When it comes to protecting the bed of your pickup truck, you essentially have three options: 1) Do nothing. 2) Get a drop-in bedliner. 3) Get a spray on bedliner.
Unless you live in a perfectly neutral climate and never use your pickup truck for any kind of heavy duty work, off-roading, or transportation of objects — and if that’s the case, why even bother having a pickup at all? — then “doing nothing” is not an option. Your bed is perhaps the single most vital piece of your truck itself, and it deserves proper protection from the elements.
The conventional truck bedliners are drop-in cases that fit over the bed. They can be made of a variety of materials and are usually made-to-fit by the truck manufacturer themselves. They’re relatively inexpensive, but they pose a few problems. No matter how snug the liner fits over the bed, there will always be a small crack of space where air and moisture can get in and cause rust. Moreover, the common plastic materials can be slippery when stepping in or out of the bed and make for hazardous conditions.
But spray on bedliners can fix both of these problems. The process works like this: find the licensed spray on bedliner dealers nearest to you. The mechanic will apply a polyurethane spray all over the bed using a special spray gun for truck bedliners. The application area stays clean with wiretrim so that there’s not spray all over the sides of your truck.
There are three main perks to getting a polyurethane spray for your truck bed. 1) It will add years of life to the truck by preventing rust, scratches, or chemical contamination from standard OEM paint. 2) It provides a rough anti-skid, anti-slip surface so you can more safely climb in and out or haul gear. 3) It works: polyurethane dates back to World War II, where it was first engineered as a replacement for rubber.
Still not convinced? Ask around with some of your friends who own pickup trucks or on truck-lover forums. There’s no question about it: spray on bedliners are the best choice.