Truck bed liners come in three main types. Depending on how you use your pickup and how much you want to spend, probably one is the obvious best choice.
Truck bed liners become more than an option for many trucks. That's because without a lining, your pickup certainly gets scratched and scraped and soon looks worn before it should. Rust and corrosion are the certain result of a truck that hauls anything much at all. Sure, you can be careful but that means you really can hardly use your truck like a truck at all. That's easier said than done also. Try being careful while hauling a few concrete blocks sometimes. It's hard to do.
Here are three top designs of bed liners and why one may be picked over the others.
The Spray Bed Coating
Choose a professionally installed spray on bed liner and you have the premium liner. For exceptional good looks, this coating can hardly be beat. Especially since you now can choose colors to match or contrast with the color of your vehicle. You get durability guaranteed by a warranty plus UV resistant finches slow to fade in sun and weather as well. THese liners aren't just about looks either.
The coating may be paint, but it's tough paint. What you get results from a two part spray liquid that hardens almost instantly and goes on tough. The texture in the paint lends to the coat a certain cushion feel and thickness. Did you know that spray liners go on up to 1/4 inch thick. That coating takes up to 5 gallons of material to make it so thick.
The problem with these liners is cost. With a late model truck the several hundred dollars cost may be easy to justify, but with an older truck that's worth much less, the cost may be harder to swallow.
Then There Are Plastic Bed Liners
A custom fit plastic bed liner is another good option. These come in one piece drop in units or in multi piece models. Not as sleek looking as the spray in liners these liners still look good and are very practical. Thick plastic liners are nearly indestructible. The roughest loads will rarely harm these liners plus protection from dents is especially good. So for tough hauling, a plastic liner is a superior choice. Plus these liners are considerably cheaper than a spray on liner.
Make sure the drain in your bed works and that water won't be trapped under the liner since trapped water is the perfect place for rust to get started. Also a liner that is loose can move around and wear paint away under the liner. Each plastic liner is custom fit and often these liners are not available for older trucks.
Bed Mats
Another liner option is a truck bed mat. A bed mat can be rubber or carpet and is a piece made to fit the bottom of the bed. Often matching side pieces and tailgate covers are part of the system. A thick rubber mat, as you would expect, is very durable and can stand up to most any abuse, plus a mat is easy to hose off and usually reversible. A carpet mat can be just the thing for many applications too. Carpet is better if the bed is covered or will not be constantly wet, though many carpet mats are very water resistant and long-lasting.
Carpet mats are cushioning too and if your application calls for kneeling on the floor, a carpet mat may be just the right choice. But of course for dirty, greasy or muddy loads, carpet mats might not be a good idea.
Truck bed liners come in three main types. Each works best in certain situations. For the premium choice it's easy to look at the professional spray on liner. Tough and good looking, these liners remain popular. Plastic liners are lower in cost but offer really tough materials that resist impacts and haul anything with little risk of damaging the truck. Finally the inexpensive truck bed mats offer great protection for nearly no money.
Author Resource:-
Get more details for installing a do it yourself truck bed coating at our article.
Discover more about using bed liner paint at our article about installing a roll on bed liner.
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