Does anyone haul a truck camper with a DuraLiner in the bed?

I have direct experience. I put the new Bigfoot in the old truck which had always had a drop in bed liner (Duraliner). It slid around in cross winds and bumpy roads. Following the advice on this forum, I removed the Duraliner and had Line-X sprayed in. The camper moved around just as much on the Line-X as it had on the Duraliner. Same truck, same camper, same roads. When I replaced the truck, I put in a new Duraliner.

My solution was to put in a plywood platform on top of the Duraliner, with a thin (3/8") rubber mat on top of that (to protect the plywood). The plywood fits the bed and will not move, and has low cleats down the side to prevent the camper from moving. This has solved the problem.

A drop in liner will protect the bed far better than Line-X. When I removed it to do the Line-X, the 11 year old bed looked factory new. After the Line-X, it picked up a few dents. Line-X is hard to scratch, but easy to dent.

A drop in liner will sand the paint where it touches and moves/vibrates. This can be effectively stopped by putting down a liner liner before the Duraliner. This is a sheet of 1/8" PE foam, sold for this purpose or sourced elsewhere.

The Duraliner will hold water, I consider that a plus, but if the truck is parked with the bed sloping forward and you get a hard rain, it can collect water. If parked with the bed sloping aft this drains down the grooves. In addition, the grooves allow it to dry underneath, which was not true with the Line-X, it would stay wet for weeks. If you want your Duraliner to drained when parked on a slope, you can drill holes in it - then it drains like the holes in the steel bed. But I wouldn't.

nick_m wrote:

sonuvabug wrote:
My experience is different. I have loaded our 3,000+ lbs. TC directly onto our 2001 factory installed, hard plastic, one piece drop in Duraliner for the past 4 seasons. No rubber mat.

I do use several 8' rebars in the Duraliner's grooves along the edges and a few shorter ones at the front and rear edges where the TC's edges contact the bed. This helps to reinforce the grooves and prevent them from collapsing or deforming under the TC's weight.

Never had a problem with movement in any direction. Maybe because it fits snug enough to the front bed wall and both sides (about 1" clearance on the sides) and ... perhaps because I take it easy with the throttle when taking off.

Having said all of the above, I just ordered a half inch thick, 4x8' rubber mat for the Duraliner bed because they were on sale and I thought it might be cheap insurance if the "perfect storm" conditions ever presented themselves.

FWIW - drainage has never been an issue because any moisture simply travels down the grooves in the Duraliner and exits out the back. The rubber mat should not affect this bonus benefit of the Duraliner's grooves either.

The roughness of the rebar probably has a lot to do with it not slipping, at least at the interface where it's installed (bed/liner or liner/camper).

You know ... I'm not sure the rebar actually makes contact with the bottom of the TC. The rebars' purpose is to prevent the Duraliner's grooves from collapsing from the TC's weight. At best, they sit flush. I'll take a closer look when I load the TC up in a couple of weeks.

Ralph Cramden wrote:

dave17352 wrote:
I have not used a bed liner for about 18 years on 5 different new trucks. I have been told it adds nothing to trade in value by dealers. JMHO

You are correct.....you win a cookie. Now they'll happily beat you up on trade in price if you let them, then if it does not go straight to the auction it goes over to recon and theyll spray one on, or slap in the plastic to hide it, which costs them less than a hundred dollar bill either way, and put it out on the pre owned lot.


The scale guy at the stone quarry has eyes like silver dollars when you pull in and tell him to dump a few scoops of #2 limestone in a shiny new truck with no bedliner LOL.

Not sure what your getting at but I have traded two of my trucks over the phone via pictures with none of the inside of the bed. I also prefer no bed liner for other reasons. I was in construction for 40 years and it was easier to attach equipment hooks etc to the steel bed without the liner. The ribbed bed liners are also very uncomfortable on the knees if you should need to kneel under a topper etc. Also things slide like crazy. But beyond those personal reasons I still do not in my opinion think the paint job in the box effects trade in value.


You may enjoy a cookie also if you enjoy them. Ralphie

Grit dog wrote:

nick_m wrote:

Grit dog wrote:
For hauling a camper I can't imagine a drop in liner is preferred for any reason.
Bare steel bed and a rubber bed mat works great though.
I'd never put a plastic bedliner in......unless I had a really nice truck and was abusing the inside of the bed, like hauling junk, heavy construction or tossing log rounds in load after load. Plastic bedliners absolutely protect the bed from impacts/dents the best by a long shot. Other than that, not a fan.
As far as rubbing paint off, that's a minor concern IMO. Any beds that "rust out" from a drop in liner, well, the rest of the truck is 99% guaranteed to be rusted out too.

I hated my plastic liner as well - remove/replace/store was a big inconvenience. But you're right that it provides the best protection. That's why I'm drawn to the DualLiner (not DuraLiner); for my truck it's 7 separate pieces, with hard plastic sides and a 3/8" rubber bottom. They lock together and are removable if necessary. Maximum protection with no slip and you don't have to remove it for the TC - what's not to like? It's about $450 for an 8' bed. I just can't find much direct feedback on their use with a camper.

So it has a rubber bottom. Good for camper, sides don’t matter. Will be as good as any other rubber mat.

My current mat feels like 60 grit; theirs looks smooth. I'd still place mine on top so I don't lose 3/8.

nick_m wrote:

Grit dog wrote:
For hauling a camper I can't imagine a drop in liner is preferred for any reason.
Bare steel bed and a rubber bed mat works great though.
I'd never put a plastic bedliner in......unless I had a really nice truck and was abusing the inside of the bed, like hauling junk, heavy construction or tossing log rounds in load after load. Plastic bedliners absolutely protect the bed from impacts/dents the best by a long shot. Other than that, not a fan.
As far as rubbing paint off, that's a minor concern IMO. Any beds that "rust out" from a drop in liner, well, the rest of the truck is 99% guaranteed to be rusted out too.

I hated my plastic liner as well - remove/replace/store was a big inconvenience. But you're right that it provides the best protection. That's why I'm drawn to the DualLiner (not DuraLiner); for my truck it's 7 separate pieces, with hard plastic sides and a 3/8" rubber bottom. They lock together and are removable if necessary. Maximum protection with no slip and you don't have to remove it for the TC - what's not to like? It's about $450 for an 8' bed. I just can't find much direct feedback on their use with a camper.

So it has a rubber bottom. Good for camper, sides don’t matter. Will be as good as any other rubber mat.

sonuvabug wrote:
My experience is different. I have loaded our 3,000+ lbs. TC directly onto our 2001 factory installed, hard plastic, one piece drop in Duraliner for the past 4 seasons. No rubber mat.

I do use several 8' rebars in the Duraliner's grooves along the edges and a few shorter ones at the front and rear edges where the TC's edges contact the bed. This helps to reinforce the grooves and prevent them from collapsing or deforming under the TC's weight.

Never had a problem with movement in any direction. Maybe because it fits snug enough to the front bed wall and both sides (about 1" clearance on the sides) and ... perhaps because I take it easy with the throttle when taking off.

Having said all of the above, I just ordered a half inch thick, 4x8' rubber mat for the Duraliner bed because they were on sale and I thought it might be cheap insurance if the "perfect storm" conditions ever presented themselves.

FWIW - drainage has never been an issue because any moisture simply travels down the grooves in the Duraliner and exits out the back. The rubber mat should not affect this bonus benefit of the Duraliner's grooves either.

The roughness of the rebar probably has a lot to do with it not slipping, at least at the interface where it's installed (bed/liner or liner/camper).

Grit dog wrote:
For hauling a camper I can't imagine a drop in liner is preferred for any reason.
Bare steel bed and a rubber bed mat works great though.
I'd never put a plastic bedliner in......unless I had a really nice truck and was abusing the inside of the bed, like hauling junk, heavy construction or tossing log rounds in load after load. Plastic bedliners absolutely protect the bed from impacts/dents the best by a long shot. Other than that, not a fan.
As far as rubbing paint off, that's a minor concern IMO. Any beds that "rust out" from a drop in liner, well, the rest of the truck is 99% guaranteed to be rusted out too.

I hated my plastic liner as well - remove/replace/store was a big inconvenience. But you're right that it provides the best protection. That's why I'm drawn to the DualLiner (not DuraLiner); for my truck it's 7 separate pieces, with hard plastic sides and a 3/8" rubber bottom. They lock together and are removable if necessary. Maximum protection with no slip and you don't have to remove it for the TC - what's not to like? It's about $450 for an 8' bed. I just can't find much direct feedback on their use with a camper.

Ralph Cramden wrote:



The scale guy at the stone quarry has eyes like silver dollars when you pull in and tell him to dump a few scoops of #2 limestone in a shiny new truck with no bedliner LOL.

Home Depot as well Lowe's sell crushed stones, sand and gravel in 1-ton sacks that get gently loaded by forklift on your bed mat.
Not something I would plan to do often, but the couple times I needed it - worked perfectly.

My experience is different. I have loaded our 3,000+ lbs. TC directly onto our 2001 factory installed, hard plastic, one piece drop in Duraliner for the past 4 seasons. No rubber mat.

I do use several 8' rebars in the Duraliner's grooves along the edges and a few shorter ones at the front and rear edges where the TC's edges contact the bed. This helps to reinforce the grooves and prevent them from collapsing or deforming under the TC's weight.

Never had a problem with movement in any direction. Maybe because it fits snug enough to the front bed wall and both sides (about 1" clearance on the sides) and ... perhaps because I take it easy with the throttle when taking off.

Having said all of the above, I just ordered a half inch thick, 4x8' rubber mat for the Duraliner bed because they were on sale and I thought it might be cheap insurance if the "perfect storm" conditions ever presented themselves.

FWIW - drainage has never been an issue because any moisture simply travels down the grooves in the Duraliner and exits out the back. The rubber mat should not affect this bonus benefit of the Duraliner's grooves either.

dave17352 wrote:
I have not used a bed liner for about 18 years on 5 different new trucks. I have been told it adds nothing to trade in value by dealers. JMHO

You are correct.....you win a cookie. Now they'll happily beat you up on trade in price if you let them, then if it does not go straight to the auction it goes over to recon and theyll spray one on, or slap in the plastic to hide it, which costs them less than a hundred dollar bill either way, and put it out on the pre owned lot.


The scale guy at the stone quarry has eyes like silver dollars when you pull in and tell him to dump a few scoops of #2 limestone in a shiny new truck with no bedliner LOL.