Pickup Truck Bed Liner Options
Most new truck owners like you are seriously taking into consideration bed protection. Luckily, you have plenty of options. These are the best ones:
1) No Bed Liner. It?s cheap, it?s easy, and it could work out just fine. But while you may not ever intend to haul anything that would damage your truck?s bed, you never know when a situation will arise and you will be forced to put something back their that damages the paint job. If you?ve got scratches in your bed, your options for adding a bed liner later get more expensive. That?s because before you add any sort of removable liner you?ll need to re-protect the bed (i.e. re-paint) so that any moisture that gets caught between your bed and your liner won?t cause your bed to rust. If you?re leasing your truck, this might be your only option.
2) Rubber Bed Mat. This one leans more on the traditional side, but it might just be worth the shot. It’s already a fact that any piece of rubber can help avoid scratches and will also provide an ample surface with a lot more friction than the factory bed. Bear in mind, though, that anything less than a quarter of an inch in thickness is a big no-no if you’re thinking of adding rubber mats for your truck. It is more advisable to purchase thick ones since these are not prone to bunching up – a situation that can make transport potentially dangerous. To prevent any moisture from building up underneath the mat that may lead to the truck bed’s early rusting, one should get a mat with a bottom surface that’s appropriate for such. Ready-to-use mats are preferred since they fit more comfortably, while the ones we usually cut up ourselves end up lopsided and ill-fitting in our trucks if not professionally done. The best part is these amazing mats won’t burn a hole in your wallets, considering the fact that they only cost around $75 to $100.
3) Plastic Bed Liner. Plastic bed liners (or ?drop-ins?) fit OK, install quickly and easily, and do a nice job of protecting the bed from most kinds of damage. Plastic bed liners are especially nice if you need to slide items in and out of your truck. Plastic also won?t scratch anything you put in your bed (like furniture), and it washes out quickly and easily. The biggest disadvantage to plastic drop-in liners is that whatever you have resting in your bed can slide around at any time. Plastic is slippery, especially when wet, and I?ve seen big loads shift (even when they were properly tied down). Also, it seems like a lot of moisture and gunk accumulates under the plastic liner, requiring you to remove it and clean the bed periodically. Plastic drop-in bed liners can cost as little as $250 or as much as $400.
4) Plastic Coatings. This type of bed liner usually falls along the “do-it-yourself” category and often come with a lot of hype. The usual misconception that comes with this option is that people think they can easily apply it like the pros on TV do, but in reality, you would probably only end up wasting a lot of time and money. The product is of poor quality, seeing that it doesn’t stick as it’s supposed to, and uge flakes have been known to fall off in almost all areas. I’ve never seen this work before, so you might as well find out for yourself – with caution, of course.
5) Spray-In. This is the most popular of the lot. It is the best looking and of course, the most durable bed liner out there. It is done by having a special polyurethane paint sprayed onto the bed and this, in turn, protects the bed from damages like scratches and chemicals. This coating is permanent and its texture is rough, which does keep things from sliding. The material is practically indestructible. It is a fact that unlike any of the other bed liners here, the spray-in paint could last a lifetime.
Lots of companies offer spray-in bed liners, but the top two are Line-X and Rhino. While you may hear lots of differing opinions about the two products, it?s fair to say that they?re basically the same stuff. However, the installers are not the same. In fact, any stories you hear about a bad Rhino or Line-X liner have more to do with the person that installed the liner than the product itself. The best way you can make sure you get a good spray-in liner is to find out how long the installer has been in business. If you have any doubts about them, get references and check them out. Your local new car dealer is also an excellent place to get a recommendation for a good installer. You should be able to get a quality spray-in liner with a lifetime warranty installed for $300-$400 (under rail). Over the rail should add about $50. There are other names out their in spray-ins, and I’m sure that some of them are just fine. However, since they?re not usually any cheaper than Line-X or Rhino, I don?t recommend them.
6) Carpet Liner. The carpet liner is usually a strong outdoor carpet with a thick rubber or vinyl backing. They?re surprisingly strong and they have the benefit of being soft. They?re especially popular with people that are going to add a camper shell to their truck. The biggest advantage to them, in addition to being plush, is that they?re removable. If you like the idea of being able to see your factory finish whenever you want to, this might be a good option for you. Cost is about the same as a good plastic bed-liner, about $350. The only thing we don?t like about these is that they don?t seem to stay attached, but that probably has to do with the way they?re installed.
Another option is to add plywood on the truck bed. There are a couple of cool, mass-produced roll-up systems that would literally unload your truck for you like the Load Handler. There are plenty of options that you can look into that are good in protecting the truck bed.
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