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I should be picking up my truck tomorrow and it does not have the factory spray in liner. My question is, if I put a rubber bed mat down, do I really need it? I won't be hauling debris or rock in the bed, I have a 7x12 trailer for that. Really, I'm just protecting the paint from scratches. If it gets beat up, I can just spray it later before I sell the truck if necessary. Does it provide some other benefit other than protecting the paint from scratches? I plan to run a Snugtop shell, so UV isn't an issue either. I'm even thinking for the price, a bedbug or bead tread liner is better for my purposes anyhow.
while it sounds like your decisions has already been made, you seem to be focused on the damage that may occur to the bed floor...ignoring that similar damage can't be avoided to the bed walls.
when things get strap things down they don't get strapped down in the middle of the truck...most use the walls for bracing to prevent things from sliding around too.
I had a rubber bet mat in a 90's model Chevy 2500 after a few years some of the paint off did rub off especially where the mat met the wheel well. Like stated above it did not protect the sides of the bed, and 10 years 100k miles later this is what the floor looked like:
The way the bed rug is taped down I don't think it would damage the paint and it would protect the sides if you got the full kit.
I LineX'd my new truck and will still put a rubber mat on the floor. The LineX will protect the entire bed, including walls and tailgate, where the mat will only cover the bed floor. I carry kayaks in the bed also, so the rubber will be less abrasive on the bottom of the 'yaks than the LineX will be when we slide them in and out.
Same as Slapshot - I had the truck Line-X'd by the dealer before pickup and also had them put the Ford rubber mat in. Had that combo in my old truck and it was bulletproof.
