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Molded bed liner vs Spray on vs naked


mister moose

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I just bought a newish pampered 2011 Ranger and the bed is pristine. My old 2002 has a liner, has rust in the bed, due to several factors; it's a used bed after a major crimp from an accident, a lousy mechanic cut a hole in it to get to the fuel pump when the fuel pump was perfectly fine, and a fair dose of road salt.

I've heard bed liners can cause rust, and I'm wondering to what extent this happens.

I like having a bed liner as it seams easier to clean, doesn't scratch, and has nifty slots molded in for baffle planks or over the wheel well supports to take a 4 foot sheet of plywood. Downside as we know is they can be slippery, more than once I've dropped lumber (Strapped down!) on the road when it slid out starting on a hill.

No experience with the spray on - roll on type. Very interested in hearing reviews.

I've lived with no liner, and it gets scratched and rusty, whether from gravel or shovel dings, or just dragging stuff. Plus I'm a skier and I don't like the idea of my edges getting dulled on the steel bed. And the more square corners seem harder to sweep out.

And I like my 02 bed rails, they really protected the rails from getting scratched up. I haven't found anything like those on the aftermarket, any ideas?


These are the same bed rails I have on the 02 ^

Thanks for any help!
 
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adsm08

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I have never rotted a bed with a drop-in liner. When I pulled my old bed off, and took the drop-in liner out for the first time since 1987 the box floor and walls were the only part of the bed that wasn't rotten. You just have to make sure the bed and liner are completely dry before you put it in, because they can trap moisture.

I do not like the way a lot of spray-in ones are done. The shops work flat-rate or piece-rate, so they are in a hurry, and they just spray it on right over the bed bolts, so down the road if the bed has to come off your liner gets ruined. It would be much better to remove the bolts, spray the liner, and reinstall them once it was dried.

In fact, if I were to buy a new truck and get the dealer to have a spray-in liner put in and it came back with the bolts sprayed over I'd be telling them to send it back and have it done over.
 
Dirtman

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My drop in liner has been installed for 10 years. I removed it last year temporarily to install a ladder rack and underneath had zero rust. It's also much stronger than a spray/roll on liner. Ive hauled tons of scrap metal with it and it just has your typical scuffs.
 
gw33gp

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I have had both a drop I liner and a spray on liner (Line-X). Both were long term. The drop in was on my 89 STX and had a shell over it. It got a lot off heavy use including hauling rock with the shell off. It stood up very well over 13 years but did show some wear. I took it out before I sold it to clean everything up well. The drop in liner had worn through the paint in the areas it contacted. Yes, there was some corrosion to the bare metal but it was just surface rust and nothing serious. I don't know how well it would have held up without the shell on it to protect it from getting wet under the drop in liner.

I now have a spray on liner on my 02 FX4 and did it because of what I experienced with the drop in liner. I didn't want to have the bed paint get worn through again. It is now 16 years old and has seen just as much heavy use as the drop in liner. The spray on liner has held up as well or better than the drop in liner but does show minor wear. The spray on liner is not as slippery as the drop in liner but stuff can still be slid across it. That is important to me because I slide pretty heavy stuff in and out of it frequently, but I don't like things sliding around too easily. I still have the shell on the bed and got the liner sprayed over the metal rail and that has worked out well.

As to the plastic bed rails, I think they look nice but I took mine off when fairly new so I could put the shell on. The paint under the bed rail was already wearing from the contact with the rail. This could present a problem long term. I think with the over the metal rail spray on bed liner, you would prevent or repair that problem. I am not sure you can use the plastic bed rail with a drop in liner unless it does not have the lip over the rail or is modified for the bed rail attachment.
 
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I had a drop-in liner (Pendaliner I think was the name, under-rail type) in my '94 since new that was there until maybe 6 years ago. Like gw33gp said, it wore the paint away in a few spots where it contacted, but very little rust (no shell on mine either, the bed was always fully exposed to the elements). But there's also no road salt around here either.

My biggest complaint was that it rattled (and keeping the tailgate panel screws from falling out took a few tries), however it was exceptionally durable, never had to worry about something like, say, an engine block or axle assy gouging through it and gouging the bed (I don't think a spray-in liner would tolerate stuff like that much).
Mine had a 2nd layer coating on it that was supposed to help with stuff sliding around. It helped a little compared to a cheaper single-layer liner, but stuff still slid around pretty easy if not secured.
 
gw33gp

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The professional spray on liners are very tough. The one thing you do need to be careful about is sharp edges. With enough weight or impact it can cut into and/or gouge. This can happen too with a drop in liner. The advantage of the drop in liner is; they usually have 'corrugation', and the top is about 3/4" away from the bed metal and offers better protection. I have had many blocks in my Ranger with the Line-X liner with no damage. I was careful not to let any sharp edges dig into it when I slid it in. It was secured, so it could not move around when transporting.
 
Diesel_brad

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The WORST thing about a drop in liner is EVERYTHING slides around.
But they are great about protecting the bed.

I prefer spray in liners for a couple reasons.
1. I do them myself
2. I do them myself so the prep is correct(removing bed bolts, tie downs, etc)
3. I do them myself so the cost is cheap(under 200 in materials)
4. It is any skid by nature(and you can add rubber crum)
5. It is tint-able so you can do color match.
6. You loose ZERO bed space with it.
7. You can spray pretty much anything with it(I have done the whole inside of my bronco tub, the floor of my ranger under the OEM rubber mat as a sound deadner, color matched bumpers, rockers, nerf bars to not have chips. A subfloor for the superb of my ranger to give the dog a flat spot to lay)
THE BAD,,,,
-they can get scratch or gouged
-costly to have sprayed
-when not done correctly they are more headache than they are worth
 
Danno1985

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Dude, i hate drop-in liners. My last truck, a 2003 Tacoma, was a fly-drive from Arizona. First thing I did was pull the factory drop-in liner, and it was like a sandbox underneath. The ribs on the floor were bare metal. Luckily, there was no rust so I prepped it and had line-x installed immediately.

With my current truck, I wasn't so lucky. My Ranger also came with a drop-in liner, and when I pulled it, there was a layer of silt and rotten leaves underneath, especially right at the bulkhead. Everywhere else, the bed is rock-solid, but there's bubbling at the bulkhead, so unfortunately it looks like I'm too late to get line-x for this one unless I pony up to get the body work done. I'll probably end up greasing the shit out of that seam with fluid film or used motor oil and then just putting the bedliner back in. My advice, 100% get the line-x. It's worth getting it done right the first time. Plastic bedliners absolutely cause rust.
 
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