The Ford Liner is made by Duraliner......the instructions & hardware for my Duraliner had Ford p/n's on it. I was about $50-75 cheaper.

Also, mine has a rough texture that doesn't let things slide easily. I've had 6-40lb bags of topsoil in the back since November & they're still in the same location.

The pockets work well with a 66" piece of 2x6 to keep things towards the back near the tailgate.

 

yeah- waxy, i was just kidding around about the wooden ones. i figured they must be nice (probably not cheap either) but without ever having seen one, though, its hard it imagine what they look like.

up here in NH i have seen some 'rink-e-dink' crap that people put on their trucks, and i think i was just having a flashback!

 

I was going to get the Ford drop-in but my dealer told me to buy a Duraliner instead, since the factory liner is made by Duraliner & sells for an extra $75-$100 just for the "Ford" logo instead of the "Duraliner" logo on it. The place that did my install also suggested a paint saver pad (prevent rust & rubbing), that goes between the bed & the liner for an extra $30 -- I agreed to it.

Overall I am happy with my decision. I like being able to slide sheetrock & large things on my bed without lifting them. If I need something to stay put, I used 2x4 or 2x6 lumber in the notches along the sides. It is somewhat annoying trying to attach my ratchet in the corners near the tailgate because of the smallish holes, but I can usually get it by the time I'm on my 3rd or 4th explative.

Just my 2 cents -- take it or leave it!

 

I'm trashing my drop in liner this weekend, and putting in a roll in bed liner from Rustoleum...

Tired of all the sliding around, and scratching the paint off of the bed.

 

My old Duraliner had a real lousy set-up for the tailgate. A real PITA and kept falling off.. This new one (Colonel) is MUCH better.
The 5/8" rubber mat I put over the top of the drop in liner in only cost $45.00 (made locally). The Drop in liner was $175.00 with slots for 2x4's for stacked loading, etc and has holes for the cargo hooks. It also has a "pebble-tech" surface for low slippage. After listening to you guys I'm beginning to think I got a bargain

 

How is the paint getting scratched off the bed? Is your liner itself moving? I've never had a problem like this, but I guess my paintsaver pad under the liner helps...

 

Exactly....The liner vibrates, and shifts back and forth on the bed. the grooves in the liner do not fit into the groves on the bottom of the bed. Anytime I put anything in the bed, it causes the liner to rub.

The liner is a factory installed liner.

 

Drop-in liners can wear the paint because the corrugations allow the contact surfaces to minutely shift or vibrate. Paint is harder than plastic, but the plastic is much thicker, and there might be grit to act as an abrasive. Liner in my first truck was installed with a thin sheet of foam under the liner. It wore through and needed replacing. Moral is to have something sacrificial between liner and bed- foam, roll-on plastic, maybe even thickly slopped-on latex paint? Or, pull the liner every other year, wash out the gunk, and touch up the bed.

I agree on the toughness of the drop-ins- those corrugations give enough to soften the thud of a dropped heavy load.

For tiedown points, get slotted bed rails. Many more tiedown points, closer to where you need them, easy to get at from outside the bed (even if you have a drop-in liner), and won't get blocked off by a load that's against the side wall. Then get a bunch of the ratchet-lock straps, and you can tie down just about anything. I liked the rails so much on my 1st truck that they were the 1st thing I got for the used F-350 I got.

Once tiedown is easy, the "slidiness" becomes an asset when loading/unloading.

The issue with static and gas cans is when you FILL the can in the bed. Safe thing is set can on the ground, touch the pump nozzle to the can to dissipate any electric charge, THEN start pumping and keep the nozzle against the can. That way, any static bleeds off through the pump hose ground wire, rather than arcing through air between the can and nozzle- ie, a spark. Spark + gas fumes = not good.

 

whatcha really need is a flatbed made out of 1/4 inch hardened sheetmetal with a diamond plate finish- and painted black with another 1/4 inch of rhinoliner. now there is the ultimate pickup bed


and you can even get different color rhinoliners for a completely custom job!

no scratches, no dents, no sliding, good long lasting finish... nice and solid and effective with nothing to complain about! take that to the bank....

 

I rarely put anything except my quad in the bed, But have a pendeliner bed mat and tailgate protector. No sliding around, no scratching the paint and no rust potenial.

 

Be careful if the drop-in bed liners with gas cans because the can sliding around can cause static electricity and potentialy an explosion.