Dual Fold-Out Tailgate Advice

[MattL]

Every bit of space counts!

The areas around the Kern River are beautiful. Visited Kennedy Meadows/Monache Meadows a few years back. I've never run into any grow ops in the Sierras, are the growers aggressive?

Trail of 100 Giants will be a bit far west for us since we'll be coming up I-15/395N. I'd like to spend a day or two around Coyote Flats.

 

[MattL]

Added carpeting to the main storage surface and painted the outer side of the table with chalk board paint. Also took rayra's excellent advice and used C-channel for the table support. Thank you! I had to stretch out the C-channel a little to make it easy to slide on and off but it holds like a champ! Looking forward to getting out and using this soon, along with adding some chalk to that board!

I really like that I can install/remove this thing in seconds and it's very light weight. 2-24 gal. Action Packers fit up top and another 2 below with plenty of room to spare for a cooler, chairs, and softer items.

I just need to figure out what to do with the cooking/prep/table surface now.

 

[rayra]

Thanks very much, glad it works. It looks like a good setup within the space / vehicle you have.

Coat of paint would do on the extended surface. Something to keep fluids / grease / oils from soaking into the wood. Could even make it decorative, brightly colored or themed. Do any tailgating at sports events?

There's also some melamine coated particle board that would give a nice easy clean surface, at added weight and expense. I use it to top my work tables and often scribbling right on it while figuring something out and it cleans up really well.

You might want to round the ends of that C-channel and take all the sharp edges and corners down with a file. It WILL take chunks of skin or upholstery out of anything it hits. I'd even suggest rounding the corners of the extended wood and having the C-channel end where the radius begins. That will just about eliminate anybody jamming themselves on the corners.

And where did you find the dark carpet, I can't seem to find any around here for my storage platform, just medium grays at best.

 

[MattL]

You might want to round the ends of that C-channel and take all the sharp edges and corners down with a file. It WILL take chunks of skin or upholstery out of anything it hits. I'd even suggest rounding the corners of the extended wood and having the C-channel end where the radius begins. That will just about eliminate anybody jamming themselves on the corners.

And where did you find the dark carpet, I can't seem to find any around here for my storage platform, just medium grays at best.

Rounding the corner seems like the best option. I rounded the c-channel that slips over the wood but I see what you mean about the contact with humans.

I got the carpet (espresso I believe the color is) from Lowes. It was in their outdoor fabric roll section and I think around $15. Apparently it's made from recycled materials and feels as such. Good enough to slide boxes in and out across but that's all.

I "seasoned" the chalk board portion today. They say to let it set (after the final coat) for 2-3 days and then do the seasoning process of covering it and erasing it.

 

[rayra]

That looks real nice, like a commercial product. Nice job.

I just picked up a chrome piano hinge and some 'card catalog' sort of drawer pulls in bright nickel to finish the breadbox ends of my build. Not sure about the latter choice, but it was the only thing Home Depot had in the style of handle I wanted. When I find my black or dark gray carpet the metalwork should stand out like your hinge does. I'm going to check Lowes tomorrow or maybe dig thru Rockler.com etc and find some handles I like better, probably. I want something flatter but still closed off so my dogs don't snag their toes.

 

[MattL]

I just returned from a week long trip in the Eastern Sierras. A few things about the system:

Good:
Tons of surface space. This is the main reason I went this route and am happy to say the table serves as a great place for cooking, rummaging through bags, a place to fold blankets/stuff sleeping bags, etc. The treated surface held up well to moisture and is easy to wipe clean.
The blackboard surface proved to be fun to write on by everyone!

Bad:
Movement. The entire system needs better mounting points to the vehicle and possibly revising the magnet latch. Due to some moderate off-roading the screws that hold the magnets in place on the table leafs stripped out and actually gouged the piece.
Additionally the carpet I used wore down where I had some heavy items. Probably due to the off-roading again but still not what I want.

Future:
I'm going to revise the entire setup. Nothing beats real world experience and it has shown me that I need to design/mount a more sturdy system that can withstand aggressive side to side movement that some of the Sierra OHV trails create.

Here are a few action shots.