Buy Truck Accessories and Jeep Parts Online | Midwest Aftermarke

Every truck bed should have a liner installed for protective purposes. But before you purchase and install a liner, you should know the difference between a spray-in liner and a full solid liner like Dual Liner. I’ll explain the difference in this review article.

So here’s a story. It’s all about how my life got flipped, turned upside, when I bought a used pickup with a spray-in liner. That’s how I learned to always go with Dual Liner.

Alright, enough singing semi-made up songs. So I’ll start with the easy read version. Here’s all the reasons I no longer like Spray-In Truck bed liners:

Overspray.

They hide rust underneath.

Say it with me–trapped moisture!

And sun damage.

Full disclosure: I did this to myself. It is all my fault. Here’s what happened. A couple years ago, I was in the market for a used older truck. I was just going to use it local to do odd jobs and such. Sometimes I junk stuff, for instance, like old appliances, to make a bit of money on the side. So I started making so much on the side, saved up a few thousand, and I thought about how much an older pickup might cost me.

See I already had a nice newish Ford F-150. But I didn’t want to haul anything that might damage my paint job, like old batteries or rusty metal in there. And sometimes it just isn’t worth grabbing the trailer for an odd junking job. Also, I don’t know about you, but when my buddies ask to borrow my nice truck, I always get a little nervous. So I figure, if I by an old clunker, I can use it to junk stuff and loan it out to people who need it to move stuff. Easy.

Sure. It should have been.

I did it old school. I went through the local printed catalogues and such. I know. Super analog. But I did. And I came across exactly what I thought I wanted: a 1992 Ford F-150. It had 150k miles on it. But again, I thought that wasn’t a big deal. I wasn’t going to be using it to commute or nothing. The price was right. So I went to have a look at it.

And here’s where you could learn from me. I have always thought I had a pretty good eye and I knew a thing or two about trucks. I popped the hood of this red ‘92 Ford stepside. And everything looked in place. The guy said the transmission was still good. And that was a big concern for me.

He let me take it out for a test drive, and she drove like a charm. When we got back to his place, I was sure I was going to make him an offer. But first, I glanced in the truck bed.

The truck bed looked solid. But it had a particular popular brand of spray-in on it. Now I don’t want to pick on that particular brand. It isn’t the brands fault. But I’ve got to tell you–look twice. I really wish I would have.

So I made the offer and the guy took it. And I had myself a new junk truck.

One of the first jobs I used it for was some yard work. My wife is all into landscaping and mulch. I don’t mind working outside and getting my hands dirty, but I hate it when red mulch gets all over my truck bed, leaving traces of pigment all over it. My daily driver is a blue F-150. And that red mulch makes it look ridiculously purple and red. It’s like a masacre in my truck bed. I can spray it out, but sometimes it takes a few times. And I didn’t have any truck bed liner.

No worries, I think. This is exactly why I bought that old junker. At this point, I’m also thinking about getting a spray-in for my blue F-150. But I don’t want to get ahead of myself.

So I go and get the mulch from the local garden supply. We buy it by the truck load. And when I get home to unload it, I start trying to push it out with a shovel. And let me tell you, the first few layers went just great. But when I got down to the bottom, the stuff right on top of the spray-in liner, it really just got stuck on there. I actually had to go get a broom and really go to town on that mulch to get the last of it out of the truck bed.

Hey, no big deal, right? It’s my work truck. But this was still a huge pain in the butt. I get that those spray-in liners are supposed to have a lot of grit to them so that stuff won’t slide around in your truck bed, but this is just silly. I immediately started to question getting a spray-in for my newer truck.

The junk truck sat a few weeks then before I got a side gig hauling fill dirt for a guy. This guy needed three truck loads worth of dirt at least to fill in and level out a big divot in his backyard. He tells me that every time it rains this whole side of his yard looks like a muddy swimming pool.

I tell the guy I’m on it, give him a decent quote, and he hires me up. So I get ahold of another guy I know who’s got tons of fill dirt he’s looking to get rid of. Easy job. Some shovel work, but no matter. I take my son along. It will be good for him, I think. I’ll teach him a lesson about hard work and give him some of the profits. That’s a win-win in my book and also how my own father taught me about money.

Loading the first load was no big deal. The unloading was a pain in the butt, like the mulch, but I’d done it before now and knew what to expect. I warned the boy about it too, so no problem, right? I figure the next day, I’ll just spray out the bed and it’ll be fine. We finish up the second load as well without any issues. And then my wife calls with an emergency having to do with the washer. Fun times. Son says he’s got this last load under control. I’m so proud of him. He’s just 16, but I trust him, especially with the junk truck. I’m feeling pretty good again about my truck purchase.

So the kid drops me off to deal with the washer, and he goes and finishes up the job. Afterwards he says it went down with a hitch. Great, I think. By the time I remember to go spray out the truck bed, it’s been nearly a week. But that’s no biggie. Not like the dirt is gonna hurt that spray-in liner, right?

So I sprayed out the bed real good using the hose. And as I’m finishing up, I notice something: a bunch of gouges in the spray-in liner. I get down close and look at them, soaking my jeans. I can pry them back a little, and I start to realize what’s happened. One of us (or both. I don’t want to sell out my boy, here. It could have been me too.) must have hit the liner with the shovel a few times. And what do you know, it damaged and cut all the way through in a couple places. Damn, I think. I thought these spray-ins were durable.

I don’t fret too much about it. It’s just the junk truck. No biggie.

So I do a few more small odd jobs here and there, but all is pretty much well. Winter comes. Things settle down. The truck sits all winter. Maybe I started her up once or twice just to get the gas flowing.

Now the thing is–and I didn’t think about this–the guy I bought this clunker off of had it in the garage at his house. When you have a three car garage I guess you can spare the space. But not me. My garage is mostly filled with odds and ends either myself, my wife, or my kids have collected over the years. We can barely fit my wife’s SUV in there, let alone another vehicle, especially not the junk truck. So my new blue F-150 and old junk truck have to live outside all winter. No biggie, though, right?

Well, come Spring, I’m getting ready to help my buddy’s kid move the college. The college girl doesn’t have much. I think all the big stuff can go in the junk truck and my buddy can drive my truck and get the boxes and small stuff.

So I’m making sure the junker is ready, and I glance into the truck bed and all the snow has melted, but there’s still a puddle in a couple spots. You guessed it–the spots where the holes were made with the shovels. Great. I try not to think too much about it, but at this point, I’m thinking this can’t be good. A truck bed liner is supposed to protect the bed, not funnel water down to it all winter long.

Anyway, the moving expedition goes just fine. I do notice that there’s a bit of a rust color coming up through those slits in the spray in though, but nothing too worrisome. At this point, I’m sure I don’t want a spray-in liner for my new F-150.

So I start looking at my other options. I don’t really want a full drop-in liner cause they look kinda flimsy and at this point, I’m getting skeptical. I take a look at Bedrug, but after the friction issue with the spray-in, carpet just doesn’t sound like my jam. And then I found Dual Liner.

Dual Liner FTW!

So I wanted something that would line the side walls, the tailgate, and the floor of my new blue F-150. But I didn’t want a drop-in, a spray-in, or a BedRug. DualLiner had me covered.

It comes in five pieces, in a single big box. It costs less than a spray-in, and it is something I can easily install in my own garage in a few minutes. I watched a couple videos and read a review. This seemed pretty simple. Midwest Aftermarket, the company who’s review I’d read, explained that for the money, I really wouldn’t go wrong with Dual Liner truck bed liners.

Also, none of the issues I’d experienced with that spray-in should come up. There would be some friction, but nothing like the spray-in. The Dual Liner material won’t stain from red mulch and can be sprayed down with water. Dual Liner would let water drain out from under it through stock holes already in my truck’s bed. This was everything I wanted in a truck bed liner.

So I ordered it up from Midwest Aftermarket, and installed it myself. It shipped out to me fast, we are talking like 3 days. And it really was simple to install. My son and I did it in about 15 minutes using normal everyday tools like a socket wrench.

And I’ve gotta tell you, I’ve been super impressed with this new Dual Liner. But I thought, maybe over time I’ll get just as disappointed with it as the spray-in. So I let some time pass.

The seasons went by. And suddenly it was spring yet again. This is almost always a busy time of year for me junking. A lot of people are doing spring cleaning, throwing out old junk, tons of appliances and such that I can junk for cash. Win-win for the people and myself. The people get rid of stuff they don’t want and for free. And I get money for junking the stuff. It’s a great side gig, if you’ve got a truck.

So I’ve got a guy who wants an old deep freeze junked. I could have taken my new truck, but I didn’t really want this old rusty deep freeze in the back there, even though the Dual Liner could have handled it no problem. I’m just thinking there’s no reason to do so. I’ve got the junk truck for a reason. And this deep freeze had lived outside for years, out against this guy’s garage in his backyard. It’s gotta be pretty nasty, especially if it stopped working.

So I took the junk truck, and I brought along my boy again for some muscle. We loaded up the deep freeze no problem. And like I’d thought, I was super glad I brought the junk truck. That deep freeze was nasty!

So we’re on our way over to the salvage yard, when I hear this terrible sound. We had just gone over some fairly big pot holes, but nothing that would cause any damage. I pulled over to the side of the road. We’re checking the tires, under the hood, the frame. And then I see something dripping under the truck bed. I’m like what the heck is that?

So the son and I both jump up into the truck bed. And when we do, we start hearing that sound again. What do you know but the deep freeze has punched through the truck bed in a spot–guess where–where one of those shovel holes had been, and those some nasty rusty colored water draining out that new hole. What the heck I think?!

So we get the deep freeze dropped off at the salvage yard, and the truck makes it home. I started looking into what happened more, and it became pretty obvious that the spray-in liner had trapped water in that hole and rusted out part of the bed. So I started looking into removing the spray-in liner. It sounds like it would cost a pretty penny, but the more I looked into it, the more I wanted it done. I couldn’t have more water getting trapped there, causing the bed to rust.

So I found a guy who’d do it pretty cheap, and I took the junk truck on over. The guy warns me that with these spray-ins, you never really know what you’re going to find underneath. I totally didn’t understand what he meant. I just gave him the go ahead.

Boy was he right. That spot wasn’t the only one that was rusted. Heck, there were terrible rust spots and deep scratches all over the place. Not only did the job cost me, but the bed looked like it was ready to be junked itself.

So I started thinking. I got some Rustoleum to touch up the rusted spots. And then you know what I did? I went and ordered another Dual Liner Truck Bed Liner from Midwest Aftermarket.

I installed that DualLiner, and I’ve been using that junk truck ever since, and we really haven’t had any major problems. So I have to tell you, I highly recommend Dual Liner bed liners, and I would definitely avoid a spray-in. Not only are they a hassle, but they also might hide damage that you don’t even know is there. For me, the damage may have started with the previous owner, but I’m pretty sure those rust spots came from me and our shovel situation.

Needless to say, no more spray-in bed liners for me.

No matter the time of year, regardless of where you live, mud and dirt always seem to find a way of getting into your vehicle. I find this is true of most vehicles, whether you’re commuting on the busy highways of California or cruising down dirt roads in West Texas. And if you’re bouncing around in a truck, like me, then your floor boards are even more likely to get dirty from time to time–or every day, if you’re me.

My wife doesn’t blame me. I mean, I drive a pickup truck. Part of the reason why I own a truck–heck, part of my purpose in life–is to go out and get it and often myself dirty. Whether I’m off-roading down a muddy path in the woods or bouncing through pasture. While I don’t mind the dirt much, my wife does. And part of that is personal, part of it has to do with the resale value of my pickup.

I guess when I was younger, I never really thought much about it. But the truth is, if you’ve ever traded in a vehicle before, one of the biggest reasons you can get docked a grade or two on trade-in value is floorboard wear and tear. Now that could be anything from the ripped up upholstery of my old 1984 C/K Chevy 1500 cause I did drop my hunting knife that one time–or seven–when out with my buddy “hunting deer,” a great euphemism we sometimes use for throwing back a few cold ones after the days hunting is done, especially if we didn’t manage to see any bucks that time around.

But beyond serious floorboard damage, just having a dirty carpet or upholstery is enough for some croney at the dealership to knock your truck’s KBB rating down from Excellent to Good. I don’t think it’s fair. But as my high school history teacher always said, “Life ain’t fair. Who the hell told you this all was gonna be fair…” He kept going from there, often getting into profanity and such, but you catch my drift.

Protecting your upholstery is very important, even if you don’t mind it getting dirty from time to time, cause–you know–you bought a truck for a reason.

So here’s the big questions:

How do I protect my upholstery in my pickup truck?

What’s the best way to protect my floorboards and keep resale value high? The best way to shield your floors from muck and mud is truck floor mats and liners. And the best two producers of such products are:

Husky Liners and

WeatherTech

Now you may be thinking that those two sound just great, I’m going to go get me some Husky floor mats or WeatherTech floor liners immediately. Thanks Mr. Parts Expert. Well, you are welcome, gentleman. But you might wonder, where, oh, where should I go for such products? That is a great follow up question, my kind sir.

What’s the best place online to buy floor mats and liners?

Who has the best deals on floor liners and mats from Husky and WeatherTech? Midwest Aftermarket immediately comes to mind. Not only do they have the lowest prices guaranteed online, they also have fast & free shipping within the United States and free returns too. Midwest Aftermarket provides exceptional customer services as well

So if you have any questions about fitment or difference between products, you can call them up, live chat them on the website, or read their many great reviews and guides. Midwest Aftermarket is the first place I go to when shopping truck accessories, including truck floor mats and liners.

Now one of the chief reasons for buying a product like a Husky floor mat or WeatherTech floor liner online is convenience. And Midwest Aftermarket has that in spades, no doubt. But the main reasons to go onto the Internet for shopping aftermarket parts is quality.

Sure, I could always run down to the local box store and scoop up a pair of floor mats. But how long are they gonna last? How durable will they really be? Here’s the truth about all those knockoff brands: they’re cheap and must be replaced often.

Before I learned about Midwest Aftermarket, I often would buy accessories for my truck at local parts shops and box warehouse stores. And concerning floor mats, specifically, I found I often had to replace my mats once, sometimes even twice, a year.

And the stock mats didn’t fare much better. So at the end of this terrible experience, I about gave up on floor mats. Then I found my first pair of Husky Liners over at Midwest Aftermarket, and I was shocked by how long they lasted. I’m still rocking those exact same floor liners in my ol’ ‘84 Chevy. No joshing. Now I only wish I’d had those mats in there from the get go.

And that’s one of the reasons why as soon as I buy a new automobile now, one of the first purchases I make is floor liners to replace those nasty stock carpet mats.

Best Price on Floor Liners and Mats for your Pickup Truck

I’ve been a penny pincher all my life, much to my wife’s dismay. So I remember the first time I browse top quality aftermarket floor mats, like those from WeatherTech and Husky Liners. I thought to myself, self, couldn’t you get this for about half the price down at Wally-world? Perhaps, I responded. But I’ve been down that road, and I know those cheap knockoffs just aren’t going to get the job done. They may cost a bit less, but they never last and they don’t really protect my floorboard completely.

Those cheap box store or auto parts shop carpeted mats especially seem to just push dirt and liquids to the side of the mat, making a terrible stain that eventually outlines most of the mat. I can remember going to replace my mats one time, and after taking the old ones out, I could see exactly the shape and outline of them. It looks like a dirt outline of a corpse from some cop movie–here’s where we found the discarded bodies of those two cheap-o floor mats, officer. You can tell by the dirt outline that they perished together, in agony, within 6 months of being bought. What a shame. What a shame. Cruel, cruel world.

Snap out of it, man. And think quality over cheap price. If you’ve got to replace those old mats more than once, then you should have just started with something that was built to last. And both Husky Liners and WeatherTech manufacturer the most durable and longest lasting floor liners around.

Protecting your Floorboards and Upholstery

The second biggest reason to go with Husky or WeatherTech over those cheap mats is quality of protection. Both Husky floor mats and WeatherTech floor liners are designed to fit your vehicle’s floorboard exactly. They use digital technology and even lasers to measure the exact dimensions of your vehicle. Then they custom make their liners to fit perfectly.

On top of a great fit, this means that Husky and WeatherTech are able to create side walls that keep the dirt, mud, and any liquid spills on the mat instead of just letting it race off the edges, creating that gross stain outline around the liner. No crime scene here.

Both WeatherTech Digital Fit Floor Liners and Husky X-Act Contours are designed with channels to funnel any spills or liquid away from the edges and towards the center of the mat. That’s some smart design.

Another great feature of these products that I hadn’t thought of before I picked up my first pair is that they are made of thermoplastic. I know, material composition isn’t too sexy these days, so let me explain why that’s so useful. Thermoplastic is waterproof, rigid enough to take a beating, but flexible enough to be easily removed. This means that if you spill your morning coffee while bumping around backroads, or like I did this morning commuting to work. Sigh. Well, if you spill, you don’t really have to worry. Not only does the liner keep the coffee in the middle of these channels, but it is also really easy to clean up.

Tonight when I get home, I’ll just park my truck out by my garden house. I’ll pull my Husky liner carefully out of my front seat, making sure to keep that cold coffee balanced in the middle of those center channels. Then I can just dump it out in the flower bed–I hear coffee grinds are good for flowers, so the actual drink must be too? And I’ll rinse the mat off with the hose. Bada-bing. Bada-boom! Let the Husky Liner dry overnight, and I’m ready to toss it back in the a.m. and head out for the day.

In the past, spilling my coffee would have been a terrible ordeal. I had crappy carpet mats that would soak up the liquid so that by the time I was able to get home and pull the mats out, chances are pretty good the coffee would have soaked all the way through and into my upholstery anyway. Then to clean those stock mats off, I’d have to go use a special high powered vacuum at the car wash place. You know what I’m talking about.

Those vacuums never seem to get all the dirt out of my mats, and most of the time I seem to run out of quarters before I’m done with all my mats. What a pain in the behind! Well, guess what? I haven’t been to one of those darn vacuums in years. Since I picked up my first set of Husky Liners, I just rinse those puppies off at home, and I save my quarters for the pool hall or when I’m really feeling lucky, those slot machines they’ve got at all the gas stations these days. I may even strike it rich someday because I don’t have to waste quarters on silly vacuums.

Spoiler alert: I’m still broke, and I think I’ve spent like $5 in quarters in those damn slot machines. In other words, I ain’t quit my day job just yet. Haha!

Anyway, the point is, I couldn’t be more pleased with my investment. And that’s just what Husky Liners and WeatherTech Floor Mats are: an investment. These products protect your vehicle and increase resale value. I’m not sure why you haven’t gone and ordered yours yet. Get on it!

The American Way

I almost forgot to tell you: I have known for a long time know about Husky Liners, but I just found this out about WeatherTech too:

Both Husky Liners and WeatherTech Mats are made right here in the United States of America.

I don’t know about you, but for me, whether I’m buying a truck or some floor liners, I want to make sure I’m supporting American workers. Too many of our products are made overseas these days, putting humble American factory workers out of a job.

Well, both these companies are keeping it real right here in the US of A. They employ thousands of American workers. It just makes me feel great knowing that my purchase is helping support a patriotic company and keep people like myself employed.

That’s enough about me. What about you? Have you taking the plunge yet and treated your truck to some brand new Husky Liners? Did you decide to take on the elements with your new Digital Fit Floor Liners from WeatherTech? If you’re looking for sweet deals on these products, you’ve really got to check out a company my buddy introduced me to a few years back: Midwest Aftermarket.

The Magnuson Moss Warranty Act prohibits automobile manufacturers and dealers from voiding a vehicle’s warranty because an aftermarket part or a part not made by the original manufacturer was installed on said vehicle.

Most truck owners are as proud of their vehicle as they are of their house. And why not? It has been your companion during all your journeys. Whether it be sending off deliveries, going on road trips or even buying groceries

Tonneau (pronounce tawn-no) Covers have evolved and become ever more popular over the years. Yet there are a number of truck owners out there who haven’t tried one out yet. We can relate. I too was a skeptic. But now I not only see the value of a truck bed cover, but I also can’t imagine not having one on my pickup.

What are the Top 5 reasons to purchase a tonneau cover for my truck?

Why would you need a truck bed cover?

The Top 5 Reasons to buy and install a tonneau cover:

Excellent Security

Protection against Water Damage from Snow, Rain, and Ice

Easy Storage on the Go

Shields Equipment and Truck Bed from Wind and Sun Damage

Better Fuel Economy

We’d like to share with you today, a real story from a valued customer who goes by the name of Pete. Here’s his insight on stopping being a skeptic and learning to love the tonneau:

The True Story of a Tonneau Cover Skeptic

I came to the light a few years back and ain’t never looked back. Yes, it is true, I used to belong to the dark side, so to speak, if you’re into Star Wars references! I… brace yourselves, didn’t always have a truck bed cover on my Ford F-150.

Shocking! Appalling! I know.

So here’s the deal. I grew up with the old school. A truck bed was for hauling dirt and rock and big equipment. I thought, who needs a truck tonneau cover anyway? Boy, was I wrong.

I guess I never realized how much I was missing out on and how much I was neglecting my truck bed. I never gave a thought in the world to the elements damaging my paint job or any of my equipment. Maybe it’s cause I was spoiled and have had a nice garage to park my truck in for the last few years. Nevertheless, I have learned my lesson now. Here’s my story.

Equipment Debacle: Tonneau Security

Before I had a tonneau bed cover installed, I had a pretty terrible thing happen to me. I guess I should have known better. I’m just too trusting at times.

So I come from a small town, and my family is mostly carpenters, at least historically. Most of us work day jobs during the week, but we spend lots of weekends, especially in the early summer and late fall up on roofs patching holes and out back behind houses building decks. I’ve been on ladders since I was four. Sometimes we are doing odd jobs on the side to make some spending money. Other times we’re just helping out friends and family for beers and pizza money. Regardless, I used to drive my F-150 around with a huge yellow Dewalt toolbox, a toolbelt, a portable compressor, and sometimes if we were working on a lot of decks at the time, a Miter saw.

Yeah, start the laugh track and name calling now–I was a real due-mass, back in the day.

Needless to say, I thought I lived in a pretty nice part of town, and we are talking small here–like less than 2,000 people. Anyway, one day we were building a deck for a friend of my dad’s in the next town over–4,000 population max, so still pretty podunk, right?

It got dark, but we’d pretty much finished up, and the guy who lives there starts throwing brats on the grill. He pulls out a cooler full of brewskis and asks us if we want to stay for dinner. I’m all in. I was young and single back then. If I went home, I’d probably just end up drinking more and eating less, so I thought, what the hell.

We’d already loaded up all our gear. My dad had a hard tonneau cover, and if you locked his tailgate, there was no way to get into that bad boy. He had asked me if I wanted to throw the saw at least in his bed, but I already had it sitting on my tailgate, so I figured it would be fine.

The sun sank beyond the horizon, and I popped my second beer. We were sitting around a little campfire–he had one of those old tractor rims buried in the ground til it was almost level. It was a pretty sweet setup, especially with that new deck constructed. We heard a sound from out by the road. I didn’t think anything of it at first, but then my dad motioned that we should check it out.

As we came around the side of the building, I saw two guys trying to get the miter saw out of my truck’s bed. I called out after ‘em, and they jumped out, slammed the trunk of their old beater car, and hopped in.

I gave chase, but let’s face it–I was pretty exhausted. I didn’t even get a license plate. As I gimped back to my truck’s bed, my dad was already there. He helped me put the saw back in the truck bed. Luckily it didn’t have any serious damage on it. But still, if we hadn’t come around when we did, they might have made off with it. And this wasn’t no cheap-o saw either.

What they did manage to grab already though was my toolbox. It could have been way worse, but I learned a valuable lesson that day. Even in a small town in the middle of nowhere, people steal stuff all the time. I’d rather be overprotective than gullible.

While I didn’t have all my tools in that big Dewalt toolbox, I had enough. The cost of the lost equipment was nearly the same as the cost of my first truck bed cover–a hard tonneau cover made by BAK Industries. I should have been more diligent, but I guess I just thought that kinda thing would never happen to me.

Since I’ve installed my first tonneau, I’ve come to realize several great features of having a truck tonneau cover that I’d never really considered before.

Security & Peace of Mind

Now I know I’m not suffering from no PTSD or anything like that, but I’d be lying to you if I didn’t tell you that I got a little paranoid after that night. It wasn’t like I was having flashbacks or something like that, but everytime I put something in my truck bed, I always made sure I took it out every night when I got home. And consequently, sometimes I headed out to a job on the weekend, and I forgot something at home that I ended up needing.

That is, until I got my tonneau cover. My BAKflip G2 gave me the peace of mind I needed. Once I’d installed my hard tonneau cover, I instantly felt so much better about leaving equipment and expensive tools in my truck bed. I should have listened to my dad in the first place. He told me to check out some tonneau covers, but I didn’t listen. I guess I thought that I would be annoyed having to fold up or roll up the truck bed cover all the time.

But here’s the thing I didn’t realize. Most of these truck tonneau covers are really easy to roll up or fold up, in the case of my G2, so you can have full access to your truck bed. And after I had it installed a few months, I started to realize just how few times I really needed full bed access. Yeah, if we need the really big air compressor for a job, I had to fold up my G2. But it really wasn’t that big of a deal. And honestly, we just started using the portable compressor a bit more often unless we were doing some job that required multiple airguns, like a serious roofing gig.

Having the added security of a tonneau cover has really helped me a lot. Now I know that if you really wanted to break into my truck bed, you probably could. I realize that my BAKFlip isn’t impenetrable or anything like that. But the fact of the matter is it will take some low life way longer to try to get into my bed now that it did back then. And I’m ready now for ‘em. Got my concealed carry and everything. Bring it on, scumbags! Haha!

But security was kind of a no brainer. What I didn’t realize was the amount of damage I had caused to my truck bed and equipment due to exposure to the elements.

Protection against Rain and Shine

Before I installed my first Bedrug–another great item, by the way–I had a good hard look at my truck bed. There was a little rust here and there from a place I’d scraped up the paint with some heavy tool or equipment. And there was some sun damage around the spot where I always stored my toolbox. I didn’t even know that kind of thing still happened. Go figure.

Once I got my tonneau installed, I didn’t have to worry about that kind of thing anymore. On top of that, I didn’t have to worry about my tools being out in the rain. This was a great bonus feature I hadn’t really considered. Not only did my cover prevent anyone walking by from seeing what was in my truck bed, but it also kept any water out and away from my expensive tools and toolboxes. Talk about a great investment.

Grocery Shopping in the Truck

Back when I was single, this really wasn’t that big of an issue. When I went shopping, I could fit pretty much anything into my F-150’s extended cab. But now that I’ve got a wife and kid, hitting up a shop while we are out and about would be a total pain without my hard tonneau cover.

I’ve got one of those bed extenders installed now too. It creates a nice little pocket at the end of my truck bed. So if we are out and about, we can still swing in and buy all the groceries we need. We fold up the first panel on my tonneau cover, set the bags inside that bed extender, and we are good to go. The tonneau keeps the wind and elements out, preventing anything from flying out the back of my truck, and that bed extender separates my tools from any purchases. Pretty smart design, if I do say so myself.

Again, these are things I didn’t realize I needed until I did. I really can’t stress that enough. Now that I have my tonneau cover, I can’t imagine driving around my truck without it.

Improved Fuel Economy

Now I’m not exactly what you would call “green.” I certainly didn’t install my truck tonneau cover with the idea of saving the planet or anything like that. But I have to tell you, I was pleasantly surprised when I noticed my MPG’s improve by almost 2 miles per gallon over the next few months. At first, I just thought that stupid gauge wasn’t working right. Ha!

So I reset the darn thing and then I started to do some research. It turns out that installing a tonneau cover, whether its a soft roll up bed cover or a hard tonneau cover like mine, can actually improve your fuel economy. I was kinda flabbergasted. Who knew?!

Now buying my tonneau cover hasn’t exactly improved my MPG’s so much that I’m not going to the pump as often, but this is a fun little fact I can share, say, with my wife, when I’m thinking about upgrading or when I get a new truck. If the security and protection from the elements isn’t enough to convince say someone like your wife that you need a tonneau cover, the added fuel economy bonus might help. Technically, if I keep my cover long enough, it will probably pay for itself. Nice!

Shopping for your First Tonneau Cover

Another major reservation I had about buying a truck bed cover was where to get one. I had asked around and looked at a few websites, but most of them didn’t have really good information about fitment or features. I wasn’t sure if I wanted a truck bed lid or a soft roll up cover at first. Then I found Midwest Aftermarket.

First, they had several detailed articles on the different kinds of tonneau covers on the market. They even had expert reviews. I know that most websites these days have reviews from customers, and heck, I guess I’m kind of writing one now myself, but the thing is–no offense guys–but we don’t always know what we are talking about. I mean, I take my buddy Bob’s advice about a lot of things, but he doesn’t know that much about truck bed covers.

The guys writing expert reviews over at Midwest Aftermarket, especially that Parts Professor guy, seem like they really know what’s what. And they aren’t just pushing the most expensive product either. After I read a couple articles and did some research, I called them up on their 800 number (1-800-951-3955). And let me tell you, the guy I talked too, I think his name was Scott, he knew his stuff. He helped explain to me the benefits of going with a hard folding tonneau vs a truck bed lid. And I ended up getting a tonneau that custom fit my bed, was exactly what I needed, and I did a little shopping around–the price I got over the phone from Midwest Aftermarket was over a hundred dollars less than the other guys. I got a deal! They shipped my tonneau to me for free. There was a simple guide on their YouTube channel that helped walk me through the install. They really made it all easy and painless.

I don’t always recommend stuff so highly, but I wanted to share my experience with the world. And I was so impressed with the customer service and the research elements on their website, that I thought I’d throw it out there just in case it would help somebody else out. If you are looking at tonneau covers, or if you are just curious about ‘em or doing research, check these guys out at Midwest Aftermarket. Tell ‘em Pete sent you.

Pete,

Parts Professor here. We just wanted to say thank you for the great review/email and for allowing us to share this with the world. We are so very pleased that we helped you protect your tools and get a pretty sweet tonneau as well. We have no doubt that your clever insight will most likely help others not make the same mistakes.

Thanks again for recommending and shopping at Midwest Aftermarket.

WeatherTech floor mats

Excursion lovers, hikers, travelers, and adventurists love the idea of exploring different places. They accumulate numerous memories and adventures that bring a smile to their face. However, there is one thing that they hate accumulating! That is the tendency of their car floors to gather grime, dirt, and snow. This is because, in no time, their Truck or Jeep starts smelling of all the muck.

To keep these issues at bay, they often buy WeatherTech floor mats that offer complete coverage to their vehicle’s floors. One can also find custom truck floor mats that keep the dirt off the original carpet. However, before buying these mats, it is important to consider certain tips. Through this blog, we will show you why it is important to purchase floor liners:

Know Your Purpose

The first and most important tip that you need to consider while buying floor liner is – what is your vehicle’s floors exposed to? Do you have kids who tend to spill liquids? Are you a soccer player and will often have dirt and grass on your cleats? Once you know what is going on in your vehicle, you can make the right decision on the perfect floor liner for you.

In case you are not sure as to what is the right type for your Truck or Jeep, you can consider discussing with the professionals and they will be able to suggest better options. WeatherTech floor liners are the most popularly chosen floor liners when it comes to protecting the vehicle’s floor from extreme weather conditions and all of the dirt and grime of everyday life.

Floor Mats Vs Floor Liners: Know the Difference

A lot of times, people tend to use the terms “floor liners” and “floor mat” interchangeably. However, there is a little different they should know about. The floor mats manufacturers use the soft material to make them. Although these floor mats protect the floor from stains and spills; they do not serve heavy-duty functionalities.

Liners, on the other hand, contain materials like rubber or plastic and have high edges. These lips keep the liquids away from the floor and protect the entire car floor. So, if you are planning to go to a very muddy or wet place, it is advisable for you to use floor liners. In case of regular weather travel, Husky floor mats can be a regular companion.

Consider the Climate

Extreme heat and cold are sure to affect the interior of your Truck or Jeep. To protect it against extreme weather conditions, you should buy all weather floor mats. These mats are resistible to all kinds of weather conditions and do not crack or tear in extreme temperatures.

Also, you can easily remove them from the car and clean regularly. Simply remove them from your Truck or Jeep, spray them off at your local car wash and pop them right back in. Simple removal, cleaning, and installation.

Buy from a Reliable Company

Last but not the least, it is very important to buy WeatherTech floor mats from a reliable company. It is ideal to buy from a company that offers the right product at the most competitive prices. Also, you do not need to walk into brick and mortar stores to buy the car floor mats. There are many online stores ready and willing to find the correct floor mats to you that you can order quickly right from their website. Many offer free shipping and even free returns. They take the hassle out of purchasing the right product for you!

Winding Up…

If you have a profound love for your vehicle’s interior, we recommend that you do not go for mediocre floor mats. Search online and you will come across several vendors that offer WeatherTech floor mats online at the lowest prices. They are ready and willing to chat with you to make sure you get the right product for your Truck or Jeep.