Bedliner Approach

[RUSSELL5000]

I have a 2012 2500 crew cab, 4WD, automatic, short wheel base.



I had a compact pickup for eighteen years - it had a rigid plastic bedliner and the bed rusted out under the bedliner - figured something else was needed. I looked at aftermarket spray-in liner vendors, but rather costly: $550 - $600.



So, I ordered the Herculiner bedliner kit and the Dee Zee bed mat. My son and I grabbed a big stack of 60 grit sandapaper and went to work - rub, rub, rub, by hand. It was hard to think of applying a piece of sandapper to the surface of a brand new truck! My son did most of the sanding; he probably spent ten hours on sanding and I spent about three hours. We swept out thoroughly, washed carefully with acetone, and carefully masked, especially around the weep holes at the front of the bed.



We put four coats on the side walls and tailgate; two coats on the bed. We'll let dry for a couple more days and then put in the bed mat.



It looks really good. I will not be putting all kinds of hard objects (i. e. , throwing rocks, chunks of steel, etc) in the bed; most of the time will be stuff like scuba gear, bicycles, camping gear, etc. I think it will work fine for us. I don't know whether the Herculiner is tough enough for real heavy work.



We spent around $250 for the Herculiner (gallon kit and two quarts), the Dee Zee bed mat, and supplies (sandpaper, acetone, rubber gloves, stirring attachment for drill, etc. ) That compares pretty well gainst the shop prices. All is took to do was time and patience - work itself was simple.

 

[Tractorat]

I have Line-X bedliner in my truck that I had put in when new. Even with that, I always keep a sheet of 2" plywood on the bed. There is never any danger of something scratching or bumping thru the lineX, and things slide smoothly across the bed when Im dragging them in or out.

 

[goodguys75]

I have a 2012 2500 crew cab, 4WD, automatic, short wheel base.

I had a compact pickup for eighteen years - it had a rigid plastic bedliner and the bed rusted out under the bedliner - figured something else was needed. I looked at aftermarket spray-in liner vendors, but rather costly: $550 - $600.

So, I ordered the Herculiner bedliner kit and the Dee Zee bed mat. My son and I grabbed a big stack of 60 grit sandapaper and went to work - rub, rub, rub, by hand. It was hard to think of applying a piece of sandapper to the surface of a brand new truck! My son did most of the sanding; he probably spent ten hours on sanding and I spent about three hours. We swept out thoroughly, washed carefully with acetone, and carefully masked, especially around the weep holes at the front of the bed.

We put four coats on the side walls and tailgate; two coats on the bed. We'll let dry for a couple more days and then put in the bed mat.

It looks really good. I will not be putting all kinds of hard objects (i. e. , throwing rocks, chunks of steel, etc) in the bed; most of the time will be stuff like scuba gear, bicycles, camping gear, etc. I think it will work fine for us. I don't know whether the Herculiner is tough enough for real heavy work.

We spent around $250 for the Herculiner (gallon kit and two quarts), the Dee Zee bed mat, and supplies (sandpaper, acetone, rubber gloves, stirring attachment for drill, etc. ) That compares pretty well gainst the shop prices. All is took to do was time and patience - work itself was simple.

all you need to do is scuff the surface, even the bed liner co, don't completely sand down the bed... ... . grinder with a wire wheel would have been super fast...

 

[Jim W]

all you need to do is scuff the surface, even the bed liner co, don't completely sand down the bed... ... . grinder with a wire wheel would have been super fast...

I had Line-X installed when my truck was new and I watch the guy doing the installation as I waited for my ride to pick me up. He was grind down to bare metal on the sides and floor, which I thought was excessive but that is what he did.
Jim W.

 

[CBari]

My two trucks have rhino brand liners in them and I watch the installer do both. He used a 7 inch angle grinder with a hard plastic wire like wheel. Both trucks have held up good except where I have abused them.





The liner doesn't hold up well to hot welding slag. OOPS

 

[RUSSELL5000]

We only scratched everything really well - we did not sand to bare metal. The time consuming part was all of the rounded areas (there are a ton of rounded surfaces in the bed of these trucks!) and the corners. Some type of wheel witrh a grinder would have been much easier! I'll keep in mind for future work.