I was wondering if anyone has had problems with bed rusting because of stock drop-in bedliners? I have heard that drop-ins can promote rusting. I had an aftermarket over-the-side liner in a Nissan pickup and took it out and waxed the bed every year to prevent this. I never had a rust issue, and was wondering if the stock bedliner in my 2004 F150 will pose a problem. Frankly, I'm not a big fan of the spray-on liners and want to keep what I have, but would ditch it if it will rust out the bed. Any input? Thanks.

 

They don't promote rust, but they do chafe the paint. If enough paint gets removed, you could get rust. Strangely, the more you haul in a drop-in liner, the less they chafe - the weight of the load keeps them from moving around.

It's probably worth buying a paint protector for under the drop-in, then rust is very unlikely - it's probably also worth taking it out occasionally to clean and check for damage... not necessary (generally) but hey, the truck is worht something!

 

I have a linex, with that said...

I dont think a drop in is necessarily bad. If years down the road you have a problem with rust you can always have a spray in added then. THe prep process for the sparyin will remove some rust anyway.

Stick with what you like

 

My '97 SCAB had the factory drop in bed liner. I pulled it out last June because it cracked along the bed rails. There was a rubber mat under the liner. There was just a little chafing along the bed rails. Considering the truck sits outside, and spent most of its life in SC & NC, I was pretty amazed there was no rust at all. I also had the stainless steel bed rails installed, so it pretty much kept the bed liner in place and prevented it from moving around.