I want to work on the brakes on my Case 580se so I got to remove the cab floor. First though, I have this nice big rubber floor mat to take out. The mat is soft on the feet and non-slip but when I finally got it out , I could see that it also trapped moisture ans caused a fairly thick steel floor to rust away. For these older machines with leaky cabs that rain and moisture gets in , it seems like it’s almost better to not have any floor mats. I’m curious what do you guys about floor mats, use em or go with bare steel floors. I’ll probably end up replacing this floor with new steel which I’d rather not have immediately start rusting. There’s no way I’m going to make the cab 100% moisture proof even with all the glass in place.
Birdseye, My brother used to have a bronco, which he took extreme 4 wheeling. One of the first things he did was rip out the interior and clean it real good, then he put the roll-on bed liner on it. That did 2 things. It would not rust away, and it was slip resistant....definitely not comfy like the stock interior, however, it worked with the water and mud that was in the cab all the time. And, he was able to just hose it clean. I mention this because it may work for your needs as well.
Thanks , that’s a good idea .
My t/L/b has had a smooth bare steel floor since it was new and still looks pretty much unchanged thru the years. I don't think a non-slip surface is important. It not like a small floor that you would be walking around on. IMHO. I don't ever remember moving around in the cab and not having a hand on something to steady myself. Birdseye; There was a very detailed thread with a lot of pictures about replacing an unbelievable rusted out floor. It looked like new when it was done.
Thanks , I believe this is the floor rebuild link. That mat won’t be going back in the cab. HeavyEquipmentForums
I painted my floor with the same oil based stuff I undercoat vechical with then put the rubber floor mat back in.
I took the rubber mats out of my 580M the last time I hosed all the mud out. I like it much better without the mats as it's easier to maintain. My steel floor has adhesive no-slip material in several places; I don't know if that was added by the previous owner or it came that way. The rubber mat does deaden the sound; it's much quieter when I'm operating closed up but I usually run with one or more windows open.
That is my thread and I have more pictures. I still have to make the bolt down floor plates but am working on rebuilding the rusty doors. I too was thinking about what if any material to put down to replace the original rubber mat. Mine was ten and beat up bad. I kept it to use as a pattern but I am pretty sure I will not put anything down. I have a roll of 6" wide grip tape. I probably will put some of that down in places where my foot would rest but not sure I will.
They make some sound deadening insulating paints now that a lot of automotive guys use. I have used it before on equipment and works pretty good IMO