My first real post - Building a fleet side box cover

[VTX-Black]

Dan, I just followed your great thread. Nice truck!
(I chuckled when I read someone say that you paid too much for a solid truck at $5800, but yet people will spend a huge amount of hours making a truck as solid as your starting point. At that price I figure you literally saved many thousands of $$).

Regarding the tonneau cover mounting, on your step-side box, the side roll outwards to form the box rails. On the fleet side box they are folded to the inside like a modern truck, so I could use the clamps to hold the subframe.

I'd guess in your case that you would have to bolt the subframe to you box wall, or use a different hinge setup and bolt that on.

[VTX-Black]

Just a quick update.

People have still been asking me about the gap and why I couldn't have made the surfaces mate better if I took my time with the cut.

otto line is that it does't matter. It is preferable to leave a larger gap than one that is too small.

Instead of thinking that I am gluing the two sides together, imagine that I am putting it back inside the mild and making new material. Unlike welding, that's the way fibreglass works best. If the gap is too small there is not enough room to insert some material and the joint is weaker.

I could go into more detail, but as an example, when fixing a crack in fibreglass, even then the technique is to grind out a V groove so that more surface area is in contact with the new material.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Originally Posted by VTX-Black

Dan, I just followed your great thread. Nice truck!
(I chuckled when I read someone say that you paid too much for a solid truck at $5800....

Thanks so much for the compliment. I don't know how I missed your response for all these months, sorry.

I "only" paid $4800 for my truck and in hindsight looking at what it looked like then, I guess I see why some were critical of my purchase price. But what the hey? If I'm comfortable paying it and not asking anyone for money then its on me.

Just a week ago or so saw a FREE tonneau on Craigslist but it was gone by the time I called on it. Too damned bad because I could have experimented on it with your advice on this thread!