GM: Aluminum truck beds are stupid. Ours will be carbon fiber!

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by Stubby79

Denting wouldn't be the concern I'd have with aluminum (its presumably thicker, so more rigid anyway)...it would be metal fatigue. If I'm not mistaken, aluminum will only put up with so much flexing or stretching(as in a dent) before it cracks; steel will put up with much more without an issue.

Steel is strongest before stress is applied to it and gradually grows weaker as it's deformed. Aluminum is weakest before stress is applied and gradually increases resistance to deformation until it finally tears. Aluminum beds are probably tougher than steel up until an impact tears it.

If it's good enough for airplanes and rock climbing, it's good enough for a truck bed.

[freebeard]

Can CF be used in a chopper gun like fiberglass, or can it only be laid out as a mat?

I've never used it, but I understand that CF is inflexible or something so that is is more difficult to get it to lay into the mold. It should work in a chopper gun.

[slowmover]

Aluminum: lightweight, non-rust, deforming, and easily recycled.

Next question

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

The burden of resisting abrasion will be placed on the plastic resin with which the carbon fiber will be soaked.

So where do you find an abrasion-resistant resin? If you use some sort of bed liner on top of the carbon fiber, isn't that just increasing the weight that you're trying to reduce with carbon fiber?

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by jamesqf

So where do you find an abrasion-resistant resin? If you use some sort of bed liner on top of the carbon fiber, isn't that just increasing the weight that you're trying to reduce with carbon fiber?

Most people don't use the bed, and resin is probably more resilient than paint. If people are concerned about bed wear, they can add the relatively minimal weight of a bed liner.

[Xist]

Curious, I had read that there were three types of aluminum used in vehicles, it needed to be sorted, transported through the seven levels of the Candy Cane forest, through the sea of swirly twirly gum drops, and through the Lincoln Tunnel, but I do not see anything about that now.

[freebeard]

It's a bummer when you come down, no?

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

Most people don't use the bed, and resin is probably more resilient than paint.

If people don't use the bed, why the heck are they buying a pickup? And what are people that use a truck as a truck supposed to buy?

As for paint vs resin, paint's not structural. The bed will work just fine if the paint's worn off (at least mine does), and repainting's cheap and easy.

[Xist]

Bedliner is paint?

[oil pan 4]

Buying a pickup and not putting anything in the bed is kind of an East coast thing.