Transit Factory Mats vs. Legend Rigid Floors

Imagine you have just purchased a new Ford Transit and you’re excited to get it on the road.

Your customers are waiting for you to arrive, and you have a brand-new work van show up in. You’ve got that shiny new factory mat in the back that came with the van, and your van is ready to rumble.

Here’s the problem. That mat may cost you thousands of dollars in damage in just a few short months.

Factory mats come with an expiration date

The supplied factory mat is soft and pliable, not meant to handle the grueling daily work that you demand from your van.

Robert Machado of Machado Visuals out of Las Vegas, NV learned the value of a professional upfit by how it transformed his business. Machado had been using a Ford Escape to haul his heavy photography equipment but when business growth compelled him to upgrade, he decided to purchase a new Ford Transit.

The Transit was much bigger and built to accommodate the large storage carts on wheels that he used to transport his heavy equipment. His Transit came with a factory mat made of rubber and, at first glance, seemed good enough to keep. He knew he needed flooring that could withstand the daily rolling of heavy carts back and forth and thought the factory mat would do the trick. Machado was wrong.

The little-known weakness of factory mats

He found that not only did the factory mat expanded and retracted in extreme temperatures but when his carts were stationary in his van, the wheels left pronounced indentations in the mat. This meant that as soon as he arrived on location, the carts would be extremely difficult to move, and when they did, they buckled the mat. Machado knew he had to find another solution.

Stabiligrip discovered to hold multiple benefits

Stabiligrip from Legend Fleet Solutions was enlisted. “With Stabiligrip my carts move super smoothly so I’m not having to struggle with moving equipment,” he says. “Another one of my favorite features is it’s super easy to clean. Most of the floors can get a bit difficult because the cleaning solution gets caught in between the grooves of the floor but since Stabiligrip is a flat surface, a simple Swiffer mop easily cleans accidental spills and dirt.”

Why are factory mats not beneficial?

Let’s assume you will want some shelving or steel cabinets installed in your cargo area to hold tools and equipment, maybe even some custom sills to store specialized apparatus. Certainly not unusual for tradespeople and techs.

This installation will need to be bolted to the walls of your van certainly, and of course to the floor. But the factory mat is not secured in place to form a solid foundation for the shelving unit. And pliability is an issue.  A soft factory mat causes installed van shelving to constantly move little by little in transit, and over time, compromises the assembly. Inevitably, this will cause the shelving assemblies to fatigue and come away from the van wall causing damage and potentially, worker injury.

Machado is not the only tradesperson who has discovered the value of a Legend upfit. Over half a million cargo and work van drivers across North America have Legend products installed. Legend’s Stabligrip – and their Evolve floors for electric vehicles – have impressed customers with their rigid stability and light weight. Further attracting customers is that their products are made from 75% recycled material and are liquid resistant.

New features reveal themselves with Legend Floors

“I’ve actually spilled hazer fluid on my floor and didn’t find it until the next morning,” exclaims Machado, “it wiped right off without leaving any residue or excess moisture.”

Legend Stabiligrip flooring vs. a Ford factory mat is really not a face off at all, nor is it a fair comparison. The advantages of a Legend floor are well documented as a solution to replace the factory mat, not to face off with it. Explore what Legend products can do for your work van and your business.