Tonneau's for Stepsides

[truckman72]

Hey fam! I would like to put a tonneau cover on my 1969 stepside, but haven't found one that fits or that I like. What do you have on the back?? Post 'em up!!!!

[special-K]

Prefab tonneaus didn't exist till more recent years. The tradition tonneau covers were made at the upholstery shop. They can still do that. That's what I do

[el_fantasma]

Gaylord, just had mine painted

[special-K]

^^^ That is not a tonneau, it's a bed cover. Gaylord's calls theirs "Truck Lids". Also, you have a Fleetside and the question is for Stepsides. The prefab tonneaus that are sold these days impliment a clamp-on frame to avoid drilling. How would that work on a Stepside? I drill the wholes and stay old school. People freak out about the teeny holes in the body, but I see them as no biggie. As long as I own the truck they are serving a purpose. If the next person doesn't want a tonneau those little holes are a simple fix.

I'm not aware of a prefab tonneau for Stepsides that would clamp on w/o any drilling. Maybe someone else knows of one and will post the information

[James the III]

Originally Posted by special-K

^^^ That is not a tonneau, it's a bed cover. Gaylord's calls theirs "Truck Lids". Also, you have a Fleetside and the question is for Stepsides. The prefab tonneaus that are sold these days impliment a clamp-on frame to avoid drilling. How would that work on a Stepside? I drill the wholes and stay old school. People freak out about the teeny holes in the body, but I see them as no biggie. As long as I own the truck they are serving a purpose. If the next person doesn't want a tonneau those little holes are a simple fix.

I'm not aware of a prefab tonneau for Stepsides that would clamp on w/o any drilling. Maybe someone else knows of one and will post the information

That is a hard tonneau..

[n33k0]

I'm also interested in stepside tonneau covers. I've heard of guys getting an upholstery shop to cut some fabric (don't know what material) and attach it to the truck with snap buttons installed under the outside bed rail. I don't know how the cover attaches at the front of the bed or at the tailgate.

I had an idea about having an upholstery shop make a cover and have them stitch some powerful magnets into the edges of the cover. Maybe the magnets wouldn't be strong enough to hold the cover down, but that would be the ideal option since it doesn't involve cutting any holes into the bed. Any thoughts on this idea?

[James the III]

Originally Posted by n33k0

I'm also interested in stepside tonneau covers. I've heard of guys getting an upholstery shop to cut some fabric (don't know what material) and attach it to the truck with snap buttons installed under the outside bed rail. I don't know how the cover attaches at the front of the bed or at the tailgate.

I had an idea about having an upholstery shop make a cover and have them stitch some powerful magnets into the edges of the cover. Maybe the magnets wouldn't be strong enough to hold the cover down, but that would be the ideal option since it doesn't involve cutting any holes into the bed. Any thoughts on this idea?

Last one I did was on a newer truck but, same thing..
alum angle on the inside bed sides/front/tailgate, held on with 3m double sided tape.. then Velcro to hold the vinyl to the angle.. with the Velcro taped and riveted every 5 inches on the angle so it doesn't pull off it.. and stitched to the vinyl bed tonneau..
no drilling in truck.. and flush with bed top .
and simple to do at home. with basic hand tools

[n33k0]

Originally Posted by James the III

Last one I did was on a newer truck but, same thing..
alum angle on the inside bed sides/front/tailgate, held on with 3m double sided tape.. then Velcro to hold the vinyl to the angle.. with the Velcro taped and riveted every 5 inches on the angle so it doesn't pull off it.. and stitched to the vinyl bed tonneau..
no drilling in truck.. and flush with bed top .
and simple to do at home. with basic hand tools

Velcro is a neat idea. I don't have much experience with velcro other than the cheap reusable velcro cable ties sold at my local hardware store; those don't last very long before they wear out and stop sticking. Is there a heavy-duty velcro that won't wear out with constant use?

[truckman72]

Originally Posted by James the III

Last one I did was on a newer truck but, same thing..
alum angle on the inside bed sides/front/tailgate, held on with 3m double sided tape.. then Velcro to hold the vinyl to the angle.. with the Velcro taped and riveted every 5 inches on the angle so it doesn't pull off it.. and stitched to the vinyl bed tonneau..
no drilling in truck.. and flush with bed top .
and simple to do at home. with basic hand tools

It would be great to see some pictures of this!

[special-K]

Originally Posted by n33k0

I'm also interested in stepside tonneau covers. I've heard of guys getting an upholstery shop to cut some fabric (don't know what material) and attach it to the truck with snap buttons installed under the outside bed rail. I don't know how the cover attaches at the front of the bed or at the tailgate.

I had an idea about having an upholstery shop make a cover and have them stitch some powerful magnets into the edges of the cover. Maybe the magnets wouldn't be strong enough to hold the cover down, but that would be the ideal option since it doesn't involve cutting any holes into the bed. Any thoughts on this idea?

There are components available that upholstery shops use. The front member is an aluminum channel with a round slide channel extruded. There is a welting the shop sews-in the vinyl and it slides in from the side. That "locks" it in. Snaps down the side and along the tailgate. They used to use wood slaps for the bows across side to side, but now they use aluminum tube. Plastic ends slip on the tube that fit into pocket mounts that screw into the inside edge of the bed rail.

I had a custom one made for a utility body. My upholstery guy gave me the front piece, snaps, bows, and pockets to take home. I used aluminum angle down the sides, rounded the ends, cut bows to length, had it all ready, and he made the tonneau to fit. I know it's not a Stepside, but pretty much the same deal as a Stepside since I didn't want it to wrap over the top of the box where I needed to step. I chose a fabric semi truck tarps are made with for being tear resistant
Here's a picture. Sorry for being a newer truck, but the beds were the same back then

[eric67c10]

This Velcro one is about 4 years old and still holding on. From LMC.

[OARNGESI]

http://m.ebay.com/itm/1955-87-Chevy-...274?nav=SEARCH I bought this a couple of weeks ago it's a lil cheaper if you call them direct

[truckman72]

Ok guys, lets not get this thread locked. Lets get back to the initial reason for this thread. Hard or soft doesn't matter, preferably stepsides but fleetsides are welcome as well. I'm just looking for some sort of cover for my bed, so lets get back to that!

[Liz]

Originally Posted by truckman72

Ok guys, lets not get this thread locked. Lets get back to the initial reason for this thread. Hard or soft doesn't matter, preferably stepsides but fleetsides are welcome as well. I'm just looking for some sort of cover for my bed, so lets get back to that!

cleaned up the silliness, left open for now

[cmg96]

You can get awesome and very strong velcro at a sail shop. I had it sewn on my pop-up camper top. Just a suggestion if you are looking for very strong industrial velcro. The magnet idea could work but they would have to be very strong I tried that on a 62 VW bug ragtop. Mine were not strong enough and I was chasing it down the road when it blew off.

[Aus69c20]

Look up craftec. They do one. I saw one at car show on a step side and it looked great.
http://www.crafteccovers.com/CK_c_46.html

[TobyArnot]

Originally Posted by Aus69c20

Look up craftec. They do one. I saw one at car show on a step side and it looked great.
http://www.crafteccovers.com/CK_c_46.html

This thing looks great and well made!

[truckman72]

Does anyone know if you have to drill holes to attach the shocks on the stepside? I just tried calling and they didn't answer.

[OARNGESI]

You drill 2 holes for the shocks but they won't be visible from the outside

[truckman72]

The other thing I just realized is that I have hidden tailgate latches, on the inside of the bed so that would cause and issue when it comes to latching/unlatching the bed and cover. Anyone know of any other options besides the craftec one that would help me solve this issue with the hidden latches?

[OARNGESI]

There is a option I think it's called a bear claw latch it lets you pull the latch from the outside it's like $40

[truckman72]

Originally Posted by OARNGESI

There is a option I think it's called a bear claw latch it lets you pull the latch from the outside it's like $40

For the tailgate or the cover?

[OARNGESI]

No it's basically a pull hook that just sticks out between the tailgate and the cover So you don't have to open the gate to access the latch

[kaycee]

Built my own ,got hidden latches also can lock it all up and no entry unless you have a key.

[kaycee]

Got my hinges from a hard cover that was trashed and used my a fender bolt on each side with a homemade bracket to hold them to get the right angle