anybody ever built there own homemade bedcover?

[lead foot caveman]

I plan on building one that sits flush with the bedcaps....I was gona run some 1" angled aluminum brackets about 5/8" below bed caps and on tailgate...and use a 48" piano hinge across bed front...2 sheets of 1/2" marine plywood with a piece of foam on top and a large piece of black vinyl just pulled tight and stapled..maybe contact cement on foam...I'm not sure what I want to do yet to brace the center...maybe pieces of t shape steel...I'm also not sure on where/how to mount shocks

[69FLATBED]

I did one almost the exact same way except i used 3/4 marine plywood and black indoor/outdoor carpet instead of vinyl. I hinged it about 2 1/2 feet from the rear so I could get into my cooler for my favorite adult beverages... I braced the center with some 2" angle iron.

[basshound71]

I did one almost the exact same way except i used 3/4 marine plywood and black indoor/outdoor carpet instead of vinyl. I hinged it about 2 1/2 feet from the rear so I could get into my cooler for my favorite adult beverages... I braced the center with some 2" angle iron.

coke, right? need to do similar

[red403]

I have made a two bed covers that way in my younger days. I used angle iron running across the bed about half way down the box, it gives support to both the front half and the back half(long box trucks). On one of the trucks I installed power window motors and regulators on it to lift the cover from inside the truck with a switch. You should use some kind of glue to glue the foam to the plywood and then glue the vinyl to the foam, spray glue works the best. The last one I made we welded a aluminum frame and glued sheets of pebblie fiberglass often found in truck stop bathrooms and car washes, then painted it to match the truck. We sold that truck but the cover was still perfect when it was sold. I have since started to buy fiberglass covers for my trucks, now you can find them used for a reasonable price. The one I have for my 67 was off a 1997 f250 super duty and it sits ontop of the bed rails.

[HIO Silver]

It's on my to-do list and plan to build it like an airplane wing with spars and convex top to shed the rain. 2X using fiberglass sheets - the kind used for restaurant kitchens/shower surrounds. If I had a TIG then it's be aluminum. Prolly linear actuators to raise and lower it.

[Aussie_1970]

Mine is a bit more of a 'hard lid' arrangement

Made from 4mm aluminium with some framing mig welded and silkaflexed to the lid. Has gas struts from a station wagon i got at a wreckers to hold the lid up. I ran some adhesive esky type waterproof seals along the underside - to make it watertight and also protect the lip of the bed. And also a black edging around the outside. It's lockable too

It's hinged by 4 large stainless rivited hinges which are screwed into the bed

It can be removed farly easy but is heavy...at least a 2 person removal

I don't haul much big stuff, so it works for me..has a slight bow in it where my then 4 year old daughter decided to use it dor dancing practice. Unbreakable it seems.....

[tmcalavy]

Nice work...what's that tank arrangement in the front of your bed? Does a bed cover affect the sound or mpg's going down the road?

[Aussie_1970]

That's a 100 litre LPG tank ...Liquified Petroleum Gas in Australia - propane to you guys?? My truck only runs LPG through an impco 425 mixer on a 650 double pumper baseplate

With the 302 (stock 'cept for a weiand stealth manifold) and a c4 I get about 20 litres per 100 kilometres....with gas here at 60 cents a litre and petrol hovering around $1.40 a litre in terms of cost it's about the same as running a 2 litre 4cly vehicle. It's way cheaper to run than my 245ci 6 cyl auto Chrysler Charger on petrol is (Australian Valiant charger)

Even though the cover is heavy, it hasn't seemed to make any noticeable difference to the mpg or sound...have driven it with and without the lid

But being totally water resistant is great as i live in a fairly tropical area and when it rains, it really rains hard. Stopped some bed rust for sure

[lead foot caveman]

Awesome guys thanks for the ideas and pics