Forum Discussion

Optimistic_Para's avatar
Oct 10, 2017

Bed Treatment

I'm about to order an Alaskan Camper for my F250. It has a factory plastic drop in bed liner. I'm going to order a rubber bed mat to go under the camper to help keep it from shifting. But the plastic liner seems awfully slick. My options are:

1: Put the rubber mat on top of the plastic liner.

2: Take out the liner and put the rubber mat directly on the painted bed.

3: Take out the plastic bed liner, have the bed Line-X'd, and put the rubber mat on top of the Line-X.

What say you all? What's the best way to do this? Is there a 4th option I haven't thought of?

Oh, and I'm retired, and plan to leave the camper in the truck full time, if that makes a difference.

Thanks!

Regards,
John

36 Replies

  • I'd do #3 as well. Had my F350 Armorthaned, then put in the rubber mat. The spray in was only $125 and worth every penny IMHO. I do drop the camper once in a great while to haul a load of wood or help the kids move furniture, etc. Has saved a lot of scratches to the paint and keeps the salt away up here in snow country. Cheap insurance in my book and gives an even more durable surface for the bed mat to stick to.
  • I have owned many trucks. My present truck is the first I have ever owned that has a Line-X sprayed in bedliner. It is fantastic. I am the third owner of this 2004 truck, and the liner is without flaw. I have seen other sprayed in liners that looked real bad. I would not hesitate to go with Line-X.

    My TC is a Bigfoot which has a molded fiberglass bottom. I think it is slicker than any other TC bottom. I use two 3/4" thick Horse Stall Mat on top of my Line-X. One 1/2" would be okay, but I need to clear 5th wheel rails.
  • If you are planning to leave the camper in full time, then forego the expensive professionally installed bedliner. It is good product and if you were remotly planning on doing contractor type work along with hauling the camper then I would say do this route.

    But, consider doing a DIY liner such as Hercu-liner available at most auto parts stores. I installed this and then a thick rubber mat and it provides the right amount of added friction for which to install a camper above.

    Sometimes the DIY bedliner gets a bad rap. My response to those nay-sayers is that most likely the instruction to install were not followed. Proper preparation is key to the DIY liner success. I installed it on both my trucks for TC hauling and minor home dept runs. If I were doing heavier duty work requiring bed use then the DIY in not the product. I think it would suit you well for the purpose stated.

    I would definitely get rid of the plastic liner.

    JMHO.
  • I have done all 3 on different trucks with different campers. #3 is what we have now and I like it a lot. The combination of the higher friction spray in liner and the rubber matt is rock solid. I would ditch the plastic liner for sure.
  • #2 for sure.
    When I was building my F350 I was thinking about factory spray-on bedliner, but figured out why not enjoy nice white bed, before I beat it up and then I can have ugly bedliner sprayed on.