Reasonable Bed Liner

Went to Lowe's this weekend & purchased a heavy duty rubber mat for $21. It's 36"x36" & covers about 50%-60% of a short bed.

This serves my needs rather then paying $75-$109 on line or for a dealer Tacoma brand. If someone steals it, it won't hurt as much.

 

Pics ?

 

x2

 

Sounds like a great idea. Would love to see some pics of it.

 

Yes, Yes, I know & being new here is no excuse. It's pouring rain last few days here in New England. Will post once the sun is out.

 

I thought of picking up a stable mat, or other mat material and cutting/splicing to serve as a suitable bed mat. Then I jumped on CraigsList and found more than a few available in reasonable drive distance. I found a 6' OEM Toyota Tacoma mat with light use (though dirty) for $50 with pick-up at the parking lot of the nearest Cabela's. Multiple birds with one stone. I scrubbed it clean, no tears or holes, looks new, or at least no older than my six month old Tacoma.

Not quite the $21 deal, but not far off and a perfect fit.

Good luck,

 

Here you go.

 

You should pick up another one, you could probably cover the whole bed.

 

Yes...than a 3rd one to fill in the other areas...

Oh, wait...by then you could damn near buy the real deal

 

One serves my purpose, althought they do inter-lock.

 

That sounds pretty good ... I found some 1/4" thick roll stock matting at Tractor Supply for 5.45 a foot or so in 48" widths. I got 60" of it for $29 or so and it works pretty much perfect with a tad bit of trimming. They also have 3/8" thickness in same width for something over $7 a foot but were out at the time and I'd have gotten 1/4" any way.

It's intended to put down over concrete barn and pen floors for cattle and horses to walk on. I think so they don't split hooves or slip. It looks like finely diced recycled tires thermo-bonded in a matrix; I think it might be porous(so it drains water) but I'm not certain...will have to test in the next rain! At any rate, it's really tough and meant to take the weather so it's perfect for service as a bed mat.

It just doesn't have a $70 Toyota emblem on it.

 

All kidding aside...the OEM mat is real nice.

I've had both OEM (Ford) and aftermarket bed-mats in the past...and the OEM's are just a little nicer.

Using the aforementioned math...mine cost me about 60 bucks for the better quality and the "Tacoma" embossed in it.

And...when I sell my Tacoma...the used OEM mat actually has some resale value.

 

I'm thinking about getting one. Where can you find them? I'm pretty ignorant when it comes to finding accessories and stuff...and I don't want to go to the dealer unless I have to.

 

Got mine from the dealership parts dept. $90.00.

 

hahaha that thing is really small lol

but size doesnt always matter(i hope)

i would try and get another one maybe.

functionallity is all that matters

 

That's what she said.

Did I mention women are liars?

Seriously...I was quite happy with the bare composite bed, except stuff slides around like its on ice back there. I'm not hauling cattle, but I did want to haul bagged land-scaping rock and pavers and just hated the idea they'd slide down and slam into the front bulkhead of the bed on even casual stops. The mat seemed the best idea but couldn't stomach the idea of buying expensive OEM just to watch it get torn up.

It's also ever so much better when hauling coolers and beach chairs. they also stay put!

 

OMG...and a TW sticker in the back window gives ya 5 HP? Come on, the quality isn't any better, it just looks nicer.

I for one wouldn't give any value for the bed mat...only if I lifted it up and saw the bed wasn't scratched up from a life of hauling stuff and the rest of the truck was as well kept.

If you mean selling it outright...used it for a bed mat it would be pretty ugly and not worth much. I'd rather beat on $29 bucks than $90.

 

Actually it's not the HP...it's the torque.

I've had several in different trucks...and I'm quite sure the OEM is a better quality than the aftermarket. The Ford OEM mat I had back in 2002 in a Lariat 4x4 was even better than the Tacoma OEM...but was $250.00

Exactly.

A used OEM mat in fair condition is probably worth 50-60 bucks to a frugal Tacoma owner. That 29 dollar mat is a 2 dollar garage sale item.

 

the summitracing website ( http://www.summitracing.org/parts/DZZ-86964/ ) has them for cheap. Amazon had them for even cheaper but ran out quickly because of the cheap price.

 

At 50-60, the used 'fair' condition OEM is still 20-30 more than my brand-new Tractor Supply mat.

I'd still go to TS knowing what I do now, but that's me. I also never thought the alligator on a t-shirt was such a hot deal. mheh. I've always been a function over form kinda guy.