Beat Up Truck Beds
Truck beds take a beating. Just normal use starts the process of damage that includes scraping and scratching the paint. No matter how careful you are, the bed of your pickup is on a steady down-hill slide. But in addition to being careful there's more than can be done to keep a pickup be in good shape. Here's how to stop the damage...
Think about a bed liner for the truck.
Maybe most popular is the spray in bed liner. That's for good reason too. It's a good solution, but maybe not the ultimate one. There's that price for one... The most costly option in most cases, the spray coating has competition and may not always be the best choice.
Spray on liners are after all paint coatings. The life-time guarantee isn't a guarantee of no damage, it's a guarantee to repair the coating. That's a respray and sort of a hassle. How many coats of liner paint can one put on a liner??? Who knows.
Think of the installation of liner coatings. Do you realize that the original paint on a truck gets destroyed in the process of installing a spray on bed liner? Of course it does. Thus the installation of a spray coating is an irreversible decision.
Maybe surprisingly, tougher liners exist. The heavy plastic liners are all but impossible to destroy. That thick plastic soaks up lots of scratches. What's more, the material takes shocks in stride as well. Dents are good to eliminate. Repairing dents is far more of a project than touching up paint scratches. Now to get a plastic liner, means a custom fit for the particular truck is a must. Not a problem for most trucks... However in some cases there is no plastic liner available.
Another tough option comes as a simple mat. This one's easy to overlook since it's so basic and cheap too. After all, pickup bed mats are just that. It's a rubber mat made of material about like a car tire. That means it's able to absorb shock like a plastic mat and shrug off any scratches at the same time. What's more it's easy to put in and take out. It's simple to clean and easy to store.
The mats are a basic protection for the floor of the bed but don't protect the sides or front and back.
Maybe the ultimate way to protect truck beds is a rubber mat over a professional spray on bed liner. Protect the bed paint and the expensive liner at the same time... Another possible ultimate solution is plastic liners on the sides, front and tailgate. Then a rubber mat on the floor. That's available as the DualLiner for not much money.
Think about a bed liner for the truck.
Maybe most popular is the spray in bed liner. That's for good reason too. It's a good solution, but maybe not the ultimate one. There's that price for one... The most costly option in most cases, the spray coating has competition and may not always be the best choice.
Spray on liners are after all paint coatings. The life-time guarantee isn't a guarantee of no damage, it's a guarantee to repair the coating. That's a respray and sort of a hassle. How many coats of liner paint can one put on a liner??? Who knows.
Think of the installation of liner coatings. Do you realize that the original paint on a truck gets destroyed in the process of installing a spray on bed liner? Of course it does. Thus the installation of a spray coating is an irreversible decision.
Maybe surprisingly, tougher liners exist. The heavy plastic liners are all but impossible to destroy. That thick plastic soaks up lots of scratches. What's more, the material takes shocks in stride as well. Dents are good to eliminate. Repairing dents is far more of a project than touching up paint scratches. Now to get a plastic liner, means a custom fit for the particular truck is a must. Not a problem for most trucks... However in some cases there is no plastic liner available.
Another tough option comes as a simple mat. This one's easy to overlook since it's so basic and cheap too. After all, pickup bed mats are just that. It's a rubber mat made of material about like a car tire. That means it's able to absorb shock like a plastic mat and shrug off any scratches at the same time. What's more it's easy to put in and take out. It's simple to clean and easy to store.
The mats are a basic protection for the floor of the bed but don't protect the sides or front and back.
Maybe the ultimate way to protect truck beds is a rubber mat over a professional spray on bed liner. Protect the bed paint and the expensive liner at the same time... Another possible ultimate solution is plastic liners on the sides, front and tailgate. Then a rubber mat on the floor. That's available as the DualLiner for not much money.
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