One piece molded pick-up bed

Abstract

A vehicle pick-up bed is disclosed that can be folded into shape by hand. The pick-up bed includes a generally flat sheet of colored material molded together with a generally flat sheet of reinforced polymeric material. Preferably, the sheet of colored material is placed in the mold and the reinforced polymeric material is injected into the mold, onto the back of the colored sheet. During the molding process, the reinforced polymeric material and the colored material are formed or molded into a single, generally flat, solid component. The sheet of colored material adheres to the reinforced polymeric material. Once molded, the sides of the pick-up bed are folded into shape along hinge edges and connected to stay in place. Hinge edges could be formed by locating few or no reinforcing fibers in the reinforced polymeric material in the desired location of the hinge edges. The colored material is preferably.a paintless polymer film. Alternatively, the colored material is pre-painted aluminum. As a result of using either of these two options, there is greater flexibility in adding color to the vehicle. Due to the injection molding process, additional features can be directly molded into the component. For instance, a drainage system, brake light attachments, brake light covers, wiring conduit, fender attachments, or a cargo cover can be directly molded into the reinforced polymeric backing material during the molding process.