OT- Pickup Bed Liners

[Too_Many_Tools]

Currently I use an old Ford pickup for my machine hauling. While I treat it well, it has seen its share of service and the bed is well scratched and has its share of dents. Kinda like its owner. :< )

One of these days this love affair with the faithful truck will end. After suitable mourning of course, the new replacement pickup with a unscratched bed will be purchased. What does the group suggest for a bed liner that is friendly to our common interests? While I don't move machinery for a living, I do bring home my share of orphaned tools that need a good home. Add in the metal stock, lumber and other supplies that a shop uses and the pickup is used on a regular basis.

I look forward to your suggestions and experiences.

Thanks

TMT

[3 Phase Lightbulb]

My feeling for a pickup truck is just use it. I remember the first scratch on my brand new truck's bed, but I have no idea where that scratch is now a couple of years later.

-Adrian

[gizmo2]

My truck came with a plastic liner, and it's pretty slippery. Sometimes that's a good thing, when something weighs a bunch it'll slide in and out. I bet it's rusting like crazy underneath that plastic, tho. Quite a few guys are getting that spray lining put in. It's tough, no gap between liner and bed. But it's kind of pricey (around $700 for a full size around here) so the guys tend to baby it even more than they would have! It's a TRUCK, f'r cryin' out loud.

[HTRN]

There are do it yourself spray on liner kits...

I believe they are around a hundred bucks.


HTRN

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This Old Shed

[plastikosmd]

got Line-x myself, cost was 450$ and you can bargain with these guys, talked him down from 550. after 2.5 yrs i love it, hauled scrap steel, ( just throw it in) gravel, machines, tractors, appliances, 2 offices and the list goes on. no tears or issues. while it is not as slick as plastic liner, I roll or drop things in bed for most part. Besides i dont want my crap sliding around, I toss a chain in there i dont have to listen to it slide at every stop light or curve. I will never go any other way in the future.
scott

[This message has been edited by plastikosmd (edited 06-09-2005).]

[halac]

When I got my used '99 F-350 it had a brand new bed liner in it. First thing I did when I got it home was remove it. Went to a truck accessory store and got me a bed mat. Made out of a rubber like material similar to conveyor belts. Keeps the loads from moving or sliding around while in transit. It also allows me to get to the tie down lugs in the corners of the bed. I've put the liner out at two garage sales and one swap meet; couldn't give it away.



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No matter where you go, there you are!

Hal C. , www.teampyramid.com

[spope14]

I have a duraliner, five years old now, showing a bit of warping, but I like it. Not slippery like others, pretty strong. I use the New England method of rust control under the liner. Up here in Northern New England, we oil undercoat our vehicles every fall. Good clean hydraulic oil, spray it all over the undercarriage, in the wheel wells, in holes punched in the rocker panels (inside) - you name it. Spray liberally under the liner, and in the tie down holes and all around.

Oil undercoat, though the greenies cringe, is great. I do mine as close to the last day of fall as i can, and as close to the snowfall as i can get away with while the roads are dry. Cold auto, the oil sticks on great, few drips. Drive up an old VT dirt road to really get it set in. My 1984 cavalier - known for rust, oiled every other year, not a speck of rust. My wifes cars - no rust, the truck, nothing but a spot where a rock (I mean a ROCK, like a small boulder) knocked all the oil and stuff off last winter.

Some people just hate working on th oil undercoated vehicles, they are quite dirty. I do a lot of auto work, and would rather work on an undercoated car. I know how to wipe things off, and nuts and bolts....they tend to have less siezing due to rust issues, and the integrity of the bolt and nut heads stays intact for regular wrenching.

I had a bunch of nails spill on the truck gate, or nearby, had to chase a few under the liner. Decided to look with a flashlight - really took some doing - no rust.

Mine is a 1997 large body Ranger fleet type vehicle (special build for heavier and wider hauling than most rangers).

Someday though, the Rhino liner spray in type, but only when I finally beat the old liner to death. BTW, I haul about everything that can fit in the bed like tools, rocks (little ones), machines, bar stock, and my shops chips to the recycler. My only far though, the liner I have cushions against big dings - and I have had opportunity to put these in, where the rhino might allow the dings.

Yeah, get a liner. That or a spray in, they (spray) come in colors, and make old beds look like new.

[This message has been edited by spope14 (edited 06-09-2005).]

[wierdscience]

The linex type stuff they have at Autozone for about $50.00 last time I looked.

You can also get it at an autobody supply shop,here it runs $65-80 a gallon.Has many other uses besides liners.

Buddy was building a Chevy 1/2 ton,it had the typical Chevy rust in the cab bottom.He blasted it all white,filled the pits and sprayed linex inside and out.Inside he ran it up 6" all the way around.Water proofed the cab and made a niffty floor mat.

Also works good on the bottom of new mower decks to stop plant acid from rotting them out in a year.

[J Tiers]

Another vote for the "real" Line-X coating.

2000 S10, has had all sorts of abuse, from hauling construction debris, to rocks, to several machines.

It has had innumerable loads of mulch and compost etc shoveled and forked in and out with no particular care.

Yes, there are a few cuts in it, but the dealer-type liners would have been in shreds years ago.

Not only that, those dealer-type lay-in liners rust out the bed fast. They rub off the paint, then rub off rust until they wear thru. I know several people whose trucks became junk because the beds rusted out in 4 or 5 years under the liners.

The do-it-yourself is called "Herculiner". it is kinda sticky, like the "Rhino" liner.

The Line-X is better. Harder, yet not really slippery.

Heavy stuff stays put unless it is big and flat and not that heavy. I tie stuff down anyhow, but it really isn't slippery.

I'd get it again, and happily pay full pop for it if I had to.

If you get it, get it up OVER THE EDGE of the bed....so it is on top of the bed edge. Don't let anyone talk you out of getting that done on all sides and tailgate. You'll understand once you get it done and then let anything inside rest against the top of the bed.

Almost forgot....you can have it done to an older truck too. Rust won't bother it, (unless rusted thru) since they sand all over before spraying it anyway.

[This message has been edited by J Tiers (edited 06-09-2005).]

[C - ROSS]

Big truck or little truck, it's still a truck. USE IT. If you want a fancy city rig
buy an SUV. Ya I know, at the cost you want
to protect it, get over it. It's still a truck.

Ross

[Phil McCrackin]

I also have the spray in liner, mine is 'Rhino liner' and it was about $400 two years ago. I had it sprayed over the rail and would definatley have it done on my next truck. The only thing I did not like was the tailgate coating rubs off quickly along the top edge when you slide heavy things off the back. So I bought just the tail-gate portion of a bed liner for $26 at the dealer, and put it on. It works great, now I dont have to keep going back to have the tailgate lining repaired, it was free, because of the lifetime warranty, but it was pain to have to keep going back. Now I have the best of both worlds. Although, you will be slightly more susceptable to dents if you have a habit of dropping heavy objects in your truck bed, my vote is still for the 'Rhino-liner' type of bed liner. Remember that the 'lifetime warranty' is only good if the business is still there when you need it, so go to a reputable installer that you are reasonalbly sure will still be there when you need touch up repairs.

[J Tiers]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by C - ROSS:
Big truck or little truck, it's still a truck. USE IT. If you want a fancy city rig
buy an SUV. Ya I know, at the cost you want
to protect it, get over it. It's still a truck.

Ross</font>

You know what? It isn't about keeping it showroom new......... as you imply. That is, frankly , silly.

The S10, at $9000 to $12,000 , is almost disposable, compared to non-functional vehicles like a sedan..... for which you will pay $18,000 to ?????. But no reason to toss it early.

It's about improving the function of the truck, which is to haul things, and making the tool, for which you paid, last.

If I go to shovel out a load of compost, the liner lets the shovel glide along and makes it easier to shovel and to clean out for another use. With no liner, you scrape off big swaths of paint with the shovel, and with the drop-ins, you cut into them and tear them up right away.

A person who wants to let the truck (a tool) rust out in 4 years for no good reason, welll...... I will assume they don't oil their machines either...hey it's a machine, use it.

[SGW]

I vote for the heavy rubber bed mat, as per halac. They're very durable. I got the bed mat for my truck about 20 years ago and it's still in good shape. (The truck is getting a little old, however....)

[decoy91288]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Phil McCrackin:
I also have the spray in liner, mine is 'Rhino liner' and it was about $400 two years ago. I had it sprayed over the rail and would definatley have it done on my next truck. The only thing I did not like was the tailgate coating rubs off quickly along the top edge when you slide heavy things off the back. So I bought just the tail-gate portion of a bed liner for $26 at the dealer, and put it on. It works great, now I dont have to keep going back to have the tailgate lining repaired, it was free, because of the lifetime warranty, but it was pain to have to keep going back. Now I have the best of both worlds. Although, you will be slightly more susceptable to dents if you have a habit of dropping heavy objects in your truck bed, my vote is still for the 'Rhino-liner' type of bed liner. Remember that the 'lifetime warranty' is only good if the business is still there when you need it, so go to a reputable installer that you are reasonalbly sure will still be there when you need touch up repairs.</font>

I was writing this when then decided to look at all the other postings. My experience is nearly identical - pay special attention to having it sprayed over the rail - it looks great and prevents a world of dings scratches etc. As for "use it like a truck" -- what is wrong with protecting the resale value of your hauler. Trucks are like guns, use them, but take care of them while using.

[Rich Carlstedt]

"Look here Mr Smith,we have this beautiful truck for sale"

"Hummm, It has a a few miles on it....looks to me about 150K ! tires are bald, and the thing leaks some oil ! look at the ground !"

" I know Mr Smith, but take a good look at that bed !..its as clean as a whistle...not a scratch on it !"

"Wow.....I want it !

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just my opinion