Spray-In Truck Bed Liners Vs. Dual Liner Truck Bed Liners

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Spray-In Truck Bed Liners Vs. Dual Liner Truck
Bed Liners

• Every truck bed should have a liner installed for
  protective purposes. But before you purchase and
  install a liner, you should know the difference
  between a spray-in liner and a full solid liner
  like Dual Liner. Ill explain the difference in
  this review article.
• So heres a story. Its all about how my life got
  flipped, turned upside, when I bought a used
  pickup with a spray-in liner. Thats how I
  learned to always go with Dual Liner.
• Alright, enough singing semi-made up songs. So
  Ill start with the easy read version. Heres all
  the reasons I no longer like Spray-In Truck bed
  liners
• Overspray.
• They hide rust underneath.
• Say it with me--trapped moisture!
• And sun damage.
• Full disclosure I did this to myself. It is all
  my fault. Heres what happened. A couple years
  ago, I was in the market for a used older truck.
  I was just going to use it local to do odd jobs
  and such. Sometimes I junk stuff, for instance,
  like old appliances, to make a bit of money on
  the side. So I started making so much on
• the side, saved up a few thousand, and I thought
  about how much an older pickup might cost me.
• See I already had a nice newish Ford F-150. But I
  didnt want to haul anything that might damage my
  paint job, like old batteries or rusty metal in
  there. And sometimes it just isnt worth grabbing
  the trailer for an odd junking job. Also, I

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dont know about you, but when my buddies ask to
borrow my nice truck, I always get a little
nervous. So I figure, if I by an old clunker, I
can use it to junk stuff and loan it out to
people who need it to move stuff. Easy. Sure. It
should have been. I did it old school. I went
through the local printed catalogues and such. I
know. Super analog. But I did. And I came across
exactly what I thought I wanted a 1992 Ford
F-150. It had 150k miles on it. But again, I
thought that wasnt a big deal. I wasnt going to
be using it to commute or nothing. The price was
right. So I went to have a look at it. And
heres where you could learn from me. I have
always thought I had a pretty good eye and I knew
a thing or two about trucks. I popped the hood of
this red 92 Ford stepside. And everything looked
in place. The guy said the transmission was still
good. And that was a big concern for me. He let
me take it out for a test drive, and she drove
like a charm. When we got back to his place, I
was sure I was going to make him an offer. But
first, I glanced in the truck bed. The truck bed
looked solid. But it had a particular popular
brand of spray-in on it. Now I dont want to pick
on that particular brand. It isnt the brands
fault. But Ive got to tell you--look twice. I
really wish I would have. So I made the offer
and the guy took it. And I had myself a new junk
truck. One of the first jobs I used it for was
some yard work. My wife is all into landscaping
and mulch. I dont mind working outside and
getting my hands dirty, but I hate it when red
mulch gets all over my truck bed, leaving traces
of pigment all over it. My daily driver is a blue
F-150. And that red mulch makes it look
ridiculously purple and red. Its like a masacre
in my truck bed. I can spray it out, but
sometimes it takes a few times. And I didnt have
any truck bed liner.
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No worries, I think. This is exactly why I bought
that old junker. At this point, Im also thinking
about getting a spray-in for my blue F-150. But I
dont want to get ahead of myself. So I go and
get the mulch from the local garden supply. We
buy it by the truck load. And when I get home to
unload it, I start trying to push it out with a
shovel. And let me tell you, the first few layers
went just great. But when I got down to the
bottom, the stuff right on top of the spray-in
liner, it really just got stuck on there. I
actually had to go get a broom and really go to
town on that mulch to get the last of it out of
the truck bed. Hey, no big deal, right? Its my
work truck. But this was still a huge pain in the
butt. I get that those spray-in liners are
supposed to have a lot of grit to them so that
stuff wont slide around in your truck bed, but
this is just silly. I immediately started to
question getting a spray-in for my newer
truck. The junk truck sat a few weeks then
before I got a side gig hauling fill dirt for a
guy. This guy needed three truck loads worth of
dirt at least to fill in and level out a big
divot in his backyard. He tells me that every
time it rains this whole side of his yard looks
like a muddy swimming pool. I tell the guy Im
on it, give him a decent quote, and he hires me
up. So I get ahold of another guy I know whos
got tons of fill dirt hes looking to get rid of.
Easy job. Some shovel work, but no matter. I take
my son along. It will be good for him, I think.
Ill teach him a lesson about hard work and give
him some of the profits. Thats a win-win in my
book and also how my own father taught me about
money. Loading the first load was no big deal.
The unloading was a pain in the butt, like the
mulch, but Id done it before now and knew what
to expect. I warned the boy about it too, so no
problem, right? I figure the next day, Ill just
spray out the bed and itll be fine. We finish up
the second load as well without any issues. And
then my wife calls with an emergency having to do
with the washer. Fun times. Son
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says hes got this last load under control. Im
so proud of him. Hes just 16, but I trust him,
especially with the junk truck. Im feeling
pretty good again about my truck purchase. So the
kid drops me off to deal with the washer, and he
goes and finishes up the job. Afterwards he says
it went down with a hitch. Great, I think. By the
time I remember to go spray out the truck bed,
its been nearly a week. But thats no biggie.
Not like the dirt is gonna hurt that spray-in
liner, right? So I sprayed out the bed real good
using the hose. And as Im finishing up, I notice
something a bunch of gouges in the spray-in
liner. I get down close and look at them, soaking
my jeans. I can pry them back a little, and I
start to realize whats happened. One of us (or
both. I dont want to sell out my boy, here. It
could have been me too.) must have hit the liner
with the shovel a few times. And what do you
know, it damaged and cut all the way through in a
couple places. Damn, I think. I thought these
spray-ins were durable. I dont fret too much
about it. Its just the junk truck. No
biggie. So I do a few more small odd jobs here
and there, but all is pretty much well. Winter
comes. Things settle down. The truck sits all
winter. Maybe I started her up once or twice just
to get the gas flowing. Now the thing is--and I
didnt think about this--the guy I bought this
clunker off of had it in the garage at his house.
When you have a three car garage I guess you can
spare the space. But not me. My garage is mostly
filled with odds and ends either myself, my wife,
or my kids have collected over the years. We can
barely fit my wifes SUV in there, let alone
another vehicle, especially not the junk truck.
So my new blue F-150 and old junk truck have to
live outside all winter. No biggie, though,
right? Well, come Spring, Im getting ready to
help my buddys kid move the college. The college
girl doesnt have much. I think all the big stuff
can go in the junk truck and my buddy can drive
my truck and get the boxes and small stuff.
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So Im making sure the junker is ready, and I
glance into the truck bed and all the snow has
melted, but theres still a puddle in a couple
spots. You guessed it--the spots where the holes
were made with the shovels. Great. I try not to
think too much about it, but at this point, Im
thinking this cant be good. A truck bed liner is
supposed to protect the bed, not funnel water
down to it all winter long. Anyway, the moving
expedition goes just fine. I do notice that
theres a bit of a rust color coming up through
those slits in the spray in though, but nothing
too worrisome. At this point, Im sure I dont
want a spray-in liner for my new F-150. So I
start looking at my other options. I dont really
want a full drop-in liner cause they look kinda
flimsy and at this point, Im getting skeptical.
I take a look at Bedrug, but after the friction
issue with the spray-in, carpet just doesnt
sound like my jam. And then I found Dual
Liner. Dual Liner FTW! So I wanted something
that would line the side walls, the tailgate, and
the floor of my new blue F-150. But I didnt want
a drop-in, a spray-in, or a BedRug. DualLiner had
me covered. It comes in five pieces, in a single
big box. It costs less than a spray-in, and it is
something I can easily install in my own garage
in a few minutes. I watched a couple videos and
read a review. This seemed pretty simple. Midwest
Aftermarket, the company whos review Id read,
explained that for the money, I really wouldnt
go wrong with Dual Liner truck bed liners. Also,
none of the issues Id experienced with that
spray-in should come up. There would be some
friction, but nothing like the spray-in. The Dual
Liner material wont stain from red mulch and can
be sprayed down with water. Dual Liner
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would let water drain out from under it through
stock holes already in my trucks bed. This was
everything I wanted in a truck bed liner. So I
ordered it up from Midwest Aftermarket, and
installed it myself. It shipped out to me fast,
we are talking like 3 days. And it really was
simple to install. My son and I did it in about
15 minutes using normal everyday tools like a
socket wrench. And Ive gotta tell you, Ive
been super impressed with this new Dual Liner.
But I thought, maybe over time Ill get just as
disappointed with it as the spray-in. So I let
some time pass. The seasons went by. And
suddenly it was spring yet again. This is almost
always a busy time of year for me junking. A lot
of people are doing spring cleaning, throwing out
old junk, tons of appliances and such that I can
junk for cash. Win-win for the people and myself.
The people get rid of stuff they dont want and
for free. And I get money for junking the stuff.
Its a great side gig, if youve got a truck. So
Ive got a guy who wants an old deep freeze
junked. I could have taken my new truck, but I
didnt really want this old rusty deep freeze in
the back there, even though the Dual Liner could
have handled it no problem. Im just thinking
theres no reason to do so. Ive got the junk
truck for a reason. And this deep freeze had
lived outside for years, out against this guys
garage in his backyard. Its gotta be pretty
nasty, especially if it stopped working. So I
took the junk truck, and I brought along my boy
again for some muscle. We loaded up the deep
freeze no problem. And like Id thought, I was
super glad I brought the junk truck. That deep
freeze was nasty! So were on our way over to
the salvage yard, when I hear this terrible
sound. We had just gone over some fairly big pot
holes, but nothing that would cause any damage. I
pulled over to the side of the road. Were
checking the tires, under the
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hood, the frame. And then I see something
dripping under the truck bed. Im like what the
heck is that? So the son and I both jump up into
the truck bed. And when we do, we start hearing
that sound again. What do you know but the deep
freeze has punched through the truck bed in a
spot--guess where--where one of those shovel
holes had been, and those some nasty rusty
colored water draining out that new hole. What
the heck I think?! So we get the deep freeze
dropped off at the salvage yard, and the truck
makes it home. I started looking into what
happened more, and it became pretty obvious that
the spray-in liner had trapped water in that hole
and rusted out part of the bed. So I started
looking into removing the spray-in liner. It
sounds like it would cost a pretty penny, but the
more I looked into it, the more I wanted it done.
I couldnt have more water getting trapped there,
causing the bed to rust. So I found a guy whod
do it pretty cheap, and I took the junk truck on
over. The guy warns me that with these spray-ins,
you never really know what youre going to find
underneath. I totally didnt understand what he
meant. I just gave him the go ahead. Boy was he
right. That spot wasnt the only one that was
rusted. Heck, there were terrible rust spots and
deep scratches all over the place. Not only did
the job cost me, but the bed looked like it was
ready to be junked itself. So I started
thinking. I got some Rustoleum to touch up the
rusted spots. And then you know what I did? I
went and ordered another Dual Liner Truck Bed
Liner from Midwest Aftermarket. I installed that
DualLiner, and Ive been using that junk truck
ever since, and we really havent had any major
problems. So I have to tell you, I highly
recommend Dual Liner bed liners, and I would
definitely avoid a spray-in. Not only are they a
hassle, but they also might hide damage that you
dont even know is there. For
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me, the damage may have started with the previous
owner, but Im pretty sure those rust spots came
from me and our shovel situation.
Needless to say, no more spray-in bed liners for
me. And hey, if youre in the market for a truck
bed liner, let me recommend Midwest Aftermarket.
Both times they had the best price on Dual Liner
for me, and their shipping and customer service
were excellent. I also enjoyed their reviews and
product guides. In fact, if Id read some of
their articles before buying that junk truck I
might have thought twice about the purchase or at
the very least removed the spray-in liner
immediately and saved myself the hassle by
getting a DualLiner right away. Next time Ill
know better. Hope maybe my knowledge and
hindsight can help save you from a spray-in liner
disaster too.