building a pickup bed cover

[todpod]

Hopefully we will be buying a pickup early in the spring. Its main use will be for camping. I am currently working on an old boat trailer that will be used to haul most of our camping gear, but doesn't really offer anyway to secure the coolers from the bears. I thought about a regular pickup cap and fiberglass tonneau cover which should do the trick but the are expensive unless you can find a cheap used one, and I want something I can pull off easily. So I got to thinking what if I put stakes in the the beds stake pockets and run a 2x6 length ways down the sides of the bed and then bold an angle iron on the 2x6 and slide 2x10s across the bed. It wouldn't be water tight but doesn't need to be. The bear probably could climb on it and not fall through (not real big bears) and I could remove easily. With out doing the math yet it should be fairly inexpensive to build as well. Any insight would be appreciated.

Thanks Todd

 

[YukonRob]

Wouldn't it be pretty heavy? Could you use 3/4" ply for the top to save some weight and cost, and improve the rain resistance?

 

[todpod]

Thought about plywood except its pretty awkward to handle and I really don't have anywhere to store it when I am not using it. If my math is correct I would use about 31/2 16 foot 2x10s , so it wouldn't be god awful heavy and easy to remove. But I am open to ideas. Definitely want some that will hold the bear if he decides to climb on top. He probably weighed 300lbs last summer.

 

[SLOwag]

http://www.expeditionportal.com/for...Mod-to-Bed-Area?highlight=old+taco+gets+a+mod

I'm looking to do a version similar to this, that can support a RTT. It may be over kill for what you want to do but there are some good ideas you can borrow from.

 

[GlennA]

I built a few bed covers in the late 80's. I used aluminum angle pop riveted to the inner bed sides with 2 pieces of 3/4 inch marine plywood for the surface. I glued and screwed 2x2's centered across the bottom perpendicular to the sides of the truck for added strength. 1/4 turn latches secured it to the aluminum angle. Using two pieces for the top made it manageble for removal or installation. Also, the two top pieces fit in the bed it you need to haul something that will not fit under the cover. I don't know if it would hold 300 lbs, but it held my 250.