I don't want this to turn in to some big Line X vs. DIY bedliner thread because that has been well played out on this forum. I do want to say I finished my Duplicolor DIY bedliner today and it turned out better than I could have ever expected. I'm thrilled with it. We'll see how it holds up over time but for now I love it. Spending $500 on a Line X is just plain dumb especially since I trade out trucks so much. I'll try and get pics up sometime.

 

does duplicolor mean the color matches the truck?? If so I would love to see pics. I'm having trouble with the thought of spending almost $800 on Line-X Xtra.

 

duplicolor is a brand.

 

Well let me know how it holds up? I am really hard on my bed with heavy objects and always wondered if it would hold up though.

 

The diy bedliners turnout good you just need to spend the extra time prepping and dont rush it

 

+2. And its always a good idea to remove the bed bolts incase you need to remove the bed in the future for suspension access or rust repair.

 

We occasionally strip out bedliners including the DIY bedliner products. I tell you, and I'm being totally honest, if you don't want to spring for a professional spray-on bedliner and if you trade trucks often, you're better off with just going with a plastic drop-in bedliner instead of the DIY products.

 

Is the Dupli-color a dry hard like the Line-x? I see so many that really seem to be just the tar based undercoating that never really cure. I want to spray the plastic bed rails on my 05. I've tried painting and they get dinged up too quick. Line-x said they will not spray them even if I tek them off.

 

Duplicolor, when cured, is not gummy but it's not as hard and is not as durable as LINE-X either.

 

For what most of the people who own trucks, a DIY bed liner will fare just fine. If you'll see constant rough use, then a thicker, harder, professional bedliner would be a good choice.

I usually only carry firewood for my dad with my truck...the bed has obtained dents that I wouldn't expect with the professionally done ones, but the bedliner itself has not torn, peeled, or stickied itself to anything just yet. I haven't put any UV protectant on it, haven't had to touch it up just yet.

But then again, I rarely use my truck to haul things. If we need a hefty hauler my brother has a 2500HD that we use for that. It's got Line-x and has held up very well, only gripe is that they sprayed over the bed bolts...Fuel pump was a PITA.

 

Here's my thoughts regarding the DIY bedliner products:

You can go to Wallymart and buy a few cans of Krylon spray paint and paint your entire truck with it and for some people, they are happy with that. And, who are we to say that it's not OK for those folks. But, realize that some people would NEVER spray paint their truck with Krylon spray paint.

The do-it-yourself products like Herculiner, Duplicolor, Durabak, etc. are the Krylons of bedliners. They are no where near the durability of professional bedliner products nor to they look as nice as high pressure professional bedliners, but then who are we to say it's not right for some folks.

 

it takes 1 load in the box for the DIY liners to look like crap. been there, never again, live and learn. if you got a truck, you NEVER know what you could be hauling.

 

I don't mean to play devils advocate here, but I've had my Herculiner in mine for a few months now and have used it for quite a few different loads and it still looks just as good as it did the day I applied it. My dad has his truck w/ Line-X and sure I bet his would hold up better in certain situations, but he also paid over 8 times what I did for mine. It better work better!

I've hauled full bedloads of leaves, bark, mulch, helped two friends move, and even hauled a nearly full bed of bricks to help with some paving work and not one problem yet. If I have to touch it up in a year or two, then so be it. I still paid under $100 bucks for something that looks great and is proving to work every bit as good as something that costs many times over more expensive. I'm not sure why some others have had such bad luck with them or why mine is working so well for me so far, but I've put plenty back there and loaded it up and scraped things across it enough to see if any damage would be done and none so far.

 

I think I'm going to try the bed rails and see how long they last, worst case, I buy new ones which I already need due to fading. Thanks for all the input, I can always count on people here.

 

I was more than happy with the way my old truck looked with herculiner. I may have overdone the job though, it took me the better part of two days to finish. Once It was done it was beautiful. Granted I didnt haul a whole lot with that truck, I know the guy who bought it, and he mentioned after a while it needed a little touch up, but that is minor, and inexpensive.
DIY bedliners are a good choice for good looks at a good price.
If you can afford it get the line-x.
To each his own.