Rubber mats don't protect or absorb shock on the wheel wells or the sides of the bed.

 

Real protection:

http://www.durakon.com/movies/duraliner.mpg

 

OK, I have to ask....do you work for that company or just really really like them hehe

 

Motleycruef150 sure looks like a Durakon employee. As many here know, I work for DualComp. Started here after using pick ups for 30 years an learning a thing or two along the way. My personal experiences -

Started with a mat. Cargo never moved, but wheel wells got hammered - hated the dents.

Went to a Drop-in. Great dent protection for the wheel wells, but like putting cargo on ice.

Spray-in - tried several, including the two big name brands. Tore them up. They were almost as slippery as the drop-in. And I had to look at all the dents, all the time.

BedRug... well, I admittedly am harder on a truck than most, but I tore and stained the BedRug in no time.

Stumbled across DualComp, seemed logical - I ended up putting a rubber mat on the drop ins to make them anywhere near functional. This had the hard sidewalls and a rubber floor that locks in place. It was exactly what I needed, wish I had thought of it.

So, I found the owner and lobbied for a position. Never before have a worked somewhere that I was so positive I had the best product. Part of my job includes trying to beat my bedliner up. The one in my show truck gets treated like the redheaded stepchild - kicked around, cussed at, and crossed. Still looks like new, 24,000 hard miles into the game. Can't say that for any other bedliner I ever used.

One note though, DualComp is not perfect for everyone. No bedliner is. I hate tie downs, preferring to just set the cargo down and go. Could be lumber, sheetmetal, engine blocks... I just want to drop and go. Used to carry a milk crate full of tie downs, now I carry 4... they're car tie downs for the car trailer I end up hauling a couple times a week!

 

I was told the factory drop-in Bedliner is a Dura-liner with the Ford Logo.

I went for the STK Line-A-Bed SR drop-in instead on my 05' SCrew. It's like the Dura-Liner but with a Skid Resistant top layer. It's the under rail model and just snaps in under 30 seconds. I'm very happy with it. No noise. No movement. No dents when I loaded a bedfull of cinder blocks a few months ago.

 

i've been trying to destroye my line-x but all i can do is get it dirty. the stuff is tuff. my main reason in getting it is cause i haul fertilizer in the bed.

 

It's not that tough to wreck any spray in - just get a little careless. Try hauling a bare engine block, without tying it down. That was the first tear when I had a Line-x - also the first series of dents in the wheel wells, the bulkhead, and the tailgate.

Personally, I like spray-ins for landscaping type work - hauling fertilizer bags, sand, traffic bond, mulch, that type of thing. Every time I hauled "hard" products, I dented or scraped or otherwise damaged it.

That's why I ended up working for DualComp, it was a bedliner I can believe in - hard sides that protect while loading and a rubber floor mat so my stuff stays where I put it.

As I have mentioned many times, how you use your truck determines what bedliner will be best for your application. I have a couple friends that love drop-ins, but they want their load to slide and will take the time to tie it down when they don't.

 

I just bought an '06 F150 STX, and got the dealer to throw the bed liner in as a deal clincher...he said it was a Ford liner, that normally costs $300.00! How can I tell if t really is a 'Ford' / factory or aftermarket one?

 

No. I do not work for Duraliner. I just bought one from my Ford dealer and recommend it. Yes, the bedliners from Ford are Duraliners with the Ford logo.

 

my 2002 F150 came with the factory ford drop in liner. it was tough, although it did get knicks and cuts in it, and it had the Ford logo... that's how you will know if it is a 'Ford' - it will have the logo.

i am opting for Rhino liner this time (just bought a 2005 S-Crew Lariat, 5.4L, 6.5 foot bed) - i don't drop anything heavy in the bed of the truck, and would not expect to dent the bed. Rhino gives you a lifetime guarantee for color fading and any knicks and cuts - just take it back and they add another thin layer. i prefer rhino, as it is 'tacky' enough that nothing slips... i was able to put things in the bed of my last truck with no tie downs and nothing moved... loads stayed right where they were placed. line-x seemed a little harder - things slipped and it seemed to fade. just my experience.

 

my rhino liner started to peel off so either get another brand or do some research on the installer.

 

Well, I just dropped the tailgate, and there on the front of the bedliner,(underneath the rear window) was the Ford logo...it is a tough looking liner. I will haul mostly construction material, brick, lumber, dirt, mulch, tree & shrubs etc...so it shouild work out pretty well...oh yeah, and gravel! I will be using a "load handler" from Harbor Freight Tools so any load should come right out. I have been using the Load Handler on my '77 for a year and it works great.

 

Sounds like you got the perfect liner for your usage!

 

Spray in bed liners with time look like a dirty old tire.

 

may I interject that the bed of the truck is not normally visable to most people? Spray-on liners are the best for load hauling and protecting the bed from rust.

I will never ever use a drop in liner again. It scraped the paint off of the bed of my truck and blocked the bed drainage holes. Guess what happened. Went from a perfectly fine bed to a rusted out bed in the front corners in 2 1/2 years. I had to get a junkyard bed to replace the rusted out one.