dawnhoyden
Observer
Since I got my FWC on my truck, I've been wanting a better way to pack my gear in the truck (and travel with the dogs)
A month ago or so, I took the rear seats out and have been researching platform ideas. I found a lot of great photos and started to plan.
As a lot of early planning goes, my plans were bigger than my stomach... er... my plans were bigger than my eyes... um. My plans were fairly grandiose.
My ultimate goal was economy of cost and a functional and secure platform.
I was planning to just take some plywood for a top, and some 2x4s for legs. One night a couple of weeks ago, I found this metal frame in an alley, and decided to use it. It'll definitely give me a stronger backbone than just plywood.
The only problem was that it was about 6" too wide and so it stuck out the truck door. That wasn't going to work.
A friend had a cut-off wheel and mig welder, so I borrowed his tools and set to work.
Got the extraneous pieces cut out.
and it was time to do some hoopty welding.
There are no photos of my wields because I'm terribly out of practice and my beads were rather ugly.
I did have at least one good run tho
Hey! It fits now! Yay!
Yesterday, I went to Home Depot, picked out some 1/2" plywood, and had them cut it to size there (what a great service! Woot!)
You can see those triangle tabs sticking up on the frame? I left those on to use as tie-down points for whatever stuff I pack in there, but it meant that I needed to cut some holes in the wood top for them to fit through.
After my grandpa died in 2001, I got his red Craftsman toolbox and some of his tools, including his old jigsaw.
Unfortunately, somewhere over the years, the set-screw got cross-threaded, so the damn blades wouldn't stay in and kept stripping out. I got some cuts done before the cussing commenced, then the impatience set in and I took a rather large drill bit to the cut.
That left me with some rather ugly areas and it still wasn't wide enough.
I sent a friend a text message and luckily, he had a brand new Black and Decker I could use! Yay!
Bing, bang, boom! Zippo, Presto! Had it done in just a couple of minutes.
Still ugly, but functional. I'm okay with that.
The guy at Home Depot had recommended I use a piano hinge for this to give me a more solid and less flexy movement. Seemed like a good idea...
Until it wasn't.
Der. Measure twice! Gotta remember that....
Back to Home Depot to get some different hinges. I got a three pack and quickly discovered that the screws were too long for the top (went through the wood, and pushed up against the metal) and that I didn't have the right drill bit to make starter holes for the screws in the metal of the platform.
Fergeddabouddit. It was getting too hot to be working outside anymore anyway, so I decided to do hinges later. I do want to put them in though so that I can have decent access to the built-in cubbies on the floor.
So I got the platform set in the truck
and put my stuff back in.
Works!
A few things I want to do:
- I need to get a better drill bit to make holes in the metal part for the hinge screws
- I'd like to cover the wood with some cloth for splinter avoidance
- A better way to bolster the frame legs other than pieces of 2x4
- Vaguely considering making an upper shelf so things aren't just stacked up and I can utilize the space more efficiently.
- Need to figure out a good way to secure the platform to the truck and 'stuff' to the platform
(I'm paranoid about getting into an accident and having stuff flying about inside. Saw a video in EMT class years ago about an unseatbelted back seat person who bounced around the car in an accident and killed the other three people. Eep)
Cayuse suggested I put thin closed cell foam for the top of the wood before I put the fabric cover on to make it more comfy for Argos doggie. That's a good idea because then I don't have to deal with the clumsy dog bed back there.
When I took the seats out, I left the outside mounts in. I can use those as mounting points for the platform but have to figure out how, exactly. I'm thinking zip-ties won't do the trick. (Also, should have a mount forward too for better anchor of everything....)
Considering turnbuckles, hose-clamps....
A month ago or so, I took the rear seats out and have been researching platform ideas. I found a lot of great photos and started to plan.
As a lot of early planning goes, my plans were bigger than my stomach... er... my plans were bigger than my eyes... um. My plans were fairly grandiose.
My ultimate goal was economy of cost and a functional and secure platform.
I was planning to just take some plywood for a top, and some 2x4s for legs. One night a couple of weeks ago, I found this metal frame in an alley, and decided to use it. It'll definitely give me a stronger backbone than just plywood.
The only problem was that it was about 6" too wide and so it stuck out the truck door. That wasn't going to work.
A friend had a cut-off wheel and mig welder, so I borrowed his tools and set to work.
Got the extraneous pieces cut out.
and it was time to do some hoopty welding.
There are no photos of my wields because I'm terribly out of practice and my beads were rather ugly.
I did have at least one good run tho
Hey! It fits now! Yay!
Yesterday, I went to Home Depot, picked out some 1/2" plywood, and had them cut it to size there (what a great service! Woot!)
You can see those triangle tabs sticking up on the frame? I left those on to use as tie-down points for whatever stuff I pack in there, but it meant that I needed to cut some holes in the wood top for them to fit through.
After my grandpa died in 2001, I got his red Craftsman toolbox and some of his tools, including his old jigsaw.
Unfortunately, somewhere over the years, the set-screw got cross-threaded, so the damn blades wouldn't stay in and kept stripping out. I got some cuts done before the cussing commenced, then the impatience set in and I took a rather large drill bit to the cut.
That left me with some rather ugly areas and it still wasn't wide enough.
I sent a friend a text message and luckily, he had a brand new Black and Decker I could use! Yay!
Bing, bang, boom! Zippo, Presto! Had it done in just a couple of minutes.
Still ugly, but functional. I'm okay with that.
The guy at Home Depot had recommended I use a piano hinge for this to give me a more solid and less flexy movement. Seemed like a good idea...
Until it wasn't.
Der. Measure twice! Gotta remember that....
Back to Home Depot to get some different hinges. I got a three pack and quickly discovered that the screws were too long for the top (went through the wood, and pushed up against the metal) and that I didn't have the right drill bit to make starter holes for the screws in the metal of the platform.
Fergeddabouddit. It was getting too hot to be working outside anymore anyway, so I decided to do hinges later. I do want to put them in though so that I can have decent access to the built-in cubbies on the floor.
(please pardon the dirty - got this pic right after I took the first seat out. Built in cubbies: )
So I got the platform set in the truck
and put my stuff back in.
Works!
A few things I want to do:
- I need to get a better drill bit to make holes in the metal part for the hinge screws
- I'd like to cover the wood with some cloth for splinter avoidance
- A better way to bolster the frame legs other than pieces of 2x4
- Vaguely considering making an upper shelf so things aren't just stacked up and I can utilize the space more efficiently.
- Need to figure out a good way to secure the platform to the truck and 'stuff' to the platform
(I'm paranoid about getting into an accident and having stuff flying about inside. Saw a video in EMT class years ago about an unseatbelted back seat person who bounced around the car in an accident and killed the other three people. Eep)
Cayuse suggested I put thin closed cell foam for the top of the wood before I put the fabric cover on to make it more comfy for Argos doggie. That's a good idea because then I don't have to deal with the clumsy dog bed back there.
When I took the seats out, I left the outside mounts in. I can use those as mounting points for the platform but have to figure out how, exactly. I'm thinking zip-ties won't do the trick. (Also, should have a mount forward too for better anchor of everything....)
Considering turnbuckles, hose-clamps....
