Plastic liner vs spray in

Bit the bullet today and took it to Line-X. I pitched the old plastic liner, which was looking pretty beat up, and wouldn't stay put. Luckily, the paint underneath, while scuffed, was still in great shape overall, and there was zero rust after 21 years.

I had no desire to sand/prep/primer this myself. I've gotten to the point in life where I can afford to pay others to do stuff I really want but have no desire to do myself...they did a great job. Dirt marks are from the tires on my bicycle, which I took to drop off/pick up the truck.

 

Spray-on stuff might have gotten better since mine was put on in '02, but the first time I hauled mulch with it the Rhino Liner retained a red stain that no amount of cleaning would get rid of. The bed rail tops began to peel off revealing the scuffed metal underneath and began to rust. Had the truck repainted and they sanded off all the old liner on the rail tops but left the rest of the bed alone. Got some plastic Bushwacker rail caps and a plastic liner from a wrecked Tacoma from the yard and feel pretty good about it not causing any damage. I guess doubling up would be the ultimate answer to this. Heck even putting in a bed mat on top of the plastic liner so you have three levels of coverage lmao.

 

The other guys where right on the money with getting the prep right. I just spent yesterday ripping half of a spray-on liner off to get at the rust holes underneath.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/2004-bed-liner-rust-ohio.843033/

 

I had a OE liner for almost 18 years, ditched it, now I just run a rubber pad in the bed. The plastic liners are just too damn slippery.