Do you prefer Carpet or Vinyl?

[Danny G]

I did carpet on the last truck. I am considering vinyl on the F-350 simply because it should be easier to clean and keep stain free etc. But if I remember correctly the 86 had vinyl and it held dirt like crazy and didn't hold up well. Granted that's 1986 vs 2024 material.

I'm torn on the subject. The carpet is nice and fitted mats are available. The Vinyl is more utilitarian.

Which do you prefer and why? If carpet any particular pile type?

[ArdWrknTrk]

I'd say it depends if you use your truck as an actual truck, or it's a grocery getting fashion statement.

Do you live in the north, where snow and salty slush is unavoidable? Vinyl.

Do you work on a farm or in a barn where you're guaranteed to have animal excrement on your boots? Vinyl

Even just mud or grease from your job is going to make a filthy mess of carpet, and if you have that type of job, you're not likely to have the time for constant cleaning.

I'm embarrassed at how nasty my floors can get, but what can you do?

If I realistically could have carpet I would want loop instead of pile, but that's not how XL/XLT trucks came...

I met a guy the other day in the parking lot of Dollar General with an absolutely gorgeous, black 5.0 XLT 150 with the bordello red interior and Alcoa wheels.

Velour seats with barely any wear. The aluminium tailgate panel and reflector was mint!

He said he bought it on the spot from some older gentleman who decided it was time to stop driving

Anyway, the carpet was beautiful!

We got to talking because he seemed a bit concerned about how I was looking it over.

And then he explained to me that he doesn't drive it much because it stumbles and/or dies when warm and asked to accelerate (classic TFI symptoms)

I suggested he get the oldest mechanic he can find to diagnose it, and that Fat Foxx or McCulley Racing make TFI relocation kits with heatsinks that get the PS modules off the distributor and onto the radiator support or inner fender.

[Gary Lewis]

I'd say it depends if you use your truck as an actual truck, or it's a grocery getting fashion statement.

Do you live in the north, where snow and salty slush is unavoidable? Vinyl.

Do you work on a farm or in a barn where you're guaranteed to have animal excrement on your boots? Vinyl

Even just mud or grease from your job is going to make a filthy mess of carpet, and if you have that type of job, you're not likely to have the time for constant cleaning.

I'm embarrassed at how nasty my floors can get, but what can you do?

If I realistically could have carpet I would want loop instead of pile, but that's not how XL/XLT trucks came...

I met a guy the other day in the parking lot of Dollar General with an absolutely gorgeous, black 5.0 XLT 150 with the bordello red interior and Alcoa wheels.

Velour seats with barely any wear. The aluminium tailgate panel and reflector was mint!

He said he bought it on the spot from some older gentleman who decided it was time to stop driving

Anyway, the carpet was beautiful!

We got to talking because he seemed a bit concerned about how I was looking it over.

And then he explained to me that he doesn't drive it much because it stumbles and/or dies when warm and asked to accelerate (classic TFI symptoms)

I suggested he get the oldest mechanic he can find to diagnose it, and that Fat Foxx or McCulley Racing make TFI relocation kits with heatsinks that get the PS modules off the distributor and onto the radiator support or inner fender.

I considered vinyl for Big Blue given what I planned to do with him. But I had the old carpet that was in pretty good shape, so put it back in. So far the carpet has held up well so I'm glad I put it back in.

Carpet should absorb more sound in the cab than vinyl will. But vinyl is heavier than carpet & somewhat limp so should do a better job of stopping sound coming through the floor than carpet, by itself, will. So if you are trying to get the cab quiet you need to think about how each of them help in that quest.

[ArdWrknTrk]

I considered vinyl for Big Blue given what I planned to do with him. But I had the old carpet that was in pretty good shape, so put it back in. So far the carpet has held up well so I'm glad I put it back in.

Carpet should absorb more sound in the cab than vinyl will. But vinyl is heavier than carpet & somewhat limp so should do a better job of stopping sound coming through the floor than carpet, by itself, will. So if you are trying to get the cab quiet you need to think about how each of them help in that quest.

Doesn't the carpet itself have a pretty heavy backing?

As a builder I've installed mass loaded vinyl a number of times to reduce low frequency sound transmission, but if you want a really quiet party wall you need to make it more of two separate walls with no direct contact and hang your wall surface on resilient channel.

That, a long with a couple of differing densities of insulation in the cavities is the most effective.

Gary, I know you have Killmat or Noico or similar all the way up the firewall and in the doors to deaden engine and road noise.

Usually those products use low density foam rubber to decouple the vinyl from the sheet metal.

[Gary Lewis]

Doesn't the carpet itself have a pretty heavy backing?

As a builder I've installed mass loaded vinyl a number of times to reduce low frequency sound transmission, but if you want a really quiet party wall you need to make it more of two separate walls with no direct contact and hang your wall surface on resilient channel.

That, a long with a couple of differing densities of insulation in the cavities is the most effective.

Gary, I know you have Killmat or Noico or similar all the way up the firewall and in the doors to deaden engine and road noise.

Usually those products use low density foam rubber to decouple the vinyl from the sheet metal.

The carpet has a heavy backing, but it isn't a solid sheet like vinyl - which is closer to a mass-loaded layer. But then the vinyl usually gets constrained at the edges and it is stiff, so it isn't as flexible and resilient as it should be for sound control.

To me an ideal layering would be mass loading, like Kilmat, then a layer of foam like the Noico I used, then a mass-loading layer of vinyl, then foam, then carpet. The foam would decouple the vinyl layer and allow it to work properly.

[ArdWrknTrk]

The carpet has a heavy backing, but it isn't a solid sheet like vinyl - which is closer to a mass-loaded layer. But then the vinyl usually gets constrained at the edges and it is stiff, so it isn't as flexible and resilient as it should be for sound control.

To me an ideal layering would be mass loading, like Kilmat, then a layer of foam like the Noico I used, then a mass-loading layer of vinyl, then foam, then carpet. The foam would decouple the vinyl layer and allow it to work properly.

. It would be like stepping into a bounce house!

[Gary Lewis]

. It would be like stepping into a bounce house!

Not quite. The foam is only about 1/4” thick. So 1/2” with two layers.

[thelastkeg]

I prefer vinyl. I don't wash or vacuum my vehicles all that often, but it's easy to use a little whisk broom to sweep out the vinyl floors and it looks presentable. My one modern (2000 model) truck with carpet has the fitted weatherguard style floor mats, but they still aren't 100% coverage so the carpet needs to be vacuumed rather than swept more often than I'd like. But I track a lot of debris into my vehicles since most are parked on gravel with a ton of leaves around.

[mat in tn]

Not quite. The foam is only about 1/4” thick. So 1/2” with two layers.

either has its benefits yet I will add one point MOISTURE!

with carpet and its backing, you have no barrier to moisture absorption. but as it may be slow it can dry out.

with vinyl and its backing, you can get a false impression that water cannot get through (true until the first crack appears) but water can still get in around the edges and go mostly unnoticed and stay where it will hardly ever dry. mold and rust come next. and in the case of dirty or rusted cowls this moisture can sneak in. I remember seeing truck guys pull up to the car was after a day of mudding and spray out their trucks. saying "its vinyl".

either way. you have an empty cab at the moment. get a gallon of paint. roll as many coats as you stand to do on a sound surface. do not spray. you want the build and the mechanical action of the bond.

[Gary Lewis]

either has its benefits yet I will add one point MOISTURE!

with carpet and its backing, you have no barrier to moisture absorption. but as it may be slow it can dry out.

with vinyl and its backing, you can get a false impression that water cannot get through (true until the first crack appears) but water can still get in around the edges and go mostly unnoticed and stay where it will hardly ever dry. mold and rust come next. and in the case of dirty or rusted cowls this moisture can sneak in. I remember seeing truck guys pull up to the car was after a day of mudding and spray out their trucks. saying "its vinyl".

either way. you have an empty cab at the moment. get a gallon of paint. roll as many coats as you stand to do on a sound surface. do not spray. you want the build and the mechanical action of the bond.

Or have a bed liner sprayed in? They built up 1-8 - 3/16” of it in the bed of both of my trucks, and it is dense but pliable. And TOUGH. Doubt moisture can get through it.