Need advice on what to do with old bed liner and while we are at it sealing up these scratches.

[DoubleDingo]

I am surprised someone hasn't suggested you ls swap it to fix all your bedliner problems. I mean the ls is the cure all fix all for everything under the sun right?

I didn't know this thread existed, glad I found it. I was considering a diy bedliner for my truck, may just por15 it and paint it for easy touch ups. I forget which member did that, but I recall reading that he touches up the bed paint at least once a year.

 

[SirRobyn0]

I am surprised someone hasn't suggested you ls swap it to fix all your bedliner problems. I mean the ls is the cure all fix all for everything under the sun right?

I didn't know this thread existed, glad I found it. I was considering a diy bedliner for my truck, may just por15 it and paint it for easy touch ups. I forget which member did that, but I recall reading that he touches up the bed paint at least once a year.

Well maybe your right. If I LS swapped the truck I'd pull away faster and it would seem like I was getting further away from that bed liner lol.

I need a bed liner that will take abuse. 55 gallon drums full of feed are heavy, most often they are the plastic drums at least but still. I've been just living with patching it up. I'll tell you I'm about 1/2 tempted to cut to sheets of plywood so they fit around the wheel wells and run that. I'm really not much a fan of that, but it would be better than the ccrap I have now. If I do $100 top coat and the bottom layer continues to peel I might as well spend the money on booze then....

 

[Soundmound]

Buy a sheet of PTFE from these guys maybe? You'll be able to slide whatever you want in and out. We used to buy them to make slides for roadcases.

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[SirRobyn0]

Buy a sheet of PTFE from these guys maybe? You'll be able to slide whatever you want in and out. We used to buy them to make slides for roadcases.

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I'm not saying no to that, and I don't really want a slippery surface, but I don't want a grippy service like heavily textured bed liner has either. The plastic bed liner in my dodge had some slight anti-slip texturing to it. Wood would likely be fine. I think the biggest thing over all to me is that when the existing bed liner comes up it's taking some of the factory paint with it too. So at that point I feel the need to seal it to prevent rust. And long term that's the most important aspect to me is that the bed is protected from rust. If I re-lay the bed liner with roll on I may as well do as little texture as I can do be more inline with my preference.

 

[DoubleDingo]

Diamond plate works, too.

 

[SirRobyn0]

Ok this is what I just learned. I called a friend of mine that use to be in autobody but is no longer in the area. Sounds like what's in my bed is pretty typical professionally sprayed in bed liner. He stated that there is nothing in spray can or roller applied that will be even close. He thinks that the mild texture is wear on the liner or possibly the specific liner. He suggested that herculiner generally has a little more mild texture compared to other brands. He said, the pro stuff all is very stiff but maintains some flexibility, but all of the off the shelf products will dry hard and be prone to cracking and flaking if flexed enough. So that explains why I've never been able to keep my patches and the pro liner joined up. So it's generally not a good idea to coat over a professional bed liner with DIY. Also because my box has a dump kit on it he strongly advised against it. His one thought was I could try flex seal. He basically said it'll have the flexibility, to stay put on top of the pro liner, and for any box flex I may get when it's dumped. And it should do a good job of adhering any loose stuff I might have and keeping moisture out. But that I should not consider flex seal to be a long term bed liner. It won't have the durability and I should consider it short term / prep to seal it up good before laying down, plywood or a drop in liner in the next few months.

It's also cheap compared to any bed liner. I have very little experience with the product so if any of you guys do, I'd like to hear. Thanks.

 

[Grit dog]

^Yeah, man, I think it’s a case of no good clear answer that really works without a bunch of money and/or effort. You could put a rubber mat in it. But those are $100 at least too. And it would only hide the bottom. Idk.

 

[Copymutt]

Hit the bone yard years back. Found a couple drop in liners, cheap. Makes the best fish shack floor ever. Lighter than plywood, indestructible, don’twear out, dont need paint.
Thats all I got.

 

[SquareRoot]

You know why you have never seen an LS in a can? Because NOTHING good ever comes out of a can. The "real" bedliners aka, LineX and Rhino (there may be others) will outlast most anything they are applied to. We (DoD) even use it on armored vehicles and bombproof shelters. If its in a can, it belongs on late night TV ads with some obnoxious British accent yelling clown making boats out of screen doors! Carry on.

 

[SirRobyn0]

First off thank you all who responded with ideas.

^Yeah, man, I think it’s a case of no good clear answer that really works without a bunch of money and/or effort. You could put a rubber mat in it. But those are $100 at least too. And it would only hide the bottom. Idk.

Not to sound to cheesy but that's always kind of been the idea. Seal it up and cover it over, preferably with a plastic liner. Unfortunately my cheap asss doesn't want to purchase a drop in bed liner for $400 by the time it gets to me. So in the mean time my pro liner has gone from bad to worse.

Actually a firmer mat might work. I'll have to see if I can look at them somewhere, and maybe I could patch up the existing liner with the flex seal, add a mat and call it good. I'll think on that some.

Hit the bone yard years back. Found a couple drop in liners, cheap. Makes the best fish shack floor ever. Lighter than plywood, indestructible, don’twear out, dont need paint.
Thats all I got.

That's really nice. I love it when people come along and suggested getting parts for these trucks from a wrecking yard. There are literally none left in my area, and the few that are you won't find a 40 year old truck in it, and they are charging near new prices anyway. Don't believe me ask anyone else from this area. I'm not trying to be jerk, but if that was an option I'd of done it years ago. Consider yourself lucky to have wrecking yards still.

You know why you have never seen an LS in a can? Because NOTHING good ever comes out of a can. The "real" bedliners aka, LineX and Rhino (there may be others) will outlast most anything they are applied to. We (DoD) even use it on armored vehicles and bombproof shelters. If its in a can, it belongs on late night TV ads with some obnoxious British accent yelling clown making boats out of screen doors! Carry on.

No they come in a plastic tote. Not kidding we have one on the shop floor right now.

I do understand your point and frankly completely agree with you. But what does it cost to get a truck bed relined?.... So the internet tells me $900 - $1,000. I'm sorry but I'm not spending that on a product I don't even like.

 

[Grit dog]

$1000 plus removal of the old c-rap.
Here’s a thought. They now make nornal rubber bed mats. Covers your existing floor and nothing slides around. They’re $150+ tax and shipping or find one that’s close to fitting for way less used. Been using the same cut down bed mat in idk how many trucks now.
When you go on your infrequent feed runs, slap in a piece of plywood for the day if you want slippery or let the drums beat up the old rhino liner and then hide it again.
I personally wouldn’t spend the money to make nice custom plywood floor for 24-7-365 use in this environment anyway. Too much wet and not enough dry.

 

[DoubleDingo]

For what it's worth, it sounds like the plywood option may be the way to go. You can install it before going on a haul, and remove it when you get home so dirty and moisture don't build-up. Or some other barrier that can be removed. A pain to do the extra work, but an option nonetheless.

 

[SirRobyn0]

@DoubleDingo @Grit dog I think you guys both give good advice. If I get time this afternoon, or if not this evening I will look at what is out there for mats and then go from there.

As far as the plywood, my dad had a 78 K20 from 80' until 95ish, and he kept 3/4" plywood in it. I always thought it looked awful, but it did keep the bottom of the bed from getting beat up. I do recall him pulling it up now and then to wash under it. He did not have bed rust issues from it. I have mixed feelings on both the mat and the plywood, and plywood is no longer cheap either! I think my re-starting point on this project is checking out mats. I let you all know how this progresses and thank you all for your thoughts.

 

[SirRobyn0]

I have some mat like this on the farm rolled up in the barn somewhere.

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It called Rubber-Cal composite rib. Many moons ago I had some of it in a trailer. It's so long ago I don't remember the sizes of pieces I have. But saw a picture of it searching the web which reminded me. I've got some of that stuff. It's not terribly thick 1/8" It's not super grippy or slippery. This stuff might be a low cost / free option. I'll dig around in the barn tonight and see if I can turn it up.

 

[idahovette]

About a year ago Tractor Supply had some 4x8 rubber mats out front of the store. I think they were $30-$40, something like that. Didn't need one at the time but looked like it would work. You might check an ag store if there is one in your area. Not slick, but the plywood idea would alleviate that?