I got a quote today from a local Line-X shop for $480 + Tax with a lifetime warranty. I could upgrade to the Premium with UV protection for $175. He actually recommended just going with the base price at this time. He said that if I'm thinking of putting on a cover, the premium wouldn't be necessary. He then said that I could wait 2-3 years, see how the color fades, and if I wanted, have the premium applied then. They lightly scratch the Line-X and apply the Premium coating over top. does all this sound legit? Good price? Is the guy right about waiting to apply the Premium coating? I'm having trouble locating anyone that does the Rhino liners around here, so I may have to go with Line-X anyways. Oh, and one more question. If the Line-X ends up feeling too rough when I'm in the bed, I could simply buy a rubberized mat to lay over the Line-X floor right? Or would that cause too many complications and affect the Line-X surface?
Do you live near me? It sounds like you talked to the same guy that did my Line-X. LOL I went to him because he is 5 minutes from my house, so it was super convenient. He quoted me $530 + tax for the Standard, or $500 cash. He also said there was no point in getting Premium or Ultra, since I was putting on a bed cover. He said I would get no benefit from the UV protection in the Premium (because of the bed cover) and had no need for the extra strength of the Ultra.
The Standard has a Lifetime warranty, so I figured why pay more?
In my last truck ('09 Ram 1500), I had the stock painted bed with a rubber bed mat and a rubber tailgate mat. It was fine. I was going to just do the same thing again with my new truck. But, I couldn't find a tailgate mat that didn't require drilling to mount (or use velcro). I didn't want to drill the tailgate and I didn't want my tailgate to be held on with velcro. So, I got the Line-X really only because of the tailgate.
I still put a mat in the bed. $30 for a 4x6 rubber commercial door mat from Home Depot. I have RamBoxes, so a regular bed mat wouldn't fit without major trimming, which I knew I would botch. I trimmed 5" off the end of the mat I bought and managed to do a decent job on that. Plus, that end is up against the front of the bed where I generally will not see it.
So, no, putting a bed mat on top of Line-X is not going to hurt it. And if you ever do anything that does hurt it, well, it's repairable, with a lifetime warranty...