LINE-X or Rhino Linings Spray-on Truck Bed Liners

bcwsrt

Which one do you prefer and why? I’ve recently acquired my dad’s 1993 Dodge pickup. It’s 100% rust-free, but the bed is scratched up quite a bit. I’d like to improve the cosmetics and protect it going forward. Never used either of these products, but it seems like the way to go. I want to color-match (blue) if that makes a difference.

Thanks for your comments.

msg

Whichever you wind up with, consider getting yourself one of those heavy duty bed mats made from recycled tires to lay in after. Not those thin ones, the heavy ones.

One of the best accessories if you actually use the truck bed. Does a great job helping keep things in place, not to mention, protection from the abrasive liner.

I'll never own a truck without one.

bcwsrt

Good call and honestly wasn't on my radar until you said something, but it is now. I've heard the spray-on coatings can be slippery even though the are rubberized and/or have grit in them. The bed is exposed on this one and I wouldn't put a mat, only, in it without the spray-on liner because they can trap moisture underneath and rust a bed like a drop-in liner can, but I've used one in a bed that had a topper on it. Definitely has some grip for whatever is back there.

xschop

What about Herculiner? Thoroughly tested and holding strong on the garage 5Bs lol. Even survived a kids bike impact when I had it up on the work bench for assembly...

treitz3

Check the local BBB for the install unit near you. Each is independently owned. Each have their own reputation with warranty. Some are......shall I say, "sketchy".

Tom

Toolfan66

I have only used Line X so I can’t give you a comparison, Line X is a great product. Go to a certified installer.

motorstereo

I had a 90 Dodge D250 (8' bed with a slide in liner) that I regularly hauled barrels of driveway sealer in. 15 years of doing that and the liner still looked great. Those barrels were stupid heavy weighing 5-600lbs each and sometimes I'd load 5 of them in the bed. I took the liner out after several years for some body and there was no dents or damage to the floor.

I didn't use a liner in my previous truck (78 Dodge) and that floor took a beating. Rhino liner need not apply and that wouldn't have survived a single season. I also drove many work trucks for various paving companies and none of them used spray in liners as no doubt they wouldn't stand up to the abuse. If one is hauling a few sheets of ply or framing occasionally a spray in would more than likely be fine. Then comes that one time when something big and heavy needs to be hauled......

Dabutcher

I used Raptor bed liner I bought off of Amazon. I did not use it in my bed. I used rubber mat. I used it to paint my chrome bumpers black. Good luck. D

xschop

How did you prep the chrome surface?

Jstas

I only have indirect experience with LINE-X and Rhino Liner but it is relevant because the vehicles that had it I serviced regularly at a diesel repair shop I worked at.

The fleet work trucks that I maintained in my younger years used LINE-X because they were the first ones to do color matching. It was a medical equipment service company with white and orange trucks and vans and they coated the insides of their vans and the pickup beds with them. I don't ever recall seeing it get damaged and they would haul all kinds of heavy stuff with it from HEPA filtration systems the size of a small car to pallets of boxed supplies loaded with forklifts. The stuff held up to all of it. One of the van drivers told me that he would park the van with the front wheels on a curb and just hose it out with the pressure washer so it all ran out back of the van. Nobody had anything bad to say about it,

I have a friend who lined his pickup truck bed with Rhino Liner and then lined the entire underside of the gooseneck section of his 5th wheel travel trailer with it to protect it from road debris. It gets dirty but he cleans it off when he washes the RV and it looks like it was just put on yesterday. He said he got it because it doesn't need a UV protector like others seem to so it doesn't fade or degrade over time. He loves the stuff and swears by it.

The only other guy with Rhino Liner I knew had a towing company whose trucks we maintained and on his "hookers" as he called them, he had the diamond plate steel bodies on the back for the towing arm. He had those coated in Rhino Liner and the dudes would chuck the chains and other towing gear in the lined box sections multiple times a day. I worked on those truck for about 5 years and never once did I see that lining degrade or get damaged from abuse, sunlight or chemicals.

Herculiner I wouldn't bother with. I have it on my yard trailer and there's spots where it's getting gouged out and worn from just yard tools and tree branches and stuff. It also discolors from oils and solvents like bar oil, motor oil, gasoline and even antifreeze. It doesn't dissolve but it does stain. It's a colossal pain in the keister to apply too as you need to put on multiple coats (as in 3 at least, probably more) and you can't use synthetic applicators because it will melt them. It's also expensive because of the quantity you need. 1 gallon barely got through 3 coats of a 3 foot by 6.5 foot flat bed trailer. If I was doing a larger bed and needed 3 coats, I'd probably be buying 3 gallons of the stuff and that would have been $300 plus an entire weekend of work 'cause it takes forever for the coats to dry and then you can't use it for 72 hours or something afterwards so you're down for 3 more days on top of it. For the yard equipment, it's fine and inexpensive. Spray cans would have been about the same price and I would have needed an entire case plus two more cans to coat the flat bed with the spray. I wouldn't use it for a truck. Plus, no color matching. Also, I would get the Harbor Freight "Iron Armor" coating because it's the same stuff, literally (made by Rustoleum) and costs about 20-30% less. But both products have a "restoration spray" which basically dissolves and removes the oxidized top layer to expose fresh stuff underneath. You have to use that restoration stuff at least once a year or more depending on where you live, to keep it from looking like old, used tires. I know many off-roaders use the Herculiner/Iron Armor on their trucks, Jeeps and ATVs because it helps protect the body from impacts, dents and cracks but they often have to reapply it because it gets scraped off. Only off-roader I knew who said he didn't have to do that had the entire underside and rear corners of his Jeep coated in Rhino Liner. I never saw it so I don't know for sure just stories from others who were envious.

I did see a guy in Texas with his mid-90's Ranger completely coated in Rhino Liner. He said he's a site inspector for oil fields and has to drive down draws often and he was tired of having to get body work done because of the harsh West Texas terrain. Ever since he got the Rhino Liner, he can scrape rocks and Mesquite all day and no "organic pinstripes" as he called them.

If you're going to go with a spray in liner I think LINE-X has better color matching capabilities so if it's for looks mostly, LINE-X might be the better choice as it looks gritty but is smoother to the touch than Rhino Liner. If you're going to abuse it, I've seen Rhino Liner stand up to some serious abuse like it was nothing. If you want an exercise in futility and frustration, go with Herculiner. If you want a less expensive exercise in futility and frustration go with the Iron Armor.

There is one bed coating kit I saw at Walmart one time after someone I knew got it and applied. It might have been from Dupli-color? I don't remember for sure. Just stay away from it. The guy swore by it and then one day we were at the track and one of the other guys in the pit crew was picking at a little tab that had peeled up. He went to flick it off with a quick tear and a sheet of the stuff about 3 feet long and a foot wide peeled up and tore off. It was a good laugh but that product was a waste of time.

pitdogg2

Great info @Jstas

mhardy6647

organic pinstripes...
I like that!

Nature's pinstripes!

F1nut

Speaking of organic pinstripes. Many years ago I took a buddy of mine out 4 wheeling. He loved it so much he went out and bought a brand new fully loaded shiny black Chevy K5 Blazer. So, he wants to take it to where I took him. I told him that was a bad idea because the trails are narrow and you'll scratch the hell out of it. He says he doesn't care and let's go, so we did. At the end of the day both sides had those "organic pinstripes" from front to rear. The next day he calls me to say his wife just about killed him when she saw the truck. I'm like, gee Kenny, what did you expect!?! That was the end of his off road adventures...lol

bcwsrt

It's amazing how much of that stuff washes off at the car wash, but you're gonna need to get the orbital out to get it back to 100%, well maybe 99%. People don't think my Jeep has been off-road. I just laugh. Black would probably be a different story, though.

Lots of good info in here! This truck won't get used hard, so the spray-on liners should be fine. Landscape waste, top soil/manure for the garden, occasional trip to Menards, bicycles, that sort of thing. I'm not gonna DIY it, though @Dabutcher's Tundra looks awesome!

txcoastal1

That's funny, Jesse. Every year we get that one sometimes 2 new guys at the deer lease, that I warn about needing a UTV...."Nah man, I can use my truck"
Our deer lease is the thorniest, rocky terrain that you'll ever see located in west Texas. Every year we get that real PO'd wife.

That's why I have this...

bcwsrt

My friend in Tennessee wants to go back to Windrock Park, only this time he wants to take his Polaris General. I’m like, “Yeah, me in my Wrangler and you in your SxS. Why would we do that?!” 🙄😂 He would be bored and I would be struggling to keep up.

Last time we went he was in his Gladiator Rubicon and that was bad enough since my Wrangler is just a Sport with an open front differential.

Jstas

Well, here in southern NJ we call the "Piney Pinstirpes" or "Pine Barrens Pinstripes".

"Organic Pinstripes" came from the guy in Texas. I have a picture and what got me was he did the whole truck in black. I could feel the heat radiating off of it in the parking lot at the Albertson's on Andrews Highway in Midland, TX. I took this picture from the in-laws truck and not 30 seconds later the dude walked out and I had to ask why he did it.

He had a magnetic sign on the tailgate for some survey company that seems to be contracted with the oil drilling companies to do the environmental surveys around the rigs to manage runoff and such. He said he wasn't the only one who did it to his truck so there's more than a few of them running around out there.

But the brush is thick, mesquite trees are hard as hell and have HUGE thorns that will carve streaks down the hardest paint too. The dude said he's driving down washes regularly and would gets scrapes and dents and ever since he lined the whole truck, he was able to slide it along rock slides on it's side.

Pretty insane.

bcwsrt

LINE-X quoted $925 to color matched to the factory paint code, or $615 for the basic black. That’s quite a premium to color match. Nice ol’ 60,000 mile truck and the blue would probably make some of the wheelhouse dents stick out a little less than the black would, but I'll have to think on that extra $310 some. Said they have to clear out (waste) however many gallons of the standard product in their system in order to do the color match, which makes sense, but still.

New tires, wheels, shocks, alignment, battery and LED headlights done, so far. Window tint tomorrow, then chassis lube, brake flush and the liner next and that should do it for a while, I hope.

pitdogg2

Nice truck!

bcwsrt

Get you a lazy weekend and I'll cruise on over there with it, grab your tweeter plates, talk tubes and sundry other shenanigans!

treitz3

LINE-X quoted $925 to color matched to the factory paint code, or $615 for the basic black. That’s quite a premium to color match.

Not really in today's world. That is respectable, done right. FWIW.

Tom

bcwsrt

Oh, yeah. I forgot the driver's door speaker is shot, so looking at these, too:

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_107MM692/Polk-Audio-MM-692.html?tp=91

msg

I had no idea it was that much. Not chump change.

I'd go black, but not for the cost savings. I just think it would go better.

I just have the plastic ones in my trucks. I don't live in a salty area though if there's any truth to the rubs/rust thing.

Toolfan66

Forget the color match, not because of cost savings (that's just a plus) because the black will look better. that is actually a very good price, cheap IMO for what it takes them to do it.
You wouldn't charge less if you were doing it, they will have the truck most of the day, if not all day before they allow you to take the truck home.
The up-charge for the color match has more to do with they will have to clean everything before they shoot it, and clean it all again before they go back to their most common color that is black.

Nice looking truck, now go get it done, you will be glad you did..

PSOVLSK

I tend to agree with Larry and Scott. I’d do black regardless of cost.

Jstas

The Polk Audio Mobile Monitor series performs far better than it's price point implies.

bcwsrt

Jstas wrote: »

The Polk Audio Mobile Monitor series performs far better than it's price point implies.

94dB sensitivity should be just what the stock head unit needs. Frequency response was lower than the other 6x9s, also, at least those they showed for this application. Was happy to see that, so adding another pair of Polks!

Also, you guys convinced me to go with the black LINE-X. I may end up putting a tonneau cover on it at some point, so that’s another strike against a color matched liner. 👍 That, and I could see the color being off just enough to be cringy-looking, too.

pitdogg2

I could see the color being off just enough to be cringy-looking, too

A few years of Sun may definitely do that anyway.

audioluvr

Do the color match! Love that truck! One and done!

bcwsrt

Dangit, don’t be messing with me, Rob! Thought I had it all figured out! 😂

Took this one the other evening, after the window tint ... but before the wipers crapped out on it today. I love old vehicles! 😩

msg

Rob just wants you to mess up your truck so he can tell you it wouldn't have happened if you had a Jeep.