2019 GMC Sierra 1500 Gets a New Carbon-Fiber Bed Option
An optional carbon-fiber bed is coming to the GMC Sierra 1500 lineup starting this summer.
The composite material is lighter and stronger than the standard steel bed.
It'll be an option on Denali and AT4 models for 2019, and a larger rollout to lesser Sierras will begin in 2020.
Almost a year ago, when GMC unveiled the 2019 GMC Sierra pickup truck, it showed off an optional carbon-fiber bed. The composite bed has finally been okayed for production and will debut on on CarbonPro editions of the Sierra 1500 Denali and AT4 models this summer.
GMC claims that the carbon-fiber bed weighs 25 percent less than the equivalent steel setup in other Sierras, reducing weight by about 60 pounds, which helps increase the maximum payload capacity of the truck. Ordering the CarbonPro edition of the Sierra also results in a one-cubic-foot increase in bed volume.
Carbon fiber is more easily formed than steel, which allows for the increase in cargo volume and also provides opportunities for engineers to integrate features such as pockets for a bed divider and indentations at the front that can accommodate motorcycle tires.
It's well known that it's lighter, but carbon-fiber material is tougher, too, and resists scratching, denting, and corrosion. Further to the point, the CarbonPro editions of the Sierra won't need to be equipped with any special bedliners.
In addition to drop tests with cinder blocks, gravel, and steel drums, the company performed extreme temperature testing and something it calls the snowmobile test, in which a 250-pound rider revved up a sled with a studded track inside the truck bed to see how it would hold up. The company says the only damage done was some "minimal scratching."
This isn't the first time an automaker has deviated from the traditional steel truck bed, of course: Ford moved to an all-aluminum body and bed for its popular F-150 pickup truck starting in 2015. CarbonPro editions of the Denali and AT4 Sierras will be in dealerships this summer, and GMC says the feature will cascade to lower Sierra trims starting with the 2020 model year.
So far there's no word from GM on whether or not the Sierra's twin, the Chevrolet Silverado, will also receive the optional carbon-fiber bed. In an effort to differentiate itself from the bow-tie brand, it's possible that GMC will keep the special bed material as an exclusive feature.
('You Might Also Like',)
