</font><font color="blue" class="small">( How are the spray on liners for protecting the bed from dents? With the drop in liners if you drop a backhoe bucket in the back of the truck you don't have to worry about the fender wells or bed floor being dented up. How do the spray in liners hold up against things like 6x6 blocking, cinder blocks, steel beams and such that can do damage to metal rather easily? The reason I am asking is because we are looking at getting a new truck and are wondering about the spray in liners. Also, do they allow things to slide around like the drop in or do they have a rubber compound in them to help keep things still? )</font>
Robert -- Those are the reasons I initially went with a drop in on my Dodge Dakota, and while it protected the bed from dents when I was tossing chunks of rock maple or stone for repairing my walls there were many things I disliked about it. Things slid easier in the drop in, and while that made sliding heavy things out the back end easier it also resulted in the tailgate being bowed when a heavy maple log slid back like a battering ram. Also, I slipped a few times when standing back there in manure-covered boots. But the biggest drawback was my drop in liner bowed up in hot weather, so all kinds of stuff (hay, pine needles, dirt, gravel) would get between the bed and the liner.
I finally traded up to a Line-X in the Dakota, and when I got my Silverado there was no question; it also got a Line-X. Because I transport sheep occasionally, I did like Gomez' buddy and bought one of those rubber bed mats. It's the best of both worlds IMO. I can move anything without fear of damage...and the floor is soft and sure enough so the sheep don't slip and fall while being transported.
Pete