If you have a pick up truck, regardless if its full sized like a Ford F-150 or Chevy 1500 or smaller like a Ford Ranger or Chevy S-10 and you are going to use the bed, you need to protect it.  If you don’t protect it your truck bed will be all scratched up, ugly and even rust.  There are two main options to protect your truck bed a drop in bed liner and a spray in bed liner.  Which is better for your truck?

Well, lets start with the drop in liner.  First of all it is cheaper and usually costs about half of a professionally sprayed in liner.  A drop in liner usually sells for between $150 and $200 (albeit your local car dealer may want a little more as they are greedy – for more on greedy car dealers read our award winning article on car dealer scams) whereas the spray in liners run from $400 to $500 or so.  A drop in liner is almost immediately installed (it really takes less than 5 minutes or so to put one in).   Drop in liners do have small ridges which provide some shock absorption so you don’t get unsightly dents and dings in the truck bed.

Drop in bed liners can look good, and are usually installed under the bed rails so they are more hidden (some designs do overlap the bed rails, though).  The nicest part of a drop in liner is that you can easily remove it.  The biggest draw back is that water and dirt can get underneath and behind the drop in liner and cause rust and water marks.  Also the drop in liner will have some movement and scratch up the bed and rub off the paint in areas (especially if it is heavily or commercially used).

Cloudy headlights are dangerous!

Now for the spray in bed liner, basically it’s a several hour installation at most professional installers like Line-X and Rhino Linings.  Most will spray the lining under the bed rails so they are concealed as with a drop in liner.  There are many name brand retail stores and smaller non name shops that do spray in bed liners.  The quality is almost always better from a name brand shop or franchise and the price really isn’t that much more.  You can buy DIY (Do It Yourself) kits for under $100 but it will be a thinner coating and will definitely look like you did it yourself.  If you value your truck, which I’m sure you do if you are considering a bed liner, then it is worth it to go ahead and have it professionally done.   

Repair and restore worn, yellowed and ugly, cloudy headlights to new again with the New Lite headlight restoration and cleaning kit from MDWholesale.com.  Specifically formulated and guaranteed to give you better night time vision and safety!

Now, as I mentioned earlier, spray in bed liners are more expensive (about double the price of a drop in).  They are also permanent.  You can’t decide later that you want to take it out.  The sprayed in polyurethane lining will permanently bond with your truck bed’s finish upon application.  The other draw back is that spray in linings usually have a rough finish and can make sliding large, heavy objects into or out of the truck bed a hard task as they must be lifted, not slid.  The good thing about this is that items will not slide

all over the bed while driving.  The rougher surface will hold items in place better than a plastic drop in where they will slide all over the place.

Headlight polish and plastic cleaner from the best - MDWholesale.com
 
So, which one is better?  It all depends on you and how you will use your truck. Each of these bed liners has its own advantages and disadvantages.  If you need to be able to remove the liner then obviously you have to go with a drop in liner.  If rust is an issue for you or items sliding around the bed while driving irritate you then a spray in liner is ideal.  Both work great in their own way. Spray in liners offer a permanent solution while drop in liners offer the convenience of easy removal.  Both will protect your truck bed in slightly different ways – you just have to  look at the pros and cons of each and see which would work out best for you.




Purchase the best headlight cleaner available!