> But how can anyone justify a hard, plastic, shell which
> sits/bolts on metal-painted surfaces as a logical
> solution to protecting a bed ?
Easy. If you'd seen the bed in my '84 S-10 after a few loads of
gravel and rental equipment, you'd have gotten any bed protector,
including the drop-in style.
> I mean, it is easy to understand this from a dings-and-
> dents point of view. But from a paint protection view-
> point, it just doesn't make sense.
Agreed. However, my primary consideration was in preventing the
mondo dents from threatening to poke through my new Dakota's bed.
I didn't buy the truck to show it, and I'm not overly concerned
about keeping pristine paint in the bed.
> The way I see it, the spray-on solution and/or the
> flexible rubber mats are the only way to go.
The fleximats don't protect bed walls, wheel wells or tailgates
at all. They don't protect the bed floor from dings as well as the
drop-in bed liners (I had one in the S-10).
The spray-in bed protectors are definitely the best solution, but
they are significantly more expensive, trickier to install, and
heavy. This permanent solution also preempts any claims about
paint protection, since applying a permanent rubberlike compound to
one's bed pretty much ends all appreciation of the underlying paint.
Come to think of it, the idea of a Rhino spray-on Dakota body is
sort of attractive. No waxing! Impervious to chips and tar! Laugh
at the road salt!
> Does anyone know if Dodge dealerships offer this
> spray-on protection liner, or CC as a factory option ?
CC didn't offer it in model year 1995, nor did our dealer. I would
have gotten it if they had. Oh well.
Ron "Now For The Tonneau Cover..." Rader
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Jun 20 2003 - 12:07:20 EDT