New 80 Series Tailgate Storage option from Notch @ Back Bay Customs (1 Viewer)

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Joined
Aug 31, 2015
Threads
8
Messages
327
Location
Maine
Hi Guys,
So I have been fabricating car parts of all sorts for a long time and have decided that the custom car shop I run, Back Bay Customs, will also offer some Land Cruiser and Tundra parts as well. I have been watching the tailgate storage threads on here and personally, really want one in my truck since I use it offroad and for camping pretty much every week.

Prototypes have been made, revised, tested, revised, finalized and I have everything underway for an initial run of 10 lids.

They will be sold as a complete kit. Here are the basic features that I'm planning on.

-Powdercoated 3/16" 5052 aluminum plate, CAD designed and laser cut. Black or Tan color options
-Rivited door to hinge joint with flush MIL spec plated rivets
-Southco C5 locking compression latches, keyed alike with dust shields on the lock cylinder
-Metric stainless mounting bolts with serrated flange, plated nuts (to prevent thread gauling and ease install)
-Aluminum edge trim for the cut panel edge to make it safe, look nice and be less work to install
-Gas spring on left side to keep lid open and limit travel. Will simply snap in place.
-Cork/rubber gasket
-Detailed directions with pictures/ diagrams
-Free shipping in the lower 48 - will be available on the Back Bay Customs secure storefront with paypal once I release them.

I don't have an exact price set but I want it to be reasonable for what I'm offering. Any input is welcomed on pricing and color choices as those have not been finalized for this first run. Prototype pics and CAD drawings of the first run are attached.

Thanks! -Adam

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Always good to have another option. Curious about pricing. @reevesci is doing the same thing :)
 
Very cool, as said ^ always good to have options. Hard to ask the community for pricing opinions, all depends on what you have in it and what you want your margin/profitabilty to be. Price it competitively with others and go from there.
 
I'll give you fifty bucks for one! /residentMUDcheapass
 
The price will likely fall slightly above the more basic lids avaliable. These are for the guys that don't want to or don't have the means to make one for themselves and want a more polished product.

We're on our way to the White Mountain National Park right now and I have the prototype all packed up. There is a lot of room in there! I always carry a cloth tarp with me so I used it for padding between some tools, collapsible bucket, bow saw, impact gun, breaker bar, hank of rope, backup maps, rags, socket set and some small straps and bungees.

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Yeah, it's very strong. I would OK it for a 200 lb guy to stand on...no jumping though.

EDIT (I was wrong...these have been tested to well over 500lbs with some jumping)
 
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Very clean. I like that.
 
Things are moving on these. I have the edge profile finalized and the lift strut located and working great with a fabricated lower bracket and a welded tab on the lid. Both powdercoat colors are picked out. I have boxes of hinges, latches and hardware ready to go. Waiting on the laser cutter is the hard part. They are good at what they do so they are busy.

We had a great camping trip last weekend in Western Maine. The prototype storage lid got a lot of use. It's so sweet to have access to it without unpacking. The climb up to the "site" was really loose gravel with some mini-fridge size rocks mixed in. I had to winch over a rock at one point and when I had to open the lid to get a shackle it was obvious that a lift strut is really nice to have when you are parked nose up.

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Looks nice. One suggstion: All four corners need to be round (radiused or nipped off), you have a sharp 90° corner sticking up there. Guarantee someone is going to get dinged on those.
 
I like the rounded edge.
that's clean work. Not sure how functional the gas charger would need to be..but slick none the less.

I'm 3 bills plus and jump on my wagongear to pull down my RTT and it's never bent. (jus sayin) Me and @alvarorb sit on it and it's still flat.
That's sayin sumthin..

If you routered a groove on the underside and kept it about an 1/8" off the edge for a bead of epoxy or silicone, it'd keep the salsa and beer from seeping into the tarps and magazines.
I like the way you have the hinge too. mine is reverse of that, and you gotta get out of the way each time you go digging for something.
I'd buy another one if it was wired for a flat LED strip to the door button.
Just an idea.

Good luck!
 
Looks nice. One suggstion: All four corners need to be round (radiused or nipped off), you have a sharp 90° corner sticking up there. Guarantee someone is going to get dinged on those.

I agree. If you look at the CAD drawing of the final design, the corner will be a 1.5" radius. Plus it looks better I think.
 
I like the rounded edge.
that's clean work. Not sure how functional the gas charger would need to be..but slick none the less.

I'm 3 bills plus and jump on my wagongear to pull down my RTT and it's never bent. (jus sayin) Me and @alvarorb sit on it and it's still flat.
That's sayin sumthin..

If you routered a groove on the underside and kept it about an 1/8" off the edge for a bead of epoxy or silicone, it'd keep the salsa and beer from seeping into the tarps and magazines.
I like the way you have the hinge too. mine is reverse of that, and you gotta get out of the way each time you go digging for something.
I'd buy another one if it was wired for a flat LED strip to the door button.
Just an idea.

Good luck!
Thanks!

I think the lift strut is great but it does unclip easily if someone wanted to. It also serves as a limiting device to prevent the hinge from binding past about 120 degrees on my version. This prevents damage to the powdercoat and hinge.

I have not done destructive testing yet. It's sturdy. My fabricator and painter here are about 500 together. I'll load up the prototype before I switch to the fancy version and see what it does. How thick is a wagon gear? Never seen one.

I don't think I'll be adding a groove but it will ship with a continuious gasket on the lip that gets sandwiched between the frame and the tailgate. Not 100% watertight, but if you stick to chunky salsa and dark beer it should be fine.

I like the light idea...hmm
 
One large door makes no sense unless you are just using for storage that you rarely need to get to.

Yup tons of options out there. Nice, cheap solution there.

I could not agree less about one door though. There are very few storage boxes out there with small opening to a large cavity and for good reason. It's a pita to root around in a little boat hatch looking for a chart or sunscreen (I have one on my boat). In my opinion, easy access storage has a big lid or opening, like coolers, luggage, center consoles, glove boxes, ammocans, backpacks, refrigerators, kitchen cabinets, etc... to each his own though.
 
Yeah, it's very strong. I would OK it for a 200 lb guy to stand on...no jumping though.

If knocking your head on the hatch doesn't knock you out, get a trampoline or fat chick if you want to jump on something.
I kid, I kid.....
 

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