Launching a new product is hard. Like, really hard. I wanted to share a "behind-the-scenes" look to let you know what all went into bringing the Pro Liners to life. From material selection, product design, packaging, and manufacturing there are a lot of constraints that went into this, and I wanted to share a bit of that journey with you.

Diagnosing the OEM Design

For many years we've sold a splash guard similar to the OEM design. We've made improvements by modifying certain areas, selecting a higher quality rubber, and finding the right balance in thickness. And we're still very proud of those liners and will continue to sell them for customers who prefer the OEM style. On our website, we now call them the OG Liners.

But maintaining the status quo isn't enough. We wanted to push the boundaries and give you, the customer, the best splash guards possible. So, we looked at some shortcomings of the OEM design.

• Material - Rubber in a wheel well has a rough life. UV, salt, fluids, heat cycling, and constant abrasion all take a toll. The same flexible property that makes rubber so resilient can become a weakness over time.
• Geometry - A two-piece design requires a gap. Even if we built two pieces to overlap then that would need a seam which would be just another failure point.
• Material & Geometry Combined - When these properties compound, you are left to the whims of where the clip holes are. Rubber needs to be supported on the perimeter. Without drilling new holes, every vehicle leaves large areas exposed. Especially over the upper control arms.

The Hunt for a Better Material

We started with a list of requirements. I knew we wanted a material that could handle harsh conditions, but what does that mean exactly? After a lot of deliberations, I decided our Pro Liner needed to:

• Handle wide temperature ranges without becoming brittle or weak
• Possess strong chemical & UV resistance
• Look good underneath your truck or SUV for years
• Have enough rigidity to support a higher degree of coverage
• Maintain enough flexibility to roll with the punches

The combination of rigidity and flexibility eliminated a ton of options. Most rigid plastics would crack under pressure, while softer materials would suffer the same limitations as the OEM liners. We ultimately worked with our supplier to come up with a custom blended thermoplastic that I like to call "YPO". YPO offers the best of both worlds, with all the rigidity & strength of plastic, with just enough flexibility to roll with the punches and make installation a breeze.

We continued to work on finding the right sheen and pattern to ensure that the splash guards are something you'll want to show off. Patterns on sheet material are generated by large rolling dies that create an imprint during the extrusion process. We landed on a natural pattern that compliments the surrounding material, allowed for a subtle logo engraving, and wouldn’t cling to dirt and mud.

Improving the Fit

With the right material in hand, I had the capabilities to design something completely new. After working with some early prototypes, I knew I wanted the Pro Liners to be a solid one-piece design. It is by far the strongest way to make a splash guard and provides no failure points or seams. Because the YPO is more rigid than a true rubber, this also meant tighter tolerances were required in the design. Rubber can flex and ripple to absorb minor variations in car manufacturing, or movement in the frame due to age. Additionally, with a single piece, the tolerances compounded over a larger shape. A two-piece design allows for more wiggle room, but I wasn't willing to compromise on that.

"Honey, we don't need that many cars"

I also knew that we wanted to offer our Pro Liner to as many possible Toyotas and Lexuses that we could. With support for 6 different models (more to come soon!), across multiple generations, and then different vehicle options that require different fits, there was going to be a lot of measurements needed. Sadly, my wife was much wiser and didn't think that buying 30+ different models of Toyotas was a "prudent business decision". So, I needed a way to get all the measurements.

The Magic of 3D Scanning

Taking physical measurements or working from technical drawings wasn't going to work. It might in theory, but many of the Toyotas we support have been on the road for 20+ years, easily racking up over 300k miles. I needed to have measurements of not just where the current clip holes are located, but also how much they vary in the real-world. Besides, wheel wells aren't perfectly flat surfaces with easy reference points. They're complicated and I needed a level of detail you can't get with a ruler and some calipers.

Ultimately, I decided to go with a 3D scanner, and selected the Miraco from Revopoint. Most 3D scanners need to be tethered to a computer in order to work, and I needed to scan a lot of cars on the go. The Miraco is a standalone scanner which means it can be operated entirely unplugged. Additionally, it had the accuracy we needed with up to 0.02mm precision and 0.05mm accuracy. Real world results aren’t usually that good, but with some practice I was able to get consistent and highly accurate scans. Far better than what someone could achieve measuring by hand.

That level of detail isn't just important for generating beautiful 3D models. Over several months, I scanned over a hundred wheel wells. Standing in parking lots, knocking on neighbors’ doors, and working with a local repair shop I was able to scan not just a single version of each model, but multiple sources. This provided the data to understand not only where everything lives in the wheel well, but what parts tend to shift or have slight differences from the manufacturer. Higher mileage trucks naturally have more variation. Repair from damage, modifications, and general use can cause small alignment issues. For these vehicles, I built a small statistical model for certain locations that would tell me the most likely position and a range of locations that would cover the majority of vehicles. This helped us figure out where to slot certain holes, and where to give a little more leeway. Some higher mileage vehicles might still require slight modifications, but we were happy that most trucks and SUVs would have no issues, no matter their age.

Armed with the data and highly detailed 3D scans and our statistical data, I imported the mesh files into CAD where the new products were designed to fit the reality of the trucks. Because of the material, I was able to extend our Pro Liners into areas that OEM liners could never cover. The one-piece design covers the gap over the sway bars and is able to extend the edges to better seal against the rest of the truck for more protection.

In House Manufacturing 

I’ve long partnered with some great waterjet cutters out of Colorado, and that relationship will continue as they produce our OG Liners. For the Pro Liners, we made the decision to bring the manufacturing in house. I wanted to have tighter control of our production for a few reasons.

• Create More Value – By manufacturing in our Alabama warehouse, I could greatly reduce costs. This has allowed us to offer our liners at the lowest possible prices while still including things our customers expect like free shipping and extra tools.
• Design for Manufacturing – Because the Pro Liners are manufactured on the same equipment they were designed on, I was able to work out any kinks and design a product that delivers consistently every single time.
• Tighter Inventory Control – Cash is king in any business, especially family businesses who create their own products. With no lead times, and sophisticated planning we can operate leaner, while ensuring that we would always have the inventory to fulfill. The majority of our orders ship same day, and I wanted to keep it that way
  

I knew that CNC routing was going to be the best manufacturing process based on our material. After talking to several companies, I purchased a 4x8 foot CNC table from AvidCNC. While it was a big investment, we’d be able to produce all the liners we needed on our own schedule and ensure our own quality standards were met.

Additionally, some of the liners require a 3D shape with bends and folds to navigate around the suspension and other components. I wanted to make sure that our customers received a product that was ready to install, without any further assembly or modification. So I built a thermoforming station to quickly heat up the thermoplastic and mold them into shape.

Real Vehicles in Real Driveways

Because we control our own production, we could iterate quickly. By borrowing and renting several models, I was able to test our computer designs on real world trucks and SUVs. As expected, reality is always a little different and this step was invaluable to fine tune our splash guards to fit perfectly.

To further test the product, I relied on previous customers. One of the best parts of running this business is getting to know our customers and learning about them. The kind of person who is willing to go the extra mile to replace their splash guards often cares about their vehicle and likes to go on adventures and do cool modifications or restorations. I reached out to several customers who tried out the Pro Liners on their own vehicles and provided excellent feedback. Whether it was slight tweaks to the design, inputs on the installation process, or thoughts about the packaging, your first-hand feedback was instrumental. I want to quickly say "Thank You" to all the friends I've made along the way who helped make the Pro Liner what it is.

Product Packaging

Designing a great product is only part of the problem. If I couldn't get the Pro Liner into customers' hands in an affordable way, I'd never be able to keep our costs below the competition while still offering free shipping. I had already decided that a one-piece product was better for the customer, but the reality is that it's much worse for shipping. 

Fortunately, because our material selection was rooted in finding a product that offers the best blend of rigidity and flexibility, I was successful in finding a box size that would hold the product and not incur excess shipping costs. It also provided ample room to include extra clips, a clip puller tool, and printed instructions right in the box. They’re small items, but they make the process so much easier. 

I mentioned earlier that wheel wells aren't a flat surface. They're pretty complex but are generally bowl shaped with the installation surface being concave. By folding our liners into an exaggerated form of that same concavity, we were able to fit them into our chosen box. The slight memory given to the material perfectly primes it for the installation process and quickly fades as the liners absorb heat from the engine bay. I finally had a great new product in our hands that we could reasonably get into your hands.

Ready to Launch

This journey was hard and took much longer than I anticipated. But it was also a ton of fun and gave me another chance to interact with many of our great customers. This kind of product couldn't happen in a vacuum. It was only possible because the same person designing the parts is the same one answering your phone calls and putting the labels on your boxes. I'm very proud to be making a product in America, and the agility to move fast is awesome. As our small shop grows, I can't wait to take even more of your input to create more products that keep your Toyota and Lexus on the road even longer.

Thanks for being with me on this journey, and check out the Pro Liners for yourself.