As the truck
emerges from the spray booth its like an episode of Extreme Makeover.
We wait patiently for the installers to start pulling away the masking
so we can see the final product in the context of the overall truck.
It only takes a moment to appreciate the results because the LINE-X
XTRA material has been correctly color-matched and looks almost like
it was “born” together with the rest of
the truck at Ford’s plant in Kentucky. At the edges the lines
are crisp and laser straight and we can't detect any spray or color
inconsistencies anywhere in the bed of the truck. Nicely
done.
Putting
the truck back together, including all bolts, accessories and tie downs,
we talk about LINE-X’s overall approach to the bedliner
business.
First they
start with a polyurethane elastomer product which has been developed
and refined in house. The company then applies a rigorous process to
ensure quality and constancy in each and every application. Finally,
LINE-X backs each bedliner with an national limited lifetime warranty
against cracking, bubbling and flaking to ensure peace of mind in the
highly unlikely event of any defect down the road. LINE-X confirms
this warranty when, after completely replacing all hardware and the
tailgate, they proudly apply the warranty bed tag (and in our case
a LINE-X XTRA tag as well).
Our extensive
look behind the scenes at LINE-X helped us appreciate why the brand
is rightfully known as a premium choice for pickuptruck owners looking
for a durable and great looking bedliner solution. Owners
like Brad will confidently tell you that it is not the cheapest alternative
on the market for good reason: quality product, quality application and
a quality warranty do come at a certain price. From our point of
view, fair value was received for the $700 retail price of the color-matched
LINE-X XTRA installation ($450 for standard black, and $189 additional
for LINE-XTRA in standard black or $150 to $250 for additional color
matching).
Incidentally,
dealers set prices for each of LINE-X’s products based on their
local markets so prospective customers are best off to contact a local
dealer directly for pricing.
The before
and after for our truck was dramatic.
The many
scratches which had accumulated in our short first month of ownership
prior to the LINE-X XTRA installation were now long gone and covered
with a perfectly color-matched spray-in liner.
Not more
than a week later we move two filing cabinets which scrape along the
bed of the truck both on the way in and the way out with absolutely
no affect on the appearance of the bedliner. A full load of firewood
follows, and requires a thorough sweeping and spray down to remove
all the loose bark afterwards, but again the bedliner looks like the
day it was sprayed.
LINE-X performs
as advertised and looks great doing it.
