Truck Bed Liner Systems: What You Need to
Know to Protect Your Truck and Your Cargo
Even though the pickup truck has been around
for almost 100 years, its evolution from a spartan,
cargo-hauling workhorse into a lifestyle activity vehicle is
a fairly recent development. Today’s pickups haul everything
from gardening and landscaping materials, camping and sports
equipment to motorcycles, personal watercraft, hobby items,
furniture and family pets. Many pickup owners like to
install bedliners to protect and preserve their truck’s bed.
Unfortunately, most liners have failed to keep up with the
changes in the way people use their trucks. Pickup owners
now demand more from truck
bed liners than just protection for the truck bed; they
want protection and security for the many kinds of cargo
they carry as well.
Pros and Cons of Various Types of Truck Bed
Liners
A quick review of the types of bedliners
currently on the market can reveal which products best meet
the needs of today’s truck owners.
Drop-in Hard Bed Liners
.
Molded plastic “drop-ins” were the first bedliners to hit
the market. They arrived on the scene when technology made
it cost-effective to produce large vacuum-molded liners.
Drop ins caught on quickly because they helped to protect
the truck’s bed from dents and scratches caused by sharp or
heavy objects. That’s good, except that the drop-in liner
itself can scratch the bed’s paint, and moisture can get
trapped between the liner and truck bed, allowing rust to
form. Another limitation of the drop-in liner is that it is,
by definition, “hard” -- it can’t do much to cushion and
protect sensitive cargo like furniture or sports equipment.
Plus, it has such a smooth, hard finish that items tend to
slide around a lot, especially during quick starts, stops
and turns – not the best thing if you’re carrying sensitive
cargo like furniture, groceries, or pets.
“Spray-on” Bedliners
.
Another approach that has gained some popularity is the
spray-on liner. It has better non-skid attributes and is
applied to the bed surface, reducing the potential for rust.
But, it does not offer the impact protection of the hard
plastic surface. Also, the spray-on material cannot be
removed once applied, and in some cases it can void the
truck’s paint warranty because spray-on liners require the
truck’s paint to be scuffed or removed prior to application.
Most spray-ons must be applied by a professional, therefore,
the quality is dependent on the training of the person
spraying on the liner. In addition, it typically requires
four hours to complete the application and curing process.
Spray-on liners can be very susceptible to wear and
weathering, which can cause them to fade, look hazy, or
appear used after only a short time.
Bedrug Premium Truck Bed
Protection.
More recently, a new type of bed protection system made of
weatherproof, nearly indestructible, non-skid polypropylene
fiber surface, bonded to a molded closed-cell polypropylene
foam bottom, was introduced for the pickup truck market. The
BedRug® premium truck bed liner
protection system provides complete scratch, dent and
rust protection from the truck bed while cushioning and
protecting sensitive cargo. “This is where the bedliner of
the past has let truck owners down,” said Ron Wise,
president of Wise Industries, developer and manufacturer of
the BedRug® premium bed protection system. “They expect
their bed protectors to prevent scratches and dents when
they’re moving heavy and bulky items like building materials
or gravel, but they also need liners that can safeguard and
protect sensitive items they carry as part of their home and
leisure time activities.”
Which Bedliner is Right For
You?
Bedliners should be evaluated on how they protect the truck
bed, how well they manage and protect cargo, and how much
value they return to the owner. Although each bedliner type
has certain advantages, most also have significant negatives
compared to the BedRug system. Some
are functional but can adversely affect the condition of the
vehicle at the time it is sold or traded in.
The BedRug system’s
strong points over drop-in and spray-on liners include:
•
Timeless good looks
for the life of the product,
thanks to its fade-resistant materials.
•
Protection for the truck bed
that lasts a lifetime due to
its tough, cut- and tear-resistant woven polypropylene
structure. The BedRug bed protector won’t chip or crack,
either.
•
Gentle – not
hard, like plastic drop-in liners or spray-ons. BedRug
offers soft, non-skid protection for furniture, sports and
camping gear, coolers, pet cages and other sensitive cargo.
•
No-risk trial for truck owners
with its 30-day money-back
guarantee.
•
Replacement protection
with BedRug’s limited lifetime
warranty should the BedRug bed protector develop a
manufacturing defect.
•
Can be reused in
identical truck models or resold to owners of same-model
trucks. It’s easily removable and retains its new looks.
BedRug Functional Benefits
1. Maintains truck bed’s condition - Your
truck bed will look as good the day you sell it as the day
you bought it.
2. Paint protection - Will not abrade the
truck bed’s paint because it has a non-abrasive foam bottom.
3. Cargo protection - Keeps cargo secure, so
that it looks as good at its destination as it did when
loaded. This is great for protecting expensive golf clubs,
valuable antiques, groceries, etc.
4. Non-skid, non-slip surface - Keeps
cargo in place, even during sudden starts and stops.
5. Easy on the knees - Can be used for
camping, tailgating, drive-in movies, etc., because its
comfortable surface is people-friendly.
The True Cost of Bedliners
Pickup owners invest in bedliners to protect
their beds, but the hidden costs of owning some types can
affect the condition and value of the trade-in vehicle and
ultimately increase the true cost of owning a bedliner. A
key point to remember at trade-in time is that the dealer
will give you the value of your trade-in as listed in the
NADA Blue Book, minus any expenses that will be required to
refurbish the vehicle to sellable condition.
Here is a point-by-point analysis of
how the major bedliner products perform at trade-in time.
Drop-in Plastic Liners.
The average cost of a drop-in
plastic bedliner through a dealer at the time of a new
vehicle purchase is $300. During the life of the truck, hard
liners often abrade the paint on the bed and this can result
in rust. If the hard plastic liner looks used and
scuffed-up, dealers must make the vehicle salable either
through their dealership or by wholesaling it out, and will
need to replace the used bedliner with an aftermarket liner
that costs them $100 or more. In addition, they may
need to repair the rusted truck bed. This will raise the net
cost of owning the plastic drop-in liner over the original
cost of $300.
Spray-on Liners
.
Spray-on liners seem like a great value initially, since
they seem to eliminate the rust problems caused by hard
liners. But when it comes to value, they are the least
effective of the three types. They have no residualization,
no positive value at trade-in, and they usually need some
corrective action to make a trade-in marketable.
“Spray-on liners can’t be removed from the
truck bed, so they have to be covered up by a drop-in liner.
Otherwise the dealer must lower the value of the traded
vehicle based on the condition of the spray-on liner,” said
Wise. “If the spray-on faded from ultraviolet rays or became
chipped and gouged from hard use, the dealer has to spend
money to repair it or put a hard liner over it.”
Bedrug Premium Truck Bed Liner Protection
.
The cost of the BedRug premium truck bed protector at the
time of a new truck purchase is approximately $500. Because
GMAC and Ford Credit recognize the BedRug bed protector as a
premium product, it is residualized at $250, making its net
cost $250 over the term of ownership. Because it fully
protects the truck bed, no corrective action or expense is
needed at trade-in time.
“This is where the true value
of the BedRug protector shines, beyond the unmatched
performance features and benefits it provides to vehicle
owners,” said Wise. “Because the BedRug system resists
damage and fading, the dealer can resell it along with the
vehicle without any need for replacement.”
“If the customer chooses to
take out the BedRug bed protector, it can be removed in just
a few minutes without tools, revealing a truck bed in
like-new condition, a trade-in value to the seller of at
least $100,” said Wise. “Of course, if the vehicle owner
buys a truck of the same model, he or she has the option to
move the BedRug bed protector from the used truck to the new
one simply by ordering an inexpensive installation kit.”
For truck owners who want unexcelled
protection both for their truck bed and their cargo,
combined with a liner that looks great year after year,
there is only one choice – BedRug from Wise Industries.
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