by Tenebris

Created on: May 08, 2008   Last Updated: November 07, 2008

Bed rugs and bed liners are accessories designed to protect the bed of your pickup truck and the items you carry in it. Some protect only the bed, some protect the bed and sides, and some primarily protect the cargo. Which kind you choose will depend on what you want your bed liner to do, and whether you want it to be a permanent part of your truck.

At the low end of the scale is the simple rubber mat. This will protect the floor of the truck bed quite adequately from dings and scrapes, and will also keep most cargo from sliding around and possibly itself causing damage or being damaged. It will not, however, protect more than the bed floor. The rubber mat has the advantage of being one of the cheapest options available. However, because rubber tends to become brittle with exposure to sunlight, it is also one of the most short-lived.

Another material which serves the same general function as the rubber mat is the ridged plastic sheet, familiar to many drivers as being similar to a heavy-duty floor mat. Many of these are pre-formed to the shape of the truckbed, which can get in the way of other truckbed accessories. Plastic also tends to become brittle with increased sun exposure.

Outdoor carpet is a popular choice for bed rugs in protected truckbeds; ie. those which have some kind of topper or cover. The amount of protection it provides to the bed is generally about the same as that of a rubber mat but it is slightly kinder to the items placed on top of it, although a liner made of outdoor carpet is more vulnerable than a rubber mat to sharp objects. Unlike a rubber mat, outdoor carpet can also be attached or even glued to the sides of a truckbed, giving protection there as well. However, it will not keep items from sliding; and dirty or greasy items may stain it forever. Especially, outdoor carpet should not be used for loose earth-based loads such as gravel or any kind of soil, because its grains will damage the carpet's fibres.

Both rubber mats and carpets can accumulate dirt between them and the truckbed, in a way that will be familiar to anyone who owns a front door mat. This can result in hidden scratch, ding, and corrosion damage to the truckbed as the trapped sand and salt scratches at the truck's finish. Thus, both rubber mats and carpets should be removed regularly, and both they and the truck bed cleaned.

Spray-on or roll-on bed liners are best thought of as a kind of polyurethane that primarily protects from the effects of weather and corrosion but which

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