Question: Will a drop-in plastic Mopar bedliner, that seller states fits/came from 08-10 dakota, fit my 02? This is for the standard 6.5 foot bed. Any changes in the years between- say, at 05- that would keep it from fitting? All help appreciated.

 

according to a quick search...

for under-the-rail: 97-11 w/o utility (tie-down) track & w/o T/G spoiler are all the same in the aftermarket bedliners... so if the 08-10 bedliner that you are looking at has either the spoiler or tie-down track, it could be different...

for over-the-rail: each generation is different... 86-96 1st gen, 97-04 2nd gen, 05-11 3rd gen w/o spoiler, and 08-11 3rd gen w/spoiler...

why do you want a drop-in? spray-in and pour-in are better IMO and even less expensive, depending on who you talk to...

 

had to make a correction, sorry, forgot about over-the-rail / under-the-rail differences...

 

Thanks HTR. I've seen similar things, but not consistently. I did find some "cargo box" specs at AllPar that show the 05 & up beds are 0.9" longer on the floor with gate closed, 0.5" wider between the wheelwells, & have a narrower tailgate. But even AllPar isn't infallible. Right now the plan is, if the guy has an under-rail 6.5 foot model, to stop buy & see if it fits. If yes, I'll pay & drive out with it. If not, I've lost a few minutes of time.

Why drop-in? No work- no days of prep, etc. No $400+ cost to have one professionally sprayed on. No dents- I've helped load & unload a truck with a nice Rhino liner, with concrete blocks, broken concrete chunks, and big chunks of red sandstone. When unloaded I couldn't see that any of the new scratches had gone all the way through- but there were several new dents, including a pretty big one.

It won't be a new price either, which runs about $140 in this area. More like $50 for a new/lightly used new-truck pull-out. Less than a DIY kit, plus nothing else to buy. No road salt in this area- plus it'll be under a camper shell- so I'm not worried about the bed rusting underneath. And the bed's already skinned up enough that if it does rub the paint raw in a few spots underneath it won't upset me at all. I had one in my previous Dakota long ago & it worked out well for me.

Protection from big dents. No work. Less $ than a DIY paint-in coating, plus nothing else to buy. Save $400 over professionally sprayed liner. Win. Win. Win. Win. In my opinion, anyway.

But I gotta admit, those spray/paint liners sure look good. After seeing the Herculiner sale at O'Reillys I was strongly considering it- then spotted someone w/08-10 Dakota Mopar takeouts for sale.

 

All this may not matter- the seller says flat out that his Mopar new-truck take-outs won't fit my 02, though he doesn't claim to have tried it. Says for the Mopar units, 05-07 is one part #, 08-11(11?) is another part #. Rats.