Alu-Cab Gladiator Bed Cap

[Rokon]

The side of the foil doesn't matter. What matters is the foil is what the radiant heat hits first. So it works the same stuck to the roof vs stuck to the panel foil up. Won't work as well stuck to the panel foil facing the bed interior.
Better yet get that RTT and use that for a heat shield for the cap!

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[steffen707]

The side of the foil doesn't matter. What matters is the foil is what the radiant heat hits first. So it works the same stuck to the roof vs stuck to the panel foil up. Won't work as well stuck to the panel foil facing the bed interior.
Better yet get that RTT and use that for a heat shield for the cap!

it'll be foil against hot Alu-Cab top. my uphostery guy said the fabric will hold to hardboard. Waiting for a quote, might just attempt myselfSo i think i'm going to make 5 hardboard panels stick foil to it, wrap in fabric and adhere with 2 strips of .75" 3m VHB tape.

 

[Rokon]

I added three 80/20, 1-1/2” sq. Crossbars to the cap today. Went with three as I had the material and gives more possibilities securing stuff. They are 59” long. Will probably add some aluminum caps to clean up the ends. Hardware is all stainless. 80/20 SS threaded inserts fit the AluCab tracks.

 

[radioinstl]

ours unpacked inside. generator goes on left and fridge on the right. rest of our gear toward the rear. Chairs and misc lightweight stuff goes in the overhead net

Any details on the rack in the bed?

 

[Rokon]

Made up some stainless steel end plates/tie down points for the three crossbar ends today. 5/16”-18 SS bolt threaded into the center of the crossbar to attach and a bit of angle to the plate to prevent rotation and add some aesthetics.
Ran the JT at 70mph and no whistling from the racks.

 

[steffen707]

ours unpacked inside. generator goes on left and fridge on the right. rest of our gear toward the rear. Chairs and misc lightweight stuff goes in the overhead net

That is a sexy gator! It appears the Alu-Cab looks stellar on a white or gator JT. Don't tell Gladys, I'm jealous.

 

[steffen707]

Doing some easy camping with the family for about 2 weeks this month. Thought it would be good to have some dry firewood and a place to put wet clothes and sandy beach toys.

Man, today was a trip down memory lane. Went to Menards, bought some stuff, went to target and Fleet Farm to look for a specific storage bin. Come out from Fleet Farm, YAY! Some low life stole the 2-2x2x8's hanging out the back of my bed. So i had to go back to Menards to buy 2 more. The $$$ didn't piss me off, but the wasted time did.

THEN, I cut both 24" lateral pieces from the same board, instead of 1 from each, so i got to go to Menards for a 3rd time in a single day. ........back in the day it didn't feel like a homeowner day unless i went to Lowes, Fleet Farm AND Menards.

So today I built this rack. I can put either 4-15 gallon Sterilite Industrial totes, or 2-27 gallon Sterilite Industrial totes, or 2-15 gallon and 1-27 gallon on the rack with just a few screws to remove a couple of spacers. After doing ALL of this work, I realized a few things.

1. This is heavy. Hoping the wet treated wood dries out a bit.
2. I want to build this out of aluminum. Anybody know of a nice stockpile of 8020 pieces?
3. it looks tall... We'll see if it survives the trip, if its loud, if it actually decreases MPG or not.....
4. I need a panel carrier to grab the big tote.

@Rokon did you make those tie downs for your bars or buy em? figure a handy guy like you made em, but maybe not. I bought some eye-bolts that I might use, but i was trying to figure out some way to tie it down so that the rear hook (That will be in the middle) doesn't stick up above the wood, so its easier to slide things on and off the rack.

Thoughts?

 

[steffen707]

@Rokon did you make those tie downs for your bars or buy em? figure a handy guy like you made em, but maybe not. I bought some eye-bolts that I might use, but i was trying to figure out some way to tie it down so that the rear hook (That will be in the middle) doesn't stick up above the wood, so its easier to slide things on and off the rack.

If i use the eye-bolt out the rear I'm wondering if the torque is going to twist the rear board, or try to. I think if I countersink the nut it wont interfere with the totes and the closer to the wood, the less leverage the bolt would have. Put a screw through the plywood and into the 2x2 on either side of the eye-bolt, should be fine.

 

[steffen707]

i'm thinking if I replace the floor with 2-1x? aluminum rails like the alu-cab rails it should be lighter. then replace the wood 2x2 frame with some aluminum angle it should be much lighter.

 

[Gatorized]

If i use the eye-bolt out the rear I'm wondering if the torque is going to twist the rear board, or try to. I think if I countersink the nut it wont interfere with the totes and the closer to the wood, the less leverage the bolt would have. Put a screw through the plywood and into the 2x2 on either side of the eye-bolt, should be fine.

Instead of the eye bolt thru the side, bolt on a hinge from the bottom so you have the pressure on the plywood and not the end support. Could be hinge with removable pin that just uses one side of hinge and attachment of strap goes to the pin, or a complete hinge that folds down out of way so it doesn’t interfere with sliding totes on and off.

 

[steffen707]

Instead of the eye bolt thru the side, bolt on a hinge from the bottom so you have the pressure on the plywood and not the end support. Could be hinge with removable pin that just uses one side of hinge and attachment of strap goes to the pin, or a complete hinge that folds down out of way so it doesn’t interfere with sliding totes on and off.

Smart! My original idea was through support and plywood for strength, but then it would interfere. Your hinge idea has merit.

 

[Rokon]

@steffen707 I did make those tie downs for the ends of my rack.
The hinge idea has merit. Use a strap hinge. One side screwed under the ply bottom with the hinge point at the edge. Drill a hole thru the other side of the hinge for your strap hook. Strap loads will be handled better and it flips out of the way for unloading.

 

[steffen707]

Not sure if this is a strap hinge, but they come in Black! I'll just cut the end to size and drill a hole, provided this metal is thick enough. We'll see.

https://www.menards.com/main/hardwa...ge-2-pack/n129-007/p-1444448883084-c-9693.htm

@Rokon , is .076" (which i think is close to 14 gauge), heavy duty?

 

[Rokon]

Yep, your hinges are 14g. Plenty strong. Strap hinge has two long sides vs. Tee hinge with a short wide, and one long.
What you show will work just fine. Just leave plenty of material around the hole you drill for the strap hook.

 

[steffen707]

Yep, your hinges are 14g. Plenty strong. Strap hinge has two long sides vs. Tee hinge with a short wide, and one long.
What you show will work just fine. Just leave plenty of material around the hole you drill for the strap hook.

I actually just bought a 10" strap hinge, it's super thick, I'll cut off what I don't need after marking and drilling the hole. "tonight's project"!

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