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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
.
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
.