I just purchased an '05 Lariat and I was looking into getting a bedliner put in this weekend. I've been looking around on the internet for drop in vs spray in bedliners. Im still not sure which one is better. From what I hear, the drop in bedliners are more durable because they are thicker but may cause some rust between the truck bed and the bedliner from moister build up. Please help with any advice you may have. One thing that I don't like about the spray-ins are that in order to spray the bedliner, they have to sand down the bed of the truck. Also, which one is better against fading? and which brand would you recommend, either drop-ins or spray-ons? Thanks.

 

One word for ya - BedRug!

http://www.bedrug.com

E...

 

i did herculiner and a bed matt works out very well

 

Whatever you choose, don't let it be a drop in, those things are crap. They all eventually warp, definitly scratch your bed all up and also promote rusting. Best thing you can do is get a spray-on, you have a nice truck, don't put an 80.00 liner in a 30,000 truck. Either Line-X or Rhino, I prefer Line-X because of the non-skid facotory looking finish after it's done, look around a bit and you'll see the difference

 

Three distinct differences:
Plastic drop-in liners offer additional protection from dents over spray in or bed alone
Plastic is slippery which can be good or bad depending on the situation
$200 vs. $400

Neither is junk, but I think they serve different purposes.

 

Bedliners are really relative to what you do with your truck. I like the looks of several types, but pretty doesn't necessarily equal survivability. For instance, BedRug lasted me less than a month - but I am pretty hard on trucks.

There is another newer alternative, doesn't require bed alteration. Dualcomp offers the hard sidewall protection of the drop-in (without the paint damage) and the best possible skid resistance for the floor - rubber mat.

My first Dualcomp bedliner is over a year old - and still looks brand new. That's 10 months more than anything but a drop-in has survived in anything like good condition.

I've been using trucks for almost 30 years, used every imaginable bedliner, and liked the Dualcomp so much that I got a job with them! Check it out at Dualcomp.com.

There are several guys on the forum using them, hopefully they'll see your post and jump in too.

Whatever you choose, find what makes sense for the way you use your truck. I know one guy that actually likes how slippery a drop-in is... he's a paint contractor and slides buckets all day.

 

Does the sides of the DualComp actually fit all the recesses and forms of the inside walls of the bed? Can you still use the board cutouts for cargo management? What about cargo bars? Thanks for any information you can give.

 

I've got a Permatech spray in in my '04, it's alright. I'm afraid to look under the drop in in my '97 F250 though. I've poked a hole in the drop in before loading firewood, not an issue with the spray in. Like others have said, different tools for different jobs, but since getting a spray in, I don't see myself going to anything else.

 

I just recently got a TOFF brand spray in liner is my new F150. Does anyone know anything about the TOFF brand? I hope it is decent!

 

Spray in. I use my truck as a TRUCK and so far my Reflex liner has held up nicely. It can be touched up as need be but I really wouldn't worry about rust under a plastic liner anyway-so what? Why would you remove the liner-unless you thought that it was going to rust through and I doubt that it would do that.

 

Toff, which operates mostly in Texas, is 100% polyurethane, just like Rhino. Toff is having some problems with their parent company, Artlux, and has recently downsized in the DFW area. Myself and two other LINE-X dealers hired Toff's area sales rep.

Here's an interesting trend that I have seen in the last 3 months or so. Brands that are 100% polyurethane, like Rhino and Toff, are definately losing ground. Remember, the 100% poly liners were first on the market about 11 or 12 years ago. There are better products available now. One of the two big Rhino dealers in Ft. Worth (PCI) just moved to a smaller location. Another dealer that is about 2 miles from my location (Trophy Rig) just sold out. LINE-X, which is blend of polyurea and polyurethane, now has the majority of market share as of 2004 according to Frost & Sullivan (an independent firm that measures trends in the automotive industry).

 

I prefer the drop-in style, and have had the one private labeled for Ford in my truck for 4 1/2 years now. It's easy to clean, easy to shovel stuff like mulch and dirt out of, and I can slide things in and out of the bed easily. If I throw a large log or cement block into the bed, I won't dent the bed...or if it does dent, at least it doesn't show.
I've seen spray on types that were scratched, peeling, dis-colored and with incosistant texture. Plus I didn't want some shop sanding and grinding away on my bed to prep for the application.
In ten years, if my liner looks beat-up, I can chuck it and get a new one. If I had gone with a spray on, who's to say that the company would still be in business? Remember Rusty Jones?
In the last twenty years or so, whenever I sold or traded a truck, the reaction was "Oh...It even has a bed liner". Nobody ever looked under them for rust holes. If they had, they wouldn't find any anyway.
Lots of people on this site love their spray on liners...I'm one that doesn't.

MR

 

The sides are a copy of the wall structure - fits tight to the metal. Board cutouts are there and work fine and cargo barts are no problem either. Because it fits so tight, air can't get behind and cause it to vibrate - that's what causes the chafing with traditional drop-in liners. The bed tiedowns are removed and reinstalled to hold the side that much tighter, so there is really no possibility for movement.

Let me know what other information I can provide!

 

My Lariat was less that 2 weeks old when I took it and had a line-x installed. Looked factory. I understand the dislike of having your bed scratched to have the liner installed but I walked away so I didn't have to see my baby scratched up. When I came back it looked perfect. I would do it again in a heartbeat. The liner is tough and has handled everything I've thrown at it.

 

Another vote for Bedrug. Cheaper than a spray-in and it can be removed if you want it.