Advice on bedliner vs carpet

davethevenerable

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Phoenix, AZ
I'm new to the Jeep world! Always wanted one, but just got one! It's a 2000 TJ and it has a spray bed liner in it. But, that bedliner chipping and they just kind of covered everything, including the 4 wd shifter. So, I would like to clean it up and need advice on what to do. Bedliner, Carpet, BedRug, BedTred. Here is what I want to get out of it:
  1. I offroad in Phoenix, so it is dusty. That seems to make carpet less than appealing.
  2. I drive highway a lot with my daughters, so lessening road noise and heat is also appealing.
I welcome your wisdom on this. Give me your opinion and reasons. Thanks!
 
I hated the bed liner I had in my FJ40. It stained and looked like crap. But we have red clay up here so in AZ you might not have that issue. It’s not comfortable, so if you DD your Jeep it tears up anything you put on the floor, like plastic bags from the store.

it’s pretty hard to remove so plan on it being there forever.

Carpet does suck too, but easier to deal with. I have weather tech floor liners on mine.
 
I hated the bed liner I had in my FJ40. It stained and looked like crap. But we have red clay up here so in AZ you might not have that issue. It’s not comfortable, so if you DD your Jeep it tears up anything you put on the floor, like plastic bags from the store.

it’s pretty hard to remove so plan on it being there forever.

Carpet does suck too, but easier to deal with. I have weather tech floor liners on mine.

BedRug is a great option too, since it's easy to rinse out and doesn't get nasty like carpet. Had it in my last TJ and loved it.

I'd never put bedliner on the inside of any vehicle. My experience with it is that it's nice when it's first applied, but it looks like shit in short order, and progressively looks more-and-more like shit the more it wears. It's hard to get clean, and the only place it belongs (IMHO) is the bed of a truck.

Again, just my opinion, but I'd never use it in the tub of any Jeep.
 
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BedRug is a great option too, since it's easy to rinse out and doesn't get nasty like carpet. Had it in my last TJ and loved it.

I'd never put bedliner on the inside of any vehicle. My experience with it is that it's nice when it's first applied, but it looks like shit in short order, and progressively looks more-and-more like shit the more it wears. It's hard to get clean, and the only place it belongs (IMHO) is the bed of a truck.

Again, just my opinion, but I'd never use it in the tub of any Jeep.

I will look at bed rug when my carpet is done.

Yep, even my trucks I’m not a huge fan of....it looks like ass.
 
I will look at bed rug when my carpet is done.

Yep, even my trucks I’m not a huge fan of....it looks like ass.

It really does. The only day it looks good is the day you first get done doing it. After that, it's all downhill.

Bedrug has some sort of a closed cell foam backing, so when you rinse it out with water, it doesn't actually hold water like carpet does, which is great.
 
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I had Bedrug in my last TJ and loved it. When my carpet needs replacing it'll be Bedrug as a replacement.
 
You don't have to remove that bedliner to put a BedRug over it. I'd just clean it as best you can and address any bare metal issues if you have any. It'll act as a little more insulation really.
 
Put a good primer and paint on the tub. I like Rustolium. It will last and last. And easy to just vaccuum or blow the dust out.
Don't know about BedRug, but do not waste your money on BedTred. It is a thin (very thin. Like 1/8") piece of foam board. Similar to what you get your chicken breasts on from the market. But 1/2 as thin. With a solid plastic like coating. Sim8to two heavy coats. It is mostly preformed, but not enough to install without pulling seats and consoles. Total rip off. Price should be 1/2 that at most.
Good primer & paint with a thin carpet or just floormats is the easiest way to keep the TJ clean. Silt and clay dust sticks into the BedTred top coating and also if it gets to the bottom side it stays in the foam and acts like a sandpaper against the paint.
If you use bed liner spray it will hold dust and dirt forever in my experience.
 
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Not a problem.
X2
You can put bedrug and carpet over the paint, why not the bedliner?
In fact I think this is the best option if your Jeep sees both trail, and highway use. The bedliner protects the tub from damage/rust, then you put the carpet on to deal with the ride back (and cover the ugly). The only downside would be remembering to remove the carpet for cleaning more often.
 
Put a good primer and paint on the tub. I like Rustolium. It will last and last. And easy to just vaccuum or blow the dust out.
Don't know about BedRug, but do not waste your money on BedTred. It is a thin (very thin. Like 1/8") piece of foam board. Similar to what you get your chicken breasts on from the market. But 1/2 as thin. With a solid plastic like coating. Sim8to two heavy coats. It is mostly preformed, but not enough to install without pulling seats and consoles. Total rip off. Price should be 1/2 that at most.
Good primer & paint with a thin carpet or just floormats is the easiest way to keep the TJ clean. Silt and clay dust sticks into the BedTred top coating and also if it gets to the bottom side it stays in the foam and acts like a sandpaper against the paint.
If you use bed liner spray it will hold dust and dirt forever in my experience.
Monstaliner (or any liner that doesn't have flakes/chunks) would probably be the best for the interior since you can control the texture better by how you apply it. Less nooks and crannies for dirt to get stuck in.
Better yet, tint it tan so the dirt just blends in.
 
A good (professional if you want to call it that) bedliner dealer can apply a liner in different textures as well by controlling pressure and spray distance. IF I ever got my Jeep sprayed or anything for that matter, I would sure as hell cover that topic with them before they applied it. Most of the ones you see are textured a certain way and is what makes them harder to keep clean but they can be applied much smoother.
 
I am removing bedliner from a couple of 1/2 doors I bought. It sucks and does hide stuff. I just put ACC ESSEX carpet in mine with mass backing. There is no road noise now. Ours is a DD and pavement princess though.
 
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When using Bedrug do you put floor mats over it or just pull it occasionally and hose it down?
 
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Thank you for this thread. I was considering bedliner, because carpet has no place whatsoever in a truck or Jeep as far as I"m concerned. But I think I like the Bedtred better - pretty much what was in our '63 GMC, will catch water that gets in, and I can put my weather tech mats over the top of it. If it gets screwed up, I can replace it. If I need to work on the metal, I can remove it. Looks like win-win to me!
 
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I have Bedliner in my jeep and wouldn't even consider going back to carpet. My only concern would be with the AZ heat the tub may get really hot. Mine gets extremely hot behind the peddles. Of course, this could easily be fixed with a simple floor mat.
 
Don't know about BedRug, but do not waste your money on BedTred. It is a thin (very thin. Like 1/8") piece of foam board. Similar to what you get your chicken breasts on from the market. But 1/2 as thin. With a solid plastic like coating. Sim8to two heavy coats. It is mostly preformed, but not enough to install without pulling seats and consoles. Total rip off. Price should be 1/2 that at most.

Bedrug will give free samples for anyone interested.

Here is a thickness comparison (chicken breast styrofoam, bedrug, and bedtred). Bedtred is 3/8" and Bedrug is 1/4".

IMG_2053.webp


IMG_2056.webp
 
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