tonneau covers

[joe1982]

so for some time now. I have been looking for a good looking tonneau cover. I want one that is pretty low pro, I have seen some pics of them on here but never any that show how high of the bed they sit, Anyway, i saw this in my summit mag today and I was just wondering if anyone has used or seen them?

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-484530/

[Corts60]

I say build your own! Here s my tonneau cover in progress...

I spent $90 at Home Depot but that doesn't include the material to cover it.

[79gmcc15]

I know that ETsC10 has one. At least one like it. I will see if I can direct her here to say a thing or two.

[54Caddy]

a Corts60 more info on your cover..

[Corts60]

All I did was buy two 4x8 sheets of 3/8" underlayment particle board, one roll of 100 sq. ft. underlayment (2in1) padding, and about 9 firring strips or 1x2's. I will get some more pictures tomorrow of the framework.

As far as what is holding the cover up, I used 1" x 48" aluminum angle that is 1/16th thick. I riveted that to the backside of the upper bed rail which leaves about 3/4 inch of the aluminum to catch the cover.

I'm sure that all sounds confusing but I will take some better pics tomorrow to help describe.

[54Caddy]

Sounds perfect with pictures please. I have had the same ideas for the rails are going to mount actuators on anything so it will lift up??

[nbpro]

We mounted angle iron along the bed rails, the two sides and the back of the bed. Built a frame out of pressure treated 1x2's. Went to a local sign shop and got some aluminite(two pieces of aluminum sandwitching corregated plastic, very light) scraps, in other words signs they had discontinued or was no longer able to use. Come in 4x8 sheets 3/8's inch thick. $20 for two sheets. Screwed it down to the frame, added a sheet of plywood underneath for strength and mounted it on the bed. Check my build thread for final results.
Plan on covering it with tonneau cover material bought online.

[3r!c84]

Originally Posted by Corts60

I say build your own! Here s my tonneau cover in progress...

I spent $90 at Home Depot but that doesn't include the material to cover it.

go any more infor on what your useing and how is it held in

[nbpro]

We used what's called a desk lock at each corner. Just haven't gotten all the pics up yet. Worked out pretty well. Can lock it and keeps it from flying open. I am unsure of this underlayment particle board. My brother that has been a carpenter for 30+ years is unsure as well. Anxious to see how this holds up. Another thing you could use is FRP board, which is the board they use in resteraunt walls.

[Corts60]

Here are some more pics of the cover after we put the vinyl on. As far as how it sits, I tried to get a better pic but I literally just took the angle iron and tucked it up underneath the lip of the bed rail and riveted it in. As of now, that is the only thing holding up the cover. That and some c-clamp pliers...I haven't decided on how I am going to fasten it just yet.






nbpro-

I am not a carpenter and I am also unsure of how this will hold up. If I were to do it again I would not use the particle board. I thought it would make it lighter, which is what my goal was. I'm not too sure it's any lighter than if I would've just used plywood.

[nbpro]

The way you have it wrapped up, it looks like it may be fine. I just know they stopped from using it under vinyl because of the moisture issue. FRP board, which you can buy at Lowe's, is a good thing to use. Lightweight and pretty durable. It was just cheaper for me to use the alumilite. Where did you get your material?

[joe1982]

Wow man, that looks pretty sweet bro.
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[benoit454]

we made one for an s-10 once, 2 sheets of 5/8 osb plywood, a 6 foot 1x12 a bundle of furring strips 1x3's, gallon of liquid nails construction adhesive, staple gun, a tonneau cover we had that was velcro type or you can buy the outdoor vinyl online.

We did sorta like the above, used sheet rock screws to screw the 1x3's to the lip inside the bedrails, they sit about 5/8 little more below the top of the bed rails, cut the plywood to fit inside the rails, stepped in the thickness of the 1x3 like 3/4 inch, and built a frame of 1x3's laying flat, screwed those to the plywood, used the 1x12 to join the 2 pieces of playwood together, not long ways either, across the bed, one four foot by however wide the bed was between the rails the other same distance between rails but as wide as needed to fill the gap from the front of the bed to the other piece of plywood. Then we smeared the glue all over the top, laid the tonneau on it, working out the wrinkles, folded it under and stapled the bottom all around. We laid it on the truck and used a screw in each corner to hold it down, but did consider using lift supports and hinges to let it raise, truck got totalled shortly after building it though.

[Corts60]

Originally Posted by benoit454

we made one for an s-10 once, 2 sheets of 5/8 osb plywood, a 6 foot 1x12 a bundle of furring strips 1x3's, gallon of liquid nails construction adhesive, staple gun, a tonneau cover we had that was velcro type or you can buy the outdoor vinyl online.

We did sorta like the above, used sheet rock screws to screw the 1x3's to the lip inside the bedrails, they sit about 5/8 little more below the top of the bed rails, cut the plywood to fit inside the rails, stepped in the thickness of the 1x3 like 3/4 inch, and built a frame of 1x3's laying flat, screwed those to the plywood, used the 1x12 to join the 2 pieces of playwood together, not long ways either, across the bed, one four foot by however wide the bed was between the rails the other same distance between rails but as wide as needed to fill the gap from the front of the bed to the other piece of plywood. Then we smeared the glue all over the top, laid the tonneau on it, working out the wrinkles, folded it under and stapled the bottom all around. We laid it on the truck and used a screw in each corner to hold it down, but did consider using lift supports and hinges to let it raise, truck got totalled shortly after building it though.

[nbpro]

OSB. be careful when buying this stuff. Been major recalls on it. Believe it or not, was not shipped in from China. AC plywood would be better, a little more expensive. We plan on using the hydraulic cylinders off of the back door of our mom's van, which weighs probably 150 lbs, so I'm certain it'll hold it up. Van was wrecked shortly after she passed away. Just preserving memories.

[ETsC10]

Neat projects guys! I love the looks of a nicely fitted hard tonneau.

Joe, as Matt mentioned, my tonneau is nearly identical to the Summit
tonneau you linked. Mine is an Extang Black Max and they are very nice
considering the attractive price. Very well made. The upper-most bow
crown I would estimate to be about an inch and a half off the bed rail.

Advantages are that there is no damage to your truck, durability and
versatility when hauling taller loads.
Disadvantage...snaping the last few snaps can be a real challenge.

I'll plop a photo on here later today.


.

[70c10]

Corts60- Nice job! I've been thinking of making one to cover my home made carpeted bedliner.

[blazer2007]

here are some other pics I found online,going to try one myself