Homemade Tonneau Cover

[Canada0937]

An idea I got from CT. Here are the pictures.

[HavockWK]

Hehe! I am using the same insulation on the back end of my bed cover as well. One of these days I will finish it (started it last July for our vacation) and post pics.

[DallasTitan]

Originally Posted by Canada0937

An idea I got from CT. Here are the pictures.

Can you post the measurements like thickness, lenght and width(also if you applied vinyl on the wood or just painted it)?
Thanks

[Canada0937]

It's basically how it was outlined on the ClubTitan forum. I did use fiberglass resin. I found out that I am not a patient person and when it comes to sanding things smooth, I am not very good. You can see the imperfections on the board. The plywood is 3/4" thick. You should need two 4' x 8' sheets. I just measured the width of the truck bed and then cut it. I would recommend getting exact mesurements as close as you can to the outside of the utilitrack (the bed wall) as you can I had to buy an extra piece of plywood as my first cut was not wide enough and there was too much side to side movement of the sheet in the track.

I don't have a router, so I couldn't take an 1/8" off the sides where the wood goes into the utilitrack. I would recommend it cause it you get a big downpour, the wood will swell and it will get stuck. I'm hoping I put enough waterproof resin to minimize the swelling.

I also chose to go with one larger piece and one smaller piece as I don't know where the water will go in a rain and a larger piece provides me with greater dry area underneath. I think that in a rain, the water will go into the utilitrack and then go down into the bed at the end of the truck then drain out. I won't really know until it does rain and I can take a look.

As far as the paint goes, I found that since I couldn't get a smooth surface, I used a couple of cans of spray in bedliner paint. I liked the finish as it hid a lot of my mistakes. As you can see the joints where the 2 sheets meet, the larger piece is raised a little bit. I will be framing the underside with 2x4's to strengthen it as I plan on attaching rails on top of the sheets that way I can load up my mountain bikes and even a rooftop carrier. I'll post pics when I finish.

Yeah, lo tech insulation like the pipe insulation I used at the end in theory works well for closing the 1/8" spacing between the sheet and the tailgate. I'm not too sure how it will hold up at highway speeds, I'll let you know.

Hope this helps. Any more questions, just ask.

[O'silent1]

I built this back in June of 2004. Thought you might be interested. Since then, I have added some Yakima bike clamps to the first panel and carry my cycles on top of the cover. See thread.... Another home-built bed cover

[HavockWK]

Originally Posted by Canada0937

Yeah, lo tech insulation like the pipe insulation I used at the end in theory works well for closing the 1/8" spacing between the sheet and the tailgate. I'm not too sure how it will hold up at highway speeds, I'll let you know.

The insualation will be fine at speeds up to 85 (I don't remember going any faster than that). I tested this on our 2500 mile round trip to Florida last summer. One difference is my cover has a frame and is very stout (and heavy).

[goathead]

Originally Posted by O'silent1

I built this back in June of 2004. Thought you might be interested. Since then, I have added some Yakima bike clamps to the first panel and carry my cycles on top of the cover. See thread.... Another home-built bed cover

this is the project im working on currently. im just getting my supplies together so that i can finish it all at once. this is really the best looking one ive seen. although, im going to use longer locks and put an extra piece of 2x2x3/4 plywood where the locks go thru to help prevent any h2o accumulation. Another home-built bed cover thanks to o'silent1 for his invention.

steve

[O'silent1]

Goathead,
I PM'd you back.

[goathead]

Originally Posted by O'silent1

Goathead,
I PM'd you back.

yes. thanks a lot.

steve