Can someone school me on carpet

[SirRobyn0]

I'm thinking about doing carpet in my truck. If you don't know me I'm a mechanic but don't do interior or body work professionally. I have done a few house carpet installs that have come out very well.

Here is the situation with the square, the carpet is worn out to point that it's coming apart in places. The truck has very little rust, but when PO owned it it was allowed leak from the windshield and door seals, so I can see there is some rust on the edges of the carpet. Honestly I care less about the quality and condition of the carpet than I do getting under it to see if there is rust and if there is doing something to stop it. It's a nice old truck, but I do use it for work on the farm I get in and out of it with dirty shoes all the time. I do keep a good set of weather tech floor mats in it.

Because of the dirty and mud situation I don't want to spend a ton of money on carpet, like I said my prime motivation is seeing if there is rust under there and stopping it if there is.

Does regular molded carpet come with a "pad" or underlayment (not sure what to call it) already on it or do I need to buy that separately?

Installation information is greatly appreciated.

Is using unmolded automotive carpet an option of is it to much for a beginner to work with? I'm actually kind of thinking for my experience with installing carpet in houses that I could pull off using unmolded, I could re-carpet for about $60 with that stuff, not including any underlayment.

Thanks.

 

[WP29P4A]

I have a friend that I have known since elementary school, the whole family is in the carpet business. I have spent a bunch of time watching and helping him do his thing. I have done several vehicles and I'm just starting on carpeting the trunk of my car.

The replacement carpet that is sold for restoration comes with or without the padding/underlayment, it's an upgrade to add the pad. it also knocks the sound down a bit. Yes it is much cheaper to buy flat bulk carpet, but to do it right you would either need to use carpet seam tape with an iron or sew the seams by hand. Unless you time it worth very little and you have lots of extra time, I would buy the molded carpet.

It is so hard to install carpet in something that is not flat, even the molded carpet I bought for my Charger took some fitting to get it to look correct, The lump in the middle of my trunk is simple compared to the lump under your seat and the trans tunnel.

The molded carpet also usually comes with the vinyl area on the drivers side under the pedals too.

As far as having enough experience to use flat carpet, have you ever done any 3 dimensional carpet work? Compound angles? Just dealing with the trans tunnel changing width is a challenge to deal with.

I decided to just make the templates for my trunk and have my carpet guy figure out the od shaped lump in the middle of my trunk, Mine is a one year only special, so no carpet kit available for my application.

 

[Grit dog]

JMO, but I'd go back with a rubber floor in a work truck.

 

[SirRobyn0]

I have a friend that I have known since elementary school, the whole family is in the carpet business. I have spent a bunch of time watching and helping him do his thing. I have done several vehicles and I'm just starting on carpeting the trunk of my car.

The replacement carpet that is sold for restoration comes with or without the padding/underlayment, it's an upgrade to add the pad. it also knocks the sound down a bit. Yes it is much cheaper to but flat bulk carpet, but to do it right you would either need to use carpet seam tape with and iron or sew the seams by hand. Unless you time it worth very little and you have lots of extra time, I would buy the molded carpet.

It is so hard to install carpet in something that is not flat, even the molded carpet I bought for my Charger took some fitting to get it to look correct, The lump in the middle of my trunk is simple compared to the lump under your seat and the trans tunnel.

The molded carpet also usually comes with the vinyl area on the drivers side under the pedals too.

As far as having enough experience to use flat carpet, have you ever done any 3 demensional carpet work? Compound angles? Just dealing with the trans tunnel changing width is a challenge to deal with.

I decided to just make the templates for my trunk and have my carpet guy figure out the od shaped lump in the middle of my trunk, Mine is a one year only special, so no carpet kit available for my application.

Thanks for the info. Because of the floor mats I'm running the vinyl foot pad on the drivers side is a mute because it's always covered up.

Yes I have done some (limited) 3 dimensional carpet work. I've done some carpet wrapping with the cheap stuff from the auto parts store, most recently a shelf which I made the mistake of not gluing it, so I had to take it apart and glue it, but that was a lesson learned and mistake that won't be made twice. In homes I've done stairs and one living room with a dropped floor. I know home and auto carpet is a bit different as is the installation methods, so I'm not sure how much would carry over.

My time is very valuable, I'm a very busy person so that point alone is probably the biggest bullet point in the direction of using molded.

I'm not trying to be stupid and saying this and maybe you can tell me how bad of an idea this really is. My truck is a low hump, auto 2wd, so there are no shifters sticking out of the floor. I'm almost temped to cut the carpet right before it goes horizontal and heading to the seat and just replace the front part with bulk. A good tight butt seam contact cement glued to the floor seems like it would hold, obviously matching the color perfect could be an issue. but then the only area to contour around would be the hump. I'd like your thoughts on that and I'll think about it as well.

 

[SirRobyn0]

JMO, but I'd go back with a rubber floor in a work truck.

I have seriously thought about going that route. I had a vinyl mat in a Toyota pickup years ago, I really liked it for ablity to clean but that was about it. I have neuropathy and sometimes like to take my shoes off when driving and the vinyl is not as bare foot friendly. And really that's ok, what I really didn't like about it is at 60K it was cracking pretty badly on the driver side and by 70K the driver side was held together with duct tape. It was the OEM vinyl floor. Maybe I just got a bad one. Have you had a vinyl or rubber floor in a square or other truck? How did it hold up for you?

Yes, this option is very much on the table.

 

[45tt]

I’ve done both molded carpet and unmolded. The molded carpet set was so much easier to do and it looked better. The unmolded carpet had a lot of trimming and three-dimensional work to do and I wasn’t really happy with the finished product the entire time I owned the truck.

My recommendation is to go with a molded set whether it be carpet or rubber you’ll be a lot happier with the fit and finish.

 

[OldBlueDually]

I too had never done carpeting in an interior until I did my crew cab truck. For this I put in my own insulation (with 3M spray adhesive), and then I layed the carpet down over that with NO spray (although a couple spots I may spray now such as right near where the door closes & meets that trim). It was not too expensive either. I would think with your truck being a regular cab, that removal of your seat, seat belts, kick panels, and your rocker trim (those silver strips whatever they are called!) and you could do it pretty quick.

You being a mechanic, this would be a breeze for you with molded carptet! Heck, it is more of taking stuff apart & reinstalling then any actual carpet work to be honest.

Here is the carpet installed in mine if you are curious to see, page 3.

https://www.gmsquarebody.com/threads/76-gmc-crew-long-box-dually-gotta-get-it-on-the-road-again.29806/page-3

I purchased the molded carpet from stock interiors (great people to work with by the way), it looks like yours would cost $146 for the molded carpet which is not bad at all! I believe mine was the "plush cut pile" carpeting in that selection box.

81-87 Chevy Full Size Truck, Standard Cab Carpet 2 Wheel Drive Automatic

1981-1987 Chevy Full Size Truck, Standard Cab carpet Heat and Pressure Molded to the original floor pan, made with Top Quality auto carpet materials. Carpet fits Chevy Full Size Truck, Standard Cab 2 Wheel Drive Automatic just like OEM when installed.

www.stockinteriors.com

 

[SirRobyn0]

@OldBlueDually Thanks for the link to their products and the link to the pics of your truck. I had look at their carpets and it good to see pics of one and your thoughts on it. If I get molded carpet, and at this point I'm pretty sure that'll be the direction I go in it would come from them. They aren't the absolute cheapest but I'd put their pricing in the lower middle, which I see as good. I'm kind of a tight ***, but I'm willing to spend a little more for something that is a decent product.

I think they have vinyl as well. As much as I can see why vinyl would be a good choice for my uses I'm just not all that into vinyl so unless I found vinyl at a low cost I'd probably want to stick with carpet.

 

[OldBlueDually]

@SirRobyn0 I had to trim a little to the left & right sides as they do make them a bit bigger so you have some wiggle room to do what is needed. They suggested it sit for a day to help settle so I did that, because they send it to you rolled up....well, I think it was rolled up. Heck, now I don't remember if rolled up or folded. Either way it was simple and I thought it fit very well right out of the box.

Either way it turned out nice and I was able to get the seats and belts back in with some minor cutting for holes. I think it turned out nice. Now I just need to install the trim.

I too am a bit of a tight @$S and do as much as I can without spending a ton so I get it!

 

[WebMonkey]

i'm really happy with the molded vinyl so far.
came with a pad for the front 'foot wells'.

tough vinyl type material rather than 'stretchy' rubbery type material.

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i have carpet floor mats (from a generic compact car) for bare feet so best of both worlds for my work/farm k20 super double xtra duty.

 

[WP29P4A]

Thanks for the info. Because of the floor mats I'm running the vinyl foot pad on the drivers side is a mute because it's always covered up.

Yes I have done some (limited) 3 dimensional carpet work. I've done some carpet wrapping with the cheap stuff from the auto parts store, most recently a shelf which I made the mistake of not gluing it, so I had to take it apart and glue it, but that was a lesson learned and mistake that won't be made twice. In homes I've done stairs and one living room with a dropped floor. I know home and auto carpet is a bit different as is the installation methods, so I'm not sure how much would carry over.

My time is very valuable, I'm a very busy person so that point alone is probably the biggest bullet point in the direction of using molded.

I'm not trying to be stupid and saying this and maybe you can tell me how bad of an idea this really is. My truck is a low hump, auto 2wd, so there are no shifters sticking out of the floor. I'm almost temped to cut the carpet right before it goes horizontal and heading to the seat and just replace the front part with bulk. A good tight butt seam contact cement glued to the floor seems like it would hold, obviously matching the color perfect could be an issue. but then the only area to contour around would be the hump. I'd like your thoughts on that and I'll think about it as well.

Not a bad idea, but that might change after you pull the existing carpet to check the rust, and take a look at the carpet. Good chance you will look at it and say (That is not going back in my truck)

 

[SirRobyn0]

@OldBlueDually Thanks for the info. Better that the carpet be to big than to small I know how to cut carpet so that's not an issue.

@WebMonkey Where did you get the vinyl from? Do you have any kind of pad, or sound deadening under it? Is there much texture to the vinyl? I ask that because I remember my old Toyota the vinyl was easy to clean as far as wiping up mud or sweeping out dirt, but that truck the vinyl had quite a bit of grain to it, and making it look like the grain wasn't dirty did take a bit of scrubbing.

@WP29P4A I wouldn't think of reusing the existing carpet if I were to cut a section out. I think that at this point I really want to use molded carpet, especially given this will be my first time auto install. But the cheap @$$ inside me thinks I can do the bulk carpet. And I know I could and think I could do a good job, but as you said it'll cost time, and I do consider my time valuable. So for me that is the real push to use molded.

 

[Grit dog]

A nice molded carpet is a hell of a lot cheaper than a new truck!

 

[76n559]

I used that ebay sound deadener and a molded carpet from there as well nothing between

 

[SirRobyn0]

A nice molded carpet is a hell of a lot cheaper than a new truck!

Ha! You say that as if a new truck is an option! Just having a little fun with ya. Yes it sure is that's a for sure. Honestly if it wasn't for consent of what might be under the carpet I'd just continue to run it as is with floor mats.