Bedliner: Drop-in v Spray

[GrumpyFox]

My old F-250 had a drop-in hard plastic bed liner and it was very durable. Going back farther to my really old F-250 Ranger (yeah, 1980... when Ranger was a trim level) was a naked bed because spray in liners were junk, peeled, rusted under etc. back then.

Have the spray in liners really surpassed the drop-in liners? My F-350 order was without a liner, so I'm looking at after market, but I want to get a good idea of the best way to go.

[35FordTudor]

GrumpyFox, I have just ordered a BedRug for the 22. Did a lot of research and for me this should be good. Like you I have had other trucks with the plastic drop in, this was in my 03, when I took it out. The bed had worn spots with no paint and lots of rust. On my 17 I went with line x, was good but rough on knees. The trucks before these had just a rubber mat. The reviews look positive for the bedrug, I have trailers for hauling junk, so this will stay clean.

[787Toolman]

On 3/15/2022 at 1:21 AM, GrumpyFox said:

My old F-250 had a drop-in hard plastic bed liner and it was very durable. Going back farther to my really old F-250 Ranger (yeah, 1980... when Ranger was a trim level) was a naked bed because spray in liners were junk, peeled, rusted under etc. back then.

Have the spray in liners really surpassed the drop-in liners? My F-350 order was without a liner, so I'm looking at after market, but I want to get a good idea of the best way to go.

Grumpy,

I used the rubber mats for every truck since 1989, then for the 2017 F350, it came with spray in liner from Ford and I've had good sucess from the spray in.  On my 2022, I had to drop the spray in but a local LineX can do it for $550 with a longer warranty than Ford offers.  LineX rep told me Ford uses LineX chemicals for their spray in, I don't know if that's true but I have no reason to doubt it.  To be honest, I may look into a rubber mat for my 2022 F350 since they work great for me, not too expensive and don't damage the paint. I never liked the drop in liners as the plastic is too hard and slippery and stuff in bed slides all over the place and after paint gets rubbed and chaffed to bare metal it rusts steel but since 2017, Super Duties are made of aluminum it will not rust. For me, if steel, rust is unacceptable but for aluminum it's a much different type of corrosion and doesn't necessarily create same concerns as steel corrosion since it doesn't wear through like steel but I digress.  For me, I may go for a rubber mat so I don't have to leave my truck for hours or possibly overnight, sidewalls of bed for my uses don't really need much protection but fender wells maybe will get scratched without spray in.  At this point I'm undecided on mat or LineX.

787Toolman

Edited March 17, 2022 by 787Toolman

[ButlerDan]

7 hours ago, GrumpyFox said:

My old F-250 had a drop-in hard plastic bed liner and it was very durable. Going back farther to my really old F-250 Ranger (yeah, 1980... when Ranger was a trim level) was a naked bed because spray in liners were junk, peeled, rusted under etc. back then.

Have the spray in liners really surpassed the drop-in liners? My F-350 order was without a liner, so I'm looking at after market, but I want to get a good idea of the best way to go.

 

Years ago, I had a drop-in bed liner.  It was very slippery and wore paint off the bed.

A few years after that, I had a spray-in liner that was very nice.  It was not real slippery like some of them are (I think it was a Rhino spray-in liner).  I loved that liner because things did not move in the bed and never had any issue with it pealing.

I personally would never do a drop-in again.

For my F350 that is on order, I will have the factory spray-in liner.  I really hope I don't regret going with it.  From what I hear, it is pretty thin.

 

[420Brady]

I had a drop in liner on my old F150 and it was 'fine'.  Then I had the spray in factory liner on my next two trucks...worlds better than the drop in liner.  I had absolutely no quality issues on either of the two trucks with spray in liners and was extremely happy with them.  I have no experience to directly compare them to linex or rhino but the factory spray in more than suited my needed.  I would not choose a drop in again.

[NWnative]

I have always had Line-X in my trucks. For the 2022 I have on order. I am thinking about a Bed Rug. For how I use the truck, should be all that i need. 

[tcritch3]

If you are towing fifth wheels, I don't believe you can run a drop in liner. Both seem to do the trick though from what I have experienced.

[4thTimer]

I'll probably do a rubber mat and maybe later a spray in.  I don't plan to haul a lot so shouldn't get scratched up but if it does, the spray in will cover all.  And I can still use the rubber mat afterwards.

Edited March 16, 2022 by 4thTimer

[Steelhorserider]

3 hours ago, tcritch3 said:

If you are towing fifth wheels, I don't believe you can run a drop in liner. Both seem to do the trick though from what I have experienced.

I had a drop in bed liner with a fifth wheel and had no problem. 

[jdaallen]

LineX spray in liners are virtually indestructible.  I’ve been using LineX in our commercial fleet for years and have never had a failure or damage to one.

[hayweezie]

Line-X is the way to go.  Drop in liners destroy the side of the bed and items move around to much while driving. 

[SpartanFan23]

All three trucks I've had have all had Line-X spray and liners. Never had any issues with any of them never had any damage either. I throw all kinds of things in the back, no scratches, no nothing, things don't slide around, and it's extremely durable. Much better than the slippery hard plastic that rubs and rattles.

[blackboost]

I really like the factory coating on my 2011 F350.  Any of the drop-in liners I have witnessed being used around me (farm use),  have caused significant paint damage/rust to the box due the "jiggling" that occurs while driving. The more dust/dirt that is in between, makes it happen at a faster rate. 

Edited March 16, 2022 by blackboost

[35FordTudor]

I need to let people know that Monday afternoon I had placed the order for the BedRug. The shipment arrived on Tuesday afternoon, shocked that this showed up so fast. With delays and out of stock on everything, giving a shout out to RealTruck.com 855-264-8997 
Line X is good item, for me the BedRug won on what I’m going for. I’ll add photos after the installation.

[Montana85]

On 3/15/2022 at 9:28 PM, hayweezie said:

Line-X is the way to go.  Drop in liners destroy the side of the bed and items move around to much while driving. 

I’ve always heard they actually do damage to the bed also because they get moisture and debris under them and then move around. Not sure if that’s true just something i’ve been told.

[Modit2]

I've had both drop-in and spray bedliners.

I prefer the spray because of the slippery nature of the hard plastic drop-in liners.

When my new truck arrives I'll install a bed rug.

If that doesn't work then I'll do the spray.

[ChuckDiesel]

On 3/15/2022 at 7:07 PM, 4thTimer said:

I'll probably do a rubber mat and maybe later a spray in.  I don't plan to haul a lot so shouldn't get scratched up but if it does, the spray in will cover all.  And I can still use the rubber mat afterwards.

 

This is my plan as well. I have the factory spray in on my 16 F150 and it is definitely nice. Pretty much indestructible, don't worry about scratches, etc. My only complaint is how much things slide around in the bed, it's definitely slippery. Since I had to drop the spray in anyway to get scheduled, I'll start out with a rubber bed mat and see how that goes. I hope it will keep things from sliding around as much as they do on the spray in. And as you note, any scratches that might happen on the uncovered sides of the bed can simply be covered with a spray in liner at a later date.

[nickqw14]

I definitely prefer the spray in liners over the drop in ones. I always felt the drop in ones would get kind of janky over time and rattle around. I also like how grippy the spray in liners are compared to the drop in ones. 

[cc121]

I had a couple of Tundras with drop in bed liners and they were ok. I’d rather have the spray in. The drop in are way too slippery and can also get crushed in spots. I also had to drop mine from the order and so may just not bother with it for awhile. I can always add it later. 

[GCD]

I also went with a BedRug impact. But I also have a cap on it. Very pleased with it so far.

[pilotpip]

I'll never have a truck without line-x again.  I've had it in my last two trucks and it held up great.   The bed isn't slippery when wet, and I've spilled gas and other chemicals on it and it cleaned up with a little All Purpose Cleaner and a hard spray of water at worst. I've never seen a drop in plastic one that didn't deform and rub paint off as it aged.  

[4thTimer]

1 hour ago, pilotpip said:

I'll never have a truck without line-x again.  I've had it in my last two trucks and it held up great.   The bed isn't slippery when wet, and I've spilled gas and other chemicals on it and it cleaned up with a little All Purpose Cleaner and a hard spray of water at worst. I've never seen a drop in plastic one that didn't deform and rub paint off as it aged.  

Yeah.  Rubbing the paint would likely cause you to go with a spray in later anyway so save the cost up front. I also wonder about the the rubbed areas getting rusty but maybe that's not a problem with an aluminum bed.

[bpete12]

I am a fan of spray in. Had line x on my last truck and it was great. Really no complaints at all from it. I have the factory spray in on my order with the black appearance package. Hoping it’s quality is at least similar to line x.

[Wolf1]

Have a line x spray in in my current truck. I have always just put rubber mats in all ofmy previous trucks. I'll be going back to a rubber mat in my 22. I do not like how everything slides on the spray in. 

[Chrisgb]

10 hours ago, bpete12 said:

I am a fan of spray in. Had line x on my last truck and it was great. Really no complaints at all from it. I have the factory spray in on my order with the black appearance package. Hoping it’s quality is at least similar to line x.

 

23 minutes ago, Wolf1 said:

Have a line x spray in in my current truck. I have always just put rubber mats in all ofmy previous trucks. I'll be going back to a rubber mat in my 22. I do not like how everything slides on the spray in. 

I have the Toughbed factory spray in bedliner in my Ranger. It has more grip than a drop in liner, and won't blow out of the bed at a carwash. Very durable , I can slide in aluminum ramps for my motorcycle without scratching or marring it. Quality is excellent, but I had some minor overspray on the exterior. The dealer was able to buff it out with no damage to the clearcoat.

Hope your truck isn't held up indefinitely for your bedliner,  they are installed off site.  Mine took an extra day or two, but that was a year ago before all the critical shortages.