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OK, so you are looking to protect the bed of your pickup truck. Got it. Where do you start? The first question would be what type of bedliner is right for you? Why should you choose between a spray in liner and a drop in? And what is the differences between the options you have for the spray-in bedliners? We are here to give you the information to help you make an informed decision so you can decide on which is the best option to suit your needs. Drop-in liners are good if you are looking for an economical way to protect your truck, but that protection also comes with some disadvantages. Drop-in liners are preformed, install in minutes and are very hard, providing lots of protection against dings and chips. The down side to the drop-in liners is that because they are very hard, they can have damage that is not as easy or cost effective to repair, some things you put in the bed will slide around, even to the point that it could come out if it’s a item that is hanging over the bed such as a piece of lumber or ladder. Drop-in bedliners are also solid, so any water that maybe in the bed will not drain and when you come open the tailgate, you get an unexpected bath. Drop-in bedliners can also wear protective coating (paint and e-coat) on the vehicle’s sheet metal to wear. And when it keeps water from draining out of the bed and can trap the water under the bed causing accelerated corrosion on those wear spots. So, while they can be initially cheaper from the start, corrosion repair can quickly exceed the differences between a spray-in bedliner. Plus, drop-in bedliners usually only come in one color, are not very good to look at. When it comes to spray-in bedliners, just like the drop-ins, they have their advantages and disadvantages. And those advantages will vary from the different spray-in bedliner manufacturers. Not all spray-in bedliners are equal either. The different manufacturers have multiple chemical compositions of polyurethanes, polyurea, or combinations of the two that can give your different variations in the three key material characteristics (hardness, tensile strength and elongation). Its all about finding one that is in that “Goldilocks” zone. Not too hard, not too soft, has good strength and elongation, but is also not too expensive. Hardness is exactly what it sounds like, the harder the bedliner, usually the better protection, right? Not really. Harder materials can be more brittle and that can make it easier for the bedliner to be chipped if it is hit with something. Harder bedliners also can make things slide around in the truck bed, so you have some of the same disadvantages that you may get from the drop-in bedliner where things can slide out of the bed of your truck if not adequately secured. So, is the softer bedliner better? No, because softer materials will tend to wear down more quickly. Softer materials will be able to absorb more impact than harder bedliners, but that can also dent the sheet metal underneath the protection. If the impact is enough to crack the trucks corrosion protection layer, it can expose the raw metals to the elements and corrode. When it comes to hardness, there really isn’t one way to say one is better than the other. Like so many other things, you have a trade off of different advantages and disadvantages. The idea here is to get that middle ground where you get a good combination of hardness for durability and softness for grip and its ability to absorb impact. Tensile strength is the amount of force that it would take to separate the material from itself. Think of this as tearing a piece of paper. When you are comparing the strength of a material, tensile strength is a good comparison as to which material is stronger. When comparing tensile strength, it’s a good idea to compare materials of similar thicknesses. Our material reaches its optimum thickness at 120 mils. Any thinner and it becomes significantly weaker. At thickness above that, any gain in strength is not proportionate to the cost increase, so is there a diminished added value. Elongation is a measurement of how far a material can be stretched before it tears. This is important because it is a key performance factor in how well a bedliner can be stretched if hit with something hard before it breaks. Think about dropping something heavy into your truck bed. The distance that area is stretched is elongation. If the material is stretched too far, it will tear, and you lose the protection of the bedliner. Elongation is key to a material’s ability to absorb impact. When you are researching the different products on the market, many will not get into the specifics of the material or the specifications. To most, they all looks the same, but hardly anyone will get into the specifics of the products, so they rely on the rational that all of them look the same, they all must be the same and try to sell you on price. But are you, the consumer, getting the best value? And by value, we don’t mean price. We define value as an amount of a commodity equivalent to a specified sum of money. Well, there are lots of ways to measure the value, with technical specifications, such as material hardness, tensile strength and elongation, just making up a few of the features. Other features one should consider when researching bedliners are material characteristics, coverage area, material thickness, product warranty and preparation/installation. Some bedliner material may fade or change colors when exposed to UV rays. Some can be colored. Materials can also vary with their performance when subjected to various temperatures. So what do we believe is the most important aspect of a bedliner? The installer? A quality installer will give the consumer the most value. What are the characteristics of a quality installer. A quality installer will not cut corners. A bad installer can lower their prices by spraying the material thin, saving them cost, but are you getting the best value and adequate strength and durability? A quality installer will also take steps necessary to make sure your product is properly prepped and applied. Quantity of material matters and a quality bedliner installer will add aleast 50-60 pounds of material to your truck’s bed. A quality installer will also use a process to maximize the value of the bedliner. We will cover more of this in the application section. A quality installer will stand behind their product. How good is their warranty? Will they fix any issues with the bedliner or reassembly of the truck? A quality installer will have several years of business results to back it up. The proverbial proof is in the pudding. When shops a close, where does that leave the consumer should they need warranty work done? Where do you go to get warranty work done if your local shop in no longer in operation? We mentioned earlier about materials. Here are the three main types of materials used for spray on bedliners: Polyurethane: Similar to coverings for floors, polyurethane offers a hard durable material. The downside to polyurethane is it can be brittle. Usually, polyurethane does come at a lower price than the next type of material. Because these are harder than most materials, they can also wear faster because they do not “give” as much as the next option either. Polyurea: Polyurea offers a significant advantage in strength and elongation compared to polyurethane but does come at a higher price. Hybrids: The most popular products are hybrids of polyurethane and polyurea. These options combine the two to get a combination of strength and durability at better prices. Application process can vary depending on the material. Here we summarize the different application processes: Low pressure/low temperature: Most DIY options are low pressure (or roll on) applications that are good for very mild applications. Strictly polyurethane applications use these types of application process. These chemicals may have similar characteristics in strength, such as tear strength, but typically lack the elastic properties, such as elongation, that come with the next application process. Low pressure/low temperature applications can see shrinkage, leaving areas that are prone to chipping and peeling. High pressure/high temperature: Polyurea and hybrid materials will require a high pressure/high temperature application process to give you the strength and elastic properties for durabiltiy, where material is heated to over 150 degrees and sprayed at 2000 psi. This provides the benefit of a stronger and more durable material than polyurethane. So when it comes to getting a bedliner for your truck, the key things you need to know: What type of material are you using and the application process? What kind of warranty are you getting and how does it compare to what others are offering? Are there standards for thickness that you can expect to receive?