Custom/homemade tonneau cover

Has anyone made their own tonneau cover? I'm thinking of making a 3 piece one out of thin plywood and fiberglass. I saw an episode of Trucks on Spike where they made a custom bumper out of wire and a fleece blanket with fiberglass resin and it turned out really well. Just throwing it out there to see what others have made. It's probably cheaper to get a fabric snap one but I like a good challenge.

 

Bump for a good idea. Has anyone did this/did you end up doing this? I'm thinking 3 pieces of plywood hinged together so if you wanted you could drop the trailgate and flip one of them over just like the tri-tonneau's they sell...

 

I thought about doing this to my 4runner when I had it. Was planning to fab one up around the stock roll bar and rear seats. Never got around to it but plan to do this for my Tacoma. Want to protect my spare and keep the trash out of the bed from vandals.

 

I made one for my '88 using 1 by's, 1/4" plywood, and black ballistic nylon to cover it. Later, cut it down (if I remember correctly) to fit my '95, and then my '03. It's covering my woodpile these days.

 

I would really consider a slant back like the jeeps have, either in canvas or hard top like this one: http://photos.ecarlist.com/1R/cY/Wy/83/V9/J2/g1/Xe/VP/Ox/7w_640.jpg

 

made my own with 2x2s and 3/8 plywood. I also reinforced all of the joints with simpson strong ties. Covered it with a scrap piece of vinyl from a fabric store. Cost me about ninety dollars but i have a very tough tonneau cover that i can easily pop on and off. pics later if i can.

2x2 holding it up isn't attached to anything. it was scrap and does a decent job when i need to get in there to get something. I cut dados in the 2x2s that go around the perimeter of the box so the tonneau cover actually sits down into the box 3/4 of an inch. I also put some camper padding i had laying around to seal the gap that is there when you set the cover down. I will not do that again. doesn't really seal that well at the tailgate and up by the cab. better off just letting the vinyl that is wrapped around do the sealing. I use the small bungy cords to hold it down because in the event i need to haul something a little taller than my box they stretch out so i can actually lift the cover almost a foot and a half above the box and it still stays on there. Like a dryer. And this thing is strong. kids are always up there dancing around. i can easily lift it off and on with no problems.

 

Yea, please post some pics!

 

i do like the slant backs. I know a guy who makes soft tops for jeeps and samurais. I may build a frame for something like that ,and see how much he would charge to make the canvas

 

Updated earlier post.

 

where did you get your vinyl

 

Hancock fabrics in green bay, wi. it was a remnant. they had hundreds of pieces. the vinyl was 15 dollars. It actually isnt' big enough to cover the wood. I had to stretch it. But i sprayed contact cement down first and then stapled the one side down. i had to stretch it almost 8 inches and it did fine.

 

If i do another one i will round over the edges before i put the vinyl on. mine is fine but i think i can do a better job. This one only took two hours.

 

Does anyone know of a good place to buy vinyl online? there are no fabric shops in my area.

 

The cheapest online would be the hancock fabrics online store or ebay. usually find remnants on there pretty cheap.

 

would any specific type of vinyl be more resistant to abuse/weather? i know nothing about fabric

 

I built one on my old 71 chev, just 2 pieces of plywood the same size so the back one would fold over onto the front piece. The front section was screwed down ands the back section was attached to it with a piano hinge and fastened down by a couple of wingnuts and the whole thing painted black. It wasn't fancy but served as relatively secure storage and kept the snow out of the box.

 

Some vinyls don't withstand cold very well.

 

i am not worried about cold thankfully.. unfortunately i am worried about 100 degrees with 95% percent humidity on a day basis.

obviously exaggerating a little, but it gets damn near close to that everyday during the summer down here.