So what is the difference?
This is a common question for pick-up truck owners so we wanted to provide some information to help you make the decision on what is best for you. Now we obviously know all about Spray-On Bedliners being LINE-X and have sprayed thousands of truck beds over the years, but we also sell the plastic Drop-In Bedliners as well. Some customers prefer the plastic bedliner because it is much cheaper (typically they run about $250) and they can't afford a Spray-On Bedliner, or they are just reselling the vehicle and want to "hide" the wear and tear done to the bed with out any protection. (Even though going with a Spray-On Bedliner is going to increase the resell value!) If you walk a Used Car Dealers lot you will typically find nothing but drop-in bedliners, unless the previous owner got a spray-on. The used car guys buy the drop-in bedliners in bulk and slap them in each truck to "hide" the truck beds damage...but let's face it trucks are made to be used like... well trucks! Truck beds are suppose to be abused, loaded and haul the heavy loads. So you need to do something to protect this heavily used part of the vehicle.
I'm sure you've seen the commercials on TV showing the trucks hauling a bed full of bricks, driving over boulders, arguing over things like torque and towing power... or even my favorite
But what are most truck owners really using their trucks for?? Weekend warriors making 3 trips to Home Depot to finish the project that seemed a lot easier on Youtube. Or helping your buddy move his couch into his new apartment. The unprotected pick-up truck bed will be all scuffed and scratched after it's very first use. So let's take a look at what each of these bedliners have to offer.
First, the "Old Fashion" Plastic Drop-In Bedliner. These plastic bedliners have been around forever and at one time that's all there was availble to protect your truck bed. They are custom molded to fit each different truck model's bed. They litteraly "drop" right in. They are made of hard plastic that will give your truck bed some impact protection from loads being dropped into the bed. But this is about as far as the "protection" goes. The Drop-In bedliner doesn't completely form to the walls of the bed and you will loose some cargo space in the bed. The plastic material they are made of will warp, tear and fade over time. The Drop-In liner is going to rub and wear away at the paint of your bed. Add to that the fact that water will get under the Drop-In liner and will rust out the bed. This actually enhances corrosion since the water is trapped under the Drop-In Liner. The plastic liner can be slippery and gives zero grip for your cargo loads. The load will slide from side to side and front to back all over the place in the Drop-In Liner protected bed.
One last thing on the Drop-In Liners...Have you ever seen a plastic bedliner on the freeway? As easy as they go in, is as easy as they go out...High speeds on the freeway and the drag from the air just pull and pull at the Drop-In liner until it takes it right off. Unless you have added extra screws thus creating holes in your bed to keep the Drop-In Liner from causing the 5 freeway from becoming even more backed up than it normally is.
Now lets take a look at the Spray-On Bedliners and specifically LINE-X. LINE-X bedliners are high heat / high pressure Spray-On Bedliners. This is the best way to apply a spray-on bedliner. Read more detailed information about Spray-On Bedliners from a previous article we wrote here. Spray-On bedliners are going to seal out all areas of the bed from rust and corrision. The applealing textured surface gives you slip protection for your cargo. LINE-X has the highest ratings for tensile strength, tear strength, elongation, and all other testing that has been done on Spray-On materials. The high quality materials that go into a LINE-X Spray-On Bedliner give you great impact protection, and won't tear like a plastic drop-in. LINE-X Spray-On Bedliners can even be applied with a Fade Resitant coating (LINE-X Premium) to provide a UV protected finish that will last for years to come.
This is just some basic information regarding the differences between Spray-On Bedliners and Drop-In Bedliners. We encourge you to research online to find out more for yourself about the difference between Spray-On Bedliners and Drop-In Liners. We are confident you will find many people say that Spray-On Bedliners are the way to go.
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