Is there an argument for a naked bed?

[Factoid]

When COVID hit, I had to bring workout equipment from my warehouse to the house. I loaded it in the back of my naked JTR and over the course of about 10 miles, it gouged and scratched the paint off the bed. I keep meaning to make an appointment for linex, but right now the bed looks like crap.

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[ShadowsPapa]

That's why I have a lot of heavy, double corrugated cardboard, carpet scraps and blankets around...... Even without the spray-in liner I could pad things well like I've done over the years to avoid scratches - more importantly, scratches or damage to the items I'm hauling.

 

[PDiddy]

My JT came lined. The bed still scratched and dented when I accidentally dropped my key fob on it.

I'll show myself out...

 

[Gatorized]

This is one I’m looking at too. Looks perfect.

Anyone have any thoughts about how to protect the tailgate? It gets a lot of sliding wear, and I’m concerned those “stick-on” carpet “bed rug” pieces won’t stay on the tailgate in the unrelenting extreme heat we get down here in the desert.

I went with the K0459 smartliner - $119 with free shipping on amazon at the time. Added a 50” wide door mat that goes under the smartliner and extends over the tailgate. It covers the gap and needs to be folded over before closing the tailgate so it does not interfere with the tonneau closing.

 

[DirkG]

Added a 50” wide door mat that goes under the smartliner and extends over the tailgate.

That's one of the "cons" of the bed mat is that it still leaves the tailgate unprotected. That's a clever solution with the 50" door mat...

 

[xpcdoojk]

I haven't scratched up my painted bed yet but I'm still using it as a truck (ok, I did add a rubber mat - mostly to keep things from sliding around). I don't think my Baja would have fit well in a JLU.

Good lord, I had a 1971 Baja 100. Couldn’t keep it from fouling plugs to save my life, but I loved that thing when I was 12 Even when it stranded me miles away from where I could fix it.

Heck your looks better than mine did in 1776 when I sold it to buy a car.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Good lord, I had a 1971 Baja 100. Couldn’t keep it from fouling plugs to save my life, but I loved that thing when I was 12 Even when it stranded me miles away from where I could fix it.

Heck your looks better than mine did in 1776 when I sold it to buy a car.

During the revolutionary war there was a shortage of steel to make cars........ naw, that was a horse you traded.
Just funnin' messing around.

 

[TrailHiker]

How about a Trak and Holy floor on the bed — very classy looking.
cheers

 

[fun2drum]

This is one I’m looking at too. Looks perfect.

Anyone have any thoughts about how to protect the tailgate? It gets a lot of sliding wear, and I’m concerned those “stick-on” carpet “bed rug” pieces won’t stay on the tailgate in the unrelenting extreme heat we get down here in the desert.

I got the same rubber mat and it’s perfect for me. I don’t carry concrete blocks and gravel. I carry stuff for travel and fishing trips, drums and music gear, and other stuff of life. I’ve never been one to pack lightly, and I don’t have to worry about it with the JT. I like the painted look, and a few scratches on the sides don’t bother me in the least. Whoever buys it from me can spray in a liner if they want, and that’ll cover the scratches if that’s what they’re wanting.

As for the tailgate, I’m on the fence about the bed rug. That looks nice, would be comfortable to sit on or on the knees, and it solves (if the adhesive holds) the problem of extra drilled holes. I’d rather have scratches than drilled holes in the tailgate. I’m pretty much sold on the idea except for one thing:

It’s all the fishing rigs that I have strewn across it while I’m on the beach. Would the fish hooks get caught in the rug fibers and be a nightmare to work loose? Again, I’d rather have a scratched up painted tailgate rather than deal with that kind of mess.

 

[DreamedofaJeepSomeday]

So I don't get it. Is there an argument the other way? Why would you WANT a body color bed?

I am joining this after 5 pages already posted, and I don't have the patience to read through all of it to see if anyone already posted my opinion.

So I will just offer it. Yes, I specifically wanted a body-color bed. My body color is white; I chose white for several reasons, but among the most important is it is cooler in the South Florida sun. Same applies to bed as rest of the truck. I have a white hardtop.

Just yesterday, I was adjusting my soft topper (black). I could not hold my hand on the fabric without getting a first-degree burn. But I could crawl up in the white bed, no problem. Most bed liners are black, and hot.

The other reason is this: I had a Dodge Dakota for 16 years. It was used as a daily driver, and I did haul stuff in the bed. It got scratched. It was also white. Every few years, buy a couple cans high quality (white) spray paint - voila! - the bed looks (almost) new again.

 

[eternus]

I can't wrap my head around why a pick up truck's bed would ever be painted, and the fact that a protective "spray in bedliner" is an additional option. Those tough bedliners that can take a beating should be the standard, and then getting a body color bed is the upgrade, much like it is for the hardtop.

To me, the bed is a tool. I wouldn't put a fancy paint job on the head of my hammer. You swing at one nail, and there goes your paint job on the hammer.

So I don't get it. Is there an argument the other way? Why would you WANT a body color bed?

I would say that a painted bed is just the need for it to be "something." You wouldn't want it to literally be naked metal, that'll rust real fast. It needs some sort of protection.

Selling a new vehicle, especially for $40k+ had better have a palatable bed, something that shows well on the lot. Painting it while painting the rest of the truck is little added expense while taking it a a different line to paint in a bedliner slows down the process and costs more money.

Beds are painted because you gotta have a starting point. You then have the option to modify it to be the tool you need. Some people want carpet, some want an indestructible bedliner and some will go even beyond that.

I'm not sure if you're saying "why would i want a painted bed" or you're asking "why does the Jeep paint it?" I think both are covered though. To use your hammer analogy, a carpenter will pick up a framing hammer that has a milled head while a metalworker would use a ball peen hammer. We all need different tools and use them for different things. Just like the rest of a Gladiator, you can very easily modify it for YOUR needs.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I would say that a painted bed is just the need for it to be "something." You wouldn't want it to literally be naked metal, that'll rust real fast. It needs some sort of protection.

Selling a new vehicle, especially for $40k+ had better have a palatable bed, something that shows well on the lot. Painting it while painting the rest of the truck is little added expense while taking it a a different line to paint in a bedliner slows down the process and costs more money.

Beds are painted because you gotta have a starting point. You then have the option to modify it to be the tool you need. Some people want carpet, some want an indestructible bedliner and some will go even beyond that.

I'm not sure if you're saying "why would i want a painted bed" or you're asking "why does the Jeep paint it?" I think both are covered though. To use your hammer analogy, a carpenter will pick up a framing hammer that has a milled head while a metalworker would use a ball peen hammer. We all need different tools and use them for different things. Just like the rest of a Gladiator, you can very easily modify it for YOUR needs.

A few months ago I spent several hours cleaning, re-plating or re-painting a number of my Kent-Moore dealership tools. Things that were plated, I cleaned, stripped, cleaned and plated again. Things that were black, I cleaned and blackened again. Things that were painted - well, you know, I painted. I even went so far as to fill in the tool's numbers with paint like they were originally.
These tools are like new - and many of them I use on a regular basis - so they'll last me a lot longer and in the end, be worth a bit more some day. Even a hammer with a beat to he|| head won't work as well - take care of it and it will last as long as you need it. I still have almost all of my original tools - and my specialty tools came from my first auto shop boss and were 10-20 years old when I started there in the 70s.

A truck or car is a tool...... and a personal possession - who is anyone else to tell someone else what they should do with that tool or truck bed?

 

[eternus]

A few months ago I spent several hours cleaning, re-plating or re-painting a number of my Kent-Moore dealership tools. Things that were plated, I cleaned, stripped, cleaned and plated again. Things that were black, I cleaned and blackened again. Things that were painted - well, you know, I painted. I even went so far as to fill in the tool's numbers with paint like they were originally.
These tools are like new - and many of them I use on a regular basis - so they'll last me a lot longer and in the end, be worth a bit more some day. Even a hammer with a beat to he|| head won't work as well - take care of it and it will last as long as you need it. I still have almost all of my original tools - and my specialty tools came from my first auto shop boss and were 10-20 years old when I started there in the 70s.

A truck or car is a tool...... and a personal possession - who is anyone else to tell someone else what they should do with that tool or truck bed?

Precisely. I'm a fan of tool restoration as well, though mine tend towards woodworking hand-tools. I'm 100% in favor of tuning a tool to your own needs and then carrying for it as such.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Precisely. I'm a fan of tool restoration as well, though mine tend towards woodworking hand-tools. I'm 100% in favor of tuning a tool to your own needs and then carrying for it as such.

I have a few of those as well - a couple of wood-bodied planes, braces and bits, a couple of rasps that date to the days my great grandfather worked in a livery stable, wood levels and things I know I'm forgetting about.
I love the old woodworking tools and kept all of my family's old tools as I could get my hands on. I have some really really old ball-peen hammers, hatchets.

A couple of the wrenches are marked from the days before it was known as the Milwaukee Road - I have a chisel marked that way, too.

Antique hydraulic car jack -

 

[Bama_Swampfox]

A piston ring grover? That's old school for sure. You guys are speaking my language. As my Dad told me: "buy the best and take care of it". I have many old tools I tune up, use and pamper. I still have my first chainsaw from 1964.

Off subject but, fun stuff....

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