Ford F-150

Significantly better as they are not bonded to the steel. They can move a bit by themselves to absorb shock - and with ridges are almost an inch thick

I have a few minor dents in the fender wells from tossed-in firewood despite the factory plastic bed liner. Only the floor is reinforced by ribs. Then again dropped firewood has cracked through the bottom of my supposedly super tough plastic wheelbarrow.

--jsw

I have always had one, too. They are better than the linings because the ridges hold the materials away from the bed. When the guy bought my 1990 F-150 in 2007, the bed looked brand new, cept for the strips of duct tape I used to keep the liner from scratching it. I found that it had been unnecessary. The liner was 15 years old and had taken some abuse, but still looked near new. The new one for the Tundra was $218, costing me roughly $20 a year so far, and it is in great shape. They do last.

I prefer the slippery liner to the sticky Rhino coating because I like to slide my freight around, then keep it in place with ratcheting straps. You have to physically hold the freight up off Rhino lining until it is in place, lots more work.

AFAIC, poly liners are the only way to go.

This is the problem with losers... I mean the brilliant voters who know I can fix everything in their lives very very well. They can't even look up the rated capacity of a half ton pickup. They just make up their own numbers which works as well at a weigh scale as it does with personal finance. When you've acquired 10 billion in assets as I have, get back to me about numbers. Until then, don't forget to vote for the big very beautiful and wonderful wall that will put groceries on your table and gas in your tank.

D.T.

"The point is, you can never be too greedy."

The plywood floor I put in when the crane is installed is a reasonable compromise. I could slide an Atlas lathe or the frame of my surface grinder to the front on it but they didn't noticeably shift around while driving.

I added tiedowns on the crane base near the bed bolts in addition to the 3/8" eye bolts in the stake pockets, which are the only ones available when the liner is in. Transporting theatre scenery made me appreciate plenty of well distributed tiedowns.

--jsw

They move enough to wear the paint off the bed, and they trap water underneath. But they will hide the resulting rust nicely.

Mine once moved enough by itself that I needed to pull over onto the shoulder and then backup to retrieve it from its resting place alongside the freeway.

You should have used 3/16 steel plate instead. It hardly weighs anything but it won't float out of the box. Or hold down the ABS liner with scrap iron or dogs.

And leaves. Dirt and leaves. Mice get under it too.

Original owner installed a cheap one to hide that big dent on the tailgate. ALL*STAR, has camlocks that (hardly) engage under the edge of the rails. Could easily have caused a fatality if a small car or motorcycle drove into it. Now a rope runs around the inside perimeter through 4 tiedown loops.

A cap solves both of those problems - or even a toneau.

Or use the one that snaps in under the bed-rails.

A roll-up toneau keeps the empty liner in place - auto parts and apples look after the liner themselves when in ise.

And my liner fits tightly enough without the cap on that it is a fight to get it out.

Gunner Asch on Sun, 26 Jun 2016 18:55:56 -0700 typed in rec.crafts.metalworking the following:

Details, details.

I'm of mixed views on the liner in the Mazda. I like that I can slide stuff in and out. I do not like when it slides by itself. And I really don't like when the hole for the tie down loop is just the right size to get in the way when trying to get a hook or strap through the tie down loop. Especially when I'm having to squeeze in there to find the loop.

Again "details".

And just about the time I finally get the shell on and water tight, it looks like it may have to remove it for camping season. Sigh

- some days you can't win.

tschus pyotr

-- pyotr filipivich "With Age comes Wisdom. Although more often, Age travels alone."

I fixed mine in 15 minutes by opening them up an inch with a hunting knife. It's just 1/4" plastic, after all.

Those same tiedown loops keep the liner from ever trying to get out of the bed, even if all 4 of the holddown clips had come undone.

I also drilled 4 holes in the front bottom area to release the water. Before I put up the carport, as I'd leave my driveway, 50 gallons of water would slosh out on the road before I got 30' down the road. It was a giggle, but I prefer it to leak out as it comes in. Because my drain holes had been open when I put the liner in, they continued to keep the space between dry and I had zero rust there when I took the liner out before I sold the 17 year old truck.

Sorry. I meant to say "1/8-1/4in thick with ridges an inch _tall_."

I still can't believe people let those blow out of their trucks. Maroons. I have the back end of mine screwed down, too, so it is easier to slide things off the tailgate onto the bed liner. Between the oversize liner, the lock-in clips, and the interference fit of the tiedown loops in the bedsides, I can't see how these things escape unless the installers broke them, or forgot to tighten the clips, or modified them so poorly that the tiedowns didn't catch it. Or all of the above.

The factory bedliner in my 91 Ford was originally held in by black oxide 1/4" screws through sheet metal clip nuts in the plastic bed top rail clamps. The screws and clip nuts soon started to rust and would probably have failed years ago and let the liner fly out if I hadn't kept them oiled. I added stake pocket tiedown eyes which also secure the bedliner in place.

--jsw

Larry Jaques on Sun, 26 Jun 2016

21:01:53 -0700 typed in rec.crafts.metalworking the following:

I know that. But it is like the leak in the roof - when I notice it, I'm to busy to fix it, when I have the time - it doesn't need fixing.

I always kind of looked on that as a "Feature" B-)

-- pyotr filipivich "With Age comes Wisdom. Although more often, Age travels alone."

I live in the PNW and haven't lost a single fastener to rust in the 14 years I've been here. It seldom snows here in GP, and they usually use ground-up clay roofing tiles as a de-slicker when it does. Maybe it's all that salt you east coasters drive through that is causing your rust problems. I've also never lived right on the coast, so I haven't had to put up with sea salt corrosion, either. Friends in Oceanside, CA had that, and we didn't in Vista, just 7 miles inland.

Not a bad idea, but was it really necessary, or just for peace of mind? The reason I used screws in the tail was because of warpage in the hot sun. The edge nearest the tailgate would wrinkle in the sun, so I tied it down to prevent that.

Same with my ranger - and the cap has never been off.

As for "roll=up toneaus" they are fairly common here - used to keep the bed from filling with water when it rains, snow when it snows, and leaves and junk in the fall. Easily removed to allow carrying things taller than the box, and easily replaced when you unload - no storage facility required. A whole lot more adaptable than the hinged hard-covers (whish are most often found on "toy " trucks)

I did it for peace of mind when hauling half a ton of iron. They are

3/8" stainless eye screws anchored in tapped holes in cross pins through the lower tie-down holes. Pressure treated wood fills the rest of the stake pockets.

--jsw