A few firsts.

[DS88]

Hello TDR,



This is my first post. This past weekend I bought my first new vehicle, which so happens to be my first truck, my first Dodge and my first diesel. I've been cruising this site for some time and the amount of information I've learned from the members here is amazing. This site has a very large, deep and open knowledge base. I bought a 3500 4X4 Quad cab SRW 600 6-spd. It should arrive in about 8-10 weeks according to the dealer. I'm planning to buy either an ARE or Leer cap in the coming weeks so I can get it on the truck right away. I ordered the factory bed-liner. I looked into the spray in kind but couldn't mentally handle sanding out a brand new bed. Are there any spray in liners that don't require a sanded finish to adhere to?



Thanks for all the great and informative posts, I know I made the right decision and can't wait to get the truck.





Dave

 

[klenger]

All good decisions (except for the bedliner )



Enjoy it and have a ball.



I have had a Line-X in two trucks and will get it in this one too as soon as I can afford it. I don't like the idea of water getting under a drop-in liner and causing rust and corosion. They also have a tendency to move around and sand the paint off for you. BTW, they only rough up the paint by sanding it, not remove it, when they install a spray-in liner.

 

[Prairie Dog]

Welcome Dave! Where are you located?



Scotty

 

[DS88]

klenger - Yes, I believe my bedliner decision was not the best. Is it difficult to pull out the factory installed liner? Will it still collect water under it with a cap?



Thanks Scotty! - I'm on Long Island in NY.

 

[StephenThomas]

If you are going to put a cap on... . try looking into the bedrug liner @ http://bedrug.com/ I had one on my 01' truck even though I didn't have a cap and I loved it.

 

[DPKetchum]

Did'nt want neither! I use a bedmat.

 

[nickleinonen]

Originally posted by StephenThomas

If you are going to put a cap on... . try looking into the bedrug liner @ http://bedrug.com/ I had one on my 01' truck even though I didn't have a cap and I loved it.

i had a bedrug put in my truck a few weeks back on my truck. i like it more and more all the time, and the color matches near perfect to the fabric liner on the inside of my cap.

 

[KHogan]

DS88:



Good luck on the 8-10wk delivery time. I ordered mine three weeks before Xmas... still waitin'! According to the dealer, it'll be in the port of Baltimore on Sunday... it's getting closer he says! LOL!

 

[SOLER]

Welcome! DS88



Warm wishes while waiting for your truck to arrive! I think the wait would just suck, that's why I found one on a lot I'm just impatient, so don't mind me.



Bedliner--as stated above, your plastic liner is going to do plenty of "sanding" for you. If it were me, now that the liner will already be in there, leave it for now. Let it be what it will be, and in a couple of years, sell it and get a spray-in. Haggel with the guys that spary it, and tell them that half of their job is already done



Me, I'm leaning towards Line-X or Speadliner.



My . 02 worth.



SOLER

 

[CLAYTON]

I'm just letting mine get scratched up a bit and then I will put in the spray in liner. I don't like how the bed on these trucks seems to dent so easy.

 

[Digger]

Go with the Bedrug. Espeacially with the cap.



Dan

 

[KevinO]

Congrats on the truck ordered mine 1-02-04 and have been driving it two weeks now. You said you didn't want to scratch the bed with a spray in but have you seen a bed with a drop in liner pulled out? it looks like a rusted mess in just a few thousand miles. I had mine at the line-x dealer 3 days after i got my truck. I had it in my other truck i got rid of and never had a problem with peeling or gouging no matter what i did to the bed plus it seals so no rust from the sprayed on side ever. The downside is they are ruff and if you are getting a camper to be in the truck bed then you might want something like the bedrug. just my $. 02

 

[cannongeorge]

I like the bedrug, but isn't it constructed from "closed cell" foam? Like a lot of other liners?

In other words, water will repel itself from the surface and "never" work its way to the underlying substrate? The problem with this approach is that unless the underlayment is "hermetically sealed" from the atmosphere, the air chambers beneath the bedrug still will have to "breathe" and exchange outside air everynight when the outside air temperature changes, due to contraction/expansion of the truck bed and the liner material.



Moisture is drawn in and trapped beneath the Bedrug. The water condenses and causes corrosion. Unless this moisture is vented to atmoshpere, it will pond and lead to corosion. An "Open cell" type of foam allows this transfer of moisture to occur.



Comments?

 

[DS88]

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome and advice! I'll have to look into the "bedrug". It's the first I've heard of it . I suspect I'll drive the truck for a while to get over the total "newness" factor and then pull out the liner to see what I'm up against. I'm going to request a sample of the bedrug from their website. Thanks for the link.



I hope they're being honset with the 8-10 weeks delivery. I wanted a truck equiped with the side curtain airbag - I survived a side impact crash 1-1/2 yrs ago in a car w/o it luckily- and the dealer said that's an option that no-one will have sitting on a lot. That's ok though, I was able to get the truck exactly the way I wanted. There are both a Line-x and Rhino liner dealer on Long Island. I know once you go spray in liner there's no getting it out but then again I can't think of reason I wouldn't want a liner in there anyway.

It's nice to have options to think about that's for sure!



Thanks again

 

[KHogan]

DS88:



Ordering a truck from Dodge has been an exercise in patience and futility. I chased my buddy with the dealer connections for 8mos. , then it took a month or so for the dealer to acknowledge my existence. I didn't know about the TDR and it's buying connections at the time, so I needed this guy to get the 'invoice + $100" deal I'm getting. Then I ordered in the beginning of Dec '03. I was on-top of the dealer for five-to-six weeks, so he finally called to find out the order status. They told him they had been holding the entire order up (in Saltillo) because the 8ft. soft tonneau I ordered was on backorder... . and they just throw it in the cab and the Dealer puts it on at prep time!!! Bear in mind I checked EVERY option box except 4. 10 gears and Sport Package. Then, despite their advertising U-Connect as a factory option for a year now, it still isn't available so I coudn't get that as well. If you want the dealer to supply the stuff I mentioned , it costs nearly twice as much due to parts dept. greed, and the labor charge. Needless to say, I'm still waiting. I originally expected to get an '03, ended up ordering an '04, but will probably be getting an '04. 5 (just in time for the '05's to come out, LOL!). 6-8wks. is wishfull thinking on the part of Dodge. Maybe they should try making an "American" marque in the US for a refreshing change of pace and so that they can honor their delivery commitments. As a bonus, my trade in is now worth less, and I missed the $2,000 + 0% finance for 48mos. because of DC's failure to deliver as promised. I'm aggravated to high Heaven, and I haven't even gotten the thing yet!



Phew, thanks to all for letting me vent!

 

[DS88]

KHogan,



Wow, that's some saga indeed! I understand the venting! Unless they've starting making it, I think you'll be getting an '04. 5 as a minimum. I'd like to think that's there's a connection between how long they take to make it and how well it's built, but I'm not so sure. The deal that was around is what got me to commit finally, the 2000 back and 0% for 48 months. The dealer was good in that since I was ordering it they sold it to me at invoice minus the rebates after taxes. I received another 400 off because I was classified as a new college grad (I'm 41. 5 yrs and finished my Masters last spring). I'll take whatever I can get. The dealer mentioned that I can add the cost of the those tubular side steps to the total cost when the truck comes in to include that cost into the 0% for 48 months. But as you say, I'll have to see how much they're charging for those first. Thanks for the heads up!



What do you think about undercoating? I suspect they'll want to sell me a bunch of prep items when it comes in. Is that done at the factory by default? It wasn't something that came up when I ordered it.



Thanks and I hope you get the truck soon!

 

[daytripper63]

To give you an idea of how tough a spray in bedliner is

Line-X is used on nuclear submarine front noses to protect them, the paint used to just peal off.

 

[ttreibel]

Spray in's are tough until your 1 man rocks in the bed roll over then they are chipped. I had a drop in bed liner in my 1990 F-250 still no rust under it when I sold it in 2003, BTW thats a Ford and a 1990 Beds rusting out is just a thing of the past metal treatments have improved 10 fold since then days of rust buckets are gone except maybe with Korean imports.

 

[swexlin]

As a bonus, my trade in is now worth less, and I missed the $2,000 + 0% finance for 48mos. because of DC's failure to deliver as promised.

I'm in the same boat (literally , truck is due into Port of Baltimore on Wed 3/9). When I ordered on 1/17, $2000 +0% was in place. It is my understanding that we will still get at least the rebate that was in place at the time, or current, whichever is better. Not sure about the financing, though, there has been much debate on this and other sites about wheter "Sold Order Protection" applies to financing offers.



I'm going in NOT expecting to be able to get 0%/48. By the time my truck comes in, I will have put less than 1500 miles on my current ride since ordering, so I'm not worried about getting less on my trade. I do expect to put some more money down, though, as now I'll be taking less of a loan, as there will now be an interest rate attached to it.



Ironically, my truck is equipped much a like a dealer's "stock" truck. Back in January, before there were any on dealers' lots around here, I should have just waited, and bought one off the lot in February. I would have had the rebate, plus financing, AND already be RID of the current troublesome ride in my sig.



Hopefully, withing two weeks, I'll be a Mopar truck man again.

 

[DougR]

Ordered mine Jan 7,came in on feb 24. It can be done