DIY pickup bed cover that will carry a load.

[strantor]

UPDATE 8/1/21 The finished product is in post #64.

I got a new truck a couple of weeks ago, after years of being stuck in an SUV. There was a couple of things I got used to with the SUV: having a "safe" place to store my tools when traveling for work, and being able to transport pallets of parts (with a small flatbed trailer). So I decided to get a bed cover that would be as safe of a place to store my tools, and strong enough to put pallets on. I didn't find what I was looking for (at least not for under several thousand dollars) so I am making my own.

It is a steel frame and will have an aluminum deck. The lid hinges at front and back so you can lift it from either end, or both. It's sort of like half of a scissor lift.

I will be modifying my electric tailgate latches to open via a signal from a device other than the truck's tailgate handle switch so that nobody but me knows how to open it. The bed cover can only be opened after the tailgate is open, so I think my stuff will be reasonably safe. You would need power tools and/or a torch to get into it.

I don't know how much weight this setup could handle. The bed cover is extremely stout, I would think it should be good for at least 2000lbs but I'm thinking the bed rails would collapse before then.

And idea how much bed rails on a 2021 ram 2500 can hold?

 

[Thunder chicken]

That’s a heck of a cover!
I made a homemade tonneau out of plywood, in 2 pieces hinged in the middle. A barrel bolt near the tailgate to ‘lock’ it. This takes the cake to support a pallet! Maybe get some decals made up (like those ‘bullet hole’ decals) that look like fork holes for the side of your box to make the forklift operator think about being careful!

 

[mwemaxxowner]

I've drooled over the Diamondback atv carrier bed covers for a while now. This is the first DIY version I've seen! Love it!

 

[deezler]

Whoa, neat idea and nice fab work. How heavy is that assembly?!? Can you even reach over the bed side and lift the front end with one hand?

What do you plan to skin the top with? Do you still have 48+ inches inside your rails, for sheet goods?

 

[strantor]

Whoa, neat idea and nice fab work. How heavy is that assembly?!? Can you even reach over the bed side and lift the front end with one hand?

What do you plan to skin the top with? Do you still have 48+ inches inside your rails, for sheet goods?

I will be installing 1/8 aluminum sheet as the deck and probably get some color match bedliner sprayed on it. Yes, I retain almost the full usable space of the bed. I estimate that it is or will be 200-250lbs. I've since put some heavy duty gas lift struts on it and yes, it can be lifted with one hand. Actually right now as it doesn't have the aluminum sheet deck installed, it comes up on its own as soon as you unlatch it. I am leaving it like that, hoping it will be "just right" with the aluminum on it. I will need to tweak the strut angles for the rear lift after installing the aluminum.

Here are some updated pics with the gas struts and latching mechanisms installed, and with the aluminum sheet placed for fitment but not yet fastened. I will need to take it all apart, apply ospho (everything is rusty scrap), paint, and reassemble.

 

[Midniteoyl]

Duuude.

 

[strantor]

That’s a heck of a cover!
I made a homemade tonneau out of plywood, in 2 pieces hinged in the middle. A barrel bolt near the tailgate to ‘lock’ it. This takes the cake to support a pallet! Maybe get some decals made up (like those ‘bullet hole’ decals) that look like fork holes for the side of your box to make the forklift operator think about being careful!

I mused to myself "this will be stronger than the bed rails it sits on" and that got me thinking "how much weight can you safely load on bed rails?" I did some digging and didn't find any concrete numerical answers but walked away with the impression that the weight of my bed cover alone will probably be the limit of "without a doubt just fine," but any heavier and the waters get muddy. To be safe, if I want to load pallets of bricks on it, I am going to need to make some support structure that sits in the bed and transmits the weight down into the frame instead of into the bed rails.

 

[mwemaxxowner]

I have no idea of the limits, but on the Diamondback website there are plenty of photos of covers with a SxS on top of them for various different trucks, and in some cases two.

I bet a pallet of bricks might be pushing it though.

 

[deezler]

This is so god damn cool. Great work, thanks for all the additional pics. Really impressive how you figured it all out. A video of the unlatching process and gas-shocks lifting it up would be neat to see.

 

[Thunder chicken]

For your bed rail weight limits, looks like you’re using the internal rail and it’s also supported by the top of the box side?
I see guys with ‘Sled decks’ that carry 2 skidoo’s, they slide in and out somehow, maybe look into how those are built. But if it’s supported by the bed sides I’d think it’d carry all you’d every want, people have caps with roof top tents, boats, kayaks all supported by just the bed rails in some cases.