Pickup bed liner

[Donald]

A recent article from Amsoil on rust prevention talked about ditching the drop in bed liner and going for a spray-on bed liner. I thought the drop in ones were more heavy duty and prevent the bed from being damaged. They seem to suggest it can trap water causing rust

Comments?

 

[Danno]

Work at a Ram store. Haven't sold a drop in, in forever. Everything is factory spray on or LineX.
Might be that uses of pickups have changed over the years to looks over function.
I remember being at a commercial upfitter that we used. They were shipping pickups to the oil field. They were installing 1/2" plywood bed kits as bed liners.
For everyday pick up use, I would go with LineX.

 

[FT92]

it sure can, i had one but i greased the crap out the bed before i put the liner in... a friend who had a Toyota never did, after something like 8-9 years or so he pulled the liner out just to check and sure enough there were holes you could drop a basketball through, could also be that we live in Pa where they use tons of salt on the roads in winter. i would think that the salt filled slush gets up under the liner also

 

[wxtech]

i had a drop in back in the 80s. never again. it caused rust everywhere. i now have a spray on from Line-x. looks great & extremely durable.

 

[CharBaby]

I too have whitnessed that the drop-in bed liners trapped moisture/water and caused the beds to rust out. I do like the spray in bed liners however they cannot prevent dents from hard knocks. But the spray-in liner will stay adhered to the surface even when dented(providing proper prep was followed) and will minimize scuffing/scratching with sharp, heavy objects such as tools.

I am curious(not that I'd do this or spend the money 2X) how a truck bed would hold up with both a spray-in liner PLUS a drop-in bed liner together? I mean, water will still collect under the drop-in liner but will the spray-in help to prevent the bed from rusting?

This is only a curiosity.

 

[spasm3]

I went with a spray in liner- Bullit. I also use a mat over it.

 

[skyactiv]

My dad had a few Chevy S10's when I was a kid that had a hard plastic bed liner. Anything you put in the bed had to be secured or it would easily slide around on the hard plastic.

 

[Donald]

I have a Ford factory drop in liner. I think I need to take it off and inspect.

 

[AandPDan]

Went with Line-X. 20 years later, no rust, no dents, and nothing slides around.
Still looks almost new!

 

[JTK]

I've had drop ins, both under and over the rail, Line-X and I've had weather tech bed mats. My current 2019 Ram 1500 classic, SLT package came from the factory with a drop in. Penda-liner I think? I added a cheap rubber egg crate style mat from Home depot over the top of that to keep things from sliding all over.

Myself or any of my family or friends that had drops ins never had rust or rust through caused by the drop in. They for sure will scuff and dull the paint in spots, but I use my trucks so I don't care about how the paint looks in the bed.

I will say I loved the weather tech mat in my 2017 Ram 1500. I would have transfered it to my 2019, but it has the shorter bed.

If I had a choice of a liner or the rest, I'd go with a quality spray in and add a mat over that for impact resistance.

 

[AZjeff]

If you toss big chunks of heavy firewood into your bed or dump backhoe buckets of rock in a drop in liner will protect from dents way better than spray-in. How could it not, it's rigid plastic molded in a shape that protects the metal bed, spray in is a 1/8" layer of polyurethane on the bed metal. Both kinds have plusses and minuses.

Nothing like hearing something like a toolbox you put in the bed smash into the front when you come to a stop with a drop-in.

 

[01rangerxl]

Drop ins are easy to slide things in and out of. They scratch paint and warp. They can also trap salt/moisture/debris. As far as protection it's probably a wash.

All of our parts delivery trucks have drop ins. The drivers like them for easy loading/unloading. I don't know think we've ever specifically bought one though, it's just that GMT800s will often have a drop in already installed anyway.

My Ranger has a Line-X, and it's pretty beat after 15 years, but probably the best looking part of the truck.

 

[meep]

I used a DIY kit, applied with a roller. It’s kind of a rubberized grippy surface. I like that I don’t slide around as much when it’s wet. Paint is slick. It is tearing off in places with abrasion from dragging heavy or sharp items against it, and that’s fine. I don’t need it to look pretty, just function