Frito's Bulkhead

[aspen]

I just thought that a stall mat material might not work for me, since stall mats are permeable, meaning they will absorb water, rather then repel it, right?

[mendonsy]

Originally Posted by aspen

I just thought that a stall mat material might not work for me, since stall mats are permeable, meaning they will absorb water, rather then repel it, right?

Some may absorb water, but most of them do not!

[glasseye]

Mine are impervous to water. It beads up on the surface.

[Aqua Puttana]

Originally Posted by glasseye

Mine are impervous to water. It beads up on the surface.

So I trust that you're giving us the straight sh*t, and not just some folklore old stall mat horse sh*t.

vic

[mattwiz]

Glasseye....
I looked at these stall mats at a local supplier. The seem to have a rubber smell to them. Do/Did your have that same smell, and if so how long did it last?

Are you still happy this material for your floor?

I like the idea, I just wanted to get a little additional feedback before pursuing.
Thank you.

[glasseye]

They did smell a little during the install and later, during their first really hot days in Death Valley, a little more. Barely noticeable. Since then? No smell whatsoever, and they've seen 40C weather.

Cutting them with the jigsaw, however, produced smells indescribable on a family-values forum like this one.

They were the best investment in noise reduction of all of the techniques I implemented. The difference is quite amazing. Ongoing maintenance is easy. They're easy to vacuum and scrub if necessary.

IMHO, the "constrained-layer damper" products ("Dynamat", et al) are utterly ineffectual by comparison. Of course, you can't put 3/4" rubber mats in the doors.

Isolating the rubber mats from the steel floor is important. Anything spongy will do. The cheap polyethylene foam used for laminate floor underlay would work.

[mattwiz]

Great, Thank you for the info.

[Stickman77]

Would laying down some of the horse stall mats over the factory floor help significantly, or does the the factory floor need to come out to add material between?

[hulagun]

Originally Posted by Stickman77

Would laying down some of the horse stall mats over the factory floor help significantly, or does the the factory floor need to come out to add material between?

I just installed 3/4" thick horse stall mats in my T1N, directly on the factory ply floor. The mats seem to quiet road noise some. This is a trial installation. Sometime this winter I plan to remove the factory floor and at minimum clean out underneath it, treat any rust, seal any penetrations, and install foam in the low channels under the floor. I'll do a full write up at that time.

FWIW the mats I found do NOT have the nice looking pebbled sealed surface that Glasseye's do. However, they were cheap and available, and the unsealed, slightly granular surface does not appear to be fragile or very permeable. Water isn't as much an issue as spilled oil or gasoline... that could be hard to clean up and the mats could become slippery.

[glasseye]

Originally Posted by hulagun

I plan to remove the factory floor and at minimum clean out underneath it, treat any rust, seal any penetrations, and install foam in the low channels under the floor. I'll do a full write up at that time.

We'll look forward to your experiences, hulagun. My research told me that isolating the barrier layer from the noise producer (the tin floor) was critical. I supported mine on used carpet underlay.

Pay close attention to the wheel wells.

regards

Peter