Which DIY Bed Liner is best?
So you want to protect your truck bed from all the damage it has been getting or will likely get in future from heavy o even light usage. You aren’t ready to drop the four hundred plus dollars to get the bed lined with Line-X or one of the similar polyurea products so you’ve (wisely) decided to save money and do it yourself. But the market is confusing with so many products and how are you supposed to decide which to go with – well that’s why you’re reading this article – we’ll help you make the right decision.
There are lots of brands of bed liners and it’s important that you use the right one, because otherwise you might end up ruining your truck with a poor quality material that can be extremely difficult to remove. Take a watch of this independent youtuber’s review – and you’ll see that none of them are close to perfect.
As you can see none of the bed liners in that review were particularly impressive, and you can imagine that your truck bed will look pretty lousy in no time with any of those brands.
When buying a bed liner there are 10 things you need to look for to make sure you don’t regret your purchase, and are in fact delighted for years to come.
- Is it Fade resistant? Many bed liners are not treated to be fade resistant in the sun and will look awful after a short while – leaving your bed looking ugly and also less protected.
- Is it tough? Spray on bedliners and many inferior brands use poor quality materials that wear out too easily and just can’t stand up to the wear and tear of real use.
- Is it grippy? Here’s a funny one, most people don’t think of it, but the best protection for your bed is a real grip texture that actually holds your cargo in place. By stopping the payload from sliding all over the truck bed not only are you preventing scratches, dents and damage but you’ll also appreciate not hearing everything clunking around in the back every time you take a turn.
- Is it flexible? A really good quality bed liner will be totally flexible so that it doesn’t break, chip, crack or peel on impact. Instead it will bend, stretch and flex with your bed and never lose it’s protective capabilities.
- Is it easy to apply? The fact is that most of the more “tough” bed liners make you mix and calculate and put different components together, this can often lead to botched chemistry if all the ingredients are either not perfect condition or not mixed exactly to manufacturer’s spec. instead look for a one part product that will save you headache, time and worry. make sure you go with a product that can be sprayed or rolled on, as without the perfect equipment or set up spray on bed liners can end up looking and performing terrible so a roll on option is a useful backup plan.
- Is the texture real? Too often bed liners get their “grip” from a funky looking roller, not only is this less grippy, but it wears out way too fast. make sure to use a bed liner with real crumb rubber granules so you know that the texture is there to stay.
- Is it chemical proof? Over the years you’re going to end up spilling all sorts of nasty things in your truck bed, make sure that whatever you buy is resistant to oils, gasoline, salt water etc.
- Is it repairable? Even the very best bed liners can get damaged by crazy use (note: make sure it’s fire resistant as well!) so make sure yous is easy to fix and patch up at a later date.
- Are there Colors? I know most people just want Black but if you like to stand out and not follow the crowd why not go for something brighter to help make your truck easier to find?
- Who uses it? These days every Tom, Dick and Harry seems to be selling truck bed liner, make sure you’re purchasing a reputable trustworthy product that is used by people you trust.
For all these reasons and more you should be investing in America’s #1 Bed Liner, Durabak has been around for 30 years and is trusted by the US Navy on their Nimitz Class Nuclear Aircraft Carriers and countless other warships.
Durabak 18 is UV Resistant polyurethane with crumb rubber granules, made from recycled tires just cos we love the outdoors and off-roading so we care about nature, for ultimate grip and protection. It’s available in 16 mixable colors – so you don’t need to mix anything together, just open the can and stir and you’re ready to roll it on, you can also spray it on.
Durabak will protect your truck bed from impact, chemicals, corrosion, wear and tear, UV rays, abrasion, dents, and so much more – and because it bonds to itself you’ll also be able to build it up as thick as you like and patch it for repairs at any time in the future. Durabak is also self leveling so it will always give professional looking results even if the applicator has zero experience.
In short conclusion, if you want to protect your truck bed with the best bed liner on the market then there’s only one product to go with – Durabak!
