Truck Accessories

Getting in Bed with Liners

Toss it in, spray it on, mold it to fit. Bed liners come in a wide variety of types, colors, materials and qualities. In fact, the quality issue is often the critical one in choosing a bed liner.

In the early days of pickup trucks, when the bed got bad, the owner drove it to the lumberyard and got some new boards to fit. Those wooden beds were hardly durable but they sure were easy to repair.

Today's expensive trucks demand more care and a greater degree of protection to stave off the ravages of daily work life. If you want to save money in the long run, taking steps to protect that investment when the vehicle is new makes sense.

Bed liners fall into three general categories: those that are molded from heavy-duty materials and dropped in place, others that are "tossed on" the bed floor, and the sprayed on coatings that resemble modern versions of the old undercoating popular in northern climes.

The simplest protection for the truck bed is a throw on mat or carpet. Ron Wise, president of Wise Industries, Old Hickory, Tenn., recommends his company's BedRug bed liner by saying, "Our product protects the pickup bed and the cargo because it's tough yet gentle. BedRug is molded from closed-cell, cross-linked polyethylene foam with laminated marine grade indoor/outdoor mildew-resistant fiber that's stain resistant and won't fade. The material is impervious to water, organic material, chemicals, petroleum products and all acids."

BedRugs provide protection to both the cargo and the truck bed.

No matter what messy materials you are hauling, the BedRug can be cleaned with a hose or pressure washer. The BedRug is molded to fit the bed area, including the sidewalls and tailgate. "Unlike hard plastic drop-in liners," Wise exclaims, "BedRug won't trap water between the liner and the bed. BedRug's foam backing won't scratch or damage the paint — scratches allow rust to start — and the material won't absorb water. It also won't crack like hard liners can." BedRug uses a Velcro-type fastening system, requiring no drilling and, Wise notes, it won't void any manufacturer's warranty.

Molded hard bed liners are more common these days, finding their way onto many trucks right from the showroom floor. Once limited to a few popular makes and models of trucks, they can now be ordered — or bought at a truck or aftermarket dealer — to fit just about any current and many older vehicles.

Typical of the many brands on the market is the Pendaliner from Penda Corp., Portage, Wisc. The Pendaliner is polyethylene to resist gasoline, oils and most chemicals, and is molded to fit snugly within the truck bed. The rib-design on the floor channels water away from the cargo to the drain area below the tailgate. The Pendaliner SR Skid Resistor bed liner is available in two designs: over-rail models that provide added protection of the truck bed rails, and under-rail models that allow for the addition of truck caps, tonneau covers or aftermarket rail protectors.

Pendaliner SR is a shiny bed liner, not the usual dull black. According to Jack Thompson, president and CEO of Penda, "Unlike many drop-in bed liners with skid resistance applied to the surface of the finished product, the Pendaliner SR Skid Resistor has its patented skid resistant properties blended directly into the material. This creates a non-abrasive skid resistant surface that does not rub off in test or real world applications."

Thompson adds, "Our research shows that a vast majority of truck owners purchase a bed liner primarily to protect the truck bed. Skid resistance plays a critical role in overall protection by limiting the movement of cargo and preventing the damage that can occur as a result of this movement. Our engineering team has focused a great deal of energy on this need, and the Pendaliner SR Skid Resistor is the result of this significant R&D investment. No other manufacturer has developed a drop-in bed liner that comes close to delivering the level of skid resistance offered by our new product. That's a very compelling benefit for the truck owner."

Years ago there were concerns about drop-in liner vibration against the bed surface. Today's best liners are manufactured from vehicle specific molds that result in a product that conforms exactly to the contours of the truck bed for a tight fit.

"Spray-on liners are entirely different story, however," says Thompson. "The installation of leading spray-on liners calls for scuffing or grinding the original paint finish, which essentially destroys the OEM appearance of the bed. In addition, the installation of a spray-on may void the vehicle's OEM paint warranty. This is a serious enough concern that General Motors now considers the installation of a spray-on to be 'excessive damage' to the truck."

Whoa, that might not be completely accurate. Obviously, when it comes to legal nuisances, there is a lot of flexibility but let's ask some of the Big Three truck companies for their position on warranties. "Normally, installation of aftermarket products does not affect a vehicle's new vehicle warranty," says Tom Henderson, a spokesman for General Motors. "However there are certain circumstances where this may occur. Damage caused by the installation is not covered. Non-GM parts and accessories are not covered, and any parts or product failures caused by the installation are not covered."

That position is similar to the one at Dodge Division of Daimler-Chrysler: "Any modification can violate the warranty if it is determined the aftermarket installation caused the damage. If the drop-in bed liner rubbed on the bed of the truck someplace it could void the warranty," agrees Marc Henretta, manager of Sales, Service and Dealer Communications for the Chrysler Group.

Rhino Liners spray material comes in a variety of colors to match or contrast the truck finish. Note teh care in masking the area, the sign of a good applier.

As you can see, there is a strong competition between the drop-in and spray-on liner folks. To counter the other claim by the drop-in crowd, Debbie Anderson, spokesperson for Rhino Linings, San Diego, Calif., explains, "Rhino's training and technical manuals specifically instruct sprayers not to remove the paint surface, but to just lightly scuff the clear coat. The polyurethane spray-in liner then binds directly to the clear coat, giving the strongest bond to the truck bed."

So the issue seems to come down to, how scuffed is scuffed? Lightly scuffed, according to Rhino Linings, or scuffed and ground away, according to Penda? Ah, such are the competitive positions companies take these days.

Another issue is quality. The spray-on approach is available at thousands of small shops around the country. In fact, it is so available that it is suspect because of the unknown quality of the application and the applicator.

While drop-in bed liners are controlled by the branding company, and the molds make quality fit almost a non-issue, spray-on liners are generally under the control of the applier — someone who may or may not be certified or trained by the supplier of the material being used.

Again, Anderson points out, "In terms of the quality control issue, all of Rhino Linings' new dealers are trained both on and off-site. In fact, our technical support staff travels to the dealership and personally trains applicators for three days. Yes, like in any industry where there are dealers or affiliates, bad work can happen since the supplier is not personally there to oversee every application. However, Rhino Linings de-certifies any dealer doing poor work, so we try to control the issue as much as we possibly can from our end."

Founded in 1988, Rhino Linings launched the sprayed-on polyurethane truck bed lining industry and is the largest supplier of the material in the U.S. Russell Lewis, president and founder of Rhino Linings, saw how sprayed-on polyurethane protected mining equipment in South Africa and realized that airtight and watertight polyurethane could function as a superior alternative to drop-in plastic truck bed liners.

Lewis says, "Unlike plastic drop-in truck bed liners, Rhino Linings' sprayed-on polyurethane provides durable watertight and airtight truck bed protection. By forming a permanent bond with the surface of your truck bed, the lining prohibits rust, corrosion and surface abrasion from damaging the truck and reducing its value, performance and attractiveness. The unique flexible, textured, non-porous lining is easy to clean and doesn't crack or warp, even under the most rugged conditions. Rhino's non-skid, non-abrasive surface texture helps keep your cargo load in place and insulates against annoying road vibration and noise."

And while the drop-in companies will show buyers the damage that scratched spray-on liners can cause to the truck bed underneath, Rhino and other spray-on companies will show illustrations of warped and cracked drop-in liners. So the battle goes on.

One claim that Rhino makes, which drop-in liner companies would have a hard time disputing, is that no one has ever stolen a Rhino liner from the truck. In fact, they claim that no one has ever wanted to remove one — which is good because they basically are part of the truck once applied.

It's the application that causes most of the concern. Overspray, poor conditioning of the bed, and moisture trapped under the sprayed material are issues that come up because, as Rhino and the other material suppliers quickly explain, the appliers are independent businesses and, although the quality of the material is guaranteed, the local applier is your resort if things go wrong. Like every other trade, including masonry, gypsy dealers and fly-by-night workers can ruin an industry's reputation.

Somewhere between spray-on, drop-in and toss-on bed liners is a hybrid. In Hartland, Wisc., there is a company with the '60s sounding name of California Dream making the DualComp bed liner. This hybrid combines hard plastic sidewalls with a thick rubber floor mat. Nancy Stumpf, president of California Dream, notes, "You can install and remove the bed liner in minutes or you can leave it in permanently. It looks great."

The DualComp's floor mat is slip resistant and is installed after the two side, front and tailgate wall panels are in place. A limited selection of vehicles can use the DualComp — 1999 and newer Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra short bed pickups — but other makes and models are in the offing.

While not yet — if ever — available for that 1936 International, the concept would be a good one for a custom or antique vehicle: show it without the bed liner and protect it in daily use with it. Wonder if California Dream takes custom orders?

Links
BedRug
www.bedrug.com

Pendaliner
www.pendacorp.com

Rhino Linings
www.rhinolinings.com

California Dream
www.california-dream.com