Replacement for Tonneau Fabric - Coroplast
My button snap fabric tonneau cover shrunk too much to go back on. I even tried soaking it for hours in warm water to expand it, and all I got was a dirty bathtub out of it.
I used a dusty 4'x8' piece of black coroplast which has been sitting in my garage for the last two years (for a project I never did).
$25 for the coroplast (cuts with utility knife for trimming)
$10 or so in screws
$10 for two 3"x48" ABS plastic strips
So for less than $50 I have a removable cover, will need a 1/4" hex driver and a flat-head screw driver to remove it. I suppose I could have used Velcro or snap latches but I was trying to keep the costs down.
This project takes just a couple of hours to do, you don't need your old tonneau cover frame, but I suggest you do reuse it, or at least cut up some angle iron or aluminum angles for some cross members for those of you which get snowfall.
If you can get the ABS strips the full length of the bed do so, I was using scrap and limited in length. You could also use 1/16" x 3" flat stock aluminum or some other material you find at the scarp yard or hardware store.
S10 4x4 Pick Up Photos by kach22i | Photobucket
I suggest weighting the cover so it lies flat when drilling and screwing.
Don't over tighten the hold-down screws.
This is the one detail which did not come out well, like I said use a full length 6-ft or 7-ft strip of something to avoid this kind of thing.
I did not use any foam rubber gasket material, I did not want something easily damaged when I take the cover off, plus this allowed me to use shorter screws.
I made all the holes in the coroplast oversized to allow for expansion and contraction.
I still have to test drive this thing, and will report any testing problems which may show up over time.
I'm just to cheap to spend over $300 right now, this will just have to do.