Man, I have been really pondering all this car stuff over the weekend. It sux being somewhere that no one talks cars to ya. I have been planning a solid tonneau cover so I could lock up some stuff when staying at motels etc. I have an idea for one...let's see if you can help perfect it. If it works out I'll post how to pics on the Hamb and maybe it can be stored in the Tech-o-matic. Here's what I have in mind..... Buy a piece of the insulation board from a local harware store. Like the 1" pink board. This should be fairly light. Also easy to cut. Next I was thinking that you could router a small groove the length of the foam and place a piece of lightweight aluminum "T channel" to help make it more rigid. I was thinking if a guy could sandwich it in between 2 sheets of fiberglass panel and somehow get it to adhere to the foam, that this could be a lightweight alternative to Plywood. Maybe cap the edges with some aluminum C channel. Then paint to match. Whatdya think? Too Lightweight? Yeah, you couldn't stand up on it but........
Root, sounds like a damn fine idea, not too sure about the structural strength of the insul-foam you're describing though. I'm building one for my RPU out of 3/8" marine grade plywood, piano hinge in the front, resting on "L" channel inside the bed, a little pad and some TnR on the top, should look sweet, let us know if you do build one and how it works out Skip
Sounds feasable. Here is what a customer did. He got a topper off a totalled pickup, cut off the top skin. He then glassed in some wooden edges he cut out with his band saw and belt sanded the right shape into.
that's a cool idea...i was think about aluminum...two layers so i could louver the top layer,but water wouldn't be able to get in
I agree Luke but I figure it really shouldn't need much. If you glued it with some kinda construction glue it would take on the integrity of the fiberglass, wouldn't it?
I guess it would become one unit if you glued it all together, have you thought about a latch mechanism? I'm kinda stumped on that one myself, I want it for securing stuff as well as looking cool, so that leaves me with few options, any ideas?
i was thinking of getting like 12 or 13 powell peralta BONITE decks and getting some plumbers strap and connecting them all together..either that,or maybe staple them to a piece of peg board
i think it would be tough to router that styrofoam. i think you would need a sharp bit but them i'd be worried about it melting. could you use some t-channel, cut the ends at 45 degres like you would frame a picture or window or what ever. and use some 1/8 rod across for support and cover it with 20 or 22 gauge sheet metal or aluminum ?
First of... the pink solid stuff has been used in fiberglass construction. here are a couple of links fiberglass construction of a iceflyer shows the use of that pink insulation in a iceflyer oops i can't find the other link. If you were to use the insulation. and apply a sandwich layer of fiberglass around it. and depending upon what type of truck (either stepside or fleetside) you can locate the gasket to keep the water out of the bed. you can use gaylord lids connection / hing system. they use a tab and slot connection as a hing. by doing that you can pull the lid off if you don't need it. you probably could use a large reel of door gasket material to keep the water out. Garth
Whatever you do, make SURE you put a slight CROWN in the cover, 'cos it will sag and look crap in no time if you just do it flat.
[ QUOTE ] Whatever you do, make SURE you put a slight CROWN in the cover, 'cos they will sag and look crap in no time if you just do it flat. [/ QUOTE ] True............
you can use a circular saw or even a table saw w/ a dado blade if you didn't go to fast. when they installed the stuff at my house all the cutting was done w/ circular saws. the page i linked too shows how to make a hot wire foam cutter. that could also to it for you. that link has some pretty good info for doing this project. i personally would use a simple frame fitted into the foam and contained in the fiberglass. then you could hook up the locking mechanism from the metal frame so that it's pretty ridged. you also need to figure out how your gonna lock the bed shut unless you are welding it shut or bolting it from the inside. and depending upon the size your going to want to look into purchasing some of those gas struts to help lift if up. Hope that helps Garth
Hey Root..I went ahead and make mine from 1/2" plywood, framed with common 2X4's. I had it upholstered with 1/2" foam under black naugahyde and hinged it at the front...made it long enough so ya opened it by slipping a long screwdriver with a 90 degree bend in it down the crack between the tonneau and the tailgate [latched inside the box with seatbelt latches], twisted it and lifted. The crack was skinny enough that fingers conldn't get in and the tonneau was heavy enough to stay down in wind but light enough to lift. No locks or latches visible. You could lift it up and let it rest against the back of the cab...I know you said you didn't want plywood but mine lasted many years.
i think pakrat made one like that,but i like the bonite idea...too bad that would cost a fortune now....maybe some g&s fiberflexes
PM PakRat32 about the one on his truck. Its solid. Its padded and looks pretty nice. I'm sure he'll send ya pics and a description of how he did his. Bigchief.
Hi guy's. All mine is is 1" steel square stock, cut to fit the outside top lip of the bed. then welded together with a cross brace in the center. A peice of 1/4" luann (sp) was then screwed to the steel frame. 1/2 foam pad was glued to the luann, and covered with marine grade vinyl. My bed has no opening tailgate, it's welded solid. so there's a small latch in the top center of my fixed gate that mates to a hoop bolted to the frame work. It's actuated by a bycicle hand brake lever located in a secret spot . Once you pull the handle, one gas strut lifts the cover. It's hinged in the front with 2 piano type hinges and opens from the rear. It's a very simple, yet very functional idea. It probably wouldn't cost you more than 50 bux if you cover it yourself. If you want i'll take a few pics of the underside tomorrow for ya. Rat...
Root, your idea is a good one but there are many other ways to add structural integrity to a fiberglass sandwiched core. I have done some glass work and have seen many core materials that are super strong and weigh almost nothing. Most are honeycomb material and they come in virtually any thickness. If you vacuum bag the lay-up and use carbon-fiber fabric you could get the weight down and it will be extremely strong...
good ideas, all of them. this is a subject i have put MUCH thought into over the past several years. i have started building one for Denny Lesky's 32 RPU from the Ionia Hot Rod Shop. it sports a model A bed and the front 8inches or so of the cover does not open but covers the gas tank located there. it then has hinges robbed from (i believe) the hood of an old 48 Willys pickup. small yet strong enough to do the job. then a frame work was made to fit inside the rest of the bed. thats as far as we've gotten so far but it will be covered with a really cool piece of steel cut from the roof of an old sation wagon (kinda secret for now but i'll show ya when it's done it's NEAT). it will sit on a rain gutter channel that we will bend up on the brake and will have a seal similar to a trunk seal only on a smaller scale. have'nt finalized the latch yet but the gas struts from the hood of an 02 Ford F-150 should handle the lifting chores just fine and the whole opening part of the lid will be easily removed by pulling a couple quick release pins that will attach the hinges to the stationary (front) portion of the cover. did you follow all that??? it's a bit more complicated than your average plywood bed cover but then this whole truck will be an excersice in insanity with all the detail going into it. but DAMN will it be a KNOCKOUT when it's complete. i also have some ideas for a bed cover for the wife's 02 GMC. i'll post pics if i ever get around to building it. then my S10 needs one and the model A will get a louvered one as well!!!
hey root? how big is the bed you're covering? i'd suggest the necessity for rigidity is directly related to the size of the gap the cover has to... um... cover... anyway, flat areas of fibreglass are painfully weak, and crack with very little encouragement. even a little RPU cover would be quite weak if the fibreglass is flat. strength in fibreglass comes from ridges. anyway, i did some consulting a while back for a company that makes refridgerated semi-trailers, which use HUGE areas of fibreglass and foam as insulating walls/roof, even floor. they have special plastic extrusions to aid strength, but then the roof is 2.5 metres wide and 13.5 metres long and self supporting, so yours doesn't need to be THAT strong! anyway, this is the basic construction: lay your first couple of layers of fibreglass (blue) down, the best way being to do it on a sheet of glass (as in, a window pane) on the ground, to get a nice smooth finish. cut your foam into strips about 6 inches wide, and lay them onto your existing layer (grey). then cover them with a few more layers of glass (red). use more foam to fill the gaps, then seal with a few more layers (blue again). this technique will save you having to use aluminium channel, though it could be cool to use either "T" or "L" channel around the edges to sit firmly on the top of the bed-sides. this method would support my weight (only 60kg, approx 130 lbs) but possibly not yours, depending on how big you are, and the width/length of your bed. added strength would be found by making ridges in BOTH directions, not just "north-south"...
Or you could just go to your building materials store. Besides the funky corrugated fiberglass they also sell one with squared channels. Drop some foam in them and glass it over.
[ QUOTE ] Honeycomb is really what I wanted but it's so dang expensive. [/ QUOTE ] I may be able to get you a deal on the material. Let me know what size piece you need and how thick and I will se how much I can get it for...
I built one with a 1x1 inch tube frame, a 3" by 1/2" wooden tack strip around the edge, and 1/2 inch foil covered foam in the center. Covered it with landau foam and vinyl, it has set outside every day for 16 years, been recovered twice, and still holding up good. This is on a long wide GMC bed.
There is a supply house here locally that sells sheets of flat fiberglass. They are approx. 1/8" thick and smooth. Not trying to sound ungrateful for the advice, but I really don't want to do any glass layup to speak of. I am trying to do this without resin of any kind. I have thought maybe I could build a frame out of 1" square tubing. aluminum would be the lightest but I can't weld aluminum.Maybe have a box with one crossmember in the middle and use the foam as a filler to keep the fiberglass from sagging. You think this would work?
Hey Root I made mine from plywood and 2x4 construction covered in some foam and naugahyde. It is very strong, I took a nap on top of it in the middle of the park on Sat at Paso
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