Factory sprinter floor

brokcanadian · May 12, 2016

I can see the soft double board that came with the sprinter won't hold up very long...with weight savings in mind what should I cover it with? I'd also rather not pull it up, it's riveted in...

Cheap wood flooring, or roll flooring? Anything new out there you've tried? I am aware of all the threads about flooring, just want to make what's there last

Edit: some kind of laquer, or would it tear up under heavy metal skids anyway? Diamond plate? Just rip it out and put down plywood like everybody else?

Turtle · May 13, 2016

I didn't rip it out (it's helps insulate for thermal and sound). I just screwed down plywood. Then covered the plywood with a couple of coats of Minwax Polycrylic. Every couple of years I've cleaned it with a scrub brush and put down a couple of fresh coats of the Polycrylic. I've had the rear edge get torn up a couple of times when forklift operators have managed to fork the 1/2" plywood, but repaired those missing chunks with Bondo, and it's help up better than I expected. And a few lengthy gouges in the plywood caused by nails or bolts when pulling out a pallet, I generally just fill those in with the Polycrylic.

brokcanadian · May 13, 2016

Can I polycrylic the stock floor, or too soft?

scottm4211 · May 13, 2016

I found the stock floor to be very durable.

beachbum · May 13, 2016

My stock floor in a 2005 has held up for the last five years I've owned mine. I do have a couple of scrapes but nothing more

brokcanadian · May 13, 2016

Maybe just the one shipper in my case with the 1500 lb steel baskets. Gonna try sealing the floor to make it slightly harder / slippery, I'll post back later with my thoughts. I know the floor absorbs water, there's about 3 roof leaks going on I just noticed...

xiggi · May 13, 2016

If your talking about the gray stuff it's very durable.

Turtle · May 13, 2016

brokcanadian said:
Can I polycrylic the stock floor, or too soft?

You can. As others have noted, the stock floor is durable. It is, after all, designed for freight. I went with the plywood floor because if the floor gets too torn up and needs to be replaced, it's easier to replace a plywood sheet than it is a factory floor.

brokcanadian · May 13, 2016

xiggi said:
If your talking about the gray stuff it's very durable.

looks like the cheap board they used to make speakers out of in the 70s

Turtle · May 13, 2016

brokcanadian said:
looks like the cheap board they used to make speakers out of in the 70s

I agree, it looks very fragile. It looks like a gritty particle board, but it is plywood board with a textured fiberglass coating. The coating on the factory floor of the later model NCV3 is a polyurethane-fiberglass mixture, which resists water absorption a little better than the fiberglass, isn't quite as slippery when wet. But they'll both stain easily. But it's a very durable plywood flooring. You can remove that metal end piece and see it.

brokcanadian · May 13, 2016

Just our customers I guess....2 weeks ago there were no scratches, was a former plumbers van

tknight · May 13, 2016

No speakers in the 70's were made from Baltic birch very expensive 18 ply

brokcanadian · May 13, 2016

Well it looks bad when scratched

also the skids don't move when driving which is good, but cranking the second one back with straps is bad...

tknight said:
No speakers in the 70's were made from Baltic birch very expensive 18 ply

Notice I said cheap

you likely wouldn't have tolerated them...or I have my decades mixed up and it was the 80s I'm thinking of...

brokcanadian · May 13, 2016

The problem I'm having, I think, is the heavy metal tubs, usually with grit or slag stuck to the bottom...heres my idea, don't know if it would dent...
Paulin 8X24X.025 Aluminum Sheet Metal | The Home Depot Canada
Hmm diamond plate is called checker plate here

Or....i could block it off with 2x4s and pour a cement floor

Turtle · May 13, 2016

Frankly, you're better off laying down another sheet of plywood and securing it with screws, and then using pieces of carpet remnants to sit under the tubs for sliding. Aluminum sheeting will dent, and with the metal tubs being made from a harder metal than the aluminum, will also gouge them when run over bumpy roads.

brokcanadian · May 13, 2016

Thanks, wasn't sure...wood seems like the easiest, but that's what's there, no more durable than the factory floor? I'm looking at epoxies right now..

Turtle said:
Aluminum sheeting will dent, and with the metal tubs being made from a harder metal than the aluminum, will also gouge them when run over bumpy roads.

(10000 tubes of JB weld

?)

tknight · May 13, 2016

Lay down hard maple planks after all you in Canada wood is cheaper there or use ironwood planks

brokcanadian · May 13, 2016

tknight said:
Lay down hard maple planks after all you in Canada wood is cheaper there or use ironwood planks

I'll test them at the store. Stabbing them with a knife and pushing as hard as I can to see if they scratch...think I'll get kicked out?

I've always used plywood but this one place gives me steel tubs that seem to catch, regular customer

brokcanadian · May 13, 2016

Maybe 2 rows of e track and that hard maple or some such just below the height of the e track...would allow me to push the skids, anchor them, and keep the bins from scratching the floor? Any better ideas please post, financially it's going to wait a month, I did a happy dance when my credit card allowed a dollar to go thru for parking to let me out of the airport...

Turtle · May 13, 2016

Generally speaking, you'd want the E-track to sit slightly lower than the floor. That's what happens when you screw E-track to the factory floor and then lay 1/2 inch plywood down between and/or around it. The plywood sits 1/4 inch above the floor. That will prevent a nail from getting caught in the E-track and having the skid ripped apart when pulling it to the rear.

If you want a floor that is fully protected from the bins, your only option will be to use a material that is harder than the bins, which means checkered (really?) plate steel. It's expensive and heavy and overkill unless you primarily haul bins.

4x4 pieces of carpet protects the floor and allows for much easier sliding. That and another layer of plywood on top of the factory does is cheap, easy to maintain, and replace. KISS

The is also truck bed lining, like Rhino Lining, but that can also be gouged.