DIY low profile aluminum bleacher cargo deck for roll n lock tonneau t-slots

[ggdillon]

I got my DIY aluminum bleacher cargo deck to a point that I could use it and it works really well, so I thought I would share.

Once I figure out how to squeeze my canoes on top; put the bikes on the hitch; and still have the cargo deck for the cooler, rubbermaid, and whatever else, I'll make any final adjusments, put on the end caps, and paint it black or give it a coating of bed liner.

The decks are the 1" x 6" aluminum planks from here: https://www.markstaar.com/aluminum-planks/1-x-6-aluminum-planks/1-x-6-anodized-aluminum-planks/

I bolted 1" aluminum angle iron on the bleachers to snugly hold the cooler and action packer to keep them from sliding once strapped down. They didn't budge at all on the forest roads and washboards.

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[TheOpa]

This is an interesting DIY option. Nice work! Can you go into some detail or pics for how you attached them to the t-slots?

 

[ggdillon]

Can you go into some detail or pics for how you attached them to the t-slots?

Yeah, I couldn't find a good off-the-shelf solution for the t-slots.

What I finally did was buy 3/4" wide, 1/8" thick stainless steel barstock from Mcmaster (https://www.mcmaster.com/catalog/129/4234/8992K794), then drill and tap it for 1/4-20 threads. Then I put either 1-1/2" (https://www.mcmaster.com/catalog/129/3566/95412A546) or 1-3/4" (https://www.mcmaster.com/catalog/129/3566/95412A546) 1/4-20 studs into the barstock. I don't have a welder, so I just used red loctite to hold the studs into the barstock.

I could slide these 6" long bars with the studs sticking up along the t-slots and then up through holes drilled through the bleachers. I used 1" fender washers, lockwashers and acorn nuts to secure the bleachers. [my original hope was that I could just use a bolt threaded down through the bleachers into the threaded holes in the barstock but it's just too much of a pain to get the perfect length bolt that threads into the barstock but doesn't extend beyond it and bottom out into the bottom of the t-slot... which damages the t-slot and doesn't hold the bleacher tight.... the stud sticking up was much stronger and easier]

All the tie-down points and aluminum angle iron are reinforced with the same 3/4" barstock to provide extra strength and to spread the force a bit and help prevent the bolts from just pulling out or deforming the aluminum.

The 3/4" x 1/8" thick barstock is a solid solution for mounting things in the t-slots. Drilling and tapping it without a drill press is hard, though, best to find a drill press.

 

[TheOpa]

Looks like a great solution, thanks!

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