I have a factory drop in liner and I am looking into putting some bed rail hooks in, should there be some pre-cut holes or pop out holes in the bed liner where the go along the rail or am I going to have to figure out where they are and cut them out?

 

Rhino: 100% polyurethane, tear strength 145 psi, temp tolerance 175 degrees, uses a cold/low pressure application system, rather soft at Shore A 92.5, gels in 30 to 45 seconds, dries in 45 minutes, cures in 24 hours, lifetime warranty only with the dealer that sprays it. UV topcoat is called Rhino Shine. It will eventually peel off the liner and must be reapplied (the consumer can buy a bottle of it and do it themselves). It's thick and not fun to apply.

LINE-X: Polyurethane/polyurea blend, tear strength 304 pli, temp tolerance 250 degrees, uses a heat/high pressure application system (for better adhesion and a more uniform looking final texture), harder at Shore D 45, dries in 4 seconds, cures in 24 hours, currently the ONLY spray-on bedliner with a nationwide lifetime warranty. Several UV products are available: Ultra Shield, Nason, or Xtra. All are one-time applications; if you pick Xtra, it's guaranteed not to fade or lose its gloss.

Vortex: They do not give technical info. (Wonder why?) They have a UV topcoat called kv-40.

 

We have Line-X on all the ranch trucks, and it is just plain awesome. The abuse it takes, and not once have I seen so much as a chip or peal. The newest truck we got last year ('05 2500 Cummins) came with Rhino in the bed (installed by the dealer as an add-on), and it had bubbles on the tailgate, one the size of your palm. Probably was a problem with the application, but I have never seen that with Line-X. We complained to the dealer (since it was a brand new truck), and they said they would have it all resprayed at no cost to us. We said fine, but only if it was Line-X, not Rhino. They had Line-X redo the bed, and also went up over the bed rails at our request, and it has been flawless since, just like on all of the other trucks.

I have rarely heard anything good about doing it yourself, but if you can live with some chipping or peeling, they by all means, save the money. Just don't be dissappointed if it doesn't perfom like the professional stuff.

On a related note, check out this truck from a guy over on pavementsucks.com. It's done entirely in Speedliner, top to bottom.

[IMG]local://upfiles/9095/A197E1D27C72468ABDA62B1480137E21.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]local://upfiles/9095/208F1E408E6F4C69A1CAF218D332F2FB.jpg[/IMG]

 

Speedliner is a solvent based brushable polyurea paint. (LINE-X and Rhino contain no solvents). You mix one gallon of resin with one quart of activator and brush it on, roll it on, or use a hopper gun. Polyurea by itself does not have good adhesion properties, so Speedliner (and Superliner, same stuff) must first use an adhesion primer so their product will stick to the truck. (LINE-X and Rhino do not need primers.)The solvent in Speedliner is ethyl acetate. Google search ethyl acetate!! Not all Speedliner dealers use the same pigments. Some use non-fading (more expensive) pigments, some don't, if you decide on Speedliner, you need to inquire with the dealer. Speedliners website states that after 2,000 hours (that's less than 3 months) the liner can lose up to 20% of its gloss.

From another forum: The rocker panels and fender flares were sprayed with color matched Speedliner. The truck owner is complaining about the fading. Notice the loss of gloss.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...peedliner1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...peedliner2.jpg

We use Dupont Nason, a urethane based automotive paint. The liner will not fade or lose its gloss.
Entire exterior with LINE-X:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4.../Redjeep2a.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...okee2small.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...f3502small.jpg

 

My Line-X is now nearly seven years old and is as strong and good looking as day 1. Yard tools, mowers, gravel, construction material, you name it, bouncing around in the bed and not one failure, hole, tear, flaking. This stuff will outlast my truck! I coud not be more pleased with this liner.

 

Rhino is no good!! I would rather have a bedliner. It peels, chips and is NOT chemical resistant like they claim. Im talking house hold chemicals not industrial. After 1 month I had to have the tailgate resprayed. Gate is chipping again and so is the bed! Never again would I get Rhino. Never had Line-X but they look and seem to be a much superior product.

 

Line-X seems to be the most popular around here, it is definitely the best looking. We even have some of the hunters line-x the exterior of their trucks. They go through the mud and bushes with no scratches.

 

This is the most useful thread I've found on bedliners. Thanks guys. There is one thing however, I just took the drop in off my truck (got it used 2 weeks ago) and the bed is beat up like crazy from the liner rubbing the trapped dust and dirt against the bed. Can I get Line-X sprayed over this? And also, I still need the impact resistance that the drop in can only handle, what do you guys think of Line-X with the drop in on top?

 

How much does the Line-X cost, i was quoted $425 for rhino for a short bed dodge

 

My line-x guy here said $450cdn, I who knows, maybe I can bring him down a few bucks.