Truck Bed Mats - Tips To Choose
Pickup trucks are made for hauling. But if you don't protect the surface of the truck bed, you'll likely end up with a scratched and dinged bed. Rust may get a start at the scratches and your expensive truck is on a road to ruin! You can either be very careful, in which case it's hard to get anything done, or protect your bed with truck bed mats or covers.
One obvious choice to protect your bed is a drop in bed liner or a sprayed in bed liner. That's a good option but there are problems with bed liners. One problem is that many bed liners are so expensive, you need protection for the liner itself!
Another route to take is truck bed mats. Bed mats are also a good way to cover existing damage and make a truck bed look much better and protect from further damage.
Carpet Liners
Carpet is an especially good choice if your truck sports a tonneau cover or a topper shell. Most carpet liners are weatherproof, but a wet liner can hold moisture on the bed and start damage to the bed. However, some new carpet covers are made of closed cell foam like life preservers and dry very fast. A carpet covering is a non-skid surface and that may be just what your hauling requires. Plus carpet is cushion for knees if your loading or hauling calls for some crawling around on the truck bed. Also carpeting is perfect for cushioning big, messy hauling jobs.
With these mats you may choose a reversible cover. For really messy, rough hauling some mats have two usable sides. Sometimes one side is carpet and the other rubber. These dual side mats are just the thing for real work trucks that need tough non-skid protection.
On the other extreme, pick a custom made carpet lining that covers bottom and sides of the bed with luxury carpet. You wouldn't want a luxury carpet liner for messy loads but for more casual hauling and recreational use. Many of these liners are installed with velcro so the liners are easy to remove and clean.
Rubber Liners
For really nasty or rough hauling, rubber mats are virtually indestructible. These mats are also weatherproof, unbreakable and shock absorbing. Rubber mats can take severe bashing with little or no damage. Plus you get some road noise muffling with the bed protection.
You may want a trim to fit universal mat. That will be your cheapest choice. A custom fit rubber mat is probably made for your truck too. Another option is to get a multi-piece liner just for your truck that includes a rubber floor mat plus snap in side pieces to cover the whole bed.
Whatever your choice, truck bed mats are an important option to protect the value of your old or new truck. Either rubber or carpet mats are tough and durable ways to protect your truck bed while using your truck like it was meant to be used.
Find the prices and a lot of truck bed mats details at this link...