Bed liners for trucks will protect the paint on your truck bed.
Who cares? The real problem with hauling anything in your truck is the risk of either denting the bed or scratching the paint.
Scratch through the paint on a truck bed and you have the starting place for rust and corrosion.
Without a liner you must be very careful when hauling anything, even groceries, or you will damage the truck.
How can you really use a truck if you must always be so careful? You can't.
So how do you choose the best bed liner? Cost You can pay about a hundred bucks for a rubber bed mat that will do an admirable job protecting the floor of a truck.
You can also spend close to a thousand dollars for a spray on bed liner.
Each liner will have advantages and disadvantages.
For example the rubber mat is more appropriate for hauling really rough, messy loads, like concrete blocks.
But the spray on liner looks far better.
So first consider your budget.
What kind of hauling? For just casual hauling, a spray on bed liner is just the ticket for good looks and durability.
But the spray in liner is permanent so really pounding on the liner and gouging it with rough loads leaves permanent damage or requires repairs.
For really heavy hauling a drop in heavy plastic liner stands up to terrible abuse as does a rubber bed mat.
The drop in liner or mat is easily replaced and the price is much less than a professional spray in liner.
A carpet mat is great for covered applications like under a camper shell or a tonneau cover.
Maintenance Look at the guarantee on a spray on liner.
Often it's a lifetime warranty, but that gives you repairs for life not assurance of no damage.
Carpet mats are usually waterproof but the wet mat can cause rusting underneath.
If you install a drop in liner, make sure the bed is draining properly or water can stand unseen under the liner and cause rust to start.
Consider your budget first and then look at how you will use your truck for hauling.
Finally think about the maintenance of your truck bed and then you can make a good choice of the right bed liner for your pickup.
Who cares? The real problem with hauling anything in your truck is the risk of either denting the bed or scratching the paint.
Scratch through the paint on a truck bed and you have the starting place for rust and corrosion.
Without a liner you must be very careful when hauling anything, even groceries, or you will damage the truck.
How can you really use a truck if you must always be so careful? You can't.
So how do you choose the best bed liner? Cost You can pay about a hundred bucks for a rubber bed mat that will do an admirable job protecting the floor of a truck.
You can also spend close to a thousand dollars for a spray on bed liner.
Each liner will have advantages and disadvantages.
For example the rubber mat is more appropriate for hauling really rough, messy loads, like concrete blocks.
But the spray on liner looks far better.
So first consider your budget.
What kind of hauling? For just casual hauling, a spray on bed liner is just the ticket for good looks and durability.
But the spray in liner is permanent so really pounding on the liner and gouging it with rough loads leaves permanent damage or requires repairs.
For really heavy hauling a drop in heavy plastic liner stands up to terrible abuse as does a rubber bed mat.
The drop in liner or mat is easily replaced and the price is much less than a professional spray in liner.
A carpet mat is great for covered applications like under a camper shell or a tonneau cover.
Maintenance Look at the guarantee on a spray on liner.
Often it's a lifetime warranty, but that gives you repairs for life not assurance of no damage.
Carpet mats are usually waterproof but the wet mat can cause rusting underneath.
If you install a drop in liner, make sure the bed is draining properly or water can stand unseen under the liner and cause rust to start.
Consider your budget first and then look at how you will use your truck for hauling.
Finally think about the maintenance of your truck bed and then you can make a good choice of the right bed liner for your pickup.