Truck Aero, Bed cover DIY tonneau?

[SVOboy]

Wow! Great pictures, progress looks good so far, hoping to see the final product soon!

[Chris D.]

More progress..

seems as tho I run out of daylight and steam soon thereafter.. Maybe I'm BiSolar

I got the front panel shaved down to fit the sides/edges of the bed..
I love this 1/8" panel, it cuts with a razor blade..



I had to cut the front edge of the bedliner off because it was causing it to ride up some..



I have everything duct taped into place so ti doesnt move and used painters tape to make sure I dont glue anything onto the bed

I cut roughly for the rear panel..
Once its all dry, I'll trim it some other time like I did the front panel..


I roughed it up for proper adhesive promotion


Then I whipped my cocker out and got busy shooting a bead..



before the adhesive I taped spacers to mock the space needed for the hinges..
I also used painters tape to ensure the glue wouldn't adhere to the other panel..


I maneuvered it into place and then hit it with my finish nailer to keep it in place..
got it all squared away and sat some weight on it..



underside view..


sence I was out of duct tape that I used as my 3rd and fouth hands..
I got the grey and hit the shirts with it because the tapes not happy..

a little less noticable



thats it for now..

I do want to say this.. Liquid nails sucks.. Good thing I'm going to lay glass on this or I wouldn;t trust the stuff..

I ended up using some PL brand polyurethanepremium construction adhesive and this stuffs MONSTER!!!!

definatly the way to go on wood..

thats all I have for now..

[SVOboy]

I may have missed this, but do you have any plans to go for a full, phil knox style aero cap?

[Chris D.]

I couldn't find a campershell in the 150 of less range to do it or else thats what you'd be seing pictures of..

If this cover turns out sweet, I could rock it till I found a shell and sell this one..
Someone mite like it?
An areo shell would be trick.. Definatly a sweet setup, but I'd do something more along the lines of what Bondo has done with his F150 cap..

More versitility with the large hatchback design that opens..

[Chris D.]

No progress today, super windy and I was just burnt out on it..
for those who are keeping tabs.

[suchy21]

Originally Posted by Chris D.

man, I'm a dumbass...

...flew off like a styrofoam cup LOL ...Just shows ya how super light is it so far!

I know that feeling. I wasn't even driving when this happened:
Before:

After:


Windy day and I left my attempt at a topper sitting on my truck, not fastened down, waiting for some geometry changes. Found it half a block away, caught by a street sign/bush. Too light for its own good.

And I can concur with 8307c4 on the downforce at highway speeds. As tight as I've gotten my shrinkwrap, it still deforms quite a bit. The geometry was incorrect on my last topper revision, so flow was not attached. This did, however, make for an interesting medium for flow visualization. I could see the deformation "bubble" as the airflow off my cab smashes down about 1 foot before my tailgate.

Has anyone else worked with films/sheeting like mine before? Am I better off to go back to my first design (polystyrene), and find a way to add a window?

First design:

[Chris D.]

Wholy crap dude, did that fly around a stop sign? LOL

man, I totally feel better now j/k

XLT - v6, right?

I dig the insulation setup your rocking for the shell now, ****, I wish I would have thought of that because I got one hell of a hookup for fiberglass cloth nowand this stuff the gooooood shieeeeet! I've got enough to do at least 3 layers and I can go back for more..

Dam.. where were you a week ago! lol

$30 bucks wasn't bad, marine shop homie hookup FTW!!!!

[Chris D.]

More progress..

I got the first layer on the larger panel..
windy as hell after about 20 minutes into it, it figures..
I was pickin leaves out of the dam resin.. lol









then I setup the bed of the truck so I could slide it in and let it setup so it doesn't warp.

[AndrewJ]

Looks good so far!


Man I wish I worked that fast, my mods took forever by comparison.

[Chris D.]

I'm recentally single after 4 years.. long distance, no workie