Frames vs. Wraps: Which Fits a City Fleet's Message?
A wrap is a message you commit to for years. A frame is hardware you install once, then change the message whenever the program changes. Both put your city's message on every street your trucks drive. The difference is what happens when that message needs to change.
The short answer
If the message on your collection trucks will never change, a wrap or decal set fits. If your recycling, organics or community-event message changes by season, a frame with changeable panels fits better. The aluminum frame stays on the truck. Only the printed panel changes, and your own crew changes it at the yard in under 30 seconds.
Side by side
| Wrap or permanent decal | Roadway Quick-Change Frame System | |
|---|---|---|
| How the message changes | Old graphics come off and new graphics go on, truck by truck | Open the frame, lift out the panel, drop in the new one |
| Who makes the change | A graphics installer | An authorized member of your own crew, at the yard |
| What a new campaign needs | New graphics for every truck | A new printed panel; the frame stays |
| A four-week holiday notice or a one-day event | Hard to justify | Practical: print the panels, swap them, swap back |
| What stays on the truck | The wrap, until it is removed | An aluminum frame, riveted on once |
| Panel area | Set by the truck body | 91 in x 27 in live area per panel |
| Warranty | Set by the wrap vendor | Frame warranted indefinitely against mechanical failure (damage from trees, buildings or driving excluded) |
| Minimum order | Set by the wrap vendor | No minimum order |
| Design | Set by the wrap vendor | Free design with unlimited proof rounds |
When a wrap is the right call
Permanent fleet livery (a city seal, a department name, a phone number that won't change) belongs on the truck for good. Wraps and decals do that job well. Many fleets run both: permanent livery on the body, and a frame for the message that changes.
How the frame works
The frame is aluminum and is riveted to the truck body with twelve to sixteen rivets. The panel is held by a cam-over stainless spring and a tamper-proof design, so it stays put at highway speed and in a compactor yard. Panels are 3 mm corrugated plastic as standard, with alternate substrates available depending on climate.
See how the frame works.
Who we are
Roadway Displays, Inc. has manufactured the Quick-Change Frame System in Temecula, California since May 1987. City fleets including San Diego and Burbank run our frames on their collection trucks.
Price out frames for your fleet
Tell us your truck count and body types. We'll send a quote itemized for purchasing review.
A member of our team will respond within one business day.