We finally moved from laptop and paper to saw and welder! We finished the trayback’s frame, mounts, spare tire mount and the sliders.
- For the sliders we used 3" x 1.5" box (thick wall, but I forget the actual thickness on that). The sliders are angled (and will be capped) to match the angle of wheel opening and the ARB's angle. The stringers are 1.5" box (same wall thickness) - welded to square plates that match the height of the truck's frame (and gusseted).
- The trayback’s frame is slightly thinner wall 1.5" box. It is the width of the cab (62”) and at 33”, the corners are cut in – netting a 48" wide rear panel.
- The deck will be 1/8" steel (beefy!) - with lots of strap/hook cutouts.
- The rear panel is 12" tall across the middle, angling up to 8" at the ends. The rear panel has a cutout for the receiver hitch and room on either side of that for a step, two shackle tabs and the rectangular, three-lens FJ40 taillights. 1.5” tube spans the opening in the middle – and tied to the frame.
- The spare will sit in a cutout in the deck, close to cab, behind the driver's seat – about 12 "in" the bed.
- Side panels around the wheels... these are in the cardboard and tape phase. But, there WILL be side panels.
- Last will be the folding and removable side “rails”. Probably 8” tall.
- The sliders, frame, spare mount, receiver associated supports/slides will be powder coated satin black. Side panels will be powder coated the same "Cream" as the body and wheels. The rear panel and deck surface… stilling thinking about those.
It's been so (!) much fun designing pieces and seeing them become real steel.
My sketch:
After some plasmagic!
We changed the design for the license plate - instead of a cutout, there will be an "eyebrow" over the plate.
Side note: I still own an '84 4wd bed that needs rust repair and paint. It's sitting on a container at the bodyshop. But it's gonna stay there for a while
