Looking to build a tonneau cover out of 3/4 exterior plywood and have it sprayed with bed liner. I will hinge it with two heavy duty piano style hinges and as for the lift, I plan to use hydraulic lifts used in car trunks. Will this last awhile or not? Also I'd love to see some pictures of home built ones with some creative ideas. I dont think I will worry about it resting just inside of the bed but rather sit on top and have rounded edges. Once again thanks in advance!

 

I thought about doing this also but, eventually, the plywood will begin to warp.

It sounds like a solid idea with the hinges and the hydraulic (heavier duty) lifters but I'd go an extra step and cap the edges of the plywood with aluminum or steel angle bar, or better yet C-channel bar to keep the plywood edges looking nicer. I'd then get either weather stripping or rubber to keep you paint intact between the bed edge and the cover.

I still may, one day, do this on my Dakota but until I get the mechanical crap fixed on my Dakota I'll have to leave a project like this on the back burner.

I hope this helped out and good luck! Please post Pics if/when you get this built and installed.

 

Thank you for the quick reply. I forgot to mention the C channel for the trim. As far as the spray liner goes, would that make the plywood withstand weather and in my recent occurrence... hail... :/

 

Yea-man - glad to help out!
I have to say; after reading your initial thread and the ideas that you have, I now have a new flood of ideas that are making me seriously reconsider the priority of a project like this on my Dakota.
I still need to button-up the mechanical issues but I may piece-meal together a tonneau cover during all of that.

 

What kind of issues are you having with your dakota?

 

this sounds like a good idea. Any other write up or anything like this would be awesome

 

things to possibly consider with using ply-wood , to fix the warpping i would put 1x1 or rip down a 2x4 to add supports and for something to mount the lifts too. Also what kind of plywood are you using cause i've seen the particle type plywood fail where nicer ply wood (higher grade) with stood more. very interested in how you will get this to work i want to make one for my elcamino now that i found one free for my truck i def love having one. next project for my bed cover is to make it lift straight up with a hinge on each corner with smaller gas lift shocks. let me know how the ply wood works and what grade plywood you use

 

Thank you for the recommendations. I dont think it will be too bad if I just use the hydraulic lifts to keep it up after I pick it up. It will definitely need supports, but what is really stumping me is the idea of spray on bed liner. Would this keep it water sealed and looking good for awhile or not? If I have enough money when I go to begin the project, I will buy marine grade plywood.

 

If you go with plywood, get marine grade. Quite a bit more expensive, but it will hold up much better. Stay away from chipboard or particle board.

 

Yeah that's definitely the route to go, but what about spraying it with bed liner? Would it look good? How would it hold up? Does anyone have any experience with this?