roll up soft vinyl tonneau bed cover for M416

[unimog]

After few call to distributors and manufactures for outsourcing an off the shelf roll up soft vinyl tonneau cover for an M416 bed, I realized a lack of support from them as they always refer to the truck model and never to specific dimensions. So after searching the EP Forum without success, I am wondering if anyone here was able to assemble one of these tonneau cover on their trailer.
Any related info it will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
E

 

[Robert Bills]

Look up the dimensions of a Tacoma short bed. It is probably the closest you will find to an M416 tub.

 

[Mark Harley]

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/74183-My-off-road-trailer-build!/page9
Maine07Jk cut a truck model down and had the vinyl resized.

 

[Mc Taco]

There are some custom tarp makers out there. I used a company called Tarpsnow. You can order any size in a wide range of materials and colors. They even have fire retardent salvage cover material. Didn't see a feature for snaps like a tonneau has, but you could order with plain, no grommets, and install your own. Better for exact placement any way I would suspect.

Good luck.

 

[unimog]

Look up the dimensions of a Tacoma short bed. It is probably the closest you will find to an M416 tub.

I will look into the Taco bed sizes.
Thanks
E

 

[unimog]

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/74183-My-off-road-trailer-build!/page9
Maine07Jk cut a truck model down and had the vinyl resized.

Excellent work on your trailer!
If a tonneau cover with close dimensions to the M416 will be listed on the local Craig's list, it may be a good viable solution.

 

[unimog]

There are some custom tarp makers out there. I used a company called Tarpsnow. You can order any size in a wide range of materials and colors. They even have fire retardent salvage cover material. Didn't see a feature for snaps like a tonneau has, but you could order with plain, no grommets, and install your own. Better for exact placement any way I would suspect.

Good luck.

I previously used a tarp; but either the material that I used was too thin or I didn't tension it enough, it showed some damaged after a few hundreds mile trip to the point of not preventing water to the inside of the bed. That is why the roll on type tonneau started to get high consideration.
By the way what is the size of your Tacoma bed?
Thanks,
E

 

[FAW3]

I don't know it this is close to fitting your needs...but the common lightweight tarps do not last long...but, a good heavy duty tarp can do the job.

My Bantam is very similar to your M416 and Ive had good use from this tarp. Photo shows a heavy duty vinyl 5x7 black standard tarp. I made simple bows from oak door jamb trim and some oak blocks that fit into the brackets in the tub of the trailer. For travel I rig it tighter than shown...

Tarp source: http://www.mytarp.com/

https://www.dropbox.com/s/t2bne6kanxamtig/Bantamtarp.jpg

Good luck whatever approach you use!

 

[Mark Harley]

I went with a Machine cover in black vinyl from Mytarps.com
It works great and I used bungi cord " bought on ebay" It works much better than rope
I just pull it down from the hooks and release the cover.

Tell Them Mark Harley sent you.

http://www.mytarp.com/machine-covers.aspx

http://www.expeditionportal.com/for...itary-trailer-to-build-a-family-hauler/page19

 

[Mc Taco]

By the way what is the size of your Tacoma bed?

I think the bed is 60"x60". I ordered the tarp to be a cover for the rack for shade during the summer months and to make the shade from the awning on the side to be more useful.

Some of the material they offer is quite stout. Way more substantial then the blue poly tarp.

 

[SnowDozerCJ5]

try a stepside s10 or ranger they are 6' long

 

[sneakytj]

I looked on one of the Ranger forums and found that the inside measurements on a Ford Ranger stepside is 41.5" x 6'. I measured the inside dimensions on my 67 M416 and found that it is 41 1/16" x 6' inside dimensions. With the fact that the Ranger has a wide top rail it appears that the tonneu will fit providing you add some angle to the inside for the latches to catch when closed.

http://www.etrailer.com/Tonneau-Covers/Ford/Ranger/1998/153923.html?vehicleid=199810099

If you look at this link, you can see how it attaches. I think this will work without modification the tonneu only some added angle to the trailer.

 

[sneakytj]

http://www.etrailer.com/Tonneau-Covers/Ford/Ranger/1998/153923.html?vehicleid=199810099

I went to a ranger forum and found that the inside dimensions for a stepside is 41.5"x6'. My M416 measures 41 1/16"x6'. So the Ranger is 3/16 wider inside. Since the ranger has wide side rails, I think that this cover should work without modification. You will have to add some angle to the inside of your trailer to catch the clamps to secure it.

 

[Robert Bills]

The cover shown in your link should be perfect for your application.

It is impossible to see in the photos of my trailer posted earlier, but the Canback top I had custom made for my Bantam is designed to bolt to the flat top rails on a standard pickup bed. Since these 1/4 ton trailers all have a tubular top rail, I had to fabricate a flat surface. My solution was to use 3" flat stock with short lengths of 2x3 rectangular tubing welded underneath to slide into the stake pockets in my trailer. the flat stock rests on the tubular top rail and a bolt in each stake pocket holds everything in place. The entire assembly can be removed to return the trailer to bone stock.

Since you don't have stake pockets, your best solution is probably angle stock over the tubular top rail bolted to side of the trailer tub. Since angle stock is available in many dimensions, you can probably find something that will exactly match the width of your tonneau cover. If the width is a bit off, I'm sure there is a shop in your area that could cut it down to the size you need for just a few $.

 

[unimog]

http://www.etrailer.com/Tonneau-Covers/Ford/Ranger/1998/153923.html?vehicleid=199810099

I went to a ranger forum and found that the inside dimensions for a stepside is 41.5"x6'. My M416 measures 41 1/16"x6'. So the Ranger is 3/16 wider inside. Since the ranger has wide side rails, I think that this cover should work without modification. You will have to add some angle to the inside of your trailer to catch the clamps to secure it.

If your dimensions are correct, than I am not sure the trailer model that I have since the bed interior is measuring 49 1/8 x 72.

The closest dimension for a pick up bed that I found is a Tacoma 01-03 Stepside 49.6 x 73 inches. The downside is not too many aftermarket covers for it.