Bed Liners and Tonneau Cover Recommendations - 2023 2500

[tomservo]

Greetings. First post here, I did google and search this forum, and got some input but was hoping to get some more. I have a 2023 Ram 2500 that currently has a cheapie drop in bed liner (I purchased the truck used). I would like to replace it and while my initial thought was a DuraLiner drop in, seems there are a lot of benefits to the spray on/roll on liner coatings. Does anyone have any recommendations on drop in good quality liners as well as thoughts on the spray on/roll on ones? I am also interested in getting a 3 fold tonneau cover (I had one for my previous truck, 21 Tacoma, and loved it). I'm not clear on how it would install though since there do not seem to be any rails etc. to use to attach. I have not removed the old bed liner yet so there may be something there to attach to that I am just not seeing. Thanks in advance.
PS - if this has been covered, perhaps extensively, in other threads I'd appreciate it if you could point me in that direction. I searched, but my search skills seemed to have dropped off over the years and I miss obvious stuff lol. Thanks again.

 

[Tom Davis]

Bedliner I would go with a spray in. Lines would be my choice, had them for 10 years in my Ram and never a problem.

The bad part about drop in liners is debris can get under it and scratch the bed up, and moisture will then cause rust under it and you will never know it is there until to late.

Can't help on the tonneau cover, as never used one.

 

[Mlarv5]

With all my trucks I get a spray on bed liner. Most have a lifetime warranty, if it gets scratched etc, they will fix it. I have never had one get ripped or scratched. I have Rhino, Line-x and some others, without issues.

As for a cover I use the Extang Trifecta I can have it on and off by myself in a few minutes. All the ones I have had have held up to the weather in the Cleveland OH area, and now in TN.

 

[Rlaf75]

There's advantages and disadvantages to both style bed liners. Drop in bed liners can prevent dents in the bed when transporting heavy things but you run the risk of getting moisture and debris under it causing rust to the bed. A qualty spray in liner is pretty durable and can help prevent rust and looks better but the bed can dent if moving heavy objects in the bed. I had a factory installed drop in liner and my 11 ram which worked out fine. I now have a 21 ram with a factory spray in liner and this too has been fine.

As far as tonneau covers are concerned, before you commit to a tri-fold cover id recommend looking at the soft roll up tonneau cover. Although the trifold can be removed easily it can be a pain in the ass to store it when you need to remove it unexpectedlyfor full bed access. With a soft roll up cover there is no need to remove it. Just simply roll it up and have full access to the bed. My 11 ram had a trifold cover and my 21 has a soft roll up cover. When fully closed covering the bed the look nearly identical and both serves its purpose. Both of the covers I had were pretty good at keeping water out of the bed but some will still get in. No tonneau cover will be leak free. My trifold was about $300 and my soft roll up was under $200

Moral of my is, its a matter of personal preference. Figure out how you're going to use the truck and which cover will work best for your needs

 

[blue ghost]

One of the issues i find with spray on bed liners, is the prep work. I noted that the best liners need to be adhered to the body well. If they do not de-wax, sand the bed(very good), the adhesion of the liner will show with age. I have line-x liner on my 2013 and it still looks like new.

 

[Adamcr68]

Bedliner I would go with a spray in. Lines would be my choice, had them for 10 years in my Ram and never a problem.

The bad part about drop in liners is debris can get under it and scratch the bed up, and moisture will then cause rust under it and you will never know it is there until to late.

Can't help on the tonneau cover, as never used one.

I agree with Rlaf75, that is a very good point about where to store the tri-fold style of cover especially if you need to use the whole bed unexpectedly. I have to plan ahead to remove it if I need the bed, does come off & goes back easily, and with mine it was recommended to remove for a “heavy” snow as it can stretch the vinyl.
I have never had a drop in bed liner but really like the spray on I have & agree that the prep work before any kind of painting is probably the most important part of the process.

 

[Adamcr68]

Bedliner I would go with a spray in. Lines would be my choice, had them for 10 years in my Ram and never a problem.

The bad part about drop in liners is debris can get under it and scratch the bed up, and moisture will then cause rust under it and you will never know it is there until to late.

Can't help on the tonneau cover, as never used one.

I meant to quote the op, sound advice about debris getting under.

 

[Adamcr68]

Greetings. First post here, I did google and search this forum, and got some input but was hoping to get some more. I have a 2023 Ram 2500 that currently has a cheapie drop in bed liner (I purchased the truck used). I would like to replace it and while my initial thought was a DuraLiner drop in, seems there are a lot of benefits to the spray on/roll on liner coatings. Does anyone have any recommendations on drop in good quality liners as well as thoughts on the spray on/roll on ones? I am also interested in getting a 3 fold tonneau cover (I had one for my previous truck, 21 Tacoma, and loved it). I'm not clear on how it would install though since there do not seem to be any rails etc. to use to attach. I have not removed the old bed liner yet so there may be something there to attach to that I am just not seeing. Thanks in advance.
PS - if this has been covered, perhaps extensively, in other threads I'd appreciate it if you could point me in that direction. I searched, but my search skills seemed to have dropped off over the years and I miss obvious stuff lol. Thanks again.

Welcome to the forum, I just quoted someone else trying to respond to you & I’m supposed to a senior member.
Tons of helpful members here, make sure you check with the preferred vendors here before you buy somewhere else, and post up some pic’s when you get a chance.

 

[ExpressRules]

I have a Bakflip tri-fold on my 14 which folds all the way up against the back window for full bed use. As for a bedliner Use a BedRug which I love and recommend. The BedRug is actually spun plastic which has a short nap rug consistency. Great on the knees and if it gets dirty I just go to self help carwash stall and use the high pressure wand and it cleans like new. Another bonus is helps keeping items in bed from sliding around.

I bought my 19 used and it already had a soft roll up cover and spray in liner. Been debating upgrading to a tri-fold hard cover and BedRug.

 

[Wild one]

I'm another fan of the bedrug
I had the factory spray in liner in my last 2 trucks,with a Mopar bedrug on top of the spray in liner. Loved the bedrugs,as they make life on old knees alot nicer.When it got dirty a run through the carwash was all it took to get it clean.
I had the mopar hardtop tonnue on the first truck,and the mopar soft tri-fold tonnue on the 2nd truck,i'd never do another mopar hard tonnue,and after i beefed up the soft tri-fold cover it wasn't a bad cover,it'd handle snow then.

 

[Grams]

I recommend a spray-in liner and a Bak-Flip tonnaue. I’ve had both on three trucks and found them excellent.

As for a hard tri-fold: As “ExpressRules” posted…. The Bak-Flip folds up against the back window to allow full bed access. This has the added advantage of PROTECTING the back window from breakage when using the full-bed for cargo. (protects the rear window from sliding cargo)

Another plus for Bak-Flip: As I wrote, I’ve had Three of them. Bak-Flip has Excellent Customer-Service. When one was received damaged with missing parts during shipping…. Bak-Flip did not make me “jump thru hoops”…the quickly over-nighted another entire shipment and They paid for picking up the previous one only After I was fully satisfied.
When I attempted to fit my newest truck with a Bak-Flip (which I incorrectly judged improperly-designed) Bak-Flip was very responsive to meeting my needs…shipped another quickly…and when it was discovered that it was my TRUCK which did not meet measured-specifications…Bak-Flip helped solve the fitment problem. (explained how to adjust the improperly-assembled Rambox-rail that Ram assy-line had done incorrectly.)
I found them virtually water-tight. Also, a hard cover such as a tri-fold is better at preventing tampering and more durable than soft covers.

As for drop-in liners: I Love Them : For holding and curing compost in the garden. They keep the decomposing organic material gathered until completely rotted and ready for use… And they provide a hard floor helpful when using a shovel to scoop up the compost for distribution.
I get them “Free” from aftermarket truck outfitters who have run out of room storing them because re-cyclers won’t accept them after theyv’e removed them for unhappy owners who found out they prefer spray-in liners.
.
BTW, another good thing spray-in providers can do : I asembled my contractor’s-rack and had the local Rhino-guy spray it completely with bed-liner, before I mounted it on the truck.
Ten years later, despite carrying construction materials and sliding aluminum canoes On/Off it …. not a scratch on it….and the canoe is not damaged by it either.
Spray-in is the way to go. (make sure to get the tailgate inside-surfaced also.)

 

[KeithP]

My company truck has a drop in, my personal truck has spray on. I prefer the spray on primarily b/c the drop in is slick, even worse when it’s wet. A slick surface may be ok for you depending on what you normally haul. As for me, I prefer a bed liner that’s got a little friction to it.

 

[barf]

I got a Ram drop in. I'm impressed. I prefer them around saltwater. I had to drive to Long Island for one. Dealers have to order them in quantity. Popular there. My '98 still had the original when I sold it last year.

 

[MADDOG]

I never do drop ins anymore. They trap dirt & water underneath and promote corrosion faster than a two year old toddler can run who's been asked, "What do you have in your mouth?"

I have been doing spray in liners since I got my 2007 MegaCan.

 

[Nick@GotExhaust]

I recommend having a pro do a spray in. Prep is key and so is quality of the liner product. I do just about everything myself but that is one of the very few things I have a pro do at their shop.

For bed cover there are a lot of great options. Our most popular tri fold is the BAK MX4. Message me if you would like a quote on anything. We stock lots of bed cover options with great pricing and free shipping to the lower 48US. Most covers clamp to the bed rails for the majority of trucks. Tacoma does not have regular bed rails with their composite beds so they use the accessory rail for bed covers.

 

[Fake-Account27]

I just got rid of my Bakflip MX4 rolling cover, Complete waste of money. It leaked like crazy, right from the start, there are various plastic parts that break, and after 2 years it no longer lined up correctly so it was leaking along the sides as well.

I spent the money and just installed a Diamondback SD cover. I got a scratch and dent one for $500 off. Very happy with this purchase. It leaks the tiniest amount at the front corners,

 

[Nick@GotExhaust]

The MX4 is a trifold. Was it a X4 or X4s? Those are hard roll ups.

Also BAK is constantly making changes to improve their covers. The MX4 is now up to its 3rd or 4th generation of it.

 

[Skearns]

I just got rid of my Bakflip MX4 rolling cover, Complete waste of money. It leaked like crazy, right from the start, there are various plastic parts that break, and after 2 years it no longer lined up correctly so it was leaking along the sides as well.

I spent the money and just installed a Diamondback SD cover. I got a scratch and dent one for $500 off. Very happy with this purchase. It leaks the tiniest amount at the front corners,

If you have leaks I’d check/adjust your retaining bars or check the seals. I’ve had one on for over 12 years now and still have no leaks. I did replace the seal near the cab when I first got it.

 

[G-Ride990]

I am surprised no one has mentioned the Lomax tri-fold, there are a handful of us here that use these covers. I have bought two of them from @Nick@GotExhaust over the last few years.

It seals really dang well and is very high quality. Probably take you 20-30 minutes to install for your first time. It just uses rails and I think 8 clamps. If you have an impact it's quick and easy to install.

But, it doesn't flip up against the cab. So you'll have to remove it if you need to fill the bed up with cargo. Bakflip has it beat there. But I could remove it in less than a minute if you asked me to. Just have to pull a string and lift it out.

Line-x did my spray in liner and you don't need the fancy/expensive UV protectant coatings if you install a bed cover. Mine came out pretty good for a pretty reasonable price I think. $542. Put a bedrug over it and it's even better!

Here's mine for reference. Still looks flawless after a year.

Bed liner and cover

Sorry for the novel

 

[Nick@GotExhaust]

I am surprised no one has mentioned the Lomax tri-fold, there are a handful of us here that use these covers. I have bought two of them from @Nick@GotExhaust over the last few years.

It seals really dang well and is very high quality. Probably take you 20-30 minutes to install for your first time. It just uses rails and I think 8 clamps. If you have an impact it's quick and easy.

But, it doesn't flip up against the cab. So you'll have to remove it if you need to fill the bed up with cargo. Bakflip has it beat there. But I could remove it in less than a minute if you asked me to. Just have to pull a string and lift it out.

Line-x did my spray in liner and you don't need the fancy/expensive UV protectant coatings if you install a bed cover. Mine came out pretty good for a pretty reasonable price I think. $542. Put a bedrug over it and it's even better!

Here's mine for reference. Still looks flawless after a year.

Bed liner and cover

Sorry for the novel

Lomax also has the Lomax Stance now and that folds up to the back window.