Custom Hard/Soft Tonneau Cover

[88GMCtruck]

Custom Hard/Soft Tonneau Cover, Custom made!
http://chevytruckworld.tenmagazines.com/gallery/88GMCtruck/104621.jpg

This is a Tonneau cover my Father and I devised up one weekend, it's a Hard cover with a soft covering. It is very duarble and watertight, and after installing my tailgate lock, secure. The tonneau can be built any way you like, this is just an exaple of how I built mine.

First off i wanted to say that i am not respondsable in anyway for anything you do this is merly a guide of what i did to create a cover for my truck. I spent about $70 total on my cover, and i also made on for my Mother's Ford Supercrew, costing about $150.

Things you need:
3/8" CDC or CDX (outdoor) Plywood
2x2 8' boards
1 1/4" galvanized deck screws
3" galvanized deck screws
outdoor paint (optional)
1/2" foam
Outdoor/Marine grade vinyl in a color to match/compliment your truck
Leather Sewing thread in the color of your vinyl
Spray glue
3/8" Galvinized staples
Weather stripping
Seam Sealer
A ways of fastening your cover (hinge and struts, eyes and hooks, bunjee, etc)

Tools:
Scissors
Sewing Machine (needle and thread could work)
Staple Gun
Saw
Drill
Screw Gun
Hammer
Sawhorses
A friend
Possibly other tools!
PATIENTS!!!!!

First measure your bed, inside the rails and outside. Determine how many pieces of 2x2 you will need (2 sides, 2 ends, 2 or more middle braces plus smaller pieces between the main 2x2's). The 2x2's will be a frame on the inside of the bed rails. Secure these together with 3" galvanized deck screws (predrill the holes or they will split the boards!!!!). I suggest to brace the corners of the frame with the scrap plywood for added rigidity. Then buy the approprite amount of plywood to cover the area over your bed rails (Usually 2 sheets). Note: newer bed have more curved sides and such, and making the plywood cut right takes time, and also covering this with vinyl can be more complex. You will want this piece to be the shape of the outline of your bed rails, but make shure to leave a 1/2" or so around the edges for the foam's thickness. Next secure the plywood to the frame, for best results do this while it is on the truck so everything can be lined up correctly. Secure the plywood to the 2x2's with 1 1/4" galvinized deck screws. Now if you want paint your wood assembly (this protects moisture from going into the wood).

Next you will need enough foam and vinyl to cover this structure and go under the edges (where is rests on the rails) When i measured mine i added 2" for the edge and about 6" for under the rail portion, this is added to EACH end. The foam usually comes in 24" wide rolls. Use spray glue and glue the vinyl down, over the whole top, sides and under the edges of where it will sit on the rails. Unless you have it speacially made/ordered, you will need to sew your vinyl. Mine has a seam in the center going left to right. My mom's has 2 seams (cosmetics) that run with the gap of her tailgate to the front of the box. Make the piece cover the plywood. Next line it up in the foam/plywood structure, and wrap the vinyl around and glue it (if wanted) to the foam. I have not tried this on either of my covers so you are on your own. Trim the vinyl so it comes to the frame of the cover (under the rails). Staple it down (corners are TRICKY, i suggest if you are new make a few practice trys). Now fasten the cover however you like. My cover uses four "L" hooks that slide into my canopy brackets. My Mother's ford uses round eyes and bunjee's that hook to the cleats in her bed. With a tailgate lock, the bed is locked and shut tight. ENJOY!

Pictures!

My 88 Sierra
http://chevytruckworld.tenmagazines.com/gallery/88GMCtruck/104625.jpg
http://chevytruckworld.tenmagazines.com/gallery/88GMCtruck/104624.jpg
http://chevytruckworld.tenmagazines.com/gallery/88GMCtruck/104622.jpg
http://chevytruckworld.tenmagazines.com/gallery/88GMCtruck/92500.jpg


Questions?!

[quiksilverz71]

Those look pretty sweet! Nice article :D

[cxpcman]

nice work.... how much does it weight ? i ask because y have that idea in mind but hust for a frame then put some fiberglass instead of wood

[Joe]

Originally posted by cxpcman
how much does it weight ?
:word:

Nice job, but I'd be concerned about weight and how easy is it to remove and replace by yourself?

[cxpcman]

i also was thinking in 2 or 3 separate panels so you can fold it ..or separate the 2 indivuual panels yourself

[88GMCtruck]

It's pretty versitile, you can pretty much do whatever you want with it.

I would estimate that weights between 40-60 lbs. I can easily remove it by myself, although the size is a little ackward, two people makes it a breeze.

[cxpcman]

well it looks really cool and you an be proud all you have donw is really custom,taillights cover grill and everything

[88GMCtruck]

I get bored so I i like to improvise. I have custom polished switch panels on the dash, a matching face on the cb, blue face lights on the cb, the tonneau, grille, taillights, custom front plate mount, my sub box, etc. These are the things I have made.

There are also other things around the truck that i bought.

[addiction2bass]

very nice!
i also wanna do about the same thing but as flush as posible and hard top.


nothing beter than a good custom job well done! good job!
ya got any ideas for me on mine? http://www.fullsizechevy.com/forums/showthread.php?t=122723&page=1&pp=15

[HardcoreZ28]

That looks sweet man. Definately soomething I'd like to do. Do you happen to have any better pics of how you have it held down?

Also what kind of mpg gains to you guys usually see with these covers?

[Bob T]

Very nice. The boat upholstery guys use stainless steel staples; they might last longer than the galvanized, particularly in a damp climate. No idea where to get 'em any more.

[addiction2bass]

That looks sweet man. Definately soomething I'd like to do. Do you happen to have any better pics of how you have it held down?

Also what kind of mpg gains to you guys usually see with these covers?


they realy dont change your MPG......... its so minor youll never see a difference! if ya want beter MPG stay off the gas pedal and be easy............ ;)

[ianbroste]

do you have any problems with the padding getting wet?

[cxpcman]

they realy dont change your MPG......... its so minor youll never see a difference! if ya want beter MPG stay off the gas pedal and be easy............ ;)
you cant expect big mpg change ..what i notice in mine was driveability under strong wind roads

[addiction2bass]

true but i think you could get beter gas milage just by staying off the gas.LOL :D
hell i get like 2-3mpg less because i started hot rodding the truck.LOL

[HardcoreZ28]

Anyone think of trying this variation?? I was thinking about building this cover myself, but before covering it with the foam and vinyl, how about adding a cutout of a bowtie or flames on top of the flat plywood for a 3-D effect? Do you think some kind of adhesive would be able to hold up to the elements and keep the shape looking good?

[addiction2bass]

well you could try but im not sure with it being outside.... the suns heat would probably make it flaten out quick enough... :( and not to mention the weather proofing material used to cover it wouldnt stretch enough most likely for it to look anything more than a lump under it. :(

[HardcoreZ28]

Hmmm.....very good points....I wonder if there's a way I could do like 2 layers of vinyl or something.....like cover a bowtie in vinyl and the whole flat cover....then screw the bowtie on from the underside......maybe then I could do a black cover with white bowtie or blue to match the truck.

[addiction2bass]

ya that would work preaty good.

[ianbroste]

it would probably work if you cut out a bowtie from a piece of plywood then screwed that to the plywood. then covered the whole thing with foam (using spray adhesive on the wood and the foam) then spray adhesive the vinyl and the foam and lay down the vinyl. put some heavy books or something around the edges of the bowtie to make sure it gets a good bond.

[HardcoreZ28]

That's kind of what I was thinking, but I'm afraid the heat and elements would loosen the adhesive bond and it would look bad after a short time.

[ianbroste]

yeah i think your first idea was better than mine.

[addiction2bass]

hey i got one last question before i start building mine.... where can i get some fabric thats wide enough so i can do my short fleetside bed with only one piece? my dads got quite a bit of fabric that would work but id have to stich it together to be long/wide enough :( i might try to do a flush steel cover this winter since well i wont have much else to do.LOL

[ianbroste]

when i went to the fabric shop which was like a boat upholstery place or a place that makes awnings. they had actual soft tonneau cover material that was plenty wide enough with one piece. I love mine and on my 02 with the tailgate cap it looks way better than say a gaylords.

[DragginLowChevy]

Think some real thin square tubing would work for bracin? i would also use less than what you used in wood. that thing just looks a bit heavy.

You did an awesome job though! I love it.

[addiction2bass]

ya i was gonna be doing mine last week BUT money problems stoped me half way thru :( im screwing some angle iron to the front and side and siliconing it sealed and weather striping on the inside where the cover will sit on so its also water tight. and with the tailgate im gonna do some square angle iron and cut a slot into it so thiers a crack next to the tailgate so any water that does run off the back will run off and down the side where ill just use some rubber hosing on it and drain it below the tailgate lip. to start out with im just gonna use wood and cover it in some vinyl for tono covers. costs like 13bucks a yard for 72inches wide :D so preaty reasonable price! ill try painting it and see how that looks, tho ill just use a test piece first to see how it turns out IF it will paint on it.LOL. afterwards im gonna eventualy make it with some aluminum tubing and sheeting on the top and paint to match my truck so its realy smooth! only thing im not sure about yet is hinding.... :( im just mount it flat to begining with some rope and a tie downstrap with a small pulley on both sides up front so i can still take the cover off without crawling in the rear of the bed.LOL i think that will turn out preaty good!
ill be sure to post up pics when i get her done and while doing pics as well and also post up here for everyone. just for some ideas.

hardest thing will be the sheeting ontop...... id like to do aluminum so its still lite BUT ive never welded aluminum! ive got a wire welder and stick welder. tho i might just have to make it in metal so its alot easier but heavier :(
but i can always rig up a lift over my garage spot so i could just tie some ropes to it and lift it straight up and hold it on the roof while not in use.LOL

[ag4gt]

I am very impressed. Espicialy if you did the whole thing in a week end.

[addiction2bass]

you know i didnt even know that the bed towards the rear isnt as wide as the front......

but hardest part i see about doing this would just be the frame building...

[ianbroste]

dang i need a digital camera so i can show you guys some pictures of mine. it turned out way better than what i thought it would. another funny thing about this is both of my friends had all nice colormatched gaylords and the other day it was super windy and one of my friends covers flew off his truck and went over his house and landed on his dads truck and broke in half. my other friends was attached at the front and when the wind caught it, it just opened all the way and folded over the top of his truck. put huge dents in the roof and on the hood and broke strait in half. what did my tonneau cover do. nothing it just sat there fine but after they where making fun of me for having a "junk homemade" tonneau cover i guess i got the last laugh :devil:

[addiction2bass]

hahahahahha you gotta get some pics... disposable camera if ya gotta!!!!!! LOL
they shoulda known to have it tied down good! no matter what you got if the winds are strong enough and its not tied down it will blow off and take a beating.LOL
i thought about doing my cover in aluminum... but now ive just decided its gonna cost to much and be to much of a pain in the butt to weld aluminum over steel soo ill just deal with the extra weight.... have another person help me take it off.LOL

[9chevy4]

hahahahahha you gotta get some pics... disposable camera if ya gotta!!!!!! LOL
they shoulda known to have it tied down good! no matter what you got if the winds are strong enough and its not tied down it will blow off and take a beating.LOL
i thought about doing my cover in aluminum... but now ive just decided its gonna cost to much and be to much of a pain in the butt to weld aluminum over steel soo ill just deal with the extra weight.... have another person help me take it off.LOL
I'm wondering if you got pics of the lid. I just got a flush fiber glass lid. but didnt come with any hinges or the shocks. and i've been having trouble finding the mounting kit. So i'm gonna take matters in to my own hands and mount it myself. Pics would help thanks

[addiction2bass]

unfortunatly i ran into some money problems and never actualy had time to get anymore done then just the rails drilled to mount... :(

[Pyrite Z]

I have built a few covers for clients and friends, I used alluminum angle 1"or 1 and 1/4" for the side rails. pre drill them and use stainless pan head screws, and put a thin weather strip on top. To hold the cover in place a little cheapy method I used is to use a sliding deadbolt lock but I would reccomend using something a little stronger (not the keyed type but the kind you twist and slide)mounted to the cover on each side on the rear of the cover. and on the front you can put two pins, another set of deadbolts, or something else that slides under the angle.Then when you wanna take it off you just unlock the rear locks and slide the cover back enough to unhitch it and there ya go.
another thing we used 3/4" marine grade plywood and closed cellfoam.
also let the vinol sit in the nice warm sun so it will stretch it makes folding the vinol around the corners easier!

[addiction2bass]

ya thats how i was gonna do mine... but for mine up front i was gonna use a hoop on the cover and then some rope tied to it then running the rope straight down and use some pulleys so i can tie down the back and then either just clamping down with a belt hook think OR i tiedown strap, which would let me lock it down with ease from the tailgate ;)

tho money wise i havent been able to buy the MDF/aluminum and vinyl to use. tho ill probably just use MDF and cover it with vinyl.

[addiction2bass]

how ya like mine....
tho i still need to work on it alittle... rear wood doesnt quite match up with the tailgate, one side is too much and one side isnt enough. LOL and my tailgates damaged to its not quite straight :(
and then i gotta put some foam under it to keep it from wrinkling like it is now, preaty minor tho.....
also gotta seal up the rails and some weatherstriping on where the cover goes ontop of..... but for now let the water poor in. :flipoff:

and then i just gotta figure out how i wanna hinge this thing if at all.........

at least now that i have a frame in wood when ever i get enough money to do it in aluminum i got a templet i can just copy :D so its all good..... yes alittle heavy but not to bad... i can get it on and off bymyself but it would be alot easier with another person.LMFAO........ :tongue:



sorry pics are alittle dark but its dark outside..... ive been playen video games all day and just decided to cover it quickly and throw it on. ;)

[bizzy02]

How much does it cost compared to the aluminum rail type cover? And will it last as long?

[addiction2bass]

well the custom wooden cover not to sure how long it will last.... but it sure beats the hell outta a just fabric one that can just be unsnaped or cut to get into it..... and alot beter than paying some 800bucks for a hard fiberglass cover.LOL

my cover cost me about 30bucks for the wood, about 30 for the metal side railing i used, 10 bucks in silicone, another 10 for weather striping, 50bucks for the vinyl BUT im covering top and bottom so twice as much vinyl as needed realy, then i got some headliner foam stuff layen around so didnt pay anything for that ;)
next would be some some rubber hosing for drains in each corner.....
im not totaly done yet..... i havent done the foam or silicone yet because i wanna paint the metal rails to match my truck but i wont do that till it gets warmer out. but after the fabrics over the wood i dont think it would warp to bad but i can reuse most the stuff replacing the warped boards wouldnt take much at all im not worried about it myself.......






now the alum should last a very long time depending on how good it was constructed and what you throw at it! should last the life of your truck if its made right and not trashed.....
also its alot lighter than the wooden one LOL ill eventualy make one with aluminum but no rush realy..... id rather spend only like 100 than 300 right now.

[bizzy02]

Thanks for the info, by the way it looks relly good man. :burn:

[ianbroste]

heres some pics of mine
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v728/ianbroste/000_0255.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v728/ianbroste/000_0266.jpg

[TexasNav]

Hey ianbroste, I am in the process of making mine and was wondering how you got the curves on the bed done so well, my truck is an 04 so maybe it has more of a curve in the bed than yours does but yours looks really good. Wondering if you could put up more pics of it or maybe e-mail them to me. Never worked with fabric before so this should be interesting, once I get mine done will post pics also.

[ianbroste]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v728/ianbroste/000_0031.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v728/ianbroste/000_0036.jpg
heres some more pics of it and im gonna get some of it off my truck in a bit just my battery is dead. When your saying they curve are you talking about the cut of the wood or wrapping aroung the fabric? what i did was build the frame first to fit in the bed. then i took the 2 pieces of ply wood which were plenty big enough and screwed those on the frame leaving plenty of overlap but measuring it good along the front of the bed by the cab. then put it on and went aroung the outside of the the bed with a pencil to scetch it out, but try to get as far into the crack between the bed and plywood as possible otherwise it will be too big when you wrap the foam and fabric aroung the edges. then i cut it all out with a sawzall and refit it to the bed to make sure it fit good. Then i stained it and put spray adhesive on it and layed the foam down leaving about 4 inches of extra to wrap around the edges. then spray adhesive again USE PLENTY and dont try to lay down the fabric all at once, go little by little spraying it as you go. then put some extra pieces of plywood ontop to make sure it sticks down good. then flip it over preferabbly on a soft surface and start pulling it tight and stapling it down good. around the corners the key is to fold the fabric. ill get some more pictures of the corners up later. hope this helps

[addiction2bass]

one question... you guys do anything to the rear tailgate to seal it up? or do you think water wouldnt get in thier? mines flush and id like to put something in it to seal it up water tight....

[ianbroste]

when you say flush do you mean it sits indside the bedrails? if that is what you mean its gonna be pretty hard to get it really sealed. on mines the padding was wrapped around the underside so it made a good enough seal.

[addiction2bass]

ya mines flush... sits inside the bed rails....
i have L metal channeling mounted to the sides of the bed rails... check out the pics and you can see them... right now they are screwed in but eventualy when i have enough time im gonna remove the screws one by one and weld them up but for now im just gonna paint the rails to match.
its not gonna be to hard to seal up it just some silicone and weatherstriping ;)

but tell ya the truth im realy not to worried about geting it totaly sealed... i just wanted it for mainly looks and also hiding the crap i have inside the bed and so it keeps out other peoples junk! im always geting trash thrown inside my bed when i park it somewhere :( realy disrespectfull of people!!!!!!!



i woulda loved to buy a fiberglass cover to go over the rails BUT everyone i see used people wont ship due to its size :( and thiers non localy that i can find for sale :(

and well i dont wanna spend no 600+ bucks for a cover. LMFAO
it can be sealed up to about 99% im sure... just takes some time and thought and more silicone.LOL

[addiction2bass]

quick question for your guys...... what kinda foam did you use with yours? how thick? ive got a bunch of headliner material but the foam isnt thick enough for anything and its preaty old and flaky :(
then i thought about this eggfoam material but its preaty thick and got those lumps on it which i think would easily stick thru the vinyl and show :(

[ishada]

I am interested in something like this. Why not cover the wooden frame and fiber glass the hell out of it. Would that work at all?

[addiction2bass]

for one that would probably be realy expensive.LOL
hell i glassed my rear floor under my bench seat which ive already got 200bucks in glass and resin in it :(

if i was you id just look out in your area or online sites like here for anyone selling one around your area and also ebay for around your area!

i got a preaty nice score on my fiberglass cover :D
had to drive about 3-4hours thier and another 3-4hours back.... BUT for the price it couldnt be beaten even with my time and gas used to go get it! i only paid 150bucks. and gave the old guy an extra 20 for helping me load it... http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=8037559481&category=33655

just keep an eye out.... go to ebay and type in "Fiberglass Hard Shell Flat Truck Bed Cover Chevy" ANY COMBO OF THOSE.... sometimes ya just gotta look cause people list them funny.... ;)
then go to sort by " distance nearest first" and cross your fingers that someones close and is selling one cheap ;)
took me quite along time to find one pop up for sale cheap enough and close enough for me to go get it!
but for the price i saved i would do it all over again.... i know id never buy one new! 1K buck is just way to much....
and my only issue with my custom wooden one i made was the weight!!!!
i was loosing quite a bit of milage due to how heavy that beast was well as its pure size that i had to get me and someone else to literly practicaly ALMOST kill ourselvse trying to lift it ON and OFF.LOL
if i was to do it again i definatly wouldnt use as thick stuff again and brace it so much.....
but it was strong enough to hold my fat@ss ontop with very little saging in the middle
but heres my new top ;)
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e250/addiction2bass/BEST%20My%20truck%201995%20C1500%20ECSB/newtruckpictures010.jpg
my only concern with it is it does seem alittle flimsy when its open and driving..... top seems to move way to much.... so eventualy iwant to buy some aluminum square tubing and build a frame around it to realy make it more solid! plus i cannt get ontop of this top like my old one or it starts poping and cracking which are not good noises so i get off or try to spread my weight out more.LOL

[Chief Smackaho]

I imagaine you could do it with Aluminum frame (like cutting up an old beat up Ladder on it last leg, no pun) Some cloth and fiberglass resin too. You can make a lot of cool stuff with 'glass resin and cloth.. Just a thought. Great how-to anyway :D