ALT-1 Buyers Guide to Bed Rugs for Pickup Trucks
Choosing the right truck bed liner can be a tricky proposition. They come in models that range all the way from spray-on bedliners to carpeted ones. There is really no limit to the amount of options you will be facing so the most important thing to do is prioritize what you are looking from and go from there.
The purpose of getting a bedliner is to create a layer of protection inside the bed of your pickup truck. This can come in handy if you drive in inclement weather or deal with a lot of heavy duty work. And when it comes to the bed rug itself you can choose from many different types including spray on, plastic, drop-in bed mats and carpet rugs.
When choosing a bedliner the major choice is between drop-in and spray-on models. These are the two major types available and they both have compelling reasons to choose them as your bed rugs.
Drop-in bedliners have many benefits unique to themselves. Of course is you want a carpeted liner then you have no other option. The drop-in is measured using custom molds to guarantee a perfect fit for your truck like hand to glove.
With a drop-in you must make sure that the fitting is perfect.This process becomes everything. You do not want it flying out while driving or in more subtle ways damaging your truck by jarring and vibrating, scraping against it on rough terrain. These are strong but can be punctured by sharp enough objects such as fall rock, allowing in moisture and inviting rust.
Then there is the spray-on liner. Arma Coatings, Bedline Superliner, Armaguard and other similar brands are good if you want to spray on the liner and basically not have to worry about installation process. The chemical is usually something like polyurethane that sprays on like a very thick paint,providing a protective coating. These liners are sprayed on hot and set within a few minutes.
This layer of protection also has the advantage of being airtight. You will not have to worry about things like water reaching your truck bed. It is perfect in all areas but one.
The only issue with spray-on liners is that the installer has to scruff off the truck bed's original finish before spraying on the new liner. In some cases this can void paintjob warranties and hurt corrosion resistance in the vehicle, those these issues are fairly rare and can be minimized by using a well reviewed installer.
Those tips should help provide some guidelines but ultimately the decision is entirely up to you. Regardless of what sort of liner you choose it will undoubtedly help maintain the look as wealth as health of your bed for the duration of your use of the truck.
