You must have had your share of run-ins with vehicles that have been wrapped instead of painted, and I'm sure you've seen your share of pretty kick ass wrap jobs overall. However, I'm also pretty sure that you must have seen your fair share of absolutely horrible wraps as well. And there are an awful lot of them out there.

Now, how many of those wraps have you seen on pickup trucks? Trust me when I say that there are a lot of them on pickups as well and it is sad. Well, let's be fair, there are also some pretty awesome wraps to be found on the pickups of America, for sure. And now you get the chance to take a look at a few examples from both camps: the awesome ones and the failed ones.

Of course, there will likely be some that you don't agree with. It's all subjective and it all depends on what you like but I have to say that if you disagree with more than a couple in this article...chances are that you're just objectively wrong. No, you're fine either way and no matter which of these you like or dislike I think you will enjoy taking a look at all the ridiculous wraps that people dare to plaster onto their pickups.

24 Bad - Zip It, America

Alright, look. I get why a lot of people would like something like this on their truck. I get the whole "God bless America" stuff and the worship of the stars and stripes as some sort of idol, but come on. There is a point where it really does get a little too tacky to plasters the stars and stripes along the side of your truck. I know it's "American" and it's "patriotic" but it really does get to be too much.

And there are some pretty gaudy stars and stripes truck wraps out there. They can get a little intense. This is actually really understated. That being said, what's with the zipper? Are you trying to tell American to zip it?

Or are you saying that there's "American inside" like the old Intel log line? And if we just went at this from a design perspective, I would have to say that the wrap itself is cut very poorly. To cut right at the hood makes it look ridiculous. There's not even a definitive end to the zipper and it's the very same on the other side. I don't really understand why there is such a big group of Americans out there who feel the need to shout that they're Americans...we already know.

23 Good - Arctic Camo Wrap

You know what, I'm not a huge fan of camo cars or trucks at all really but I have to say that this arctic camo wrap really is working for me. I think it's the combined lift of the truck, the intense suspension that could help it through some pretty rough arctic terrain (if it didn't end up flipping the truck first) that really makes me ok with this. I could actually see it running through some snowy and barren places.

That being said, I suppose the ultimate goal would be to not actually see this truck traveling through a snowy and barren place. Either way,  I think it suits the truck just fine, and it really does work out well because it's not like there are any really nice lines on this truck that are ruined by the print on the wrap. It's a pickup truck, not a Ferrari or a Lambo. So chances are that most people aren't going to care about ruining the look of the sleek lines on the body. This truck is clearly meant to do some off-roading and if it was all done in arctic tundra, then I would have to say it was worth spending the couple of grand wrapping the thing.

22 Bad - Apocalypse Wrap

Alright, even if this could actually be made to be a good wrap, this is just pretty well god-awful. I mean, I get the impulse to want a truck looking like it just came from the future where there has been this great cataclysm and I've had to piece together what I could to make the truck run...but this isn't Mad Max. And the wrap actually looks so fake that I can't even believe someone allowed it to be put onto their truck.

It looks like the back packaging of some sort of G.I. Jose action figure or something. That sort of cheap plastic-coated cardboard that you want to turn into part of your little action figure base but can't because even it is not good enough quality.

Just wait for your own truck to rust and when it needs new parts just scrap them together yourself. It'll look far more realistic as a post-apocalyptic design if you do that, mainly because it will be real. Even if this wrap idea was cool in concept, it is just entirely ruined by the reality of it. Even looking at it right now as I write this kind of upsets me, that's how fake it looks to me and how daft I think the owner must have been.

21 Good - Dark Digital Camo

Take a look at this very understated digital camo wrap. You know, I'm really not much of a fan when it comes to camo print on a vehicle that really doesn't need it, but considering that this is obviously not pushing the idea that it's really "wearing camo," I can kind of appreciate it and I think it sort of suits the trucks too. And the matte finish of the wrap is probably what ultimately makes it work.

Imagine if that had a gloss on it. It would be way too much. But the understatement of this camo with the darkness of the print and the matte finish really does make it work. Driving at night, for example, you'd probably hardly be able to tell that this person even wrapped their truck in the first place. That's probably not something they want to know, but if you're going to wrap your truck in something that dark...I mean, you're probably not going to see it very well at night. And isn't that the point anyway? It is a digital camo wrap after all. Looking at this now, I'm actually still amazed that I put this one in the "cool" pile. Lucky truck.

20 Bad - Rivets And Rust

Ok, cards on the table here. No lies. I can't keep secrets from you guys; if there's one thing I hate much more than a stupid stars and stripes wrap on a vehicle (especially if it's not an American vehicle), it's the damned rust wrap. Why!? Why would you want your truck to look like it's rusting even more than it already had been? If you want it to rust even more, for real, there are ways of oxidizing that truck that will give you the desired effect without spending thousands of dollars on the illusion of rust.

Just leave the truck out over winter, without a covering or a coating. I'm sure you'll get some rust. Just wait ten years and I'm sure you'll find some rust. To give this rusty and rivet-filled wrap a chance to breathe on any vehicle is just depressing. First of all, it looks entirely fake. Second of all, there's no way those particular panels would be riveted in that manner. And thirdly...why would you want your truck to luck like a piece of sh*t rust bucket!? It makes absolutely no sense to me. It's as clear as the mud that should be on that truck rather than the fake rust that is because as opaque as the wrap might be...I think it's pretty transparent.

19 Good - Wildfire Wrap

I'll be honest here. There are some vehicles with flames on them that I really cannot stand. There are some pretty bad flame wraps out there and even worse flame paint jobs and decals. A lot of people don't know how to match coloring either and a lot of people don't know what will actually work for the body of the vehicle they have.

Well, thankfully there is this GMC that is color-matched with the green flames roaring from the front end to the back. Now, there are a couple of things I'd like to point out here, in case you had not managed to notice them yet.

Yes, the green flames are against a black background. That's a good idea. But in addition to that, there are green accents to be found all over the truck. But not in a jarring way. More of a subtle way which is probably what makes me appreciate this truck as much as I do. Take a look at the GMC badge. As well as some of the work around the engine. And then see if you can tell what sort of accents there might be in the wheels. This is a well-thought-out wrap job.

18 Bad - The Darkest Wrap...

I have called this wrap "The Darkest Wrap" for a few reasons. One, thankfully it is actually a very seriously dark wrap. Which is good. That means that fewer people will likely see just what is going on here. Secondly, I call this "The Darkest Wrap" because of what seems to be the subject matter of the thing. Now, you could take that cross on the door to be a Chopper logo. That's fine. You don't have to think about WWII when you look at it. But if you did think WWII when you looked at it, then it might make the rest of the wrap pretty damn terrifying.

You may notice the skulls and chains around the truck. And then if you look at the back window, you might notice a hand reaching up. Now, the average person may not put all of that together and come up with what I'm pretty sure this wrap is. They may just think "oh cool, a zombie wrap. Right on." But I don't quite think that's what this is. I'm pretty sure this is something out of the Holocaust and I'm wondering how this was ever actually out on the road as a wrap. I mean, who actually accepts that work? And then even worse, who actually drives around in this?

17 Good - Streamlined

Here is a wrap that actually sort of accentuates the truck itself. With those elongated lines on the wrap it seems to stretch out the truck just a little more and since it is a quad-cab to begin with, it's already a slightly longer truck. So this wrap really gives the illusion that there is a whole lot of truck going on here. That's not all though. There seem to be some actually good wrap designers who like to use black as their base for whatever design goes on top. This is very smart.

Why? Because everything goes with black. And also, unless you have white walls or you've special ordered something, your tires are going to be black as well so it actually sets off the design more than you would expect.

Part of the reason why some of the bright and flashy designs don't work is that there is a whole lower end of the truck that has black tires that just don't sit well with a bad wrap design on top of them. Also, I think this might be a company car simply because of the advertisement on the windshield and I really have to say that there are too many wrap companies out there who advertise on their own vehicles with really bad wraps. This is a good and simple one to start from.

16 Bad - Lasers? Fire? 

I'm actually curious now...what in the name of all that is sacred is going on here? I have no idea what is happening with this wrap. First of all, someone needs to take a lesson in color coordination (I'm realizing this is starting to sound like Better Homes or ANTM or something silly like that) and then that same someone needs to learn about design concept. Did someone just take a bunch of multi-colored sharpies and just draw up an idea for a wrap based on a bunch of scribbles?

There is not really any rhyme or reason to this wrap and that is kind of getting to me right now. I mean sure, there are areas of the truck that pool certain types of color together but the separation of each color makes the design a little jarring. And while you really don't have to worry about the lines on this truck, I can't help but notice a missed opportunity for some continuity with this wrap. The designer could have easily made a piece that accentuated the lower lip of the truck that runs along about midway up the wheels. I don't mean to sound like a snob but...

15 Good - Army Green

You know what makes this particular wrap awesome? The fact that it actually works! This wrap is incredibly simple and doesn't have anything going for it other than the fact that it's an army green (or just about). I'd say that's pretty damn awesome. And I'm not saying that because of the army green. I'm saying that because of the incredible simplicity of this design.

It's straightforward, it saves the owner having to take it in for a paint job which could definitely turn out pretty awful or take longer or cost more depending on where you go and who you know.

The wrap is a safer bet for this owner who obviously knew what color to go with. And it could just be me but I find that thanks to the wheels of this truck, the color seems even more appropriate. It has a quality of fierceness to it without wrapping spikes or flames or skulls or whatever the hell else people do to their poo and unfortunate trucks. This person knew what they were doing, knew the right option, and knew how to wrap a truck and keep it looking good. Can't say much better than that for them.

14 Bad - Part Mossy Oak...Part Lazy...

Alright, this just makes me want to sigh very heavily. I don't even know where exactly to begin with this monstrosity. Who thought it would be a primo idea to take a camo wrap and only do some of the truck, and leave the rest a nice BRIGHT SHINY RED!? How does that make sense? "Oh, well we were going to hunt from the flatbed so we only need camo on the flatbed."

...You do realize that the rest of the truck has to go wherever the flatbed goes, right? I can't even begin to fathom the sheer stupidity of some people when they put together a wrap for their truck. Mossy oak is what this wrap apparently is called, or at least that's the name of the camo design on the wrap. But why would you not make your whole truck mossy oak? I wonder if this person just got nervous part way through and realized they wanted the general public to be able to see how it used to look and how it currently looks, and unfortunately for the owner of this truck, it's not exactly like they can just finish the wrap now without cost or get rid of the atrocious thing without cost. They spent money on something they didn't finish and now it'll cost them more.

13 Good - Hologram Wrap 

The hologram wrap. The thing I like about this wrap is that it's not too over the top like so many of the very gaudy and god-awfully ugly wraps that exist out there. And to the extent that this one is holographic, it is actually pretty subdued. It looks almost just as though you're looking through some polarized lens rather than looking at a full-blown holographic truck wrap.

And in either case, I think this works well for the truck. Or at least it works well on a relatively bright day with some cloud cover. I can't say exactly what this would be like on a very sunny day. It might be too bright and too much. Or what it would be like at night. This might not be the sort of truck you would want to shine your light on at night time.

I can imagine that the reflection off of it would be killer, and could potentially, literally, be killer. But if you take those aspects of it and put them to the side, I think there is potential for a very enjoyable truck wrap in this mildly holographic design. And if nothing else, it is at least a talking point for the owner.

12 Bad - Custom Wrap Makers...

I might have mentioned earlier something about custom wrap designers and their advertisements on their own vehicles. I might have also mentioned that there are some wrap designers who really go a little too far on their own vehicles and produce something that doesn't have a point or doesn't go anywhere or looks just over the top for the sake of looking over the top. It just seems to me like there are a number of car wrap designers who really don't want to get work.

I'm not sure if this is the reason they put very bad designs on their vehicles but it sure feels that way sometimes. That brings us to this monstrosity right here. There is some sort of beast on the side done in white and blue. That being said, it took me a while to realize it was anything more than just some swirls. Then there is something written on the door and I really don't care to spend too much time deciphering what it is that someone who does this sort of sh*t might want to say. And this is a truck that the designers use for advertising. I know who I won't be calling when I don't wrap my truck that I don't own.

11 Good - Mossy Oak Camo

You see, now this is an example - a perfect example - of what should be done to a truck when you use camo. Do you recall there being a mossy oak camo truck nearer the beginning of the article that was still partially vibrant red? That is what you shouldn't do because you have to take the whole truck with you when you go hunting. This is also a mossy oak camo on this truck wrap. But you might notice something that has been done here that really does help the actual camouflage quality of the wrap to work.

Can you spot the difference? That's right! The entire truck is done up in the mossy oak camo. That is a key component to camouflage. If you want out in arctic camo to spy on the Russians in Siberia for some reason but you were also wearing a bright red toque, you would sort of defeat the purpose of you wearing camo everywhere else and you might risk getting shot in the head. This truck owner will now be able to hunt from the flatbed of the truck with full camo surrounding. And that can make a huge difference when you're waiting for that deer to appear or hoping to stay out of sight from the rangers.

10 Bad - Making Waves...Or Flames? 

Ok, yet again I'm lost for words regarding just what the hell it is that people think they're doing with their trucks. I honestly don't understand how so many people could mess up such a seemingly simple thing like designing a wrap. I know people like to go overboard, and they like to get a little crazy but I didn't realize that there were so many people out there with no taste!

Here we are again with this stupid rivet motif. I don't know if they know how cars and trucks are made but they don't have giant rivets in the like they're big slabs of steel. Most cars are fibre glass and carbon fibre and other sorts of plastics now.

Not with big panels of sheet metal. And then the strip of blue on top of this "metal" base...what is it? Is that supposed to be flame? Is that a wave? Seriously though. And it shoots all the way along the truck too! Good for them for jacking the suspension and customizing the wheels but neither of those things makes up for the awful wrap job here. If you need that blue flame or wave then put it on a black backing. Not this ridiculous rivet thing.

9 Good - Purple Raptor

Now, this is a great wrap. Why? because not only is it a nice shiny purple which is kind of regal and enjoyable in that way. It's also a Ford Raptor. But it's a Ford Raptor without the stupid claw marks all over it. This is a much better way for the Raptor to already come. If it could just come off the lot with a base color and people didn't have to go and spend another couple thousand dollars on the truck just to make it look normal.

I bet people would be pretty happy with it and might be more inclined to spend the absurd amount of money that this truck costs in the first place. Who wants to spend another few grand when you're already dropping at least $50,000 on the truck alone.

That's the base price of the Raptor. You'd be better of just getting a regular Ford F150 and jacking it up and tricking it out to achieve a closer result without having to worry about wrapping it (because they come in regular colors). Of course, Ford doesn't really care. They're doing fairly well for themselves, I'm pretty sure. And at least the wraps can hide that awful Raptor look.

8 Bad - Road Sign Rust

What in the honest heck is this? It's a wrap that is purposely designed to look rusty...which is already stupid. Anyone who thinks it's cool to have rust all over their car can actually get that look for free. They just have to leave their vehicle sitting out for a while and let the wind and the rain and the winter take its toll. You'll get rust soon enough and you won't have to pay several grand for it.

That being said, you'll have to pay that much trying to get the rust fixed if you don't have to replace the car completely. And what else is there on this truck? It's all road signs. That is just silly. If this were a designated safety vehicle and they wanted to show off that they enforce those signs and what not, then that would be fine. It would still be silly but it would be fine. But to then turn the wrap into a rusty bucket with a bunch of random road signs...I don't even know what that silly design is designed to do. Make people forget about road safety? It almost looks like this truck is advertising a bar, but it's not a bar I'd want to go to.

7 Good - Rose Gold

Alright, I actually don't care who you are, I think this is pretty bloody awesome. I know one of the new iPhones came out in a rose gold last year and I think that looked stupid, but in truck form, it seems pretty awesome to me. It's got that nice chrome finish to the wrap that really makes it stand out in a way that other colors and finishes just don't.

I mean, this really stands out. It might stand out to the point of being slightly dangerous for other drivers. But they'll just have to be more vigilant because I think that whoever owns this truck has got a good thing going on here.

And then there's the fact that there's so much truck to work with here with the quad cab and full flatbed. It's pretty awesome to see that much ridiculous color out there on the street. And I'm not just saying this to punk people. I really think that it's a good look...at least for this truck. Who knows if it would work well on other vehicles. Maybe it would just look garbage on a Ford Raptor. But then it would be categorized under the "bad" headings in this article and we could all shame it together.

6 Bad - Rust Bucket

You know, there's something I really do hate about these rusty pieces of garbage...oh, wait, this isn't actually rusting away at all. It's just a wrap. You know...there's something I really do hate about these stupid wraps that make trucks look like rusty pieces of garbage. Honestly though. Why would you want to ruin what was otherwise a perfectly fine-looking truck? That makes no sense to me at all. What gets me even more is that this truck is actually also an advertising truck for a custom wrap design place. That is absurd.

Why would you want to advertise your company with a vehicle that purposely looks like trash? If I was going to advertise a custom wrap place, I would want to use something that was cool and attractive and alluring.

I'm not saying I would jump right for the chrome rose-gold wrap but I would venture to use something that hasn't been done by every single wrap company since the dawn of car wraps. The rust thing is old and if you waited long enough, you'd get it anyway. So why not push away those things that have been done time and time again and start fresh with some actually interesting and flattering designs?

5 Good - Woodworking

Alright, look, cards all out on the table here, I know that this is a pretty god-awful-looking wrap. I know it's just completely ridiculous. I know that it makes no sense because obviously a car has been made with this much would since the prototypes of the late 1800's when they were still powering the damn thing by burning wood. I know all of this.

And in spite of knowing all of these things, I still think that this is an awesome wrap job. And there are reasons for it, don't worry. I think that because it's so ridiculous, I'm inclined to really buy into it. It catches my attention and makes me go "what the actual eff?" But then it makes me search for why this truck is the way it is and the advertisement is very clear and makes perfect sense. I already felt like the wood wrap on this truck reminded me of an old log cabin...and I know that rustic furniture is often found in a place like that so this is actually a brilliant advertising truck. And it's also the first truck in the article that wasn't advertising for a stupid custom wrap shop. That's a refreshing thing.