Truck Bed Mats
Truck Bed Mats -- Better Than High Priced Liners?
Even if youalready have a bed liner, inexpensive truck bed mats work to protect your liner from excessive damage. Following are examples of what bed mats offer as protection for your pickup...
Rubber truck bed mats protect from impact damage better than any other type of liner material. Impact damage that results in dents is more difficult to repair than scratches for sure. That's where rubber mats are so valuable. The thick material absorbs hits and prevents dents.
Plastic liners also help prevent dents to beds, but at a far higher price. But if your pickup hauls anything that can produce dents, it's best to cover the bed either with a plastic liner or a rubber mat.
Cargo slipping and sliding makes for all kinds of problems. Firstly, there's damage to cargo from banging into the pickup bed sides, front and back. Every time loads move, there's a chance for banging up the bed as well. That may mean dents or at least scratches. Neither results in anything good.
Rubber mats hold cargo right in place. The rubber is non-skid, but there's more. These mat include cord strands to produce even more friction and holding power. The texture of the material locks loads in place.
Rubber truck bed mats often rest above more expensive liners to protect the liners. That's because it only makes good sense to sacrifice a cheap mat to protect a much more costly, but more fragile, liner.
That goes for drop in plastic bed liners as well as spray on liners and even carpet liners too.
It's not just that the liners are cheap either...
Installation means just rolling out a liner in the bed and you're done. That way, you can slip in a mat to temporarily protect your permanent liner and slip it out when you're finished with a hauling project. The only problem is the weight of the mats. That's really not a big issue either. It's very manageable.
I asked at my local parts store and got a mat overnight. It's a no-name mat. At least it doesn't have a name on it, but it's heavy and designed just like it should be. It's ribbed on top for easy loading. It's textured for no-slip. It's pebbled underneath to let any water escape. Plus, it was a perfect fit.
Plus, it only cost $50 even plus tax.
It may be worth asking locally since my experience says other truck bed mat suppliers exist other than the ones that show up often.