to tucks up and a lot closer to my tcase than stock. Never hand any issues with smells after Wheeling. As far as rust it's only been a few years, but besides surficial rust that is inevitable it hasn't caused any rotate/ rust above what you would normally see from what I can tell. I check it every once in a while cause the little stainless bands that hold it on break/ rust occasionally. 
> 
> As for the undercoating maybe it would work, maybe not. He's already prepped the frame, why not just go full special and do the underbody panels too. At the very least it'll help mitigate some sound/ vibration just by adding mass.


Glad to hear on thewrap, last i did it, all i had was galvanized pipe.  Many moons ago.

I keep forgetting he's keeping it in a cocoon...

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## farmer

I never seemed to have the heat issues with my Ranger. Now running a V8, dual exhaust, and cast iron manual trans, I get more heat transfer, but never to the point of soft sticky shoes or unbearable heat while wheeling. Your mileage may vary.

Side note: Booning. I forgot about that western NH term!

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## mtyler11

> Side note: Booning. I forgot about that western NH term!


?!?!   Booning?   Like boondocking?

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## ecgreen

> ?!?!   Booning?   Like boondocking?


Boonin is the fine art of redneck wheeling class 6 roads in Western New Hampshire and never washing your truck LOL

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## mtyler11

> Boonin is the fine art of redneck wheeling class 6 roads in Western New Hampshire and never washing your truck LOL


Ooobhhh... mudpuppies

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## nhdiesel

I usually go carpetless in my 4x4s. Samurais, CJ, and YJ. The Sammys and CJ were beaters that I didn't care about the body on. Noise, heat, etc never bothered me, but I was also a lot younger and heartier then. My YJ had a really good tub so I wanted to protect it from the scratched floor/bare metal that comes with constant boots grinding dirt into the floor, so I did the entire of the tub with POR-15. After a good prep of the floor it held well and for the next couple years I owned it the floor didn't even show the slightest signs of scratching. This was a daily driver, summer and winter, and 'wheeled at least once a week.

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## KBCraig

> Qudratec floor mats on bare painted steel. Who cares about quiet or cool feet?





> Don't bother with anything expensive. I run carpetless, stock paint and/or patch panels with some thin rubber mats that cover ALOT trimmed to fit. The B2 is going to be a noisy SOB no matter what. Spend the money on a better radio to drown it out


You're running mud/trail tires... how quiet do you think it can be?A buddy in college (this was early '80s, when the idea of carpet in a pickup was new and fancy), had the most bone-stock F-150 sold. Painted floors and thin vinyl mats. He was a heavier dipper, and spit right through the steering wheel onto the floor, and once a week he'd hose it out.

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## bob

I tried carpetless once. Couldn't stop scratching for over a week...

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## Rubicon

> I tried carpetless once. Couldn't stop scratching for over a week...


 :Rofl:

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## dun_right

OP, did you end up taking the carpet out? I have a leak in my JK so when I was taking the driver seat out for other reasons, I noticed the carpet was soaked underneath the rubber mats I have. Took that carpet out to clean underneath and dry out. I like the look. I might take the front out too. Man was it nasty underneath from the previous owner.

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## Rubicon

> OP, did you end up taking the carpet out? I have a leak in my JK so when I was taking the driver seat out for other reasons, I noticed the carpet was soaked underneath the rubber mats I have. Took that carpet out to clean underneath and dry out. I like the look. I might take the front out too. Man was it nasty underneath from the previous owner.


Seems like most Wranglers leak. I know they don't have permanent roofs, but you would think the Chrysler engineers would have figured it out after their over 30 year run.

Erin's JK leaks too, less with the used soft top we installed, but she might still remove the carpets as well, until things freeze back up.

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## mtyler11

> Seems like most Wranglers leak. I know they don't have permanent roofs, but you would think the Chrysler engineers would have figured it out after their over 30 year run.
> 
> Erin's JK leaks too, less with the used soft top we installed, but she might still remove the carpets as well, until things freeze back up.


Well, we all know Chrysler had a sterling reputation for quality...

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## BlueberryHill

> Seems like most Wranglers leak. I know they don't have permanent roofs, but you would think the Chrysler engineers would have figured it out after their over 30 year run.
> 
> Erin's JK leaks too, less with the used soft top we installed, but she might still remove the carpets as well, until things freeze back up.


How old/new? We were dealing with leaks in our '17 JKU, it had probably been leaking since new. The dealer (Lahti's in Leominster) had it in three or four times over the past year and seem to have taken care of it. This past couple of weeks would have been puddles in the front and back left footwells, but it's dry. The Jeep came with the good floor mat set, so we don't really miss the carpet... Lahti's even cleaned the carpets while I had them out, they're still in a bag.




> Well, we all know Chrysler had a sterling reputation for quality...


It's a Jeep thing...  :Viking: 

Seriously though, it's about the dealerships. I've had so many Mopar vehicles I'd have to stop and count, including those from the AMC days (Mary-Anne is AMC), Daimler/Chrysler, and FCA. My experience hasn't been at all what's "known" about Chrysler.

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## dun_right

> Seems like most Wranglers leak. I know they don't have permanent roofs, but you would think the Chrysler engineers would have figured it out after their over 30 year run.
> 
> Erin's JK leaks too, less with the used soft top we installed, but she might still remove the carpets as well, until things freeze back up.


I thought I found where it was leaking but I guess not lol. I think it's one of the mucket seals on the B pillar. I dont know if I even want to deal with trying to fix it. Just sucks lol

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## dun_right

> How old/new? We were dealing with leaks in our '17 JKU, it had probably been leaking since new. The dealer (Lahti's in Leominster) had it in three or four times over the past year and seem to have taken care of it. This past couple of weeks would have been puddles in the front and back left footwells, but it's dry. The Jeep came with the good floor mat set, so we don't really miss the carpet... Lahti's even cleaned the carpets while I had them out, they're still in a bag.
> 
> 
> 
> It's a Jeep thing... 
> 
> Seriously though, it's about the dealerships. I've had so many Mopar vehicles I'd have to stop and count, including those from the AMC days (Mary-Anne is AMC), Daimler/Chrysler, and FCA. My experience hasn't been at all what's "known" about Chrysler.


So it's pretty much inevitable. We pay good money for an SUV just to have them leak lololol.

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## Rubicon

> Well, we all know Chrysler had a sterling reputation for quality...


Chrysler seemed like a an engineering company [like 50+ years ago] but apparently has gone other ways, like a lot of decent companies. Take Nissan. They use to be on my top 5 car list. Not so much now. Sign of the times/status quo :(






> How old/new?...


2012 :\

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## dun_right

I took the carpet out of the Jeep today but left the way back in. Just need to figure out how to keep the rubber mats from sliding around. Was thinking Velcro but with the floor getting warm, idk if it would actually stay stuck. Maybe with 3m tape? Anyone else figure something out?   I didnt think the road noise was any louder than normal. And it gets warm down there but not unbearable whatsoever.

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## Mach2NH

I just sent a self tapper into the floor in two spots to keep them in place.

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## Rubicon

> I took the carpet out of the Jeep today but left the way back in. Just need to figure out how to keep the rubber mats from sliding around. Was thinking Velcro but with the floor getting warm, idk if it would actually stay stuck. Maybe with 3m tape? Anyone else figure something out?   I didnt think the road noise was any louder than normal. And it gets warm down there but not unbearable whatsoever.


If you don't want to do Derek's idea, maybe drill a hole or two in the mat and zip-tie them to the seat bracket or make up some sort of strap with hooks to hold them from sliding forward(which is probably the only way they are moving ;)
Good luck!

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## dun_right

> I just sent a self tapper into the floor in two spots to keep them in place.


Ya not too keen on drilling into the body for mats lol. Thanks though!




> If you don't want to do Derek's idea, maybe drill a hole or two in the mat and zip-tie them to the seat bracket or make up some sort of strap with hooks to hold them from sliding forward(which is probably the only way they are moving ;)
> Good luck!


I found some heavy duty velcro I'm going to try. People said it takes a lot for the adhesive to come off. If it doesn't work, then ill probably do some sort of strap like you suggest

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## Rubicon

> ...I found some heavy duty velcro I'm going to try. People said it takes a lot for the adhesive to come off. If it doesn't work, then ill probably do some sort of strap like you suggest


 :Thumbsup:

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