Pickup Truck Bedliners

[jderimig]

Lots of pickup truck owners in this community I assume. Going to pickup a new Ram 1500 for the better half, she wanted a full-size pickup, nice problem to have. What to people recommend for bedliners? She wants a bedliner, no bedliner versus bedline is not up for debate.

 

[heada]

I have a 2021 RAM 1500 with the 6ft bed. I put a Bedrug in mine and absolutely love it. I've hauled lumber, rototiller covered in mud and an antique chest of drawers (not at the same time). Stands up to the abuse and protects those delicate items.

http://bedrug.com/product-detail/BRT19CCK

 

[Adam3836]

I once did a spray in bed liner
It was nice looked great but I did a lot of tree work so over time the logs dropping in the bed put some dents in it but if your not doing anything crazy then spray in bed liner offers good protection and looks clean

I used https://linex.com/bedliners

 

[lakeroadster]

I used to be a big fan of the plastic style drop in bed liners. They are slippery and allow moving stuff around in the bed. The drop in liner with the deep ridges also make the bed more resistant to being dented up from dropping stuff into the bed.

Our 2019 Ranger came from the factory with a sprayed in bed liner. It's like sandpaper and holds everything in place.

Since we've had the Ranger now for 3 years I've found I like the rough surface... from here on out I'll always go with the factory spray on liner, or a quality aftermarket like LineX.

 

[Rob Campbell]

Go for either a Rhino or Line-X spray in liner. They're great for protecting the bed from a lotnof stuff.

 

[cwbullet]

Lots of pickup truck owners in this community I assume. Going to pickup a new Ram 1500 for the better half, she wanted a full-size pickup, nice problem to have. What to people recommend for bedliners? She wants a bedliner, no bedliner versus bedline is not up for debate.

I would get a spray in.

 

[jwhunter]

Hi John,

Believe it or not I like astroturf for my F-150 bed liner. I slept on it at Black Rock this year. Still need a mattress or a thick sleeping bag though. Had the remnants of astroturf from a back yard astroturf install.

Best. John Hunter

 

[jderimig]

Hi John,

Believe it or not I like astroturf for my F-150 bed liner. I slept on it at Black Rock this year. Still need a mattress or a thick sleeping bag though. Had the remnants of astroturf from a back yard astroturf install.

Best. John Hunter

You and Bill Clinton have something in common...

 

[rharshberger]

Go for either a Rhino or Line-X spray in liner. They're great for protecting the bed from a lotnof stuff.

And they are "non-slip", so things dont slid around easily in the bed. I have either a Rhino or LineX in my truck and I like it. As stated earlier they do not protect against dents in the bed, and a nail sticking through a 2x4 will scratch it under enough pressure.

 

[cls]

My 1992 Ranger had a plastic bedliner. Yeah it was great for sliding things around, and I didn't hesitate to put wet salt water sailing stuff in there.

but I ended up putting a carpet scrap in too, to keep stuff from sliding too much.

In the end, wished I hadn't bought the liner. Although, I think it's the right thing for a work truck, hauling a half ton of gravel, and lotsa boards, etc.

 

[Sandy H.]

My 'recipe' is a plastic drop in liner with a rubber mat rolled up in case I don't want stuff sliding around. I do like the sliding aspect when moving stuff that is a bit too heavy for one person, but the rubber mat stops it in its tracks if desired. I do have multiple mounts for ratchet straps (Toyota Tundra system is great) and I absolutely do strap things down all the time. I like the sliding when I want it and the straps to keep things from banging around.

Not sure if the plastic liner is ruining the paint in the bed and causing rust, but nothing has been noted so far and the truck is a 2013. I do have a good bed cover as well and it stays in place 95% of the time, only getting removed for tall items or mulch runs.

Sandy.

 

[dhbarr]

I really like my factory spray in liner. I haven't dented anything that I know of, but maybe I'm just not rough enough when loading.

 

[mntanabob]

Lots of pickup truck owners in this community I assume. Going to pickup a new Ram 1500 for the better half, she wanted a full-size pickup, nice problem to have. What to people recommend for bedliners? She wants a bedliner, no bedliner versus bedline is not up for debate.

I have a 2020 RAM 2500 and we had Line-X do it with their platinum material. we love it. can't even mark the stuff.

 

[cautery]

Find an Outfitter that you can trust who has a good rep and references. This outfit will likely have a chosen SPRAY-IN bedliner system/chemistry.
Spray in success is ALL about prep. And doing a brand new truck ASAP is great. I did a spray in on my 2004 F150 new and it still looks like new other than a few knicks from hauling. I keep it clean enough to eat off in there under my Leer truck cap. Keeping it covered (tri-fold hard tonneau, truck cap, et al. will extend the life by a factor of 10 AT LEAST.

If you are near Central Texas, go to Outfitter Truck Accessories in New Braunfels.

 

[DRAGON64]

I have a spray in Line-X liner on my truck, very durable and rugged.

 

[JoePfeiffer]

I have a sprayed bed liner -- it looks good and protects well. After 15 years it's starting to wear and I need to look in to refreshing it.

 

[Donnager]

I used to be a big fan of the plastic style drop in bed liners. They are slippery and allow moving stuff around in the bed. The drop in liner with the deep ridges also make the bed more resistant to being dented up from dropping stuff into the bed.

They also generate a ton of static electricity. If you want a hair raising experience, slide a plastic jug of gasoline across the liner when the humidity is low. I'd suggest emptying the jug if you want to do it intentionally.

Go for either a Rhino or Line-X spray in liner. They're great for protecting the bed from a lotnof stuff.

This is what I'd do. I've had both drop ins and spray-ins in both commercial and personal trucks. After a while, the spray in will get some tears and wear in it, but most people don't use their trucks that hard. Drop-ins can move around, depending on quality, and can scrape paint to bare metal underneath.

 

[jderimig]

Thank you for the the responses so far, this has been very helpful and appreciated.

A question on spray in bedliner. Probably a question best for the installer but the answer may be biased. Is it ok to have the bedliner installed in winter? Here is Ohio it is now dreary, cold and wet.

 

[rharshberger]

Thank you for the the responses so far, this has been very helpful and appreciated.

A question on spray in bedliner. Probably a question best for the installer but the answer may be biased. Is it ok to have the bedliner installed in winter? Here is Ohio it is now dreary, cold and wet.

Every spray in bedliner shop I have seen works indoors and the vehicles are brought inside, the shop will have the vehicle typically 24-48 hours at a minimum.

 

[techrat]

Rhino Lining (which is a spray-on process) has been tested as being (essentially) bomb-proof as tested by The Mythbusters. This is not to say it will make the truck indestructible, but it will save you from some dents and dings hauling bicycles or whatever it is that suburban families haul in pickups.

Full Disclosure: I have never owned a pickup truck, but I haul tons of crap (vintage computers, ham radio equipment, etc., etc.) in small cars. I've also rebuilt old VWs and have welded back beetles and microbusses together using filing cabinets (no joke) as scrap steel, and then covering the result with Herculiner (paint on) or the Rustoleum spray-on rubberized undercoating. That stuff works great and lasts many years.

 

[lakeroadster]

They also generate a ton of static electricity. If you want a hair raising experience, slide a plastic jug of gasoline across the liner when the humidity is low. I'd suggest emptying the jug if you want to do it intentionally.

A metric ton, or an imperial ton?

I've heard a lot of people say this about drop in bed liners. I owned trucks with drop in bed liners from 1985 to 2019, the trucks were my daily drivers, and in that thirty four years never once experienced any kind of static electricity issue associated with the bed liner.

I don't doubt that some folks have had that issue, but my point is, that's not an issue that should affect your buying decision.

 

[John Kemker]

Find an Outfitter that you can trust who has a good rep and references. This outfit will likely have a chosen SPRAY-IN bedliner system/chemistry.
Spray in success is ALL about prep. And doing a brand new truck ASAP is great. I did a spray in on my 2004 F150 new and it still looks like new other than a few knicks from hauling. I keep it clean enough to eat off in there under my Leer truck cap. Keeping it covered (tri-fold hard tonneau, truck cap, et al. will extend the life by a factor of 10 AT LEAST.

If you are near Central Texas, go to Outfitter Truck Accessories in New Braunfels.

While you're there, go play in the water at the Schlitterbahn, then visit The 1845 Meat Company and get some goodies.

 

[cautery]

While you're there, go play in the water at the Schlitterbahn, then visit The 1845 Meat Company and get some goodies.

I used to go to that place BEFORE it existed. It used to be "Landa Resorts" (Think Catskills "Light" with a Texas Hill Country and German flair.) and it was soooooooo much fun.

I really dig Comal County.... Lots of family in that area... NB, Canyon Lake, etc...

When did you leave Texas? I grew up in Liberty about 35 miles East....
EDIT: PS - My brother-in-law (native New Braunfels... family in the area since the original German immigration) and his once best friend used to make and smoke the best venison, dried venison, venison/pork, et al. that I have EVER tasted.
Sadly, he hasn't made any in almost 10 years, now. A terrible loss to the world of meat!

 

[John Kemker]

I used to go to that place BEFORE it existed. It used to be "Landa Resorts" (Think Catskills "Light" with a Texas Hill Country and German flair.) and it was soooooooo much fun.

I really dig Comal County.... Lots of family in that area... NB, Canyon Lake, etc...

When did you leave Texas? I grew up in Liberty about 35 miles East....
EDIT: PS - My brother-in-law (native New Braunfels... family in the area since the original German immigration) and his once best friend used to make and smoke the best venison, dried venison, venison/pork, et al. that I have EVER tasted.
Sadly, he hasn't made any in almost 10 years, now. A terrible loss to the world of meat!

1979. Grew up in Houston, but have family in New Braunfels.

My BIL owns 1845 Meat Company. I used to get gift packs from New Braunfels Smokehouse each year, until BIL and sister opened 1845.

 

[cautery]

1979. Grew up in Houston, but have family in New Braunfels.

My BIL owns 1895 Meat Company. I used to get gift packs from New Braunfels Smokehouse each year, until BIL and sister opened 1845.

That's awesome! I'll stop by and grab a case of different meats next time I'm in town.

 

[BEC]

This has been eye-opening for me. We have a 2023 Maverick Hybrid on order (who knows if we'll ever get it, but that's a different discussion) and I need to recheck what bed liner we specified. If we specified a drop-in liner (since factory spray-in was one of the "constrained" items) I will see about just dropping the liner altogether and paying the local Line-X folks a visit. They have a shop that's pretty much between the Ford dealer we ordered the truck from and our house.

The last time I had a small pickup — a Mazda B2600i — a decade ago at least — it had a drop-in polypropylene bed liner, which was slick inside as others have described in this thread.

 

[sl98]

I have Line-X in my 2013. It has held up very well and looks just as good today as when it was installed.

 

[Donnager]

A metric ton, or an imperial ton?

I've heard a lot of people say this about drop in bed liners. I owned trucks with drop in bed liners from 1985 to 2019, the trucks were my daily drivers, and in that thirty four years never once experienced any kind of static electricity issue associated with the bed liner.

I don't doubt that some folks have had that issue, but my point is, that's not an issue that should affect your buying decision.

I was always partial to long tons. But I agree, probably not. But if you leave a gas jug in one of those, I'd tie it down or otherwise minimize it sliding in the bed. I picked a can up when I'd returned from the gas station and when I touched the edge of the bed with the jug in hand, the static discharge was audible and visible. If they would stay still in the bed, I don't think you'd see this problem.

I believe this is one of the reasons that jugs are supposed to be on the ground when you fill them, rather than sitting on an insulator. Of course, there are other good reasons to not fill in the bed of a truck.

 

[Peartree]

I had a plastic drop in type on my last truck. They do hold up well and they are a bit slide-y, but my additional complaint was that the ribs/corrugations in it were really hard on the knees if you had to crawl in under the truck cap. Overall, did like it.

My current 15 year old truck didn't have one and the bed is um, used enough that there's not much point in adding one now.

That said, I normally haul enough furniture, sand, gravel, firewood, mulch, scrap metal, lumber, hay, and other stuff that's likely to scratch up a truck bed, that if I were ever to get a newish truck, I'd want some kind of protection. I have no firsthand experience with sprayed in liners but lacking that experience, I'm not sure I'd have enough confidence to trust them given the way that I use my truck.

 

[rharshberger]

I had a plastic drop in type on my last truck. They do hold up well and they are a bit slide-y, but my additional complaint was that the ribs/corrugations in it were really hard on the knees if you had to crawl in under the truck cap. Overall, did like it.

My current 15 year old truck didn't have one and the bed is um, used enough that there's not much point in adding one now.

That said, I normally haul enough furniture, sand, gravel, firewood, mulch, scrap metal, lumber, hay, and other stuff that's likely to scratch up a truck bed, that if I were ever to get a newish truck, I'd want some kind of protection. I have no firsthand experience with sprayed in liners but lacking that experience, I'm not sure I'd have enough confidence to trust them given the way that I use my truck.

I use a truck like well...a truck, and haul anything and everything that will fit safely, my spray-in liner has held up very well.