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DualLiner... real
truck bed protection system
By Mark Simonds
HemiTruckClub.com
If you’re a truck owner, you know the
importance and value of the bed of that truck. You can haul just about
anything from Grandma’s rocking chair to a load of gravel. The only
problem is that after a few months of use, the bed floor and sides will
start to show their age much faster than the rest of the truck.
Scratches, dings, and dents will eventually appear... making the truck
look older than it really is – and more importantly – will decrease the
value of the truck.
Click on pictures to enlarge
One of our members at
www.HemiTruckClub.com
had that very problem... a beautiful truck – until you dropped the tail
gate. The bed was scratched up pretty bad and it really took away the
good looks of the truck.
There are a few options available to
rectify that situation... a spray-in bed liner, a drop-in bed liner, or
a complete bed liner system. All three options have their advantages
and disadvantages, but in this article I’m going to discuss the
advantages of the DualLiner bed protection system. The folks at
DualLiner have a chart that shows the pro’s & con’s of all three types
of bed liners... and can be viewed at
http://dualliner.com/objects/chart.pdf
The makers of DualLiner sent one of
their bed liner systems to us to install on a 2004 Dodge Ram pickup.
The first thing we noticed was how it was packaged and delivered to the
door. Everything you need is in one easy to handle box, and it was
shipped right to the door. No making appointments or waiting in line
required.
The kit consists of five parts... a
front bed wall liner, two side wall liners, a tailgate liner, and a
heavy duty, 3/8” thick rubber floor mat.
Detailed installation instructions are
provided with the kit, and the step-by-step process made it very
simple. Total installation time is less than 30 minutes, and can be
accomplished by just one person. The only tools required are a #40 and
#27 Torx Driver; a ¼” drill bit, and drill.
The first step is to remove the four
cargo handles inside the Dodge Ram’s bed. We also swept out a few bits
of debris to ensure no further damage could occur to the bed. The front
bed liner went on first, and just slipped over the top front rail of the
bed. Next were the two side pieces... make sure the upper edge of the
liner is placed under the bed rails. The front and side pieces are
secured together with four friction-fit tabs (commonly referred to as
push-in automotive fasteners). We then re-installed the four cargo
handles, which in turn fully secured the side panels. The fact that the
top of the side panels tuck underneath the bed rails gave the
installation a very clean look.
 
The next step is to install the tailgate
liner to the tailgate. Remove the factory Torx screws that hold down
the access panel. Place the liner on the tailgate... the pre-drilled
holes in the liner match up perfectly with the factory holes.
Re-install the Torx screws to the tailgate. There are four additional
pre-drilled holes in the liner, which are located towards the bottom of
the tailgate. This is where you will need to drill four ¼” holes in the
tailgate. The kit includes a tube of rust inhibitor... a small dab in
each newly drilled hole will prevent rust. The four holes are then
plugged with more push-in automotive fasteners.
 
The final step in the installation is to
lay the 3/8” thick rubber mat on the bed. There are grooves in the
bottom of the side panels to which the mat fits in for a nice finished
look.
So here you go - a before & after shot
of the truck bed... which one do you prefer?
Here are a few things to note if you’re
thinking about purchasing the DualLiner bed protection system:
·
Life time
warranty -
http://dualliner.com/objects/LifetimeLimitedWarranty.pdf.
·
Made in the
USA.
·
DualLiner
retails for $319.00. A spray-in liner is $500 and up. Drop-in liner?
Don’t bother – they’re cheaply made, will warp and fade, and are over
priced!
·
The rubber mat
ensures that absolutely nothing will slide around in the bed.
·
Will not fade
or turn a “chalky” color.
·
Can be used
with all types of Tonneau covers and/or bed rails.
In summary, we are very happy with this
product. The owner of the truck is quite pleased and stated this was
probably the easiest way to cover up an old bed and make the truck look
great again. On a side note, I actually had a DualLiner on my 2003
Dodge Ram pickup... when I sold the truck three years later, the bed
liner looked as good as the first day it was installed. I highly
recommend this to pickup truck owners everywhere! Give DualLiner a call
at (800) 992 -1949 or visit their website at
http://dualliner.com/index.php |
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