forever

boy are you going to be disappointed when composite bodies go mainstream

 

My buddy has line-x in his truck, and man have we beat it up, and its fine. Not nicks, or anything. I've thrown fence post in, and it was fine. Its worth the money in my opinion. In my last ranger I had a drop in bedliner, and man did it look like ***** under it when I pulled it out. Rub marks, rust. I wasnt to happy. So I would spend the extra money and get a spray in. For me it was 425 over the rail, and 375 for under. It looks nice sprayed on the rail, and so fourth.

 

Set in liners are inexpensive compared to spray in or do-it-yourself like Herculiner. BUT, wait till it gets wet or has a bit of snow in it, you will slip and bust your butt. Go the extra distance and get something diecent if youre going to use the bed at all.

 

Just an FYI, I have tried both Rhino Liner and Line-X. Both products were pretty good quality, but not when compared to Speedliner. If you have a dealer who installs speedliner in your area, you should give them a call. It is a commercial grade liner and is much tougher than the 2 consumer grade liners mentioned above. It costs about the same as the consumer grade liners. The only drawback, if there is a drawback, is that speedliner has a 72 hour cure time, which means you don't need to load anything into the bed for 3 days after application. Once cured, there is no other product comparable to it.

 

Edgechick13,
Congrat's on you new truck first of all!!! Regarding bed liners: depends on what fits your budget. Spray-on liners (LineX) are more expensive (-) and as has been mentioned above, they do not prevent the bed from getting dents/dings(-).

The plastic bed liners are less expensive (+) and usually come in an "over rail" or "under rail" type. Some like the over rail because it protects the top of the bed rail and edges(+). On the downside, the over rail types can scratch the paint underneath (-). On the flip side, the under rail don't scratch the paint underneath the top of the bed rail(+), but that's because they don't cover there(-). So what's to stop the top of the bed rails from getting scratched by other means???

The spray-in liners hold things in place better in the bed (+).
It's harder to "slide" stuff in with the spray-in bedliners (-). If you're going to haul things like rock, sand, gravel, etc in the bed, I personally would go with a plastic liner. Why: for ease of cleaning out (broom/hose) and less destruction to the looks of the spray-in liner(+). But, if you tend to throw stuff in the bed that you don't want to slide around (bags, boxes; better footing for pets - if you let them ride in the back?), probably the flat, surer grip surface of the spray-in liner would be better for you.

So you see there's pro's and con's to each style and type. You now have the dubious task of somehow arriving at a decision that later yields no buyer's remorse! Good luck!

For what it's worth... mine came with a plastic liner. I like the ease of cleaning it. If I put boxes, suitcases, or ~ in the back, I just just use tie-downs to strap it all in. The dogs? They get old blankets to stand/lie on (the blankets fill the molded irrigation channels in the plastic liner) and get harnessed in the center of a tie down strap so they can't jump out... love my dogs!

Just my 2-bits worth...
Daryl

 

I have a Rhino spray in liner. It has been a great investment. I have had it for 9+ years and it is great. I have seen several Line-X applications peel off so I am glad I didn't get that. I had a very thick rubber mat protecting the bed floor before that and I through it back in after Rhino dried. The Rhino covered all the scratches and small dents from motorcycles, snomobiles, chains and all the other junk that had damaged the bed. Mine is close to a 1/4 inch thick, the other products at the time were not sprayed on as thick so it also pays to go look at jobs done from the shops you are getting prices from.

 

Line-x is the way to go.. no worries once it is in and it is very tough. I work my truck and the liner holds up well.

 

Bedliners have always been a hot topic in this forum - I have read and re-read the posts for many months as I am in the market for a liner myself- here's my $.02.

My '89 bed is already dinged and scratched. Although the spray-in would cover it nicely and look great, I frequently carry a bedload of mulch, gravel, soil, branches, etc., and I think it would be easlier to clean a drop-in liner. Although the surface is slicker than a spray-in, I would actually prefer it for cleaning the bed with my leaf blower, garden hose, or broom. Admittedly I will have to remove it from time to time to check for drainage and rusting on the bed surfaces.

If I had newer truck (the more rounded look of the post 1996 models) and not used for the above loads, I think the spray-in looks better - just my opinion - and would probably go with that.

My dogs would be happy either way (:

ds59f100 - I think you've got covered pretty well.

 

Having had a drop-in liner in my '94 and a spray-in liner in my '01, I can say that spray-in is definitely the way to go. As for Line-X versus Rhinoliner, I'd say it depends on how you use your truck. If you do a lot of rock, wood chips, etc I'd go Line-X because it is harder and resists chipping better than Rhinoliner. However, I chose Rhinoliner because it is softer and higher friction. When I hit the brakes, my chainsaw doesn't go crashing all the way to the front of the truck. Gas cans, tool boxes stay put. And I haul rock and wood but you have to be a little more careful not to gouge out the liner with the shovel. So take your pick based on use.

 

Spray On !!! I currently have a factory Ford liner that came with the truck but I would live to pitch it and do Spary On.
Just make sure price is fair and shop knows their stuff !!!!

 

a lot of you are saying that the spray in liners grip things better, which is very true. you also say that its not good if you haul rocks and such because it wont slide off, which is also true. the one thing your forgetting is plywood. no matter what kind of liner you have, if you haus rocks, sand, or anything else you need a flat shover to remove, just keep a sheet of 3/4 plywood in the bed. the flat shovel will slide across it with no problem. thats what most of the guys on the job do. every once in a while you need to remove the wood and hose everything out. anybody have any experience with any of those do it yourself liners. they have a kit at pep boys that you roll on.

 

http://jcwhitney.com/webapp/wcs/stor...&storeId=10101 dont forget the bed mats. i had one of those and it worked great. looked nice too. they fit like a glove. its also nice because you can remove it every once in a while to clean under it.

 

Let's see if I have this right. First I have a spray in bed liner installed. Then I put a rubber bed mat on the liner to protect it. I then place a piece of plywood on the bed mat to protect it. I guess the only thing left would be to add helper springs to support all the extra weight.

:-staun

 

Line-X is what I use (landscape business). Had 4 done my self plus a 24 foot alum gooseneck. Electrician buddy has 8. We both are extremely happy with them. We drive about 100 miles to get them done at Millenium Linings in INDY. No need for a rubber mat on top, Jay would repair it free(lifetime warranty) None of our stuff has had a problem.

 

chasparham- you dont put the mat over the liner. i'm saying its a cheaper alternative and still looks good. my ranger had one. it was real durable. i said the plywood because if you haul sand ar rocks its difficult to slide it across a spray in liner and it gets stuck in the groves of a drop in.