So I do a little metal fabrication on the side while going to school, and I bet someone has done a project like this before. Figured I might as well ask the community if anyone has some proven ideas for this...
I have a friend that is building a budget earthroamer. He has a chevy full size pickup with a toyota sunrader camper attached to the rear. He has extended the frame and it looks like adding a couple of hitch mounts that this thing can slide into should be a pretty reasonable endeavor.
He has tasked me with creating a fold up motorcycle/gear tray (about 4'x6' long) that will mount to the rear of the truck. When down it needs to hold his GSXR1000 and some other bits and bobs, and when he isnt hauling the bike he would like to fold it up.
My major concern is to create something that is reasonably light and wont rattle like crazy. I have a photo of the back of the rig....
So my thought is to add two hitch mounts on the outer sides of the truck. I would then attach a couple of hinges to the tray that allow the tray to move up and down.
From there it makes sense to me to have a bolted connection to keep the whole thing rigid. I would probably want to make a couple of brackets that extend up from the rear bumper that when the tray is folded up, it could be bolted to. Maybe with some rubber between the metal connections to minimize any vibration.
I hope this description makes sense... Here is a sketch of my thoughts seen from the rear drivers side of the truck...
Any input greatly appreciated! I have only really just started thinking about this...
-g
I have a friend that is building a budget earthroamer. He has a chevy full size pickup with a toyota sunrader camper attached to the rear. He has extended the frame and it looks like adding a couple of hitch mounts that this thing can slide into should be a pretty reasonable endeavor.
He has tasked me with creating a fold up motorcycle/gear tray (about 4'x6' long) that will mount to the rear of the truck. When down it needs to hold his GSXR1000 and some other bits and bobs, and when he isnt hauling the bike he would like to fold it up.
My major concern is to create something that is reasonably light and wont rattle like crazy. I have a photo of the back of the rig....
So my thought is to add two hitch mounts on the outer sides of the truck. I would then attach a couple of hinges to the tray that allow the tray to move up and down.
From there it makes sense to me to have a bolted connection to keep the whole thing rigid. I would probably want to make a couple of brackets that extend up from the rear bumper that when the tray is folded up, it could be bolted to. Maybe with some rubber between the metal connections to minimize any vibration.
I hope this description makes sense... Here is a sketch of my thoughts seen from the rear drivers side of the truck...
Any input greatly appreciated! I have only really just started thinking about this...
-g