Bedliners: drop-in or spray-in???

dmccarty · Sep 15, 2003

BoonDox,

When I got the F350 I put in a drop in bedliner. For a few bucks
more they would put in a pad that would stop the bedliner
from scratching the bed. I bought it.

I have a set of 2X4s that I use to hold things in place. I can
carry two 5 gallon cans of diesel in the back and they don't
move. I used to keep the cans in the truck all the time and
never had a problem.

I do carry from gravel and rip rap in the back of the truck from
time to time. I know with the drop ins its real easy to get the
stuff out of the truck. I was worried that the spray ons would
tear from the rip rap and with the shovel. I know the bedliners
work and dont get ripped up so I put one in.

You do have to worry about stuff sliding around. In my old
Chevy I had a pallet of 18" square step stones slide foward
during an emergency braking event. They dang near came
through the cab.... 8-(

I like the drop in liners anyway...

Later,
Dan

fivestring · Sep 15, 2003

I have the drop-in kind. It has under-the-lip sides... they do not come up and over the top of the sides. I bought that design so I could put a canvas tonneau cover on... they won't fit trucks with the over-the-top liners. It works well.

bgott · Sep 15, 2003

When I carry loose material like gravel I throw a sheet of old plywood in the bed first. I'm not worried about scratching the Line-X, it just makes it easier to shovel out. I usually leave the plywood hanging over the end of the tailgate, that way I don't have a ton of stuff getting stuck between the bed and tailgate. I also use the plywood for hauling drywall, drywall and Line-X don't get along and the drywall loses every time.

jpr62902 · Sep 15, 2003

"I have a set of 2X4s that I use to hold things in place."

Do you have any pics of this that you could share? My wife bought me a cargo net, but it doesn't work that well.

dmccarty · Sep 15, 2003

Sorry, not pictures.

Its pretty simple anyway. I have a 2x4 or maybe its a 2x6 that
goes across the front of the bed. This holds the truck box in
place. I did not want to drill into the bed to mount my truck box
so to keep it from sliding around I have the wood running across
the bed with some blocking 2x material to fill in the gaps.

Does that make sense?

Towards the back of the truck the bedliner has another spot
to put int another 2x. With it in place I have maybe 18-24
inches of space between the 2x and the tailgate. There is
enough space to hold the diesel cans. I just put the two cans
side by side and up against the side of the truck. I then cut a
2x6 so that it would fit between the 2x4 that runs across the
truck and the tailgate. I screwed it into place tight against the
fuel cans with a piece of metal that was bent at 90 degrees. I
got the metal piece at Ace.

I also put in some screws along the top of the 2x's. The screws
are the good treated ones that don't rust easily. They are not
galvinzed but the yellow treatment. The name escapes me at
the moment. Anyway, I left about a 1/2 inch of the screw out
of the wood so I can use them as tie downs and such.

I have a short 2x4 that goes between the two wheels. That
give me another space to hold cans, chainsaws, etc. I might
have $20 in the whole thing. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I have used this set up on trips with a net to hold things in
place.

A picture sure would help!

But I don't have a digital camera.

Later,
Dan

scotd1 · Sep 15, 2003

I have always used a rubber mat along with my drop in liner. I usually keep my trucks for 8 years or so and I have never had a rust problem, of course I have never had a reason to remove my liner for an inspection. The paint may be scuffed or scratched but what difference does that make as long as it doesn't rust bad? But if I traded trucks today I would set it back up the same way with a drop in liner and rubber mat as it has proven to be tough as nails. If my drop in did get cut, ripped or melted I could easily replace it. How hard and expensive is it to repair a spray in liner? I also like the protection I get over the rails with my drop in. But that's just my .02 worth.

Inspector507 · Sep 15, 2003

Jim,
Molded into the drop in bedliners are several slots to put 2X material. Keeps things from sliding all over the bed.
I personally have a drop in and love it. My brother has always used Rhino spray-ins. This one has little bits of "sand" or whatever molded into it to keep the sliding to a minimum. It was hell to move the 470lb generator back to the tailgate alone last week, had to use the tractor and a tow strap to drag it back there.......darn, TRACTOR TIME!!!!!

bky · Sep 15, 2003

well i have a drop in liner that came with the truck.
and i agree that with hauling thing they seam to slide a round a lot but if you have to hall dirt, rock, sand, ect... a dropin is the way to go.
i am thinking about a spay in liner and if i need to move the above mention item i will just drop the dropin inner in.
/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Boondox · Sep 16, 2003

Jeez, this is as bad as Ford vs Chevy...or HST vs gears!!! /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

I can see the advantages each side spoke of. The slickness of a drop-in might be bad...until you need to shove around a boulder or a huge round of firewood. Then slick would be nice, I'll bet! And on the other side, especially living in the salt belt like I do, blocking rust before it happens holds a lot of appeal as well.

In a perfect world, one would have a spray-in topped with a drop-in, or at least a rubber matt on the bottom. Ahem, here I have a truck able to haul things and I don't want to scratch it! /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Pete