The Truck Wrap Trend: How Truck Wraps are Created

Over the last decade, the use of truck wraps has been more widely used as a creative way to advertise businesses of all types. Whereas in the past, companies may have featured their business name, and maybe a logo, on their vehicles, this is now the lesser of the two options. Truck wraps, and the dynamic collage of images they usually display, is a fun way of getting a potential customer's attention in any type of business.


You may have noticed that at SWTDT, we love truck wraps! One by one, we have been working with the talented artists over at Arizona Color on making over our trucks that our students train with. There is something about a vividly decorated truck that makes our students excited about training.

Truck wraps may look awesome, but why bother with them? The answer to that question is: because we can.

Okay, maybe that's not the only reason. Admittedly, truck wraps are a great form of advertising. According to the Outdoor Advertising Association of America, more and more businesses are trying to hit moving targets by advertising to drivers in traffic. Because Americans spend so much time on the road, advertising via vivid truck wraps is a great way to utilize a company asset for more than just hauling items back and forth. The initial investment in the wrap can be costly, but it will continue to pay off for years, whereas other forms of advertising just continue to add up. And it works. We have had many individuals call us just because they saw our students and trainers driving around the city.

In addition to helping with advertising, truck wraps also contribute to the image of the company. At SWTDT, we are proud to be Americans, and we are proud to support our troops and veterans. This is why most of our truck designs have depictions of the American flag and our military. Of course, with exception of our signature Vegas truck. Gotta have a Vegas-themed truck in Las Vegas, right??

We know that many of you have been wondering how the team at Arizona Color gets those beautiful designs to hug every nook and cranny on our trucks. Many have asked but, no, those incredible images were not painted on.

The first thing a truck wrap expert does is appraise the condition of the vehicle and the paint, and come up with an estimate for the cost of the project. Certain curves of a vehicle and types of paint will affect the length of the installation process and therefore add to the cost.

Next, pictures and measurements are taken. The installer and designer communicate to make sure the template design and the actual measurements of the vehicle can work together.

Before even involving the truck itself in the process, the images to be placed on it have to be digitally printed on a special form of durable vinyl that will be professionally installed on the vehicle. Wraps can be designed to fit one door, the entire vehicle, or even a back or side window. The design is printed on a series of overlapping vertical panels, which makes installation a little easier.

Once everything is ready to go, the prepped (washed and wiped with isopropyl alcohol) vehicle is first dry-fitted with the wrap to ensure proper alignment. Actual installation can take anywhere from 12-16 hours to finish, and is done with a heat gun that resembles a hair dryer. This is a painstaking process that can only be properly completed with sufficient training. If done wrong, the vinyl can warp and be ruined once the heat hits it. Typically, a wrap maintains its integrity for about 3 - 5 years, depending on how well you care for it.

It's not just companies who take advantage of this unique way of decorating vehicles. People have been known to have wraps installed on their personal vehicles to show support for their favorite sports team, or even to make it look like this:

Coolest dad ever.

If you decide you get bored of a wrap (never!), you can always have it removed or changed. Unless the paint underneath was already chipped or weakened prior to installation, the paint should not be damaged in any way by the wrap.

What do you think about vehicle wraps? What is your favorite SWTDT truck wrap? Tell us in the comments below!