ProTec Bed on a Pickup?

[special-K]

Has anyone seen these?My friend has the only one I`ve ever seen.He bought the truck used about 4-5 years ago.Notice the tailgate letters like an Avalanche.The whole bed skin is ProTec,everything you can see.That`s not a bedliner.

[fdrummer28]

I saw one of those on a truck i went to look at before i bought mine. Seemed really cool. It was a one year only option for the Silverados. (i'm not positve on that though) It was an expensive option that didn't go over so well.

The premise is cool but the down sides don't seem so cool. like water and other nasty things getting underneath and rotting out your bed. Atleast with a bedliner, you can take it out and hose the bed down once and a while.

[67ChevyRedneck]

I've heard of this, but never seen one (that I know of.) The entire box is fiberglass. It will never rust. Kind of like the 88-98 stepsides.

It even looks like a small corner of the lower right side of the tailgate has broken off.

[fdrummer28]

Originally Posted by 67ChevyRedneck

I've heard of this, but never seen one (that I know of.) The entire box is fiberglass. It will never rust. Kind of like the 88-98 stepsides.

It even looks like a small corner of the lower right side of the tailgate has broken off.

Deffinately not doubting you cause i'm not sure. But i could've sworn the one i saw was metal.

I'm gonna have to look into it... It'll bother me, lol

[special-K]

This bed is all ProTec,not metal.Good eye on the tailgate corner.I remember noticing that when I was taking the pictures.I`d hate to see one hit in an accident.The dual wheel pickups have 1 pc. plastic bedsides,too.

[67ChevyRedneck]

Chevrolet Debuts 2000 Silverado with Composite Bed

Chevrolet brought its new composite bed Silverado to the SEMA show. The innovative, new 6.5-ft. fleetside box will be available as an option on the Silverado beginning in the autumn of 2000. Chevrolet will be the first manufacturer to offer a composite box on full-size pickup trucks.

The box's fenders and outer tailgate panel are made of reinforced reaction injection molded (RRIM) materials, chiefly polyurea with mica filler. The one-piece inner panel and the inside of the tailgate are formed by a structural reaction injection molding (SRIM) process and consist of a 50/50 mix of urethane and glass fiber. The interior of the box and tailgate are painted with a dark gray "spatter paint" that provides a tough, pebbly surface as well as protection from ultraviolet rays.

The use of composite materials reduces the total weight of the truck by approximately 50 lbs., which improves fuel economy and payload carrying capability. The tailgate alone is 15 lbs. lighter than a current steel tailgate.

The outer panels not only withstand denting, but also are twice as damage resistant as composite panels used on cars such as the Chevrolet Corvette and Camaro. If a fender is damaged, it can be removed in less than 10 minutes, repaired in a matter of hours -- rather than days -- and re-installed with a minimum of downtime. Most scratches on the inside of the box or tailgate can be polished out with a common commercial silicone cleanser.

The bed is 100% NOT steel

http://www.pickuptruck.com/html/sema/wrapup.html

[fdrummer28]

Yeah, i stand corrected. i did some reading up on it. Deffinately seems like a cool option. Too bad in didn't go over so well.

You're right, wouldn't wanna see that in an accident, but then again, that's what insurance is for! lol

[special-K]

I bet replacement panels aren`t available.So,a total bed replacement would be required.My friend didn`t even know what he had.I keep talking about it every time I see it.He could care less.

[BP68]

I have seen one, maybe two of these since I work at a dealer. We called them Tupperware trucks, but it was a neat idea, just not super practical on a Truck used as a truck.

[67ChevyRedneck]

Y'all probably won't believe this, but I SAW one of these on Friday on my trip to Winston-Salem to pick up a 68 short fleet bed!!! It was just outside of Charlotte on I-77. It was a Gray ext cab and it clearly had the fiberglass style tailgate. When I noticed that I looked at the corner of the tailgate and the Pro-Tec plate was clearly readable!!! I'm going to keep my eye out and see if I can find more of them!

[special-K]

I`ve been looking since I saw my friend`s truck a few years back and haven`t seen one.yet.And you know I`m lookin`.

[vintagesteel]

Originally Posted by 67ChevyRedneck

I've heard of this, but never seen one (that I know of.) The entire box is fiberglass. It will never rust. Kind of like the 88-98 stepsides.

It even looks like a small corner of the lower right side of the tailgate has broken off.

the 88-98 stepsides box wasn't fiberglass, only the bedsides from the body line down, the rest was metal.

[Pyrotechnic]

I saw one of these trucks in traffic once and I was really wondering why the tailgate looked like that. Guess I know now.

[griesel72]

they had one of those on a new chevy dealer's lot when i bought my 2000, i think it was somewhere around a 2500-3000 dollar option, i'm with special-K, what would happen if it got into an accident?

[ed2552]

Looks interesting

[Joe67]

Yep, GM offered that for a few years on the Silverado only - very nice beds

[67ChevyRedneck]

I saw another one... this time I had my camara... sorry the pics really suck... I was in Virginia on HWY 81.

One oddity to note... this bed was on a 03-05 style truck. (06-07 classics had the "HD style" hood and different grill, this one did not.)

[Joe67]

I believe the pro-tec bed was available through the 2004 model year.
They were only available on 1500 series (1/2 ton) trucks.