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BEDLINERS FOR PICKUPS

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  • leVieux

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    YOU DON'T WANT A BLACK ONE !

    Being old and being a lifetime airplane guy, I watched the very birth of "bed-liners".

    For decades, certain airplanes have had "wing-walk" areas, which were usually sections of a wing-root which had extra bracing intended to strengthen the wing, but secondarily indicating a safe place to put one's foot.

    To provide non-slip surface for these small areas, and as an indicator of "where to put one's foot", a black non-glare, non-slip material was painted on.

    As this coating was known to provide protection from dents & dings, aircraft mechanics, FBO's & paint shops began painting their truck beds with them. This caught-on, and soon gave birth the "bed-liner" industry. The painted-on coatings prevailed over the "slide-in" competitors as those trapped water and promoted rapid rusting-out of steel truck beds.

    All that is fine, and provided help to truckers in many ways.

    BUT, Why all BLACK? That was just continuing the tradition from aircraft, and was minimally cheaper to make.

    Now, for those in Alaska and the Yukon or Siberia, black may be a wise choice.

    BUT, in our Gulf Coast and Texas Summer heat, the black becomes so hot that any skin touching it would be burned. Even the toughened feet of dogs is injured by the hot black.

    Sadly, many manufacturers have been offering factory bed liners, but only in BLACK.

    By now, there are several competitors providing alternative colors on our aftermarket. One of my favorites is the "SkorpionKote", which comes in numerous color options, including light shades of tan & gray, even white & off-white.

    For anyone actually using their truck beds in our heat, I suggest checking on those with lighter choices. Not only do they look a lot better, but they are much, much more comfortable during our long Hot Seasons. They can be customized to blend-in with, or to accentuate your truck's color schemes. I have had two white trucks with tan interiors done in tan SkorpionKote to match the interiors; they drew many compliments.

    I hope you find this useful.

    leVieux
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    Texasjack

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    I've had spray-in bed liners in the last 3 trucks I've owned, and have been extremely happy with it. The new stuff can be sprayed in to match the color of the truck. They also have an additive that will keep it shiny (if that appeals to you). I remember when the old drop-in versions were popular - polyethylene or fiberglass. They were terrible and rarely fit the truck.

    One suggestion to anyone buying a truck: Look up the spray-in liner business and have them do the job, do not let the dealership talk you into buying it through them. They take it to the same outside business, but the markup is 3 to 4 times what the business will charge you.
     

    1911'S 4 Me

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    I knew a man that was given a truck from his fil. He rebuilt the truck, sprayed the bed liner, what was left he used in the interior floor for sound deadening.
     

    Grumps21

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    Spray in liners do little to keep dents at bay, but they do look better than a scratched up painted bed. I’m thinking some of the newer trucks may have galvanized panels - any body guys here know any different? Myself, I have a spray in liner that the dealer added, (was a CPO so most likely to cover up scratches in the bed) and a bed mat on the floor to provide a flatter, more slip resistant surface.
    If I were to use my truck bed where I was throwing heavy stuff in or had heavy cargo bouncing around back there, I’d go the route of a drop in liner. They do the best in protecting the inner fenders and bed walls from getting beat up with dents. For my light suburban use, the spray in liner wins
     

    pronstar

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    Spray in liners do little to keep dents at bay, but they do look better than a scratched up painted bed. I’m thinking some of the newer trucks may have galvanized panels - any body guys here know any different? Myself, I have a spray in liner that the dealer added, (was a CPO so most likely to cover up scratches in the bed) and a bed mat on the floor to provide a flatter, more slip resistant surface.
    If I were to use my truck bed where I was throwing heavy stuff in or had heavy cargo bouncing around back there, I’d go the route of a drop in liner. They do the best in protecting the inner fenders and bed walls from getting beat up with dents. For my light suburban use, the spray in liner wins

    The latest beds are 100% composite.
    Dent and scratch resistant

    I agree with your liner comment…but I think we’re in the minority, most folks like the spray liners.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
     

    Sasquatch

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    ANY metal, plastic, or composite surface if left in direct sunlight during a hot day is going to be hot. I spent 16 years towing, jump starting, and breaking into cars, rain, shine, hot or cold. It doesn't matter if its black, white, shiny, matte - metal and plastic absorb and hold heat. You'll burn your hand or leg skin on a hot day if you touch any of that for more than a few seconds. If you have to mess around with anything automotive-wise on a sunny day (Even if the air temp isn't high) its wise to wear some mechanics type gloves at least, and long pants.

    I see tow operators here that wear shorts on the sunny days and I cringe for them. I made that mistake as a rookie driver and got some second degree burns on my legs for the trouble. Whatever the air temperature is, you can count on the pavement to be quite a bit hotter - and quite a lot more unforgiving to exposed skin. It sucks from a comfort standpoint - but I learned to wear long pants and use knee pads, along with gloves and long sleeves when appropriate. If going into under brush to fetch a car that went off road, even in the hottest summer days I'd suit up in my coveralls.

    Carhartts or similar thick cotton pants were the best at keeping the burn at bay, while making you sweat your ass off while doing it. Even thinner pants are better than bare skin on hot metal or asphalt (or concrete)
     

    candcallen

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    Little Elm
    I'm from Phoenix. You can push a pencil in asphalt in the summer at times.

    You see two groves in the roads all over. I wondered what those were till I watched a tire blow and the rim went 4 inches into the hit asphalt and the car was uncontrollable.


    3rd degree burns on skin cause your flip flops fell off is common.
     

    leVieux

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    I hear you on the heat factor in summer, but I choose black because anything light will look like crap in time.

    I like to put a sheet of plywood in my truck bed for a flat surface. That solves the heat issue for me.


    "anything light will look like crap in time"

    No actually not. I'm driving one now which had the ScorpionKote applied by the Chevy Dealer in Brownsville when it was new in 2001. The tan looks great, still. The other went 10 years, and looked great when I sold the pickup.

    leVieux
     

    no2gates

    These are not the droids you're looking for.
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    Back in '99, I bought a new Tacoma 4x4 and then got some Herculiner and did it myself. It was a lot of work to prep it, but it looked damn good. I think I paid just under $100 for it back then.
     

    Axxe55

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    Lost in East Texas Elhart Texas
    Spray bed-liners were for the purpose of trying to minimize damage to the interior of the truck bed, and to help prevent rusting of the seams of the bed. Added benefit, things won't slide around as much either.

    Somewhere along the line some years ago, someone decided that something that was practical needed to be cosmetic, so they started adding all sorts of color options, so people could color-coordinate the interior color of the bed with the rest of the truck. I suspect from my observations, that most of those people, don't even know what a truck is suppose to be used for in the first place. The same ones that put lift kits and big tires on their trucks, but never take them off the road.
     

    Grumps21

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    Spray bed-liners were for the purpose of trying to minimize damage to the interior of the truck bed, and to help prevent rusting of the seams of the bed. Added benefit, things won't slide around as much either.

    Somewhere along the line some years ago, someone decided that something that was practical needed to be cosmetic, so they started adding all sorts of color options, so people could color-coordinate the interior color of the bed with the rest of the truck. I suspect from my observations, that most of those people, don't even know what a truck is suppose to be used for in the first place. The same ones that put lift kits and big tires on their trucks, but never take them off the road.
    Ya I see these lifted 3/4 ton 4x4s running around Houston. The truck has to be at least $60k in stock form + another $5-7k in wheels tires and lift kits. Looks like they have never been off road. Spotless. I mean, these guys who get the diesels and put these monstrously large ties on them actually probably have less rear wheel torque than my F150 with a 5.0. I really just don’t see the point. Nobody who actually works a truck does that kind of stuff. I digress
     

    Axxe55

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    Ya I see these lifted 3/4 ton 4x4s running around Houston. The truck has to be at least $60k in stock form + another $5-7k in wheels tires and lift kits. Looks like they have never been off road. Spotless. I mean, these guys who get the diesels and put these monstrously large ties on them actually probably have less rear wheel torque than my F150 with a 5.0. I really just don’t see the point. Nobody who actually works a truck does that kind of stuff. I digress
    I have owned several lifted trucks with big tires to get down muddy oil-field lease roads to make service calls. One of the reasons I hate mud with a passion, and never could appreciate the fun of recreational mudding. All those times I got stuck in the mud, it usually was wet, muddy and cold. I always set up my trucks for work, not pleasure. Lift kits and bigger tires for me also equalled higher operating costs of my trucks and more maintenance costs. 35" and 37" tires ain't cheap!
     
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