DIY temporary tonneau / bed cover?

[seanocono]

Going this route as well, thanks to Bf3. Not cheap, but I think it has the potential to be better than the never seen stock Rivian manual tonneau: I have to some calcs but it may be strong enough to stand on, looks great and is repairable

This cover really looks great, you guys. Well done!

Your solution could be stronger than Rivian's mythical manual cover due to the fact that ~11 slats are supporting the applied weight rather than four panels. Of course, we don't know what those panels are comprised of, so it's tough to say for sure.

How difficult is it to slide the cover in and out? That's the main drawback I see with this style. The same could be said for Rivian's manual cover, though.

But, man, does it look awesome. I also agree that the easy repairability is a huge plus. My hats off to Bf3 and dga965! Thanks for the ingenuity and sharing!

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[dga965]

Thanks. Not to get down in the weeds, but here we go: my speculation that this could be stronger than the Rivian version is just that - speculation, since no one has seen their design. However, The fence boards are actually a little too thick to fit in the slots (5/8", rather than 1/2") hence the need for the HDPE end pieces. However this extra thickness buys you a lot, since the stiffness goes as the 3rd power of the thickness. So for an identical cross section, the slightly thicker section is almost twice as stiff (>95%), which is why I think you can stand on it. Maybe TMI, but that's the occupational hazard of engineering. BTW, if $50+ seems steep for "fence boards", feel free to call them "aircraft grade, powder coated aluminum alloy extrusions"

 

[Phatman113]

if $50+ seems steep for "fence boards", feel free to call them "aircraft grade, powder coated aluminum alloy extrusions"

That's brilliant. I'll use that when pitching the idea to the wife if we end up going this route after seeing the aftermarket (and Rivian) ones that become available.

I poked Bf3 about it, but @dga965 can you help me figure out a little better the process of cutting these down to fit, and what the HDPE end pieces are? Was there anything else that you needed to do? I didn't see anything in the posts previously, but I may have missed it, since there's 15 pages to this thread already. I just want to see the amount of effort that went into making this piece a reality. Thanks!

 

[dga965]

That's brilliant. I'll use that when pitching the idea to the wife if we end up going this route after seeing the aftermarket (and Rivian) ones that become available.

I poked Bf3 about it, but @dga965 can you help me figure out a little better the process of cutting these down to fit, and what the HDPE end pieces are? Was there anything else that you needed to do? I didn't see anything in the posts previously, but I may have missed it, since there's 15 pages to this thread already. I just want to see the amount of effort that went into making this piece a reality. Thanks!

Sure thing. As mentioned before the fence boards are too thick (5/8" vs 1/2") to fir into the existing side slots on the truck. That's where the 1/2" thick HDPE end pieces come in. They fit the slots and also are a slip fit for the internal cavity of the fence boards, which end up fitting right between the left and right slots suspended by the end pieces (This would be better with pictures, but it's raining right now). For this to work, the fence boards have to be cut to the correct length. For me, this was 1330mm. On my truck there is a slight taper from front to back on this dimension between the slots, meaning that my first cut to 1333mm would fit the rear of the truck but not the front. I ended up cutting a scrap piece of material to check the fit along the entire length of the bed and then using that to verify the correct cut length of each fence board.

The last board near the tailgate also has to trimmed along the length by about 1/2". This will leave the upper and lower 1/16" thick faces exposed. I am using this edge protector which also allows for a seal against the tailgate and accommodates small dimensional discrepancies.
https://www.mcmaster.com/catalog/129/3935/1120A132

I'm still working on the end pieces, but the plan is to use 2 in wide, 1/2' thick material with slots cut to accommodate the vertical ribs in the fence boards and hold adjoining boards together with glue. Since there are 11 boards (prime number unfortunately), I plan on 3 sets of 3 and then the last 2 near the tailgate

 

[Bf3]

Yeah, I really like that look... @Bf3 Can you post a little more about the work you did to make it so clean? (HDPE slides, how'd you cut down the boards, etc...) I'll stick with my plastic ones until I see more from EVSportline and Rivian for their offerings, but even at $800, you're at, or cheaper, than the Rivian one if you bought it before they increased the price by 125%.

Cutting the fence panels is pretty straight forward. I used a miter saw with a carbide blade, and a track saw with an aluminum cutting blade. The slides, took a little more work, but don't necessarily need to. My first version were made from a cheap black cutting board. I've since switched to UHMW plastic, and after figuring out the right size and spacing, I drew it up on the computer and cut with a shaper origin. Weatherproofing is kind of a trial and error thing. I'm still working on it, but getting pretty close.
Aside from just being impatient, the main reason I chose to go this route was so I can make everything fit and work together. I decided I wanted to make my own camp kitchen, and I needed to make sure I could store it and the tonneau in the gear tunnel at the same time. I didn't want to have to build around someone else's decisions. I'm expecting Rivian's manual cover to be much better than mine, but I'm happy with what I've made. Unless they'll retrofit a powered cover, then they can just take my money.

 

[Phatman113]

@Bf3 Oh! you made the slides... I thought it was something you purchased...
I completely understand wanting to build your own if you're planning on combining with a home-made kitchen setup.
@dga965, what did you use for the slides? Good to know about the taper, I probably would have cut one, and just assumed the rest would be the same, necessitating more cuts and effort on my part. I'll definitely verify dimensions before I do any work.

I'm still struggling on how y'all modified the thicker panels to slide into the truck, but I think it has something to do with the HDPE parts you're using. I really appreciate your responses so far, is there any chance for a few photos of how you fit the panels in? Hopefully the rain has stopped... I got some snow this morning, but it looks like it wore itself out now and is clearing up.

 

[dga965]

@Bf3 Oh! you made the slides... I thought it was something you purchased...
I completely understand wanting to build your own if you're planning on combining with a home-made kitchen setup.
@dga965, what did you use for the slides? Good to know about the taper, I probably would have cut one, and just assumed the rest would be the same, necessitating more cuts and effort on my part. I'll definitely verify dimensions before I do any work.

I'm still struggling on how y'all modified the thicker panels to slide into the truck, but I think it has something to do with the HDPE parts you're using. I really appreciate your responses so far, is there any chance for a few photos of how you fit the panels in? Hopefully the rain has stopped... I got some snow this morning, but it looks like it wore itself out now and is clearing up.

Sorry for the confusion. I am still working on the slides/end caps. For now the cover is sitting on the plastic ledge below the side slots (1st pic). The 2nd pic shows a piece of scrap HDPE that fits into the fence board and into the side slot. Hope this helps.
And yes, it’s still raining

 

[Phatman113]

Ahhh! That makes so much more sense in my brain now. I think I was confused with the plastic fence panel discussion and stuff too, those you cut and squish the end, I couldn't figure out how that would be possible with the metal panels. What are you using for HDPE? Is that something you just bought a sheet/block that's 1/2" thick and you're cutting the size/shapes you want to fit. @Bf3 Is this similar to how you're doing it?

 

[Bf3]

Here are the slides I’m using. The rougher one could easily be made on a table saw or with a router. The other is my slightly more polished attempt with the shaper.

 

[dga965]

Here are the slides I’m using. The rougher one could easily be made on a table saw or with a router. The other is my slightly more polished attempt with the shaper.

My source for materials below. McMaster-Carr is a go to for engineers, just about everything in stock and fast shipping along with detailed specs. But be warned that shipping can be high.

https://www.mcmaster.com/catalog/129/4082/6644N21

 

[Phatman113]

Ok, I'm jumping on the bandwagon for this build, you guys made it look awesome. I saw what I assume is @Bf3 's FB post with a video, and the pictures here from @dga965 are awesome too. I'm definitely confident in my ability to do this, but I'm trying to figure out the materials list.

So far I've got this:

• 11 fence panels
• Some amount of HDPE
  • (black for look?)
  • It looks like the pictures I see are ~ 4" wide?
  • The bed is ~54", so you'll need ~110" of length, at whatever width, right?
• BF3 mentions some velcro strap and the FB video shows that it works well
• Epoxy to affix the HDPE

Is there anything else I should be prepared to get? I really appreciate you two fielding my questions, I'm trying to make sure they're usable for others who may be doing this too! Thanks for spearheading!

 

[dga965]

Ok, I'm jumping on the bandwagon for this build, you guys made it look awesome. I saw what I assume is @Bf3 's FB post with a video, and the pictures here from @dga965 are awesome too. I'm definitely confident in my ability to do this, but I'm trying to figure out the materials list.

So far I've got this:

• 11 fence panels
• Some amount of HDPE
  • (black for look?)
  • It looks like the pictures I see are ~ 4" wide?
  • The bed is ~54", so you'll need ~110" of length, at whatever width, right?
• BF3 mentions some velcro strap and the FB video shows that it works well
• Epoxy to affix the HDPE

Is there anything else I should be prepared to get? I really appreciate you two fielding my questions, I'm trying to make sure they're usable for others who may be doing this too! Thanks for spearheading!

Your list looks good. The width for the HDPE is somewhat arbitrary, but I would say a minimum of 2" (that's what I'm using). The thickness should be 1/2". My source from a couple posts above:

https://www.mcmaster.com/catalog/129/4082/6644N21

Good luck! It's a bit of work, but I think you are going to like it when you're all done.

 

[Bf3]

I used an 18x24 piece of plastic. I’m not sure it actually matters, but I switched to UHMW for better sliding. That, the 11 panels, weatherstripping for the front and back, caulk, and velcro straps. I did not end up using epoxy, because my plastic board ended up being thicker than the advertised 1/2” and it has a good friction fit.

 

[seanocono]

Hey, @Bf3. I’m really curious to see the video of your tonneau that you posted on the FB Rivian Group, but I don’t have FB. Do you mind posting it here?

 

[Bf3]

Hey, @Bf3. I’m really curious to see the video of your tonneau that you posted on the FB Rivian Group, but I don’t have FB. Do you mind posting it here?

File was too large to upload here, so I put it on YouTube.

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