Another "redneck" storage project for my tow vehicle

[featherliteCT1]

I am really enjoying reading about your latest project … thanks for the photos.

Are all 26 of your padlocks combination locks with the same combination?

[working on it]

I am really enjoying reading about your latest project … thanks for the photos.

Are all 26 of your padlocks combination locks with the same combination?

* I wish, most all of the 26 I've mentioned are keyed. Actually, make it 37 locking devices, on my truck and trailer (I was way off...). Four sets of 4 keyed alike, three pairs of 2, five single padlocks, the tongue box key, two adjustable coupler locks, one receiver lock, one hitch lock, one coupler security lock (replaces the ball inside the coupler), and four cable locks (two are combinations). Kinda hard to keep track of.

* I carry two big keychains on me all the time, and there's a separate one just for the trailer when camping. There's the occasional overlap, with duplicate keys on 2 of the keychains simultaneously, and I have a whole box of duplicates in my home office. But, as a safety measure, I never leave home to go camping without a big bolt-cutter in my truck.

[working on it]

* Project is nearing completion; missing only one item, now. I was intending to use some leftover conveyor belting to serve as cover flaps, to protect the two areas that the panels will not: the gap in front of the crossover toolbox (4 inches), and the gap where my on-board truck stepladders are carried, fastened to the toolbox (10-12 inches, including some overlap of the first panel), but haven't located the roll, yet. An alternative would be to get another rubber/carpet mat, like I use as a floor cover in my trailer, if I can find one long enough to go side-to-side (bedrail-bedrail). I should've looked when I went to Home Depot today for the handle I bought, to supplement an old handle I used on the heavy, lift-off panel. The gap coverage is necessary to keep leaves and debris out, not water. Once I locate a good piece to use, them I'll only ever have to cover the bed with a tarp during oak pollen season (everything gets stained green!).

* I installed a second handle on the big panel...with two handles it is much easier to move, I also repainted the re-sealed edge grain (where I trimmed and sanded after I thought the painting was done). The edges should be dry tomorrow, so I can finally finish up. I've already put most of my gear back into the truck already, and only need to put brackets in for the Hi-lift jack re-positioning. Probably will be done tomorrow afternoon. I haven't decided to use the chrome hood-pin hole cover plates or not. Just another item to screw up!

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panel gets handles & paint touch-up.jpg (153.68 KiB) Viewed 2405 times

load-up prior to cover panel install.jpg (170.05 KiB) Viewed 2405 times

[working on it]

* Almost finished the project today, but still haven't located the old conveyor belt material, to fill the gaps in panel coverage. I might order a strip of neoprene from Amazon to fill the gaps, but I'd prefer to just use my spare stuff. This project took me too long and cost too much...as do all my projects, but I'd been considering doing it for a long, long time, and the wife will approve of the appearance change when she returns from her vacation (from her job, and from me and the dogs).

final assembly, storage plan change.jpg (185.91 KiB) Viewed 2389 times

* I rushed to mount the Hi-lift, and put all the panels on before a big storm was about to hit, so I didn't put the panel locating pins in, nor the panel-locking pin and the hood-pin appearance plates (I will just take them off when I remove the pins, and not permanently attach them), before I took a photo. I went back out after the little storm, and took another photo of the few raindrops and leaf debris that fell on the panels...not much of a first test.

1st rain & debris test.jpg (71.36 KiB) Viewed 2389 times

* Tomorrow, I will either find the conveyor belt material, or get something from Home Depot or Amazon, so I can put this project to "bed".

Coverage gaps in panel protection project.jpg (178.55 KiB) Viewed 2389 times

[featherliteCT1]

The silver paint was a good idea to reflect some of the heat

[working on it]

The silver paint was a good idea to reflect some of the heat

* I used a similar aluminum silo paint on the front slope, roof, and hatch of my trailer. It works pretty well, but 7 years after I painted it, it isn't quite so silver anymore. But, I always place an 8x8 canopy directly over the cabin of my 4x8 TTT, so it never gets direct sun anyway. When I was touching-up the big panel yesterday, with the sun directly overhead, the silver reflectivity was cooking me, while leaning over it.

* I also made a toolbox cover/wind deflector out of a sheet of 3/8" polycarbonate (too expensive for me to play around with now!), back in '91 or '92, for my old S-10 extended cab pickup (boy, I miss that truck, I had it for 18 years). I originally painted the inside silver, and left the outside clear, so it acted like a mirror. After a few years of use, it became so scratched-up that I removed the silver, and painted it flat black, so further touch-ups were just a rattle-can spray away. I "painted it black" years before the Rolling Stones did, and I eventually end up doing it to all my creations.

* Edit, next day: gave up looking for the belting material leftovers, and ordered a rubber mat that I'll cut into pieces to fit. I would've gotten neoprene, but I'd have nothing left after spending more (I always need a spare of everything). Besides, I wanted to get the mat as a look-see, in case I use one or two of them on our decks. No more work on the project 'til the next weekend!

[working on it]

* Received the rubber mat today, and cut one half of it off, and used it to cover the gaps in my bed-cover (where leaves and debris could still enter). I made flaps to cover the mid gap (where I store my ladders behind the crossover toolbox), and the rear gap (where the lift-off panel sits one inch over the next panel, leaving a space for debris to enter), and attached the mid-gap flap to the toolbox, and the rear gap flap to the underside of the lift-off panel.

gaps covered - rear view.jpg (232.79 KiB) Viewed 2333 times

gaps covered - ladder storage under flap.jpg (133.76 KiB) Viewed 2333 times

gaps covered - side view.jpg (76.03 KiB) Viewed 2333 times

* I didn't install the front gap cover flap, that sits in the 4" space between the rear window and the crossover toolbox, because I can't get the flap to sit where I want it, without making room to work in that cramped space. I would either have to use a very long impact extension (for the #14 Tek screws I'm using) and drive them in while sitting on the toolbox, or I'd have to slide the toolbox back from the window, and that would require a whole lot of extra work (empty the bed, empty the toolbox, un-mount the toolbox, etc....). So, I've decided to mount the flap on a couple of aluminum strips (or steel, if I already have some...I probably don't), and use 4 Teks to attach the assembly to the side rails only, and not to the front bed rail at all. Then, I'll be finished (maybe get 1 more handle for the center of the awkward-to-manage lift-off panel).

[working on it]

* I didn't install the front gap cover flap, that sits in the 4" space between the rear window and the crossover toolbox, because I can't get the flap to sit where I want it, without making room to work in that cramped space. I would either have to use a very long impact extension (for the #14 Tek screws I'm using) and drive them in while sitting on the toolbox, or I'd have to slide the toolbox back from the window, and that would require a whole lot of extra work (empty the bed, empty the toolbox, un-mount the toolbox, etc....). So, I've decided to mount the flap on a couple of aluminum strips (or steel, if I already have some...I probably don't), and use 4 Teks to attach the assembly to the side rails only, and not to the front bed rail at all. Then, I'll be finished (maybe get 1 more handle for the center of the awkward-to-manage lift-off panel).

* Project is finished!; I put in the last #10 Tek screw (not #14's as I had planned), just as the wife pulled into the driveway, after her long trip to Ohio. I ended up using smaller screws on the ends of the gap, and positioned the 4.5" wide x 66" long strip of rubber mat in a curved aspect, with the leading edge fastened to the truck bed rail(s), with three screws per side, and curved upwards and held up by the front of the crossover toolbox. Didn't need the metal framework after all, since the rubber is thick enough to not be moved, except by hand.

gap flap -front of toolbox.jpg (84.61 KiB) Viewed 2312 times

* There was only one hiccup, as the planning and execution of covering the gaps went...the ladder storage rubber flap is too stiff to let me put my 3-step ladder back into the slot. I'll lay it under the bed cover panels for right now, while I look for an alternate fastener that can be easily removed, when I need the ladder (in its' storage slot). I could still lift-off the big panel to access the ladder in the slot, but that isn't what I planned. But, it's just a matter of replacing a few #14 Teks, with a few 1/4"-20 carriage bolts, and with wingnuts (on the driver's side where I lock the ladder in place), and then I can slip the ladder in/out of its' storage slot. Now where did I leave those wingnuts?

[featherliteCT1]

You accomplished a lot while your wife was away ... nice job!

[working on it]

* Finally road-tested the "bed cover project" yesterday, on a 90 mile round-trip on Father's Day (my wife's father, 81 years old). I took the truck just to test the panels, and to drive it for the first time in two months, before the gas spoiled. I love to drive the old ('04) truck, but the wife doesn't really like riding in it, since I've modified the springs to haul heavy loads and trailers, and it is a bit rougher-riding than our three other vehicles (race-car Chevelle, not included). The panel system was a success, and the wife actually liked the appearance improvement (over the tarp-covered look).

* The two thin 11/32" panels didn't rattle or flutter within the Superstrut channels at speeds up to 80, and the heavier lift-off panel didn't either (it wasn't expected to, since there's no wiggle room when the hood-pins are in place). The center support post (with roller) under the rear panel provides enough tension to allow no movement up or down, and the rubber gap-flaps don't allow a lot (or any?) airflow underneath the panels, so that has to help.

* Unexpectedly, the gap-cover-flaps had sealed the gaps so well, that despite heavy T-storms all afternoon and evening (though none while driving), there was very little water penetrating to the truck bed itself, mainly at the rear panel/tailgate interface. I had no expectation of, nor need for, the panels to keep water out, just leaves and debris, so the panel system works better than planned for.

* I still need to modify the mid-gap flap so I can insert/remove the stepladder (3-step Gorilla Pro) in the storage area where it formerly resided; I need it for accessing the bed from the sides. As-is, I moved it under the lift-off panel, where I can get to it either by lifting-off the pinned panel, or by opening the tailgate, moving a cooler aside, and pulling the ladder out the rear (it's just laying atop the two bed-storage boxes). I'll see if the carriage bolts/wingnuts will work (as planned in the previous post), or if I should just get a thinner ladder of the same height/weight rating. And if so, then I'll get these thru-knobs, for a more finished look (though none of my projects is ever "finished").

thru-knobs, rather than using wingnuts.JPG (17.24 KiB) Viewed 2239 times

[working on it]

...* I still need to modify the mid-gap flap so I can insert/remove the stepladder (3-step Gorilla Pro) in the storage area where it formerly resided; I need it for accessing the bed from the sides. As-is, I moved it under the lift-off panel, where I can get to it either by lifting-off the pinned panel, or by opening the tailgate, moving a cooler aside, and pulling the ladder out the rear (it's just laying atop the two bed-storage boxes). I'll see if the carriage bolts/wingnuts will work (as planned in the previous post), or if I should just get a thinner ladder of the same height/weight rating. And if so, then I'll get these thru-knobs, for a more finished look (though none of my projects is ever "finished").

The attachment thru-knobs, rather than using wingnuts.JPG is no longer available

* Project done (for the moment), after making the center gap cover flap removable (rather, "open-able") from either side. The center is held in place by two Teks, and there are five knobs each side of that, that may be removed to swing the rubber away, accessing the ladder/tool slot underneath. I made the slot too narrow when I put the 36" cover panel there...it needed to be 34" if I was to insert my largest stepladder. Instead of modifying the panel (again), I'm just gonna store other tools/misc. there, and just keep the big stepladder under the lift-off. I also bought another spare grab-handle, which I'll install midway between the other to on the lift-off, and that'll be job complete. It was just too hot & humid here to do that today. This should be the last thread posting; it's done, and it only took 5 weeks to make (in the old days, it would've taken me 2 weekends, tops...I'm getting old).

mid-gap flap has easy-to-remove knobs for quick ladder & tool access.jpg (171.3 KiB) Viewed 2207 times

[working on it]

* I was mistaken, the project wasn't quite finished...the star-shaped thru-knobs I bought to replace the wingnuts holding the middle gap flap were too large, and were interference-fit, overlapping each other in 4 locations. I removed four smaller knobs I had been using on my trailer (but no longer), found two spares in my parts bin, and ordered five more from Amazon, and replaced eight of the star knobs, enabling easier use. I left two star nobs in place, as there was no interference, and replaced eight with the round ones, so now I have eight spare stars, and three spare round knobs I'll keep in the truck...surely I'll need replacements sooner or later...or I'll find another project to use them on!

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  interference between too-close knobs in several places

  first set of thru-knobs not quite right.jpg (128.33 KiB) Viewed 2163 times

  
  

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  should've thought of using these first

  smaller, round, thru-knobs now in use.JPG (26.09 KiB) Viewed 2163 times

  
  

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  now it's easy to access both the covered slot, and to open the crossover toolbox

  using reduced-size 1-inch diameter thru-knobs.jpg (117.7 KiB) Viewed 2163 times

[working on it]

* Final entry; the reason I made the covers was to keep the constant rain of debris from overhead trees, from filling the truck bed in all seasons. With the cover panels in place, only minor cleaning is now needed, instead of having to scrape-out a ton of leaves (often moldy and decomposing if overlooked for awhile), pollen, and twigs after every rainstorm, windstorm, or no storm at all. And it will look a lot less hillbilly (at least to my wife), than the tarp I had been using recently.

raison d'etre for covering my compartmented pickup truck bed

Grund für die Bettdeckenverkleidung.jpg (174 KiB) Viewed 2163 times

* P.S. addendum, 7-3-2019 Just the other day, I finally took my new Lifetime 4' Fold-in-Half Adjustable Light Commercial Grade Table (waterproof HDPE for camping!) outside to test-fit into the designated spot under the bed cover. It didn't, due to a change in item storage order underneath the panels. It will not slide-in from the rear, but might just fit under the lift-off front panel. I'll have to try that prior to my next trip, but the table will easily fit thru the trailer door, so it can travel there, and I might use it around the house in the meantime. I picked it up at Sam's Club for $35, to replace the wobbly plastic shelf that I'd been using for years at camp, in lieu of a proper table. But, a new Scepter 5-gallon gas can I bought (to replace a 20-year old one that finally cracked open). did fit into the allotted space.

I had already fitted the stepladder in the truck bed, but the new table didn't fit as I had expected it to

big stepladder, folding table, & gas can undercover.jpg (146.22 KiB) Viewed 2011 times

[featherliteCT1]

Functional!