Tell me about bed liner experience

[prichard]

I bought a new truck and need to add a bed liner. My last truck had factory (dealer) plastic slide in liner. I both loved and hated that stuff slid in it. Great for sliding heavy stuff around or just shoving stuff from front to back to unload. But then a real pain when I didn't want stuff moving around.

I do not want to do DIY spray/paint on.

I got nearly identical quotes on Rhino and Line-X. Rhino says UV protection but it looks like Line-X requires an upgrade for UV.

I also looked at Truck Bedliners for Ford, GMC, Chevy & Dodge | DualLiner I don't know what to think of that, but somehow don't think its as great as they want to make out.

Tell me what you've had what you like and don't like.

 

[ddbackhoe]

i had my bodyshop guy do a spray in liner and he used this stuff

Spray Lining And Coatings Storefront for Dealers and DIY Kits

The dualliner looks like a neat alternative, what do you see wrong that I am not?

 

[dodge man]

I've had bed mats and spray in liners both. At work we have had the slide in liners, sprayed in liners and just painted beds. I prefer the spray in by far. They are a little textured so things don't slide around too much but you can still push things across them also.

 

[deserteagle71]

It will depend on how you use your truck bed. I've had a couple different varieties of the spray-in liner and about all they are good for is to keep stuff for sliding around. The drop-in liners I had provided much better impact protection because of the thick corrugations on the bottom. I have a habit of throwing in tools, fence posts - and mainly firewood - into the bed of my trucks, sometimes from a distance. A spray-in liner will not prevent dents in the bed from that kind of use, even with a bed mat. No problem with the drop-in liner.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I got a good deal on my Duramax from the bankrupt GM, but had them throw in a free bed liner for good measure. Not Original GM. Yeah, stuff slides around, but mostly I have found that to be more helpful at times with heavy stuff. Like, you want to pull a heavy skid away from your back window, before you lift it. Or push heavy stuff forward so it won't have any place to go when stopping.

From my perspective, these Heavy Duty trucks are just a delicate POS soup can, and I want to be able to move my loads around as easy as possible with the minimum of force.

My Bed Liner is pretty chewed up. As far as I am concerned, that damage would be to the truck with a spray in liner.

 

[prichard]

i had my bodyshop guy do a spray in liner and he used this stuff

Spray Lining And Coatings Storefront for Dealers and DIY Kits

The dualliner looks like a neat alternative, what do you see wrong that I am not?

I question their claims of
Does NOT trap water or block the factory drainage system!
It does NOT shift around like a drop in bedliner!

I don't know how that could be with the way they mount and install

 

[prichard]

I've seen some on trucks that are harder that seems like stuff could slide better and others that are very soft like rubber. Is this just in the options you select in Rhino or Line-X? Or is one of those or another more one way than the other?

 

[Fallon]

My 2009 Tacoma has a plastic bed, which has held up well for above average truck usage for a Tacoma. It is slick, which is a blessing & a curse. Easy to slide stuff in & out, but it slides on it's own when driving.

My solution has been a bed bar. It's just a ratchet strap mechinism on 2 nested tubes. The gear on the ratchet pushes on notches in the inner tube. It jams in right enough to keep any reasonable load from sliding around.

Doesnt answer your spray in liner question, but is hopefully a solution to the sliding issues of a drop in liner.

 

[lennyzx11]

I bought my F150 new in 2011 and had the dealer include a LineX lining before I ever took the truck. Still looks as good today with no peeling and very little fading if any. Truck has set outside in sun and snow area and carried “stuff” in the bed it’s whole life.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Ever more enforced here is the requirement that nothing, and I mean nothing can be insecure in the bed of your truck. So stuff moving around becomes a moot point, unless you are just driving around your own property.

I carry a long SS hook in the back to grab stuff that has shifted up front.

 

[crazyal]

Funny. As i'm typing this I'm also watching Mythbusters. They are testing spray in bedliner to see if it's bomb proof by spraying it on both a wooden wall and a brick wall.

I've never had a spray in liner or even the type of drop in liner that stops short of the top of the bed sides. As a result ever truck I've had has had the paint worn off by the edge of the liner. After 20 years, other than looks it hasn't been a problem. I'm thinking of going with a spray in liner on my next truck. I have a heavy duty rack that fits into the stake holes on the bed. It uses a bolt through a hole in the bed side to hold it in place. With the drop in liner I had to drill large holes to get to the bolts without removing the liner.

If you are worried about stuff sliding around then buy yourself a rubber bed mat. They aren't too expensive and absolutely nothing slides (other than an accident).

 

[Industrial Toys]

A rubber mat seems like a great idea except I'm sure it would hold moisture more than a plastic one. My Plastic Trail FX one kind of buckles in the sun, annoying, but let's it breath a bit better.

 

[prichard]

My 2009 Tacoma has a plastic bed, which has held up well for above average truck usage for a Tacoma. It is slick, which is a blessing & a curse. Easy to slide stuff in & out, but it slides on it's own when driving.

My solution has been a bed bar. It's just a ratchet strap mechinism on 2 nested tubes. The gear on the ratchet pushes on notches in the inner tube. It jams in right enough to keep any reasonable load from sliding around.

Doesnt answer your spray in liner question, but is hopefully a solution to the sliding issues of a drop in liner.

Thank you. I have not ruled out plastic ones. I do like being able to slide things around. Especially on the property or while loading or unloading before strapping.

 

[timswi]

I have a factory GMC spray on bedliner along with a rubber bed mat I've had for like 15 years...Just move it from truck to truck when I buy a new one. So far so good.

 

[Beltzington]

I decided against a spray in bed liner for two reasons. What is the point, in a few months it will be dirty and damaged and add nothing to the resale value. Second, it is more difficult (expensive) to replace a a damaged liner than add a new one. Be proud of the dings and scratches, lets people know you didn't buy the truck to haul groceries, I can recall most of the jobs when they happened. If you decide to sell the truck cover them all up with a nice brand new liner which will add value to the truck.

 

[nbking]

First thing I have done with all my trucks line-x spray in bed liner. The stuff is awesome. Lasts forever and is very durable. I'm sure rhino liner is just as good too, just never used it.

 

[ruffdog]

It will depend on how you use your truck bed. I've had a couple different varieties of the spray-in liner and about all they are good for is to keep stuff for sliding around. The drop-in liners I had provided much better impact protection because of the thick corrugations on the bottom. I have a habit of throwing in tools, fence posts - and mainly firewood - into the bed of my trucks, sometimes from a distance. A spray-in liner will not prevent dents in the bed from that kind of use, even with a bed mat. No problem with the drop-in liner.

I agree. I haul firewood and farming stuff in the back.

 

[Jstpssng]

A rubber mat seems like a great idea except I'm sure it would hold moisture more than a plastic one. My Plastic Trail FX one kind of buckles in the sun, annoying, but let's it breath a bit better.

Not as much as you may think. My Ranger has a sprayed in liner and a bed mat, and there seems to be enough air circulation underneath so that it dries. My company trucks always come with factory plastic bed liners, but they have holes cut into them so that you can access the tie down spots in the bed so I'm sure that some water gets in. I much prefer the sprayed on, but since they trade every 3 years it wouldn't be worth the extra money.
I park both trucks facing downhill when expecting rain, if I closed the tailgate in my Ranger I could haul water up and irrigate my garden before the water ran completely out.

 

[Industrial Toys]

The nasty gouges and scrapes in my bedliner were ALL caused by my groceries and my sisters furniture. This truck was NEVER used!

 

[QRTRHRS]

I have a factory GMC spray on bedliner along with a rubber bed mat I've had for like 15 years...Just move it from truck to truck when I buy a new one. So far so good.

That sounds about like the best solution to me over a flatbed. I admit to only having one slide in bed liner over the years. When I pulled it out to repaint the truck there were rub marks almost to bare metal from vibration. That and as said, the sliding around issue.

If you truly use a truck as a truck, once you have a flatbed you likely will not ever want a stock bed again.