Ford drop-in bed liner warping

[KYT]

I have a 2023 Lariat that came with a drop-in bed liner. I'm going to be installing a tonneau soon, but I'm a little worried about this liner not sitting flat on the bulkhead side. I'll attach some pictures.

The driver side one looks fine, the liner top lip whatever part sits flat on the top of the bed uh.. whatever its called behind the rear glass. The passenger side sticks up at an angle. Its like the front side of the liner isn't the same height as the bed wall, and it's causing the top of the liner to hinge upwards. I can smoosh it down with my hand, but of course it doesn't stay down.

is there a way to fix this? Like some clamps and a heat gun kind of deal?
I'm getting the Lomax hard tri-fold, it has side rails that allegedly need to go all the way against the front of the bed wall, so I'm guessing I might have to trim it a little bit anyway. Could that part sticking upwards warp the tonneau when it goes on? or screw up the gaskets in some way I haven't thought of?
Could I maybe scoot a wooden doorframe shim up under the liner somehow to boost up that one corner a smidge?

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[astrand1]

Mine came with one of those. 2 days later it was at lineX getting a spray in liner. Those plastic things are just junk.

 

[KYT]

I like that it has a decent thickness to it, seems like it would protect the bed really well. It just sucks that the fitment is so bad. Like Ford didn't know what the bed design was going to be, before they sent the order for the liners to be made.. or they got a discount on them because they were actually for an old GMC that just happened to be about the same shapes..

I don't WANT to cut the top lip off the liner if I don't have to. Looks like it'd be either dangerous to avoid cutting the bed itself, or labor intensive to take the damn thing out especially now that I have the cleats on and both SwingCases ?‍

 

[fordtruckman2003]

Bought used 21 with plastic liner and yeah the fitment isn't great. I assume it's the same design now. Been a spray in liner guy in past but I'll give this a chance. So far I'm loving the crew cab throw most stuff in back now.

 

[GIjoe]

Poor fitment is typical for any plastic drop in liner, can’t beat the durability tho over spray in. I’d take a heat gun to it

 

[Lricaud81]

I have spray in liner but my tonneau clamps down in front and I'd think if your able to push down by hand it'll hold it down once clamped down. No need to cut

 

[Dan M.]

I agree, clamp will hold it down.

 

[Big Dog Daddy]

Bed liners are thermo formed from flat sheet. They can be re-shaped easily with a heavy duty heat gun. Warm the plastic to 155 to 160 degrees, reshape and hold in place until the plastic returns to ambient temperature.

 

[Bryan Simon]

Mine came with one of those. 2 days later it was at lineX getting a spray in liner. Those plastic things are just junk.

its the intended purpose that makes the junk or gold.
I prefer to be able to slide things in and out of the back without a lot of effort. I also prefer not getting the interior of the box all beat up when things are dropped, tipped, or thrown in (spray in will still get bent up). The drop ins also clean up a lot easier with just a good spraying..
The only downside of a drop in is that absolutely nothing stays where it is placed without it being secured and moving stuff across the tailgate gap might get caught under the liner.

I imagine the the region one lives in will also be a factor.
Plastic liners probably not all that great for the rust belt or extreme cold.

 

[astrand1]

its the intended purpose that makes the junk or gold.
I prefer to be able to slide things in and out of the back without a lot of effort. I also prefer not getting the interior of the box all beat up when things are dropped, tipped, or thrown in (spray in will still get bent up). The drop ins also clean up a lot easier with just a good spraying..
The only downside of a drop in is that absolutely nothing stays where it is placed without it being secured and moving stuff across the tailgate gap might get caught under the liner.

I imagine the the region one lives in will also be a factor.
Plastic liners probably not all that great for the rust belt or extreme cold.

After I put in the spray in liner I put a husky rubber mat down. That does a couple of things. It protects the bed floor and also when I put something down it does not move at all. I haul stuff in my truck but nothing like concrete or something dumped in there or heavy that’s going to ruin the bed. So that rubber mat works wonders. I also have a soft tonneau cover so when I’m not using the bed it’s closed up. I can take the rubber mat out and hose it down if needed. Just some options to think about.

 

[JRonchetto]

Both F150s I have had with a drop in did that. IMO, the best way to overcome that is to step up and get a spray in liner. I did, and I am much happier with it.

 

[KYT]

Alright I'll see where I can get with the heatgun and maybe like a 2x4 and some straps. If I can form it into a less shitty shape, then that's fine for now. I'm sure once the rail is clamped in and everything the cover will hold it down for the most part. Also don't want to jack up the gasket on the cover if this liner keeps a consistent pressure against it over time.

The cover is scheduled for delivery this Thursday, and of course it's stupid cold outside today (first good frost last night). Maybe I'll take "lunch" if it'll warm up a little this afternoon, or tomorrow. Of course just because I get the cover doesn't mean I have to put it on immediately, I could wait for a warmer day blah blah blah, meanwhile the the Bradford sh*tpear next door keeps dumping its leaves all over the truck <facepalm> hate that tree...

 

[chrisO2002]

I have a 2023 Lariat that came with a drop-in bed liner. I'm going to be installing a tonneau soon, but I'm a little worried about this liner not sitting flat on the bulkhead side. I'll attach some pictures.

The driver side one looks fine, the liner top lip whatever part sits flat on the top of the bed uh.. whatever its called behind the rear glass. The passenger side sticks up at an angle. Its like the front side of the liner isn't the same height as the bed wall, and it's causing the top of the liner to hinge upwards. I can smoosh it down with my hand, but of course it doesn't stay down.

is there a way to fix this? Like some clamps and a heat gun kind of deal?
I'm getting the Lomax hard tri-fold, it has side rails that allegedly need to go all the way against the front of the bed wall, so I'm guessing I might have to trim it a little bit anyway. Could that part sticking upwards warp the tonneau when it goes on? or screw up the gaskets in some way I haven't thought of?
Could I maybe scoot a wooden doorframe shim up under the liner somehow to boost up that one corner a smidge?

SO i was told at dealer could not mount hard tri-fold top to plastic liner since it rolls over the top as you have shown and will not seal. I got factory spray-in instead

 

[KYT]

SO i was told at dealer could not mount hard tri-fold top to plastic liner since it rolls over the top as you have shown and will not seal. I got factory spray-in instead

Hey thanks for checking! This is not a surprising response from a dealer.

Haven't made it outside yet to see if I could just melt the crap out of it first. If that doesn't work, I'll try to prop it up from underneath.
If THAT doesn't work, I'll just cut the stupid thing and look into spray-in or replacing it with something less janky.

 

[fordtruckman2003]

I have tri-fold cover and plastic bed liner.

I would try it and see how it turns out.
Worst case just take it back off and go get a spray liner.

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