Call me old school but I prefer the bedliner over the coated liners. I bought the Ford bedliner and I'm very pleased with the way it fits and maintains the functionality of the bed components. I don't like everything sliding around though. Is there any kind of coating I can put on the plastic to make it stickier?

 

Yeah, spray in bed liner
I think anything else will just scrape, peel, break off.
I dont have experience personally with a drop in liner, hopefully someone else has a better answer.

 

Our '90 Toyota Pickup had a factory drop in liner. It worked great and looked as good the day we sold the truck in '03 as the day we took delivery of the truck.

Our '03 GMC Sierra 1500 has an aftermarket drop in liner we had installed shortly after taking delivery of the truck. With the exception of one surface nick, it looks as good today as the day we had it installed.

 

Robmeizer is correct - the spray-in bedliner material is best. You can buy it as a paint at the auto parts store and literally paint over and between the plastic ribs. Stuff will stop sliding around...but then you have to ask yourself why not just get the spray in liner to start with?

 

$$$. The drop in was only $250 from Ford. I think it offers more protection from denting than spray-ins. Just my opinion.

 

You can also put in a rubber bed mat and things won't slide around and it can be removed in minutes if so desired.

 

The drop in liners are great but slippery so I put an extra heavy rubber mat on top of it. The camper used to slide about 1 1/2" in a turn at the feeling of 3200 lbs moving was a little unsettling. The mat took care of that. Best thing about the drop in liners is the slots to put vertical 2x4s or 2x6s across especially behind the wheel wells. The groceries, beer or cooler and whatever else didn't wind up too far out of reach from the ground. I thought long and had about changing to spray on with the new truck just for that feature.

 

I've asked numerous people this question and get the same answers. I used the snot out of my bed each summer hauling dirt, rocks, stones, mulch, brush, etc....with a landscape business. Then scraping all the stuff out with shovels, rakes, and other tools. When I've asked landscape friends who have the spray ins they all tell me the same things. They've gouged it, peeled it, nick'd it, etc.... Sure they offer lifetime touch ups but honestly during the time I would need something touched up, I just don't have the time to get it done. That plastic liner holds up to the abuse and keeps on kicking. Also, I used one of those loadhandler things which will not work on spray in liners.

Now, admittedly I had a bed rug that came with the truck. I had anticipated on this just being a garage queen, rv towing truck. Unfortunately it's spent most of it's life working hard. So I put the plastic over the bed rug to eliminate scratching and whatnot. I think the plastic protects the bed from denting with the heavy materials being loaded into it vs a spray in type product. I have no evidence either way but my dump trailer floor is sure denting with the same materials being loaded into it.

Now if I can pick up a work truck to use I would get my good truck sprayed for sure as it would just be a garage queen RV towing truck. Ha!

 

"The best laid schemes of mice and men" (Often quoted as "best laid plans") From Robert Burns' poem To a Mouse, 1786. It tells of how he, while ploughing a field, upturned a mouse's nest.

 

"Scheme" in the US has a different connotation than the UK, more akin to a scam or at least not quite on the up and up.

 

Just noticed you are a fellow WNY native! I'm in the Hamburg/Eden area, where are you from?

 

Ah Ha. Eden Valley, home of the best early sweet corn!! I am south of Rochester in Scottsville. Seems we have several good members spread across Upstate.