How impotant is a liner to you van's floor integrity?

ruff · Nov 2, 2013

How important is a liner to you van's floor integrity?

I've always had the plywood with the glued on carpet and never had an issue with rusting.

Most supplies these days recommend the sprayed on liners.

Dave Gill is installing a new machine without any.

What's your take on this issue?

Is it really necessary?

davegillfishing · Nov 2, 2013

i see no reason for it personally..with the floors bare i can see whats going on and fix as or if needed..we are in fla so no insulation is needed..if i were in a cold area i could see it for insulation purposes.

Desk Jockey · Nov 2, 2013

Ofer we do both, the spray liner as rust protection, on the floor out door steps and up the wall 6-inches. The plywood covered by blue astro turf for a smooth flat base to work from. It also insulates and deadens sounds as a side bonus. It might seem like over kill but I wouldn't want to do only one of them.
:neutral:

Out of Character - 0 · Nov 2, 2013

I prefer a coating rather than wood. Our clutch drives have flooded our vans with coolant a few times, I'd prefer have a more cleanable surface just for that reason.

Buck1955 · Nov 3, 2013

My new van has the foil/bubble insulation on walls and roof. If you have nothing you'll end up getting dents from the inside and paint will crack. The foil is cheap rhino liner is like $800.00. Floor is treated plywood and indoor outdoor carpeting.

Larry Cobb · Nov 3, 2013

Ofer;

If it is a quality TM made from Aluminum or Stainless . . .

it will far outlast the van.

We always suggest the "urethane" liners to be installed.

If you don't want to have it done by a shop,

you can "prep" the floor and coat it yourself for about $100 or so.

A good investment either way.

Plywood and Carpet weighs a lot more, so it also decreases gas mileage.

Larry

KevinD · Nov 3, 2013

I've had several vans.
All with 3/4" plywood floors.
Some between 15 and 20 years old before they were retired.
With the northeast winters the bodies were shot when I got rid of them
but the floors were still solid.

Willy P · Nov 3, 2013

[h=2]How impotant is a liner to you van's floor integrity?[/h]
That's impotent, not impotant. Are you tearing it out and can't get it up?

ruff · Nov 3, 2013

Thanks for the heads up (or is it down?) Willy.

I was thinking a blue liner :winky:

ruff · Nov 3, 2013

Thanks Larry and anybody who knows,

What is the product do you recommend? Lots of different products and prices, any one that is better?

Is it practical to do by myself or by the time I'm done with it I'd be much better off having a pro do it?

If it is to be applied to a new van, does the paint need to be sanded? Or can it be applied onto unsanded new paint?

Willy P · Nov 3, 2013

Ofer Kolton said:
Thanks for the heads up (or is it down?) Willy.

I was thinking a blue liner

Blue veiner, not blue liner.

davegillfishing · Nov 3, 2013

Buck1955 said:
My new van has the foil/bubble insulation on walls and roof. If you have nothing you'll end up getting dents from the inside and paint will crack. The foil is cheap rhino liner is like $800.00. Floor is treated plywood and indoor outdoor carpeting.

other than loading the cimex and vac we are not in the van so there is no reason for it to get dented up or scratched up..we dont haul anything to dent or damage the bed at all..just my opinion though..waste of money and time for us..but if yu are hauling
a bunch of stuff or have guys that are hard on their equipment then it may be necessary..trust me when i do a weekly van inspection and find a dent or bad scratch there will be a bunch of questions to follow lol

Vivers · Nov 3, 2013

I used the line x in two vans and love it.

Ron K · Nov 3, 2013

Aluminum Pan is the way to go, keeps truck mount juices contained.

davegillfishing · Nov 3, 2013

Ok so I am going to revise my opinion here..I loaded the van with everything I could possible load and went for a ride..

Things rattled like a empty can full of rocks lol..the tools and equipment deff need a soft surface to sit on lol

So I am going to get with the carpet retailer I do work for and have them cover the exposed sections of floor..

Thanks to all that suggested and got me really thinking..

Dave

The Great Oz · Nov 4, 2013

In the olden days we used the manufacturer installed plywood covered with plasti-grass. Grass wasn't tough enough and water got under the plywood and rusted out the floors.

We solved the problem by custom-cutting plywood to fit wall-to-wall and caulking the seams and edges. Covered it with unitary back carpet in 6-foot widths so there were no seams.

Found out a sprayed-on product cost less in time and materials.

Choose Rhino-liner if you want a snot slick coating that's easiest to clean, Line-X (our choice) if you want something with more grip, or Herculiner (halfway between) if you're into DIY. You'll have to paint on several coats of a DIY product to get the thickness of a sprayed-on liner, so you save less money than you might think.

In twenty years of Line-X use we've never managed to damage it. We've had Rhinoliner applied to a floor in our shop, used Herculiner on multiple hard-to keep paint on items, and experimented with Krylon/Duplicolor products. The Rhino is scary slick and is starting to peel (no warranty for anything other than a bed liner) the Herc is perfect, far surpassing epoxy for a metal coating exposed to water, the other products are brittle and flake off at first bump.

Desk Jockey · Nov 4, 2013

We used Bullhide, Rino Liner, Line X and the last two vehicles we did were done by Evolution.

Line X is the only one I'd never use again, not because of the product but the franchisee. The applicator was a new tech and the owner gave a million excuses why it was done so poorly, they re did it but I wasn't satisfied with their quality control.

Some of those different brands haven't stayed in business long enough here to do more than a truck or two.

Oh and they are responsible for scuffing the finish so it will bond. We've never had to do anything but take it to them and pay for it.

P.S. If it's a quality made PTO it will far out last the van.

Jim Martin · Nov 4, 2013

Rhino line..........its called protecting your investment....we put a lot of money into our vans and equipment....

glenboy · Nov 6, 2013

i used star board for my van floor ( white cutting board) 130.00 for a 4 x 8 sht. got it from LAIRD PLASTICS WARREN MICHIGAN

Desk Jockey · Nov 8, 2013

We also did the bumper on our newest box truck. The guys said for $100.00 he will spray the others and I think I'm going to have them do it. Had a guy slip off the bumper with wet shoes and hit his head on the hand rail last month. Probably wouldn't have had happened had it been coated. I might also have then spray our aluminum ramps, they get very slick when wet.

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ruff · Nov 9, 2013

Nice!

CrazyRay · Nov 14, 2013

Ofer Kolton said:
Thanks Larry and anybody who knows,

What is the product do you recommend? Lots of different products and prices, any one that is better?

Is it practical to do by myself or by the time I'm done with it I'd be much better off having a pro do it?

If it is to be applied to a new van, does the paint need to be sanded? Or can it be applied onto unsanded new paint?

Keefer,
On my first van I went the do it yourself route. I think it was Herculiner. As with any applied coating, the prep is the most important step. Being the picky-anal person that I am it took me a long time and lots of work to get it done to my satisfaction. Didn't help that is was an extended van. The end product was pretty darn good, but I didn't go up the wall. Several places on the wall where it meets the floor started rusting out.

On the second van I paid to have Rhinoliner do it professionally...

Desk Jockey · Nov 14, 2013

Being the picky-anal person that I am

Does anal mean ass ?

J/K

Take it easy there Keefer I was just jokin! :biggrin:

packfancjh · Nov 14, 2013

View attachment 3313

If you go the DIY route make sure you do every step and take your time or it could end up like this in less than a year. This was done with the Home Depot kit. Having it professionally done is the best route to go.

CrazyRay · Nov 14, 2013

Doc Holliday said:
Does anal mean ass ? J/K

Take it easy there Keefer I was just jokin!

Able 1 · Nov 14, 2013

Best off to have it professionally done.. I have one van that I had professional, and one I bought was a DIY. Hands down professional one has held up the best(one gouge is all). I would like to coat my whole van with that stuff..

Becker · Nov 14, 2013

My 1st van I bought as a brand new package. Ford with factory liner with a installed chemtex panter peice of crap .... I only had the van for about 2 years and had a light work load but this is not the way to go.
2nd van had plywood just under the TM and tank.. I did not like the slick surface, noise, blah.
3rd van going forward to the one I just bought last month. Marine grade plywood with indoor outdoor garage style carpet.
I've never had an issue nor a problem selling the retired van, I'll just often recarpet it.
I could not imagine getting anymore or less use out of the typical ford chevy etc with or without a liner, floor or not.

How impotant is a liner to you van's floor integrity?

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