Bed Liner Removal??

Has anyone attempted to remove the factory installed spray in bed liner? I have requested to get a truck without it but my dealer mentioned that every truck that has been allocated to them recently have all had the bed liner so I may be stuck with having to get one with it. Not sure if they do anything to the composite bed to prep it for the bed liner that cause issues either with removing it or after it was removed (if it even can be...).

And since I'm sure it will come up, I do not want the bed liner because I have no need for it. Most of the time I am hauling things, its things that the bed liner would just end up scratching (ie. bikes, luggage, paddle boards, etc..) and all I need is the bed mat to keep them from moving around too much. I am not a contractor and I'm not heave-ho-ing stuff into the bed on a regular basis so the bed liner is more of a problem than a solution for my use case.

 

The bedliners that come in these trucks are not the abrasive spray on liners. They are composite (plastic) liners. They have a little bit of texture to them, but smooth to the touch. I can't see any way that the liner could possibly scratch the items you put in the bed.

 

Not referring to the actual composite bed itself but rather the spray on bed liner that gets installed over it.

 

The bed of the truck is made out of metal. There is a composite liner inside the bed. There is no spray that goes over the composite liner.

 

The bed of the truck is one piece composite material, there's no metal in there. Same thing they've been using in the Tacoma's for a while now.

 

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Just checked and you are correct, the bed itself is composite. Both of the 22's I've owned have a composite liner over the composite bed. There is nothing sprayed in there.

 

Yeah, the spray in liner is an option

 

It's an option, but I think your sales rep was telling you that all trucks come with a bed liner, not that all trucks come with a spray in liner. Turns out these sales guys aren't necessarily the most informed. Mine tried to sell me a "Bach Flip Tun-O" cover.

 

I have a spray in liner on mine. It isn't adhered very well, and there have been some posts around about it coming off. It feels like a skateboard grip tape, but more rubbery. I'm sure with enough elbow grease, you could tear it out of there, or pay somebody to do it. I don't think there is a way for them to get you the truck without it if the allocation already has it as an option. The dealer isn't the one putting the liner on.

Edit: Here is the post about it
https://www.tundras.com/threads/spray-in-bed-liner-on-composite-beds.105475/

 

They weren't saying that they all come with it, just all of the allocations they have had recently have included the spray in liner option.

 

I don't think you understand what he is saying. The SPRAY IN bedliner is a port installed option, not dealer installed. The dealership does not have a say in whether it comes with one or not when it's allocated with a port installed option from Toyota. He did not say "ALL" come with it. OP knows the difference between a spray in bedliner and the composite bed of the truck. His first sentence said "spray in."

 

I understand that OP knows the difference between composite bedliners vs spray-in. What I'm saying is that not all sales people understand the difference. EVERY truck is going to have some type of bedliner. The sales rep may be seeing "bed liner" on every allocation and may think that "composite" and "spray-in" can be used interchangeably.

 

I understand your desire to not have one for the reasons you listed, but why would you go thru all the hassle of trying to get it removed? Why not just buy the bed mat and throw it right on top and not worry about it?

 

fair point

 

Or find a dealer who has one in the desired configuration.

I say, stick with the liner. Maybe ask for the equivalent value in a discount or service as it isn't something you want.

 

Already planning on the mat (had one in my Tacoma and was amazed how well it worked/held up) so I'm no so concerned with it on the floor of the bed. It's the side walls/wheel wheels of the bed that are the area of concerns. I know I could probably get a bed rug kit to cover the sides and what not but never really been a fan of those as crap gets stuck in the carpet material.

 

I’m in the exact same boat as the OP and would remove the liner if possible. I prefer the slick surface, and the bed itself is indestructible (if anything like my 08 Tacoma). The spray-in is ridiculous in my opinion, and can only lead to durability/adhesion headaches down the road.

 

I was hoping that it would just end up being a couple of hours and a few beers with a putty knife to remove but doesn't seem like too many people have attempted it yet. Maybe I'll end up being the guinea pig if/when I finally get my truck...

 

Good news is that it is hard to stick stuff to plastic/composite, and they don't appear to have prepped the surface at all, based on the pictures people have posted. May not even need the putty knife

 

Early on there were adhesion issues with the spray-in and it could be peeled off with relative ease from what I have seen others post, but I assume they corrected this and it will be more difficult to remove. As of July (and maybe still, I don’t feel like checking the Toyota build site) they weren’t even offering the spray-in as an option in the southern states, maybe due to heat? I am in New England.

 

Plastic bed? Wow... What happens to it when you throw something heavy and solid, like elm log? Gen2.5 bed gets a dent, but nothing you can't hammer out from beneath.

 

They've been using a composite bed in the Tacoma for years now and I haven't heard of anyone breaking one those.

 

The plastic bed in my 08 Tacoma was awesome, and I vowed to never own a truck without one. The thing was indestructible, and I hauled EVERYTHING including a yard of gravel that had me on bump stops. After a quick hose down it looked great, all the way to the end (I totaled it earlier this year)

 

I removed about the top 2-3 inches of spray liner from the cab end. Based off of this experience, there is no way in hell I would try the whole bed! Some of it came off relatively easy, kinda peeling in a sheet, while other areas I couldn't hardly scrap off with a paint scraper. I tried to be careful, but that area looks like crap, all scraped up.

 

Boats n TRDs, no offense but I think you are arguing with yourself.

OP- From what I've read on the other thread, some people have been able to get it off easily, some people have had a hard time. It's a crap shoot.

Like you, I didn't really have a choice (unless I wanted to wait months longer). It's a universally disliked option on this forum..way too aggressive, poorly applied, and doesn't add anything that the bed mat can't take care of.

I wish I didn't have it. It tears the tape off of cardboard boxes, eats through clothing if your sitting or putting your knee down, and makes sliding things in and out a pain.

I would hop onto that other thread for more opinions, but take all of that into consideration. Personally, I hate it. But, I'm still happy I received my truck in Feb rather than waiting who knows how many more months for another identically specced one without it (if that even exists).

 

Just saying that it sounds unlikely that every single allocation to his dealership has the spray-in option. Seems more likely his rep is unclear on the 2 bedliner options. But it sounds like OP is mostly just interested in spending a weekend chipping away a bedliner. So who am I to get in the way? Carry on.

 

Mine is coming with a spray on bedliner as well...

Do we know how thick is that spay on layer is?

I'm considering just getting a bed rug over the entire bed and walls. Bedrug held up amazingly well in my previous 10 year old truck, and it's much comfortable on the knees when climbing into the bed...