Bedrug Pickup Truck Bedliner Review

My old F-150 truck already had a rigid bedliner in it when I bought it. The bedliner worked fine as bed protection, but I wanted to try something different in the newer truck--the hard, tall ribs on the floor of the old liner made the surface too bumpy for things I typically haul. After looking at just about every bedliner on the market I chose a Bedrug®, a bedliner made from soft plastic fibers. Cost: about $330. Warranty: original owner covered as long as you own the truck.

The Bedrug was packed and delivered in one large box. I installed it outside, so I had to wait for a day that was over 65-degreees to make sure the adhesive strips that affix it to the bed would be sticky enough to have a good, permanent contact with the metal.

I unpacked the Bedrug and spread it out in the driveway. It looked like a large "T," since the sections that go up the sides of the truck were unzipped for easier packing and shipping.

I let the bedliner sit in the sun to become more pliable while I cleaned the truck bed, then I folded the sides back and zipped them to the bedliner floor. Pulling the bedliner up into the bed was a simple job for one person. The rest of the installation took place after the bedliner was in the bed.

The bedliner is held in the bed with a hook and loop system that's similar to Velcro®. Loops are sewn to the liner and the hooks fasten to the bed with self-adhesive strips.

The entire installation took about an hour and was easy to do.

There are a couple of choices if you need to fit the Bedrug around permanent tie downs or other accessories. Either cut a slit in the Bedrug and guide them through or remove the items and re-install them through the bedliner.

The Bedrug looks like carpeting and feels soft to the touch, but it's made from plastic fibers. The manufacturer calls the under-padding a "closed cell foam." No part of the Bedrug absorbs liquids--anything I've spilled on the bedliner so far came right off with a shot from the garden hose. The manufacturer says you can also use a pressure washer filled with soap solution to clean the Bedrug.

Each Bedrug is molded to fit a specific truck model. The floor padding is made to sit between the ribs to give the floor liner a smooth surface--it looks good and is easy to kneel on. My Bedrug is a perfect fit everywhere, including the sections of the bedliner that extend up the bed walls and over the wheel wells.

The manufacturer says that the Bedrug can't be stained or damaged by spills of "acids, solvents, chemical compounds or petroleum products." I haven't spilled much on my bedliner yet, so I can't give you a first hand report on every type of chemical, but I've heard enough positive comments from other truck owners to take the claim seriously.

Yes -- I'm very pleased with the Bedrug bedliner. It looks good and it's easy to clean. The liner protects the bed and its flat, soft surface cushions any delicate objects I decide to haul, like furniture my wife finds at antique stores and flea markets.

We've had a lot of rain lately and I've noticed that it runs right off of the Bedrug liner and out of the bed with no pooling.

The Bedrug is durable -- haul anything you want without worrying about how it will affect the liner.

The only drawback to the Bedrug is the 65-degree installation requirement. If you buy the Bedrug during cold weather you'll need to install it in a heated garage or find another warm spot to work in.