DIY folding hard top tonneau cover for pickup truck bed

For all the things we make ourselves for the outdoor world that are not covered in the other specific DIY area.
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Ron Kulas
Posts: 657
Joined: Wed Oct 21, 2015 8:33 am

DIY folding hard top tonneau cover for pickup truck bed

#1 Post by Ron Kulas »

Because we will be attending more and more sports shows selling our bow holders and broadhead sharpening guides , we need a bit more security in the long bed of our truck (8 foot bed). We looked at tonneau covers and didn't care for the fabric versions as they can be breached with a knife. Other versions did not do what we wanted and it seemed all came in Black and that is not an option as the items under that black cover in the heat of the sun would be cooked in the incredible temperature that would be generated under a black cover. That heat would cook or bows and other gear. Also, the top of the line covers are very pricey.

So we opted to make a project out of it and make our own folding cover. It will be made from wood. We expect it to come in under $100, be about 50 pounds so one person can take it on and off and it will be the color of our choosing (a very light color to prevent heat build up). We may even decorate it our company logo. The frame will be pine and the cover will be 1/4" plywood. Everything will get two coats of raw wood primer and then 2 coats of paint in a color yet to be determined.

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Until we began this project we were unaware that the bed of this truck actually tapers/narrows from front to back. We assumed it was a simple rectangle. The 3 sections of the cover will fold on themselves (3 hinges on each section) but would also be able to be opened individually as needed. Here are some pictures of the progress so far.

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To match the curve of the tailgate we added a curved segment to the rear most section.

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Construction is complete and its time to move onto the protecting it. 2 coats of Kilz primer.

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The top side will be Behr Exterior "Silver Screen" in semi gloss.

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But first, the underside (side nobody sees) will get two coats of exterior semi gloss in a camo green from a past project.

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While the coats of paint dry, time to figure out how to project our logo on the cover so it can be painted on the top side.
The Joy is in the doing.

Captainkirk
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Joined: Tue Aug 26, 2014 8:19 pm

Re: DIY folding hard top tonneau cover for pickup truck bed

#2 Post by Captainkirk »

Clever!
Aim small, miss small!

Carpdaddy
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Joined: Tue Dec 31, 2013 7:36 pm

Re: DIY folding hard top tonneau cover for pickup truck bed

#3 Post by Carpdaddy »

One of these days your going to outsmart yourself there Ron. Sharp thinking!

Captainkirk
Site Admin
Posts: 12788
Joined: Tue Aug 26, 2014 8:19 pm

Re: DIY folding hard top tonneau cover for pickup truck bed

#4 Post by Captainkirk »

Carpdaddy wrote:One of these days your going to outsmart yourself there Ron. Sharp thinking!
I can't wait until he decides he wants to build the whole truck! ;)
Nice work Ron.You are the next Bob Vila.
Aim small, miss small!

Ron Kulas
Posts: 657
Joined: Wed Oct 21, 2015 8:33 am

Re: DIY folding hard top tonneau cover for pickup truck bed

#5 Post by Ron Kulas »

The painting is complete so its time to fill in the blank slate

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We want to paint our Black Claw logo on the rear-most section of the bed cover. But we may also add the Stay Sharp logo to one of the other sections.

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To do this we need to project the Black Claw logo as a very large image (5 feet across), Since we don't have a projector we will make our own laptop projector. A couple of old cardboard boxes painted black inside.

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The projection lens is an 8.5 x 11 lens from the dollar store.

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The magnifying lens reverses the image so we had to flip it on the screen image.

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I made the two boxes so I can slide the two to bring the image into focus.

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The basement wall is the test backdrop and with the lights off it gets dark enough to be able to project using only the brightness of the laptop screen so we can pencil the logo in place to make it easier to paint following that pencil outline.

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The projection is far clearer than this photo indicates but I could not use a flash.

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The Joy is in the doing.

Captainkirk
Site Admin
Posts: 12788
Joined: Tue Aug 26, 2014 8:19 pm

Re: DIY folding hard top tonneau cover for pickup truck bed

#6 Post by Captainkirk »

Where do you come up with this stuff? You have aliens helping you out from a distant galaxy?
Aim small, miss small!

Ron Kulas
Posts: 657
Joined: Wed Oct 21, 2015 8:33 am

Re: DIY folding hard top tonneau cover for pickup truck bed

#7 Post by Ron Kulas »

Perhaps I am an alien. Hmmmmmm.
The Joy is in the doing.

Captainkirk
Site Admin
Posts: 12788
Joined: Tue Aug 26, 2014 8:19 pm

Re: DIY folding hard top tonneau cover for pickup truck bed

#8 Post by Captainkirk »

That would explain it.
Aim small, miss small!

Ron Kulas
Posts: 657
Joined: Wed Oct 21, 2015 8:33 am

Re: DIY folding hard top tonneau cover for pickup truck bed

#9 Post by Ron Kulas »

My mother is 50% German, 50% Polish and 50% Dutch (she is a large woman)
The Joy is in the doing.

Ron Kulas
Posts: 657
Joined: Wed Oct 21, 2015 8:33 am

Re: DIY folding hard top tonneau cover for pickup truck bed

#10 Post by Ron Kulas »

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One section painted, one to go.

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The Joy is in the doing.

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