Protection Connection - Rhino Linings
For most of us HD truck owners, our vehicle is a lot like a work tool. You haul equipment and such during the week and maybe an ATV on the weekends. Whether you own a beat-up, old, trash hauler or a brand-new, high-end dualie, protecting your bed from abuse and keeping stuff from sliding around when being hauled is a must.
| rhino Linings Protection Connection rear Angle Truck
With today’s technology and products, one of the best methods of handling those issues is to have a spray-in bedliner installed. For this tech article, we joined up with Ricky Payne from The Tire Station in Asheville, North Carolina, and took his new ’10 Dodge 3500 crew cab dualie - which was purchased to act as a hauler for his toys (like rockcrawlers, campers, side-by-sides, and race cars) and a parts hauler for his tire and suspension shop - to Truck Toys & 4x4 Center. It’s an everyday occurrence to see axles, transmissions, tires, and just about any part you can imagine, thrown in the bed of his truck. Knowing he wanted a bedliner that would not only protect his bed floor and sides from abuse but also look good doing it, we agreed the best way to go was with a Rhino Linings spray-in bedliner.
For this truck, the crew opted to use the Rhino Linings Extreme, which is a military-grade coating and is usually sprayed between 60 and 100 mils thick. This provides a thick, durable lining that will withstand any abuse thrown at it. In order to install a bedliner like this, all the factory plastic caps, bedrails, etc. have to be removed. The tailgate is removed to allow easier access to all of the edges and easier access to the bed.
The bedsides and back of the cab are taped up with paper to keep any overspray off unwanted areas. Anywhere the liner will have a hard edge, a wire-edged tape is used, which creates a solid stopping point for the product and creates a nice finish. The entire bed surface is sanded with a fiberglass brush while any tight areas are hand-sanded with sandpaper to ensure a rough surface for the liner to stick to.
Any bed seams are smoothed with a urethane epoxy to give the bed a cleaner finish. Once all the sanding dust is blown out and the bed is wiped down, the truck is put into the paint booth where the liner is applied. It dries almost as soon as it is sprayed, which eliminates any delay in removing the paper and tape and returning it to the customer. The whole install for a truck like this costs around $500, usually takes about 3 to 4 hours, and is ready for use that day.
