What’s your thoughts on truck bed liners?

[Toothpick]

Drop in
Spray in
Carpet
Nothing

I can’t decide. I remember my dad saying drop in bed liners suck because water/moisture will get under them and rust. Plus it’s just straight up plastic and kinda looks cheesy. Carpet, or rather…this new plastic that looks like carpet seems like the next best option but again….will it rust between the metal and ”carpet”? IMO it looks the nicest.

The spray in stuff like LineX is probably the most durable but it also has its drawbacks from what I have found. For example….it’s grippy. You can’t easily slide anything from front to back or visa versa. And it’s permanent. I suppose that’s not a big deal.

I will be putting a cover on it. Also can’t decide on a hard tri-fold type cover or a camper type. I suppose my cover type will make a difference on the be liner. For example…if I go with a camper type then the ”carpet” style be liner makes most sense to me because it makes a giant trunk. And hell…I can even camp out back there if I felt like it. But then again, I can’t easily remove the camper style by myself, unlike the trifold that I can take off by myself if need be.

Alas, so many decisions when you buy a new truck. But anyway…what’s your thoughts on bed liners?

 

[brucered]

Your dad is 100% correct. Line-X is the only one I would get.

Drop In will crack and trap water. Do NOT get one unless you plan on selling the truck in less than 2 years as it will be rusted out under the liner.

Line X spray in (premium) I believe is guaranteed for life to original owner. Looks awesome. Takes a beating. Maintenance free. And they can even color match if you want. I would just go black.

I can easily slide boxes around the truck bed. I do not have a cover and it is exposed to elements 365 days a year, no garage. It sees weekly loads of dirt and gravel and still looks like new. To give a deep clean after dirt or rocks have been loaded, I drive front end onto blocks, stand in the bed and hose it out.

If you find it tough on your knees, add a rubber bed mat on top if you really want//need it. I don't think it's necessary.

Just make sure to choose a reputable shop that will prep it properly. Find out what bolts and tie.downs they leave in and which they remove before spraying. If they leave some in and you think it's best to NOT be sprayed, have them take them out.

Ours was sprayed late 2019. No issues. Highly recommended. It's the first mod I would advise any truck owner to do.

The above advise is if you plan on doing truck stuff with your truck and using the truck bed as a truck bed. If you get a Leer type camper shell and don't plan on hauling dirt and supplies etc, I'd add a bedrug (carpet) under the Leer for some protection and comfort.

 

[Toothpick]

I’m leaning toward the LineX style liner. There’s a local shop in town that will do it, IDK what kind they use it may be a house brand but they offer a lifetime warranty as long as you own the truck.

I guess I need to figure out what type of truck owner I want to be. The kind that treats their truck like a farm truck or the kind that treats it like a luxury vehicle. Probably the luxury. I have an old Ford Ranger that I use as a farm truck and will haul garbage and rocks and mulch and whatever nasty stuff. I give zero F’s what goes in there. It’s 27 years old, well over 200,000 miles (no idea really). I’ll run it until it dies on the side of the road.

I still think the LineX style bed liner may be the best option. Get it done once and never have to worry about it again.

 

[luvmysuper]

Any liner besides spray on is for the benefit of the next owner.
I had a drop in liner from Ford which was made specifically for my model truck.
It was in for over 5 years and a check before sale showed no sign of rust or bed deterioration. That's with a steel bed.
Aren't the new Fords made with aluminum?
That would address the rust concern, but make it more likely that I would want a liner, for cushion purposes.
Spray on isn't something I was interested in.
In my experience it looks cheap, gets chewed up and is a pain to repair or replace.

 

[nortac]

I have a 2002 Toyota Tundra with 316K miles on it that came with a plastic bed liner, not spray on. I have a one piece rigid tonneau cover that originally was weather tight, but has lost it's seal after repeated removal and re-applications. So it leaks some with heavy rains. While its not a farm truck, I pretty much treat it like one. I don't haul a lot of items that are likely to damage the truck bed, but I do carry tools and stuff that can slide around, occasional bags of cement and lumber for DIY projects, gardening supplies like bagged potting soil or mulch, etc. I have never removed the liner to see if it was rusting underneath, but I suspect whatever rust there is would be mostly cosmetic. I'll keep this truck until it can no longer be repaired, so I'm not too concerned with retail or trade in value. If I were to buy a new truck, I'd want a top quality spray in liner. It all depends on what you want to do with your truck and if you plan to trade in or sell your truck every few years. Mine is not a garage queen kept squeaky clean and polished, mine pretty much is usually dirty and has a few minor dents and scratches that give it character and a "proper pick- up truck patina".

 

[Mojo88]

It depends on how you use the truck. I worked for a company and we had both. If you are dragging compressors and equipment in and out all day, drop in liners are better in some ways. The guys that had the spray in liners constantly complained, because they had to get up in the bed to get things because equipment didn’t slide as easily. They had a habit of dropping pails of material in the bed and eventually it would chip the spray liners

In my last job I had a personal truck that I was always hauling 5 gallon pails in. It was nice because material slid in, but you had to have load bars because small loads slid around. I was careful because it was my truck.

This really is a YMMV situation.

 

[DesertIguana]

Has a drop in in my Nissan that was stolen (truck & everything), it was better then beating up bed. It was sturdy, and made well.

 

[Lightcs1776]

My vote is for spray in. I had mine done by Line-X and it has held up great. No worries about moisture getting underneath it, the key reason I would not consider plastic.

 

[P-51G t]

I liked my spray in (linex) the best, a rubber mat works pretty good.
A sheet of plywood worked alright for a few years, although it wore though the paint in a couple years. Would not recommend plywood, drop in plastic is absolutely the worst, wears through paint and rust.

 

[SmokedStanley]

I say skip the liners all together and just get a rubber bed mat.

 

[ExtremelyDanger]

I personally do not like plastic drop-ins, but I suppose they would be better than nothing.
For a full bed liner I would prefer a spray-in, several different brands to choose from there, I have no real experience or preference there.
Or, as @SmokedStanley mentioned, fitted rubber mats are also a good option if you aren't looking for full protection on the sides and wheel wells. I've had a set or two of those in different trucks and I liked them. The good ones are around 5/8 to maybe 3/4 inch thick, very heavy duty.

 

[Rob72]

I prefer the rubber mats. If I'm transporting something that can ding the walls, I strap the load with a piece of plywood between it & the wall.

I inherited a full size with a drop-in, and I'm waiting to get a camper shell before I get rid of the liner.

 

[DesertIguana]

Before4 Truck bed Liners, a Custom cut Pices of Indoor Outdoor Carpet with Foam Rubber backing was cheap protection.

 

[ExtremelyDanger]

Before4 Truck bed Liners, a Custom cut Pices of Indoor Outdoor Carpet with Foam Rubber backing was cheap protection.

That would hold moisture though, I'd try to stay away from that, there are better options these days.

 

[luvmysuper]

Aluminum doesn't rust.

Ford’s All-Aluminum-Body F-150 Pickup Truck | The Aluminum Association

Greater aluminum use enables Ford’s trucks to go farther on a gallon of gasoline (or a single charge) without compromising efficiency, value or performance.

www.aluminum.org

 

[brucered]

Aluminum doesn't rust.

Ford’s All-Aluminum-Body F-150 Pickup Truck | The Aluminum Association

Greater aluminum use enables Ford’s trucks to go farther on a gallon of gasoline (or a single charge) without compromising efficiency, value or performance.

www.aluminum.org

I heard the new Tundra's have a composite bed too.

Those are game changers in terms of rust protection.

 

[ExtremelyDanger]

Sure but it still corrodes...

 

[luvmysuper]

Sure but it still corrodes...

True - if damaged.
But aluminum is self healing by way of aluminum oxide formation which re-creates a protective barrier.

 

[Mojo88]

True - if damaged.
But aluminum is self healing by way of aluminum oxide formation which re-creates a protective barrier.

Just joking, but I am somewhat surprised that a truck-maker didn’t use Corten steel for beds.

 

[DesertIguana]

That would hold moisture though, I'd try to stay away from that, there are better options these days.

Well it did hold moisture, but was better then nothing.