Pickup Bed Liner a Bad Idea

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Originally Posted By: TallPaul
Really I like what my F150 had better, it was a rubber mat that covered the entire bottom but not the sides and had a mat on the tail gate. That is where 99 percent of the damage occurs in loading and unloading (if you are careful) and the mat is easy to pull out and clean out under. Of course a lot more crud gets under a mat than the bedliner. Maybe the spray on liner for the bottom only is a good way to go. Ha! I liked my '77 F100 step side that had wood planks for the bottom.

Oh, and I got rid of some excess weight too from the liner and from the tonneau.


I use a rubber mat in my truck too for the reasons you mention.
 
A neighbor of mine has that LineX in his truck. That stuff is extremely nice. It's like a real dense tough rubbery stuff with a texture to it. You lay something down on it and the stuff grabs onto it and won't allow it to slide. You throw something in the back of your truck and there's no noise at all. If you can imagine your whole truck bed coated in GE silicone, it's sort of like that.
 
That looks awesome for 13 years in MI. The drop in actually seems to have done its job in that case, assuming the brown at the front of the bed is just dirt and not rust.
 
Originally Posted By: TallPaul
HM12460 said:
Tall Paul, That looks like a Ford Ranger? I much prefer the rubber mats. They are not slippery when wet and are easy to remove if desired.

Yep, 2001 with 2.3L DOHC 16-Valve and 5-speed MT. A lot of fun to drive:
RangerExhaust1.jpg







You are so lucky to have such a good little truck like that!
Click to expand...
 
Originally Posted By: 01rangerxl
That looks awesome for 13 years in MI. The drop in actually seems to have done its job in that case, assuming the brown at the front of the bed is just dirt and not rust.


That is rust and pretty bad. The paint for about 2 inches along that edge (both floor and up the bulkhead) is raised and peeling. It is likely going to be a hole there someday. If you zoom in your view on the computer to say 400 % or so, you may see it better.

But yeah, much of the bed is in quite nice shape. I am not one to be all that concerned, but I know there are many who use these bed liners and probably clay bar their trucks and they had better be very diligent about cleaning under the liner, or better yet, just use the spray in liner and only on the floor.
 
The trick to removing/installing a drop in bedliner (esp the under the rail type) is to have someone lift up on the center rear section of the liner while installing/removing.
 
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Originally Posted By: cchase
I'll take that over a faded spray-in bedliner with dents from things dropping on it any day.


What kind of spray-in bed liner is that?

That LineX is so thick that when you throw a shovel at it, the shovel bounces off.
 
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
Originally Posted By: cchase
I'll take that over a faded spray-in bedliner with dents from things dropping on it any day.


What kind of spray-in bed liner is that?

That LineX is so thick that when you throw a shovel at it, the shovel bounces off.


I've seen some pretty mangled (dented) beds with spray-in bedliners, and not in the industrial/commercial field.

My only point is that there are advantages and disadvantages to both. One is not clearly superior to the other, it depends on your intended use, among other things.
 
Most people don't know how to load a pickup and trash the bed. I am constantly amazed at how trashed I see late model trucks.

I work my trucks very hard and have no such issues.

A lot of the damage seems to come from improper loading, and people who don't know how to run equipment dropping stuff in the bed.
 
I definitely agree with that.

That said, the fading issue with spray-ins is my biggest issue. They all start to fade with time if they're not covered.
 
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
Originally Posted By: cchase
I'll take that over a faded spray-in bedliner with dents from things dropping on it any day.


What kind of spray-in bed liner is that?

That LineX is so thick that when you throw a shovel at it, the shovel bounces off.


Line-X can dent. It will often simply conform to the dent, but it can also be torn and peeled.

Mine has some dents on the wheel arches from lawn mowers, and chips along the edge of the bedsides and tailgate from scrap metal. It has faded over the years and has some chemical stains as well. It's not really bad looking, but to get it back to like-new would probably be a respray. Luckily for Line-X I don't care that much (lifetime warranty).

Both spray ins and drop ins offer protection, just in different ways for different uses. Pick the liner that meets your needs.
 
Originally Posted By: hattaresguy
Most people don't know how to load a pickup and trash the bed. I am constantly amazed at how trashed I see late model trucks.

I work my trucks very hard and have no such issues.

A lot of the damage seems to come from improper loading, and people who don't know how to run equipment dropping stuff in the bed.




I find it hard to believe that you could work a truck hard and have NO bed damage. Dents are generally avoidable, but I don't see how you can avoid scratching it up unless you wrap everything in felt or something. What are you hauling? If it's wrapped up on a pallet, that's one thing, but any loose material is going to leave its mark somehow.
 
I haul everything from lumber to sheet rock scraps, to dirt. Anything that could be used in the construction of a house has been in the back of my truck at some point.

My bed probably has a couple small dents in it under the bedliner, but I'd have to really hunt for them. I know I have a couple small ones on the inside of the tailgate as well. You get big dents by throwing heavy things in the bed, if you place them and secure anything that can move with a good set of straps you don't get big dents. I see these guys with trucks where the bed rails are smashed up, the tailgate is smashed, and talk about dents. Amateurs and slobs, no reason to trash an expensive piece of equipment like that.

My truck is pristine in comparison, the outside of my bed is clean and straight, as is my tailgate, and it shuts just fine. My interior is also not trashed and seats not ripped. Half the trucks in Lowes parking lot look like the owners have pit bulls and they use the interior as a chew toy. Than you cake 6in of dirt on the floor and throw a few inch's of paper on the dash.
 
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After scraping the loose paint away from over rust you can see that there are multiple places it is rusted through. The bedliner essentially has made it so that the bed needs to be replaced. But I will see if a metal brace can be installed across the area.

LEFT SIDE:
100_2499-Copy_zpsf5f75538.jpg


RIGHT SIDE:
100_2499_zpsaa8884ea.jpg
 
I just purchased a 40 pound capacity "Soda Blaster" at Hazard Fraught Tools. It would make easy work out of that rust (but I hook it to 2 compressors 115v due to airflow req)

Maybe you could have someone blast that, or DIY, then properly paint and coat with corrosion inhibiting compound like Par-Al-Ketone/cosmoline or similar heavy duty product.

Then simply put the liner back in. Will last another 15 years without issue.
image_11480.jpg
 
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