Does Anyone Have This Bed Cover?

[Hummer Guy]

I seen this bed top before on Eastern Surplus and thought it was a pretty nice alternative to the soft top while not also weighing a lot. It seems like something that can be fabricated as well. The other good part is you keep your bed and still have more space than putting a container of some sort in the bed

 

[INFChief]

I seen this bed top before on Eastern Surplus and thought it was a pretty nice alternative to the soft top while not also weighing a lot. It seems like something that can be fabricated as well. The other good part is you keep your bed and still have more space than putting a container of some sort in the bed

For what vehicle? I can’t tell what kind of structure that is from the one photo. There are S250 & S280 shelters out there - have you scoped them out?

The 2.5 T trucks could have a shelter or a M109 (M35 FOV’s) truck / van has a frame mounted shelter. HMMWV’s also had (have?) boxes tall enough to stand in and have work benches & decent space.

We used to take 2.5T’s or 5T’s and build 2x4 & plywood boxes in them and then cover them in old truck canvases. We would store repair parts or tools sets in them.

 

[Mullaney]

I seen this bed top before on Eastern Surplus and thought it was a pretty nice alternative to the soft top while not also weighing a lot. It seems like something that can be fabricated as well. The other good part is you keep your bed and still have more space than putting a container of some sort in the bed

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That definitely has the look of being "home made". Not necessarily a bad thing. It sure couldn't leak any more than any other cover.

In days gone by, the company that I worked for had a small fleet of M37's for transporting workers to the jobsite. They needed covers and canvas just wasn't getting the job done. Limbs tended to rip holes in it and so on... ANYHOW, the solution was to put wooden 2x2's (approximately) in the holes where the canvas bows would go - and then cover that wood with CDX grade plywood, then cover that with sheet aluminum.

In this case, the bright red truck was just fine with a white baked aluminum "camper top" on the back. Might not be as appealing on a piece of green iron though.

Couldn't find one with the back on it - but here is a bright red M37

 

[Hummer Guy]

For what vehicle? I can’t tell what kind of structure that is from the one photo. There are S250 & S280 shelters out there - have you scoped them out?

The 2.5 T trucks could have a shelter or a M109 (M35 FOV’s) truck / van has a frame mounted shelter. HMMWV’s also had (have?) boxes tall enough to stand in and have work benches & decent space.

We used to take 2.5T’s or 5T’s and build 2x4 & plywood boxes in them and then cover them in old truck canvases. We would store repair parts or tools sets in them.

Its the m35s truck that cover is on.

Yea I seen those S280 tops, its pretty neat, but it seems like you'll lose about a foot or 2 of space in the bed. I like that ideal of plywood and 2x4s in the back with the canvas covering them, never thought about that one

 

[Mullaney]

Its the m35s truck that cover is on.

Yea I seen those S280 tops, its pretty neat, but it seems like you'll lose about a foot or 2 of space in the bed. I like that ideal of plywood and 2x4s in the back with the canvas covering them, never thought about that one

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Thinking about it, I seem to remember too some sort of "offset" on the M37 to fix that loosing space inside too... Hmm

Yes Indeed, I was thinking that you could do the exact same thing on your Deuce. The only real consideration is the 13'6" maximum road height. Might not need to be that high, but being able to stand up would be a big plus. Then some LED lighting inside for when it is dark or if you need to be able to see inside looking for something... If you build it out of wood, the back door could be an outside house door (or a double) for easy access.

 

[Hummer Guy]

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Thinking about it, I seem to remember too some sort of "offset" on the M37 to fix that loosing space inside too... Hmm

Yes Indeed, I was thinking that you could do the exact same thing on your Deuce. The only real consideration is the 13'6" maximum road height. Might not need to be that high, but being able to stand up would be a big plus. Then some LED lighting inside for when it is dark or if you need to be able to see inside looking for something... If you build it out of wood, the back door could be an outside house door (or a double) for easy access.

Yea that's true, if I do build it out, I will try to get it around 7 feet at the most from the bed to the top. I currently have the LEDs, toolbox, and a winch in the back which gives me another reason to build a cover over the bed instead of putting a shelter in

 

[ToddJK]

I've thought about maybe building a shelter type deal on the deuce, but with a good tarp, I can't bring myself to do it, lol. The tarp works great and it's easy to take off and put on (for the most part). Plus I'm always getting and hauling drums or IBC totes of wmo so a shelter build won't ideal in some of those cases. I like to think keeping just the tarp option, makes my deuce more multi-functional, for me that is. As much as I want to have a M109 or similar, that's where my little addicted devil appears on my shoulder telling me I need another deuce for that reason...but my old lady would probably kill me for the insurance money at that point