Informal Poll - Carpet or Rubber Mat?

[Big Blue 72]

Replacing flooring in my 72. Can't decide. Carpet or rubber mat? Just wanted to get another persons perspective.

Overall I think carpet looks better, but I like the no hassle durability of a rubber mat when it comes to climbing in with boots caked with mud or snow.

Thoughts? Opinions?

[hazelnut]

I bought a rubber mat from dennis carpenter and I like it. Goes all the way back past the fuel tank on the sides and the front goes up the fire wall enough that I took out the fire wall padding and put in sound deadener. Not going to buy a fire wall pad now.

The one I bought was for the 73-79, The floor boards are the same. Comes with plenty of extra to trim off. Rubber is nice and thick.

The only problem was you only get padding for the floor pans, You need to buy some for the transmission hump.

[Big Blue 72]

Thanks. Can you post a photo?

[Ranchero50]

I have both, the factory rubber mat over carpet. Really quiets the inside of the truck down and is comfy to climb over.

[Canonman67]

I'm going with the rubber mat when I finish the interior. Already bought from Rockauto.

[hillcountryflt]

I have installed both in the last year.
Depends on the vehicle's use in my book. My flareside will be mainly a cruiser, so I am putting carpet in it. Also installed a new firewall pad. Just now in the process of putting it all back together again.
My 69 LWB got a rubber mat. Both the carpet and the mat came from ACC (https://www.accmats.com/commerce/1971/Ford/).
I will say, I wish I had everything out of my 69 when I installed the mat. The flareside was without fuel tank, steering column, parking break, heater box, etc. Made for a much cleaner install (mainly related to the firewall pad, but it helped on the flooring as well).
The 69 was a daily driver for about 2 years, up until about two weeks ago when I acquired a Ford Ranger with a/c.

[basketcase0302]

Based on where you live highly recommend the rubber mat. The carpeting holds water underneath that even the best body rust prevention can't stop.
The rubber is so....much easier to clean also. Add sound proofing under the matt is your concerned with the sound, (which also helps with the in cab heat/cold.

[chicof100]

This is a question that only you can answer. Purpose of truck? Show or just a driver? How clean do you want it to be? How much maintenance are you willing to do?
How can anyone possibly answer this for you? I don't mean to sound harsh, but man, really? We don't walk in your shoes, we don't know what your intentions are. Your going to get answers that will only confuse you.
If your an in and out of truck guy who works daily using his truck, go with rubber mat. If you want to wine and dine your girl plus do a car show, then carpet it.
If you go with rubber, don't put anything under it this way you can keep everything clean.
Bottom line is, how much maintenance are you willing to put into it?
Now my head hurts.

[rwilly]

What did you end up going with?

[calipilot227]

If i had my way, all trucks would have rubber floors. What's the point of having a truck if you're afraid to get it dirty?

[Subzero]

I've had a few trucks with rubber and a few with carpet. I replaced the carpet in my 68' with a rubber mat from LMC. My current daily (89' F150) has black carpet and the 72' has a white rubber mat. Darker colored carpet is good too, doesn't show stains. Always like how easy it is to clean a rubber mat off more than carpet, especially when you get grease stains on it or spill something.