Still confuesd about bedliners for restored 84 GMC 3500

[2badgn]

I just had my dad's 1984 GMC Sierra 3500 restored- rust repair, sand to metal, primed, painted, etc. My dad originally used this truck for weekend masonary work and it had a Duraliner drop in bedliner that is beat due to its 26 years of use.

The truck is now used for occasional trips to Home Depot, picking up boxes of wine grapes, boxes of tomatoes, firewood. My dad is 83 and he does not work anymore. I am a teacher but i may consider using the truck for hire- construction, moving, whatever will make me money- during the summer.

I was seriously considering the Line-X sprayliner but I have been researching the Internet and it seems that the drop-in-liner companies like Penda have bad things to say about spray-in-liners and visa-versa.

What do u guys think would best fit my needs and i am ready to spend $$$$$ for the Line-X.
I like the fact that the bed has more space w/ the spray liner. The drop in takes up alot of space and it does have the potential to rust and damage the truck bed. Bodyshop said that hey found ALOT of sand when they removed the bedliner. This probably prevented the bed from rusting.

[Matt Man]

no doubt about it use rhinoliner or line x never heard of a issue with it. and i think theres something you can do yourself. anyway the whole key to line x or rhinoliner is preperation.

[GCncsuHD]

I would definitely go with the spray in. I have had multiple trucks with Rhino, Line-X and drop in.

I HATE drop in's. They trap moisture/dirt etc under the bed, and everything slides around on the hard plastic. (Although there are some new drop in's that use a rubber base).

Rhino is good for something that is garage kept, or underneath a tonneau/ camper shell. They are much grippier, good looking and somewhat durable, but are susceptible to tearing and peeling with rough loads as well as chalking with sun exposure.

Line-X is MUCH more durable than Rhino, but at the expense of having a little less grip (Still 100x better than most drop in's with grip). There is NO fade with the sun, and it is about impossible to scrape off. I solved the grip problem by throwing a cheap rubber bed mat over it, although I love pulling the bed mat up and having the beautiful glittering black bed underneath. I have loaded many heavy loads with the forklift scraping against the Line-X with absolutely no problems. Also Line-X can alter the texture of the spray to suit your needs. My bed area was sprayed with a real course texture to prevent sliding, while the tailgate was sprayed with a smoother texture so it will not pick clothes while sitting on the tailgate.

[cableguy0]

Obviously all the guys selling drop ins are going to badmouth the spray in liners. spray ins have hurt business big time. the drop in liners rub the paint off the inside of the bed and make it prone to rotting out. i vote for spray in liner. just find a shop that is known to a good job. as stated earlier the issues with spray in are in the prep work. no different than painting a car. if the metal is crappy the paint will be crappy.

[givengold]

We just did the Al's Liner DIY on my son's El Camino. I will do it on my stepside walls as well. It cost about $150, including the gun, if you have a compressor and the time. Otherwise, for $3-400 in our neck of the woods, you can have one of the others sprayed professionally. It made a world of difference.

[78 Big10 454]

Line-X, definetly. Bedliners are bad news.

[thrtsxchambers]

for sure go for spray in. That is my plan for my truck, drop in can warp over time and cause rust to the bed. Spray in is like painting your bed and even offer colors to match the body color.

[Hubscrub]

go for the spray in for sure

[James McClure]

Go with spray in. I had a drop in and it worked well but wore the paint off the floor and it rotted right out. Mine is now spray in and if I'm going to haul stuff that might be to hard on the spray in I just throw in the dura-liner for the day. The whole bottom & inside of all panels is bedliner spray. Good stuff. jim

[2badgn]

Im going with Line-X and my dad alwyas keeps a sheet of plywood on the floor bed so it really shouldnt be a problem if I need to haul heavy stuff. Also thought about keeping the old Duraliner and doing what u did- dropping it in for a day - but i really dont have room to store it. Trying to get rid of stuff- not collect it.

[old Rusty C10]

there are two problems with the spray in stuff. The expensive ones like rhino liner or Linex are great when they are done correctly. This means the prep has to be done 100% correct AND you have to allow it to cure correctly. Which ever one you use has to be done correctly and the second thing is go for the money and use one of those two. The cheaper knock offs that are done yourself never seem to work well. They were selling stuff in the auto parts store and on line and anyone who i ever knew who used those products were having the same problems with the stuff rubbing off or staining things..
I would go to a professional dealer and have it done.

I have a drop in liner on my truck because one of the members here sold it to m e cheap. For what i will do its fine. Not to mention as of now my truck has alot of rust in the bed and it helps hold it together lol
If you decide to keep your drop in liner ( which frankly is good if youre going to be moving mulch and rock and all) just make sure once in a while you remove the liner and clean under it

[2badgn]

I am using line-X and i already spoke with the installer on the phone. He is going to first prime the bed and let it dry overnight. Then spray the Line-X. Let that dry overnight and the next day, apply Xtra- Dupont Kevlar- protection against fading. It costs money but from the reviews that I have read, people were very satisfied w/Line-X more so than Rhino bc Line-X is sprayed hot and dries almoost instantly and cures over 24 hours.

Going to wait 30 days to install to let the truck paint cure bc Line-X people told me that in 2 cases, they had a repainted truck, applied Line-X and when they removed the tape from the bed side. the paint peeled off- probably bc it was not cured and the Line-X is sprayed HOT.

[glock35ipsc]

Line-X, hands down!

[Jonboy]

There is a pretty big texture difference in the hot and cold applications as well. The Line-X has a more uniform texture, and looks thinner (cleaner, IMO. The Rhino is heavier looking, and the texture is thicker. If your bed is pretty clean, I would say go with the Line-X. If there is some damage, going with Rhino will help hide some of it.

[britnjc]

I want more pics of the truck please

[2badgn]

Originally Posted by britnjc

I want more pics of the truck please

Sure, no problem. Thanks for asking. My dad bought this truck brand new in 1984 in the Bronx- Miele GMC on East 149th Street- after owning a 1971 Ford 250 that was getting old. It has a 350, 400 Tranny, Quadrajet, 4.10 gears, automatic. It is a Sierra 3500 2wd 1 ton. It has 108,000 miles. I decide to restore it bc it was starting to rust out. IFirst I had my local Chevy dealer change the timing chain, fix all leaks, change all fluids and rear brakes.
Then it was off to the bodyshop for 2 months as i bought over $4k in parts- new fenders, rocker, cab corners, 1/4 panel patches, seat, dash, misc trim, weatherstrip, etc.

Here's some before and afters: