Pickup Truck Bed Liner Options
Proper bed protection is a must-have for people who recently got themselves new trucks. Lucky for you, a wide array of options is available. Here are some of the really good ones:
1) No Bed Liner. Obviously, it’s the most affordable and easiest option in the bunch. This would work perfectly well, given that you don’t lug anything that could disfigure your truck’s whole look. But the inevitable might still happen and you won’t have a choice but to carry something that could potentially damage the paint’s finish. If you opt to add a bed liner in the near future and your truck has scrapes all around, it may get a tad more expensive. This is because it will now require a new paint job on the entire finish just to protect your bed and liner from any unwanted moisture, as well as prevent rust from developing around them. This is a good choice if you are planning on having your truck rented.
2) Rubber Bed Mat. It’s quite old-fashioned, but it’s a good option. There is no dispute that a thick piece of rubber will be able to protect the truck bed from any scratches and at the same time provide a surface that will provide more friction than a stock bed. If you are thinking of getting this, try one that is thick. Those thin rubber mats about less than a quarter inch thick tend to roll up when there’s a load, making it a bit of a hazard. Another point is to make sure that the mat has a knobby bottom so that moisture won’t get trapped under the mat that would lead to rusting of the bed. Lastly, choose mats that are pre-cut to fit the truck. Those trim-yourself-mats never seem to fit just right and tend to be cheaper. This will cost around $75 to $100, which is its best feature.
3) Plastic Bed Liner. Usually called “drop-ins”, these types can be applied easily and quickly, they do a great job of shielding the bed from any form of decay. This is ideal if you usually slide items onto your truck because plastic is slippery enough not to scratch. They are also very easy to clean. The only major disadvantage of this kind of liner is that items have a tendency to move around a lot, even when properly secured, because of how slippery plastic is. Another thing to consider is that plastics attract humidity, which means you have to take it out once in a while and clean the truck bed properly. This kind of liner can be had between $250 and $400.
4) Plastic Coatings. We?ve all seen the ads ? send in $49.99 and they?ll send you a gallon of special ?truck bed paint? just like the pros use. Get out your roller and paint brush and you can install your own ?spray-in? like bed surface on a Saturday afternoon. Wrong. Unless you have experience applying this stuff, you?re probably going to screw something up. Worse, it doesn?t always bond properly to the bed, meaning big hunks will flake off at the least helpful times. While I don?t want to condemn all of these products, I haven?t ever seen it work. Proceed at your own risk.
5) Spray-In. This is by far the most popular option, and for good reason. It?s the best looking and most durable bed liner there is. The bed is sprayed with a special polyurethane ?paint? that protects the bed from scratches and chemicals. The coating is permanent, the texture is rough (which keeps things from sliding), and the material is nearly indestructible. In fact, unlike every other option listed here, a spray-in liner will last forever.
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 dubbed as the perfect carpet for the great outdoors what with its chunk of rubber matting and vinyl backing. They are exceptionally strong and very ‘cushion-y’. These work best with camper shells. The nice thing about this option is that it can be detached anytime you please. If you, for some reason, want to see your truck bed just as it is, this is a great alternative. Like the plastic bed liner, this costs roughly about $350. The only problem I see is that it doesn’t properly stay in place, but then it might have something to do with its installation.
You can also add plywood to your truck bed, and there are some cool commercial roll-up systems that literally unload your truck for you (like Load Handler). Lots of options are a good thing when it comes to truck bed protection.
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