Box Height Extender on Gator - Looking for ideas

[nmu98]

I am looking to build something to raise the sides of the Gator box to allow me to carry more material. (wood chips) Since the weight will not be a factor, I was going to take the box to 36" tall.

My thought was to make a 3 sided box that fit fairly tight to the bed out of plywood and ise some 2x2 in the bottom, top, and corners for bracing. I have not put much thought into the rear, but i was going to go with a double hinged door so it could open on each side and be held closed by the tailgate.

I was thinking of holding the box in place by clamping it to the top section in the front of the bed?

Has anyone else done anything like this? Have an ideas? pictures?

 

[KentT]

Has anyone else done anything like this? Have an ideas? pictures?

Haven't done it, but always have ideas -- just seldom good ones...

Can you put your 2X's just above the current top of the bedrails, on the outside, and leave just smooth plywood on the inside, so things don't get hung up in the bed? I'd think two runs of "strapping" on the outside, one flush with the top of the bed, and one at the top of the plywood would be sufficient.

Then, if the setup works for you, maybe at some point you could redesign it to use aluminum to save weight... course with your payload weight is not an issue as much as it is on different machines.

 

[ponyexpress976]

I added some plywood extensions above my steel bed rails (also an add on) for that vevy purpose. The steel rails support the wood extesions fairly well.

 

[nmu98]

I am starting to think about trying to extend the bed out the back of the gat to be able to haul more chips. I would think a 3/4 plywood floor would hold the weight.