cheap mans bed liner DIY with pictures

2bunik · Post by **2bunik** » Sat Apr 24, 2004 11:13 pm

for pics go to pic

or
http://photos.yahoo.com/trai_38
and click on crew cab folder

Alright so the wife was saving money for rhino bed lining.. They were charging around 350 bucks for my bed not including over the rail.. ok so the wife wanted it .. so we started saving.. THEN I went to walmart one day and saw this DIY bed liner and thought hell it can't be that bad... So one gallon of DUPLI-COLOR bed liner, some sand paper and the install kit came to 70 bucks.. I come home and sand the bed... tape it and do it up... I coated it thick.. well as thick as possable while HIGH..( because of vapors..) its as thick as a cd.. I still have 1/4 of the gallon left and I will continue to coat it till I run out..
GOODS

cheap
grips really nice
protects bed from rust
five easy steps to install (sand, rinse,dry, paint bed, and repeat
one gallon is more than enough
dries very quickly (which is a good thing in this case)
Yes I would do it again and recomend it ONLY if you cant afford the rhino and dont mind taking the time to do it right..

BADS

If done right it takes 7 hours to complete.. alot sooner if you got two people)
sanding is a real pain in the arse
needs to be done in a temp 62 +
If done in the garage the fumes will make you puke..TRUST ME

messy

what you need.
latex gloves(a must), sander, rags, masking tape, razor blades and the bed liner gallon, the bed liner installation kit (includes roller,brush,and paint pan.)

Made the Looong url a link-HJ

smokinjoe · Post by **smokinjoe** » Sun Apr 25, 2004 12:58 am

i got my rhino liner for 250, but i didnt go over the rail though,and they put mine on about a 1/4 of an inch thick, not to mention a nifty little key chain as a free gift, but the wife wanted it done, i didnt it mind it cause ot does prevent rusting and it covers where the bed liner scuffs the bed and the way better grip but i always liked the impact bearing ability of the plastic liner, not that i drop loads of bricks into the bed on a daily basis anyways, but the wife got what she wanted.....again....

Justin · Post by **Justin** » Sun Apr 25, 2004 7:14 am

rhino liners are over 1/4" thick and im skeptical if that will wear out.. I bought the spray can of that stuff to do the roll bar and it fades and wears down....

2bunik · Post by **2bunik** » Sun Apr 25, 2004 1:34 pm

I wanted it 1/4 inch thick.. .. too .. I will keep adding coats and let everyone know how thick it gets.. dont' use the bed as much either. but when I do it is useally and engine or the hoist or some large metal object.. so I will find out quick if it holds up.. I figure for the hell if it dont work I at least got an expirience to do it my self and let everyone know whether I thoug it was good or not.. I am gonna try to get it thicker..

oh and can you guys see the pics or do i have to find some other way of posting them>?

2bunik · Post by **2bunik** » Sun Aug 22, 2004 2:13 am

PLEASE READ THE REVIEW:
REMEMBER I ONLY USED 1 GALLON. I RECOMEND TWO GALLONS AFTER TEST #5

Test 1: 2x4s * handled pretty well
Test 2 : 3 chairs and a cooler * It kept them from sliding
Test 3 : groceries* it kept them from sliding around
Test 4: ENGINE * Held up ok . since the engine was lowered onto it not slid in
Test 5: Rear end **pealed right up in some places right down to the metal.
Test 6: Fridge * held up nicely slid the fridge right in..
Test 7: weather / pressurewahser* held up very nice except for color faded.

pros : protects the bed as advertised.. . and looks nice and 80 bucks is cheap. I do like that it has enough grip to keep stuff from sliding around but not enough to keep you from sliding say a fridge onto it. ( cause we all know that with too much grip you have to actually carry the item into the bed then lower it.)

cons: fades to a dark grey color , I slammed a rear end in the bed and it peeled right up..

COMPLETE REVIEW:
My tailgate which had five coats on it took a good beating and hasn't peeled yet. even with a rear end slammed on it. However the bed which has three coats has another story to tell. If you do plan on still doing this yourself, I would say that two gallons would protect our bed from some ruff stuff, I also want to add that if I had used two gallons I know that on test five the bed would have survived .. ( I say tis because I mistreated the tailgate just as much as the bed and it held up) This mod would be great for someone who is planning on using the bed for golf clubs , picnics, maybe even moving a fridge. If you plan to carry wood it would work well too.. or even just to protect the bed and have some nice grip.. Not as good as rhino but kinda close.. on a scale of 1-10 ( 10 being good) I give this mod a 7 .. as where RHINO would be a 10 hands down.
Durability and fading were my biggest problems with it..

one final thing.. when I say it peeled right up.. it came off kinda like paint would if you key a car.. It came up where the impact area was but yet left the surounding area in tact.. which is a good thing.. I wouldnt want it peeling like a sticker and screw everything up..

2bunik · Post by **2bunik** » Mon Jan 24, 2005 9:58 am

You can see from the posts above how long I've had this mod done. well bottom line.
I moved another engine and this stuff peeled down to bare metal..

" SAVE YOUR MONEY AND GET RHINO"

Mat73GNZ · Post by **Mat73GNZ** » Thu Jan 27, 2005 11:57 pm

I don't see why people like the spray on/paint on liners. If you throw something heavy into your bed, it will dent making the bed look crappy and used in my opinion. A plastic liner won't dent. I've thrown (literally) engines, rear ends, pallets of tile, loads of brick, rock, ect. into the bed and never had a problem with the plastic liner. Is the spray on/roll on liner used just for rust resistance?

!M!