I was just curious if anyone had considered this?

Rhombus and I were discussing it and thought it might be nice to rid the X of it's carpets and replace them with Herculiner or the like. For me it would help rid the smell of the few times I have taken in water in the cab.

Of course the noise level would increase a bit but what am I not thinking of?

Pros/cons?

I was thinking more about this and think that if we just cut the carpet we could get a removeable section.

I think that if you could just remove the lower section (where water collects) it might be enough. At the very least it will make cleaning the inside much easier.

I have removed my carpet from the back hatch area.
I have a rubber floor mat and the carpet was wet just from condensation (like really wet).

YOU GUYS ARE HARDCORE!

Weight might be an issue (not a big one though). The organizer of the SPORT club has a Jeep Cherokee and its called the Frog (super frog now, but that's a different story).

The entire exterior is Rhino lined green. Due to the thickness required, it gets a bit heavy.

Another option you could explore would be Line-X. Very durable and THICK, it may help keep the noise down too.

I have to agree with Ned on this one though, you guys are HARDCORE!

How about stop getting stuck in rivers? :p

Here's a pic of my X with the carpet removed. I had to remove it after taking on about 5" of bog water the the Pine Barrens. I power washed the carpet and all of the stains came out and surprisingly so did the smell. I let it bake in the sun for a few days before re-installing it.
Once you remove the seats, the carpet comes out in 2 pieces (front/rear). I pulled the drain plugs in the floor, jacked up the rear end of the X and sprayed down the interior to get all of the crap out. It worked beautifully. I think a few more drainholes would've been nice, but all well.

heres a pic of the back seats.

As for that lovely smell you get from the nasty water.. Febreeze kicks serious ass..

Thanks for the pics.

Here is a classic of CD:
:D

My '76 Jeep interior was snap in. You definitely want to protect the electrics on the floor. Just thinking out loud? Velcro to hold in a semi moldable rubber? Take your carpeting to an upholstrey shop and have them cut a rubber mat the same size with all the same cut outs. Install a few flush mounted drain plugs, like 2" in diameter that you could do a quick drain once you were outta the water. That way you wouldn't have to wait till the end of the weekend.

Maybe I am nuts........:p

Damn that sux. This was my Disaster. hehehe

Here's another one. looking back it was actually kinda funny. Not at the time, but now it is..

my first words when i came up to Kens truck were "OH SHIT this will leave a mark"

by that time he already was geting a tug back wards

and in 30 seconds after clearing the water hole , the LIGHTS came on

;(


couple miniutes later we were flying out on fire roads , just to make it to the pavment, on batery power



and about 30 minutes i was back on the trail
and 10 minutes later i was laying on my side , ;(
http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/t12212.html

have you had any problems with your alternators yet? Looks Like Daisy dunked his in the last weekend or two? He's got his new bumper on!!

That pic of CD is classic! He's got the wet-puppy sitting at your front door on a wintery night look. Will someone help me? :D

Yup. That was a BAD day for both of us Oleg. The thing that will never go away is the noise that the bog water made as it came in through the bottoms of the doors (Blub Blub Blub). Now thats a scary sound. That or the bottles of water that were floating in the water INSIDE my truck at my Feet. Actually pretty funny looking back. For those that are keeping score the water Came up to the bottom of my clutch pedal before its depressed. Yup, My feet went under water to get it into/out of gear. Im just happy that the water only came up that far, a little higher and my ECM would be toast.
I'm thinking about adding a few drainholes in the X, I just dont want to test them out. Anyone interested? two more drainplugs should be enough to drain the entire flor counting the two stock ones..
I dunno, just an idea I was tossing around in addition to the Rhino-lining. or Por-15..
L8r,

Since we're reliving water troubles. Here's the video (http://www.xterra4x4.com/images/bin/video/Ridgerock_small.mov)of Disco John's water hazard (1.7m Quicktime)

To answer Rrdstarr's question about the alternator. Yes. I had it replaced. After driving about 20 miles out of a 150 mile trip home, the truck died. I had it towed to a issan dealer in NJ, ut they didnt want to even touch it with the interior being flooded. They said for me to contact my insurance company for flood damage. hehehe. Long story short.. 8 days of removal of the interior, powerwashing and cleanup after my friend Towed me home (130 miles), The truck looked immaculate with the exception of the alternator. I charged the battery and dropped it off at my dealership and said that it dies, I dont know whats wrong with it. They cahnged the alternator and covered it under warranty. Free of charge. I got lucky, so I try to avoid the water crossings now. Still playing in the mud, not as insane though. :sun: If you're gonna play in the mud/water you're gonna pay the price sooner or later..I'm sure CD paid his dues.

POR-15 works great for restoration when I did that for hobby. When I welded my EOE sliderz to the truck I slapped some POR-15 over the welds and it still looks great.

Damn thats a nice video. Kinda brings back BAD memories of BROWN WATER... Please NO MORE, I think Im gonna be sick. :apuke:

/me thanks god I never got stuck the times I went through mud puddles like that

Considering all the wires along the floor, we use a flexible membrane called Flex Clad ( http://www.bunting-exzacfit.com/flexclad.htm ) for sake of description, a thicker version of a frostguard lining for roofs. The stuff is pretty moldable, seals up nice, would dampen road noise, and doesn't absorb water. Its not the intended use of the product, but might work. Its also has a self adhesive peel backing, and is available in colors. The only negative side is it is slightly soft, ( you can cut/slice the top finish ) but the undercoating will hold its bond.

I'm interested in that product you mentioned. My main question is, once applied can it be removed easily or cleanly? My concern is if you lay it over all your wiring in the floorpan and then later need to work on the wiring it seems it would make quite a mess, possibly even to the point that the wiring harness would be a glob of goo.

And if you have any pricing information, I would be interested. Thanks.

It looks like the wiring in gathered in 2 places for the most part, so I guess you can go under the wiring with the main sheet, then a patch sheet over the wiring ( glueing only it along the edges so wouldn't stick the the wiring bundle itself )
I've installed the stuff, but haven't had to remove it, the bound is quite stong once it sets. The most I can do is do a test section under the rear seats and let you guys know.
My pricing here averages about $1.05 ft sq Cdn

Wouldn't noise be a concern - The carpeting does provide sound dampening.

Not with the SSRs
:D

I thouhgt about that but don't think that it will be that bad.
CD was looking at LineX and it looks quite thick. Might even be quiter than just the carpet.

Got a quote from Line-X today. They said roughly between 500 and 600CAN. Its really depended on the amount of prep work involved.

hmmm...???

:)

I think Line-X would better a better solution than the Flex-Clad I thought of, just for the sake of durability, but you still have the wiring problem, unless you create access panels before shooting the spray.

I'm very interested in this. I liked the old Broncos with the rubberized flooring. I'm not too worried about noise, there are plenty of ways to get rid of noise. I'm most interested in the durability, ease of cleaning, and looking professional.

Keep us posted with pictures, please!

Another factor you may want to consider is the insulation factor of the carpet and padding. It SIGNIFICANTLY insulates the truck both from the outside temperature and from the heat of the transmission/exhaust running under it. I've pulled up the carpet before to find the metal underneath REALLY hot.

You guys are hard core! You should have bought a mid 80's Toyota 4 Runner to do this kind of stuff to.

I have Herculiner in my Jeep. They sell a do it youself kit which I have seen for $50 to $100. I had to go over the paint with a grinder to get the stuff to stick. That's not something I would do to my Xterra.

It is a good idea for a mud buggy; but for everyday driving it will definately be hot and noisey. I would think that your resale value would turn to shit as well :smoker2:

Maybe you could line the floor and still be able to put your carpet over the top of it when you're done swamping your Xterra? You could leave your carpet at home so that it will stay clean.

Not that hardcore really.
It does not take much to get muddy water inside the X.
Once it is in, well it sucks.

I agree with keeping the carpet. But the reality is that I doubt that I will be selling the X anytime soon so I'm not concerned with resale value.

In this pic I was trying to get into a recovery position to help out a stuck D-90 and well slipped :).

I don't think it is that hardcore at all. It's a preventive measure. I havn't swamped my X and I hope I never do. I like the idea of getting rid of the carpent for something more durable. Carpet gets stained and dirty looking. It would be so easy to pull the plug and pour a gallon of water on the floor board, especially after weekend of wheeling with constant rain. ECXC2000 was 3 day with 3 days of rain, lots of mud in the truck....