Pickup Bed Liner a Bad Idea
- Thread starter TallPaul
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Another vote for patching it up as best you can and throwing the liner back in. Most of the bed looks solid.
Ford made this exact bed from 1993-2011 with no changes...the inside panel is actually unchanged from 1983, which is why you have an indention for a second fuel filler neck. You will be able to find a replacement if you decide to go that route in the future.
Ford made this exact bed from 1993-2011 with no changes...the inside panel is actually unchanged from 1983, which is why you have an indention for a second fuel filler neck. You will be able to find a replacement if you decide to go that route in the future.
Simplest thing for me is to brace it if it becomes an issue for rusting out so bad that the bed will no longer be attached at the front. For now I hosed it with rust converter. Not likely to re-install the bed liner. Like the raw look, the truck is a beater as far as looks go, but does run quite well.
Never had success with POR-15 on rusty areas. I believe it has to go on clean metal.
Never had success with POR-15 on rusty areas. I believe it has to go on clean metal.
POR15 is good over rust on thick metal and flat areas.
Complicated structures and thin metal where oxidation can easily find a place to restart are not so good.
Complicated structures and thin metal where oxidation can easily find a place to restart are not so good.
After wire brush and banging the loose stuff away, it looks pretty awful:
Throw the liner back in and drive it until you junk it.
Before I put the drop in bedliner in any truck I have owned, I took a paintbrush and several tubes of grease and painted the grease all over the inside of the bed. I took the liner out every few years and did it again. The beds never rusted under the liners, even on 10 to 12 year old trucks.
Yeah, on my car the metal was in far worse shape than I though. Rust is insidious.
Stabilize the rust, and toss the liner in. I'm not sure if just spraying it with oil (and then respraying from underneath every six months) will work good enough.
Stabilize the rust, and toss the liner in. I'm not sure if just spraying it with oil (and then respraying from underneath every six months) will work good enough.
Well it finally happened. The whole front of the bed became loose and was banging up and down as I went over bumps. So here is my makeshift fix:
Driver's side had the fuel tank in the way, so for a quick fix I did this. Hooked into the cross channel of the bed. this cross channel is not secured to the frame from the factory, and to bolt the bed to this cross member would put the bolt on top of the ridges in the bed. Notice I put a steel plate under the hook for greater durability. The bed rests on the bed cross member so all my hook and bold should be doing is preventing it from lifting. We'll see.
Again, to put the bolt at the bed cross channel would be on top of the bed ridge so I opted for the indented part which conveniently had a hole in the frame. The only hole I drilled was the one in the bed for this side. All other holes were there already.
Driver's side had the fuel tank in the way, so for a quick fix I did this. Hooked into the cross channel of the bed. this cross channel is not secured to the frame from the factory, and to bolt the bed to this cross member would put the bolt on top of the ridges in the bed. Notice I put a steel plate under the hook for greater durability. The bed rests on the bed cross member so all my hook and bold should be doing is preventing it from lifting. We'll see.
Again, to put the bolt at the bed cross channel would be on top of the bed ridge so I opted for the indented part which conveniently had a hole in the frame. The only hole I drilled was the one in the bed for this side. All other holes were there already.
You could always rivet a patch panel on it, you could weld it but that would be a PITA.
Coat first with sealer then from the underside.
Undercoat the heck of it underneath with rubberized undercoat. Just a thought, it will stop it from getting worse at least.
http://3mcollision.com/products/sealants/3m-urethane-seam-sealer-black-310-ml-cartridge-08367.html
http://www.summitracing.com/search/part-type/truck-bed-repair-panels
Coat first with sealer then from the underside.
Undercoat the heck of it underneath with rubberized undercoat. Just a thought, it will stop it from getting worse at least.
http://3mcollision.com/products/sealants/3m-urethane-seam-sealer-black-310-ml-cartridge-08367.html
http://www.summitracing.com/search/part-type/truck-bed-repair-panels
Line-X is the way to go. It's real rubbery and it makes a shovel stick to it like glue.
No more stuff sliding around in your truck bed.
I still have to make one more support for the side walls are flexing up and down relative to the floor at the front of the bed and will eventually come loose from the floor. I could get a junkyard bed put on and maybe will, but at least it makes it secure for driving until I either brace it further or replace it. I am shooting for the brace because as rusty as the rest of the truck is, a replacment bed is probably not worth it. Besides, I have a nice opening for changing out the fuel pump if needed (I do have a sheet metal cover over that hole so junk does not fall into the top area of the fuel pump.
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
Line-X is the way to go. It's real rubbery and it makes a shovel stick to it like glue.
No more stuff sliding around in your truck bed.
Line-X will cost as much as a replacement bed for that truck. Expect to pay $500+ for over the rail.
My truck has had Line-X for 10 years. It has served its purpose, but has been looking rough for a couple years now. Plenty of chips and gashes that have exposed the metal below.
Line-X is the way to go. It's real rubbery and it makes a shovel stick to it like glue.
No more stuff sliding around in your truck bed.
Line-X will cost as much as a replacement bed for that truck. Expect to pay $500+ for over the rail.
My truck has had Line-X for 10 years. It has served its purpose, but has been looking rough for a couple years now. Plenty of chips and gashes that have exposed the metal below.
I have a rubber mat in the bed of my 1998 Chevy ext-cab Z71 that I bought new. I put the mat in the same week I bought the truck. The floor of the bed still looks new underneath. The fender wells and inside bed walls have a few scratches and small dents but nothing major but I have always been careful when hauling anything inside the bed.
The 1998 Chevy 1 ton I bought used in 2007 didn't have a bed liner in it when I bought it but it had had one previously because you could see where the bed was scuffed up and the plastic liner was still on the tailgate. There was not any serious rust on the floor though. I found a used bed liner at the junkyard and put it in. I do spray water underneath it occasionally and make sure the drain holes in the front corners of the bed are open so that it won't hold water.
Wayne
The 1998 Chevy 1 ton I bought used in 2007 didn't have a bed liner in it when I bought it but it had had one previously because you could see where the bed was scuffed up and the plastic liner was still on the tailgate. There was not any serious rust on the floor though. I found a used bed liner at the junkyard and put it in. I do spray water underneath it occasionally and make sure the drain holes in the front corners of the bed are open so that it won't hold water.
Wayne
you are going thru same thing i went thru, sort of.
have 2006 gmc 2500hd, from vt, massive rust on undercarriage from road salt.
that pile of dirt/rust on floor is what i blew/scraped out of the channel underneath the bed which mounts to the frame.
i ended up pulling the bed and having the frame sandblasted so i could paint it properly with chassis saver. i wasn't able to rework the bed entirely because i couldn't flip it at home, the channel that's welded underneath the bed going from left to right which gets bolted to the frame is rusting off on me now, and will eventually have to redo it as the bed becomes loose on the frame. the worst part for me was unbolting the 8 bolts to remove bed, the nutplates welded on the bed rotated on me and i had to drill from top side of the bed to then cut them out with a torch. don't know what's worse, the road salt and politicians or GM's engineering on that one.
have 2006 gmc 2500hd, from vt, massive rust on undercarriage from road salt.
that pile of dirt/rust on floor is what i blew/scraped out of the channel underneath the bed which mounts to the frame.
i ended up pulling the bed and having the frame sandblasted so i could paint it properly with chassis saver. i wasn't able to rework the bed entirely because i couldn't flip it at home, the channel that's welded underneath the bed going from left to right which gets bolted to the frame is rusting off on me now, and will eventually have to redo it as the bed becomes loose on the frame. the worst part for me was unbolting the 8 bolts to remove bed, the nutplates welded on the bed rotated on me and i had to drill from top side of the bed to then cut them out with a torch. don't know what's worse, the road salt and politicians or GM's engineering on that one.
Originally Posted By: 01rangerxl
Line-X will cost as much as a replacement bed for that truck. Expect to pay $500+ for over the rail.
My truck has had Line-X for 10 years. It has served its purpose, but has been looking rough for a couple years now. Plenty of chips and gashes that have exposed the metal below.
My neighbor has it in his truck. I took one look at it and I was sold.
I wonder how much the weather degrades it. My neighbor has a hardcover lid over the bed.
Line-X will cost as much as a replacement bed for that truck. Expect to pay $500+ for over the rail.
My truck has had Line-X for 10 years. It has served its purpose, but has been looking rough for a couple years now. Plenty of chips and gashes that have exposed the metal below.
My neighbor has it in his truck. I took one look at it and I was sold.
I wonder how much the weather degrades it. My neighbor has a hardcover lid over the bed.
I did the BedTred. Tough, easy and relatively inexpensive. Installed Bushwacker rail covers subsequent to photos.
The foam in the liner is nice on the knees, too!
The foam in the liner is nice on the knees, too!
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
Originally Posted By: 01rangerxl
Line-X will cost as much as a replacement bed for that truck. Expect to pay $500+ for over the rail.
My truck has had Line-X for 10 years. It has served its purpose, but has been looking rough for a couple years now. Plenty of chips and gashes that have exposed the metal below.
My neighbor has it in his truck. I took one look at it and I was sold.
I wonder how much the weather degrades it. My neighbor has a hardcover lid over the bed.
I'm not knocking it, I would get Line-X again, I just don't think it's the best option for a 13 year old truck with a rotted bed. It's something I would do on a new or nearly new truck with the understanding that it will eventually have imperfections if the truck hauls a fair amount.
I've actually had Line-X sprayed on two of my trucks. The first one only had the liner for four years before I sold it though, so no idea how that one held up long term. I did have that one repaired under warranty when an unsecured junk Ford 9" carrier took some pieces out of the tailgate. The Line-X dealer fixed it no questions asked.
My current truck has hauled a lot of scrap metal, construction waste, etc... Basically the worst stuff for any finish. I could have and technically could still (lifetime warranty) have it repaired, but it's not worth the hassle/time to me. If the rest of the body was in great shape, I'd look into a repair/respray, but it's not worth the time spent right now. My Line-X has been exposed to the elements since day one. It has faded, but is still very pliable and overall the bed is still very well protected. The gashes and chips are not a big concern as the truck sees a minimal amount of salt down here. Up north, I wonder how different that would be...not sure if salt and subsequent rust could work their way under the liner at a gash/chip or not.
The inside of the bed on my truck would be an absolute wreck without the Line-X. Considering all of the [censored] this truck has carried in its 12 years, the bed looks pretty great. But on a truck where the floor of the bed is rusted loose and flopping around, I probably would not go the $500+ Line-X route.
Originally Posted By: 01rangerxl
Line-X will cost as much as a replacement bed for that truck. Expect to pay $500+ for over the rail.
My truck has had Line-X for 10 years. It has served its purpose, but has been looking rough for a couple years now. Plenty of chips and gashes that have exposed the metal below.
My neighbor has it in his truck. I took one look at it and I was sold.
I wonder how much the weather degrades it. My neighbor has a hardcover lid over the bed.
I'm not knocking it, I would get Line-X again, I just don't think it's the best option for a 13 year old truck with a rotted bed. It's something I would do on a new or nearly new truck with the understanding that it will eventually have imperfections if the truck hauls a fair amount.
I've actually had Line-X sprayed on two of my trucks. The first one only had the liner for four years before I sold it though, so no idea how that one held up long term. I did have that one repaired under warranty when an unsecured junk Ford 9" carrier took some pieces out of the tailgate. The Line-X dealer fixed it no questions asked.
My current truck has hauled a lot of scrap metal, construction waste, etc... Basically the worst stuff for any finish. I could have and technically could still (lifetime warranty) have it repaired, but it's not worth the hassle/time to me. If the rest of the body was in great shape, I'd look into a repair/respray, but it's not worth the time spent right now. My Line-X has been exposed to the elements since day one. It has faded, but is still very pliable and overall the bed is still very well protected. The gashes and chips are not a big concern as the truck sees a minimal amount of salt down here. Up north, I wonder how different that would be...not sure if salt and subsequent rust could work their way under the liner at a gash/chip or not.
The inside of the bed on my truck would be an absolute wreck without the Line-X. Considering all of the [censored] this truck has carried in its 12 years, the bed looks pretty great. But on a truck where the floor of the bed is rusted loose and flopping around, I probably would not go the $500+ Line-X route.
I view a bed falling apart as my patiently waiting for the day I can replace it with a flatbed. Just can't justify yanking off the bed on my 2013 and putting a flat bed on yet, but when the box finally goes, either by rust or wreck, then I will be able to justify to the wife about getting that flatbed.
Putting on a tonneau cover to keep out moisture goes a long way to keeping the bed rust free.
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