OT: Pickup Truck Liner

[norcalbiker]

Questions for pickup truck owner. What do you guys have?

Bed liner or Spray?

TIA

[Gummee]

I've had both. Spray in is much better.

Tougher. Less likely to blow out. No trapping water underneath then having the truck bed rust out.

M

[572cv]

Alternative: bed cover.
This time, instead of a liner, I got a nice bed cover by Truxedo. Really versatile, easy to roll out or roll up, improves mileage a bit, and hides something in the bed from observation or precip. It isn't what you would call secure storage, but my bike lies nicely under the cover on my Frontier. I think it's a big improvement:)

[bthornt]

I had a bedliner (hard plastic, screwed in) in my 86 Nissan Hardbody. The problem is that the bedliner traps water underneath it. It also rubs against the paint in the bed. The result is a rusted out bed. I suppose you could be diligent, remove the liner and check for rust, wax it up, etc. Still, I think you would end up with a rust problem.

[GScot]

Spray in. Go to the agricultural or industrial service place to get it. Something like 3/16" thickness makes a tough durable truck bed. Quiets rattles of things back there and prevents load from shifting around as easily. Also makes the tailgate good and heavy:) If it is put on thin like a coat of paint don't even bother as it will peel and scrape easily when new and roll right off after a few years in the sun.

[Lewis Moon]

Another vote for spray in. I haven't even seen a plastic liner in years...except on the side of the road.

Oh yeah...the Tuxcedo covers are the nads., for all the reasons listed above. Get both.

[William]

Durabak!

http://www.durabakcompany.com/automotive.htm

It's held up great on my rig for the last three years or so. Tough as nails and easy to apply. A lot of the four wheel drive crowd likes to use it as well on lower quarters for protection against mud, rocks, and dirt getting sprayed up and chipping up paint.

http://i1108.photobucket.com/albums/h420/SodaFuel/FJ60%20Landcruiser/IMG_7423.jpg





William

[bart998]

Another vote for spray. I've had both and spray is far better.

[false_Aest]

Spray.

There is nothing awesome about rust holes under the liner.

[redir]

I think the spray is probably better too but my '92 Dodge Dakota has had a liner in it since day one and I don't have a rust problem. In fact if it does rain the liner holds all the water till I drive up hill. But still, the spray makes more sense.

[norcalbiker]

Spray it is.

Thank you all for the input.

[mtb_frk]

This is my first truck, but I got a linex spray in liner. It has been fine so far, I haven't really thought about it too much now that I have it. After reading a lot about them online it sounded like the application was more important than the brand.

I have thought about putting a truck bed mat in there as well but haven't yet.

Linex does a color match liner also. Looking at pictures online it looked really nice, but I couldn't justify the price.

[c-record]

Line-X here. Seemed much nicer than Rhino in my comparisons. No problems over many years and truckloads hauled.

[rice rocket]

Friend of mine got shafted at Ziebart. They sprayed his (brand new) truck incorrectly in so many ways.

#1, didn't get the mix ratios right so it never hardened! It was a gooey mess 2 weeks after.
#2, they razor bladed THROUGH brand new paint to cut the tape off the edges.

They offered to scrape it all off and reapply, but can you imagine scraping off un-cured tar-like substance and somehow not further destroy an already destroyed bed?

I've known quite a few people that have had good results at Ziebart, but their unwillingness to step up to correct this mistake by one of their techs is really off-putting.

[norcalbiker]

Friend of mine got shafted at Ziebart. They sprayed his (brand new) truck incorrectly in so many ways.

#1, didn't get the mix ratios right so it never hardened! It was a gooey mess 2 weeks after.
#2, they razor bladed THROUGH brand new paint to cut the tape off the edges.

They offered to scrape it all off and reapply, but can you imagine scraping off un-cured tar-like substance and somehow not further destroy an already destroyed bed?

I've known quite a few people that have had good results at Ziebart, but their unwillingness to step up to correct this mistake by one of their techs is really off-putting.


Thanks. I'll make sure I won't go to Ziebart.

[54ny77]

personally i like the hard plastic liners given the heavy crap i toss in there regularly without much thought as to bed potential damage (i had well over 2,500lbs of rocks and tree stumps in there the other weekend).

but, i hear nothing but positive comments about the spray in liner (when properly applied), and i might look to get that in the next year or so when i get around to it.

[downtube]

i had Line -x on my last 2 trucks. Both trucks have lived outside for years. No issues still look great. They make the bed more slip resistant, protect against dings or scratches. I am a satisfied customer.

[mtb_frk]

All of the shops are independently owned it seems. So just because one shop did a bad job shouldn't reflect on all shops. I called around and found the one I was comfortable dealing with. It was a hour drive vs 20 min but in the end I am was/am happy with the outcome.

[AngryScientist]

All of the shops are independently owned it seems. So just because one shop did a bad job shouldn't reflect on all shops. I called around and found the one I was comfortable dealing with. It was a hour drive vs 20 min but in the end I am was/am happy with the outcome.

just curious, what's the cure time between when its sprayed in and:

1) you can drive the truck home
2) you can start throwing heavy stuff on the liner

?

[gemship]

I think it depends on what you are hauling.
Overall the spray in bedliner if thick and done correctly maybe best overall.
However I like my hard plastic bedliner. I live in Ma. where the DOT
uses road salt in the winter months. Having said that
it's underneath were the bed is bolted that I more concerned about.
This is a subjective issue, my stepfather throws big rocks in his truck and
it has no bedliner and some dents to prove it but there is really no rust
and the truck is ten years old, a chevy.
I use mine for clamming and I really haven't had much worry about rust and
like a previous poster states the water just pools inside the liner till I go
for a drive. A secret to trucks is don't let them sit for too long after a rain
storm, drive them.I also like how things slide in and out of my bedliner, heavy things.
I like to literally throw firewood in it without worry... where as a spray in liner may get
chipped and or the possible gooeyness that comes from the hard sun beating on it.
Another thing I like about my plastic bedliner is that it has two inch slats molded into the
sides so you can cut some two by tens or twelves and make dividers to place in them that
for me also double as rather steep loading ramps for big logs.

Being where I live I believe that the bed may need to come off the truck anyway at some point. After
ten years of service things just get rusty underneath and it's a project but to keep the rust at bay with
a truck you need to be vigilant with wirebrush and paint if you want a truck to last say twenty or thirty
years. Just ask William about the benefits of Fluid Film!

[mtb_frk]

just curious, what's the cure time between when its sprayed in and:

1) you can drive the truck home
2) you can start throwing heavy stuff on the liner

?

I was able to drive it home pretty much right after they got done. But I think it was 48 hours before you are supposed to put anything in the bed.