drop-in or spray-on bedliner?
Truck owners want their pick-up trucks to last as many years as possible. Any way they can find to protect their vehicle, they’ll hop on board with. One aftermarket accessory that’s become incredibly popular with many truck owners and enthusiasts has to do with the lining of the bed. Protecting the bed of the truck while you haul cargo is essential. To provide that security, you’ll find a couple of truck bedliner products to choose from.
One deals with spraying on a specialized protective coating called polyurea to act as your liner. The other is a simple, one-piece plastic accessory you snap in the back of your truck. Both items have their positive points and drawbacks when it comes to protecting your vehicle so that you can keep it around for as long as possible. Here, we’ll examine the good and bad of both, so you can decide for yourself which wins you over.
spray-on liner
Truck drivers buy pick-up trucks mostly for hauling capabilities. But sometimes, moving things around in and out of the back can cause scratches, gauges, and dents to occur. To avoid getting them, owners search for some protection for their truck bed. One option is the spray-on lining.
A spray-on bedliner is essentially a painted truck bed. They strip the paint from the back where you place your cargo. The original coating is first sanded down to the bare metal.
Then they will prepare the surface and apply the special coating onto the bed of the truck. The sprayed-on coating has a textured surface that helps to protect the back from getting scuffed and scratched by the cargo you’re moving in and out of the truck. Plus, it prevents the items from sliding about.
However, it requires highly-skilled professionals to apply it. Someone who isn’t knowledgeable about the coating could deliver a poor-quality job, leaving you with a butchered truck bedliner. Since spray-in bedliners are costly, you don’t want to waste your money on a bad project.
Also, if your truck has a corrosion warranty on it, this type of bedliner would invalidate that, because of the paint removal process that this liner needs. This is why we highly recommend getting one of our ArmorThane trained applicators in your area that will take care of every step to ensure you are happy with the outcome.
One deals with spraying on a specialized protective coating called polyurea to act as your liner. The other is a simple, one-piece plastic accessory you snap in the back of your truck. Both items have their positive points and drawbacks when it comes to protecting your vehicle so that you can keep it around for as long as possible. Here, we’ll examine the good and bad of both, so you can decide for yourself which wins you over.
drop-in liner
A drop-in liner is a hard plastic or rubber lining that you can drop into the bed of your vehicle. It’s very cheap in both cost and quality. Because you can install it yourself, without the need of any experts, you will also save money in the application process.
It protects the bed from dents and dings since the liner itself takes the brunt of the blows that the back of the truck would normally take. You can easily transfer it to another truck, provided it’s the same size as the current one.
The predicament, though, is that it must fit the bed of the truck snugly. If you buy one that claims to be universal, you risk the liner not sitting right. If it’s not quite big enough, it will move around in the back with the cargo, causing dents and dings on the sides of the bed and it will also allow debris and water to get underneath it. This means you will be dealing with rust more than likely.
Also, the exterior of these liners are typically smooth and slick, which will cause your items to slide around in the back of the truck. The key to these types of truck bedliners is to do your research and buy a good one.
Both types of liners are good options, but there will be a few things to keep in mind. If you go with a spray-on, make sure you hire an ArmorThane certified applicator who has experience in spraying the coating on. It will more than likely cost a bit more money but you are looking at something that will last you many years to come. You will also not have items slide around as easily, and you’ll see less damage to your truck overall.
Drop-in liners will do a great job if you have yours customized to your truck. Go to a shop that will make the liner to fit the bed properly. Pick one that has a rough texture to it, to prevent your cargo from sliding around. Once yours is placed correctly, you can protect the paint below without voiding the corrosion warranty your vehicle may have.
No matter which type of truck bedliner you go with, you will have good protection for many years to come. Provided, of course, you choose the highest quality product.
Remember, spray-on liners need to be done by professionals, while drop-in liners can be installed all by yourself. Decide which one suits your situation and if you feel like an ArmorThane bedliner is a good fit for you, give us a call or click here and fill out a form and we will have an applicator in your area get in contact with you.
