Need advice, bed liner? bed rug? Spray liner?

[CATI1835]

I just bought a 2017 Chevy Colorado, Z71, crew cab, 2WD. This will probably be the last vehicle I ever by, unless something really weird happens.

My intention is to put in a bed extender and some kind of hard cover for the bed. But first, I need a bed liner.

I welcome any and all input as to the type. Do I want spray in? Drop in plastic? Bed rug? What should I avoid? I will not be hauling anything regularly. This is not a work truck. Cost is a factor but not the prime consideration. I would like to hear your experiences and thoughts. I thank you in advance.

 

[dave holl]

I've had both Rhino, in my F350, and LineX, in my F150, and would recommend either. I would not recommend a bed liner. They have a tendency to chafe the bed over time.
LineX is a little more slippery than Rhino.

Whatever you choose, pick an installer who has done lots of them.
The prep and application are keys to a long lasting finish.
Dave

 

[Kanewpadle]

+1 here. Bed liners can also trap water causing rust.

 

[30-30remchester]

I have had many pickup trucks over the last 5 decades and I have tried about everything in my beds. My trucks had to work for a living. About everything from fuel drums to pallets of Portland and quite a few elk and deer have gone for rides in the bed. For a truck that has to work and regularly hauls, I found nothing better than a rubber mat to keep things from sliding. Plastic bed liners were the WORST for securing a load. Put on the brakes or accelerate and your load slides from front to back and side to side. Spray on bed liners were somewhat better to keep loads from shifting but things do move more than I cared for. The rubber mat atop a 4'x8' sheet of 3/16" steel kept things from moving the best. The sheet of steel was used for extra weight for traction and an added reinforcing of the bed for heavy loads that got dropped. The drawback of the rubber mat was things did not slide that needed to slide. Spray on liners and plastic liners were better if you had to drag out your load. An elk is a big critter and hard to drag around. It is easy to unload with a plastic liner though. Lower the tailgate and back up fast. Slam on the brakes and there it is on the ground. We unloaded other cargo the same way. If pallets are to be loaded regularly, the rubber mat was more trouble. So a person has to figure out what the purpose and how it is to be worked and make a decision. Don't want anything moving, rubber all the way but you will most likely have to physically pick up your cargo and remove it. If suitcases and groceries is the normal load then spray on works good. If your load regularly has to be unloaded by hand and physically drag out your load then the slick plastic is the way to go. These are my observations from decades of use.

 

[Salty RI]

I have a bed liner that came with the truck but I also put in a rubber mat so things don't slide around.

 

[bigwheelzip]

+1 here. Bed liners can also trap water causing rust.

My landlord in NC looked under his drop-in bed liner on his late model PU and found a bunch of deep rust, but it was not kept covered.

Good luck with and enjoy the new ride.

 

[NYlakesider]

Had over 25 new mostly loaded 4x4pick up trucks and the only thing I will use is a bed rug. I carry all sorts of things and the mat keeps it (for the most part) from slipping around. Rug does protect the the bed floor, but to be truthful I realy do not care about scratches and dents, like in the inside walls.

HECK its a truck, that get used for personal driving, snow plowing, hauling anything I want and pulling a couple different trailers. I used to use a cap but hauling bigger things like firewood and ATVs I prefer a role up cover. Never had a dealer at trade in time get upset by the inside of the bed and to be honest most do not even look anyway. Normally its not in that bad of shape as I tie down or otherwise secure cargo.

Rug is now on its 8th vehicle now, that included cutting it down a bit from Chevy 8' boxes to Chev 6'5'' boxes and now on its second 6' Toyota. Good investment over a 20 year span.Now that I'm retired I'm keeping my vechicles longer as I do not put that much mileage on.

 

[BAM-BAM]

My 2016 Nissan Frontier crew cab ; came with a sprayed on liner......

I added a rubber mat for my knees (it's long enough that it extends over the tailgate when it's down) its also been great at keeping unsecured stuff from shifting.......

The bed also has rails (front & sides) /w movable tie-downs and I got a sliding bed divider to hold "stuff" securely.

Also added a ........ ARE Z Series cap........ gives the truck an SUV look.

After 9 months I like the set up ...... for trips to the cabin or hauling the oldest to college......

 

[arjay]

I've had line-x in my current truck for 10 years.No complaints.

 

[ParadiseRoad]

...3/4 inch plywood...easy to acquire...easy to install...easy to replace...paint it if you want to...it will take heavy impacts and save the bed...

 

[dougb1946]

Put a good liner in in 1998. Still there. Hauled rock, gravel, sand, mulch, logs, brush, dogs, groceries, luggage, toys. Truck is garaged and I have either the tonneau cover or cap on when just driving. If you don't look under the liner, you don't see any rust. It's a Ford with a steel bed, and anybody drops a load of bricks in it will be paying for the broken bricks.

 

[Farmer17]

My last two pickups came with factory composite/plastic liners and I prefer them to spray in jobs. People in the northern climates that catch a lot of road salt say the plastic liners will trap salt in and rust the bed but in Oklahoma we don't really have problems like that. I had a Rollnlock locking aluminum rolling cover on my Nissan Titan and really liked it but it was a little pricey at $1500 but I would worry about theft if I stored anything expensive inside a vinyl or fabric bed cover.

 

[forindooruseonly]

As mentioned, drop-in liners will trap dirt and water and you'll be dealing with rust issues in a relatively short time, depending on your location.

Spray-in liners are good, assuming you go to a competent installer. What spray-in bed liners don't do is ever get removed. They mess up or do a bad job, just buy a new bed. And I've seen spray-in jobs that were pretty awful, where the owners were trying to scrub it out, so it's not uncommon.

Stay away from the DIY spray-in bed liners. Bad news all around and even when installed right, they're both slick and thin.

Another thought when dealing with spray-in bed liners is that you need to talk to the installer to make sure he sprays only what you want. I don't like the tops of the bed rails sprayed, I think it looks terrible, so I have them spray to the underside of the rail and stop. Many installers will spray the top of the bed rail by default, which I wouldn't want.

If you are spraying a bed liner in, and are also putting a bed cover on it, you'll want to leave the bed rails alone, otherwise you might not get a good seal on the bed cover.

 

[03hemi]

"Bed Rug" is the only way to go if your not planning on trashing the inside of the bed. I've filled mine with firewood before and then just vacuumed it out. I love mine.

 

[Bekeart]

In past have used Rubber Mat and salvaged carpet.

Three years ago bout a Silverado with RUGGED brand liner.
Slippery thing - took it out - never regretted the removal.

Now: Rubber Mat with thrift shop throw rug.

Also have 2x6s which fit the fender pockets to stop sliding cargo.

Bekeart

 

[jinx]

I agree with some of the above posters. Bed liners allow rust underneath and chafing, I went with the Rhino{there are others like it}. Love it.

 

[sheepdawg]

Got a Rhino liner on my 2010 Ford Ranger. I've hauled a lot of metal and plastic five gallon buckets of paint, ladders, bags of cement, lumber, etc. and can tell you, it's not indestructible but it does keep things from moving around. I had another pickup with a drop in liner and things flew around the back, never again.

 

[kthom]

For me, it's the spray in bed liner with a good rubber bottom mat on top of the liner. Just make sure you choose a reputable, reliable installer who uses a good product. Spraying in a bed liner is like getting a paint job. How well it holds up and looks after the fact depends on the preparation done before the liner is sprayed!

 

[Jessie]

LineX here and I recommend it highly.
But like sausage, you don't want to watch it being made.
Watching someone take a sanding wheel to my , then brand new Silverado, still gives me the willies.
They are bulletproof when finished and I put a 6'x4' section of plywood down when I want things to be able to slide. Otherwise, it's like they are glued down where you sit them in the bed.

 

[Whitwabit]

brother made a rubber mat that can be rolled up and tied to the front of the bed or removed .. he bought a large piece and cut it to size after making a template for it .. looks really good .. he has a Dodge Ram ..