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Need information on bed covers?????

clamper

Member
My T does not have a bed cover, I'm planning on building one and upholstering it. My questions are:
1. Are the covers hinged and latched?
2: Are most plywood and foam and then covered?
 
Mine was plywood and foam and upholstered. I made it in two pieces, an outer U-shaped piece for the perimeter with a center piece for access. I used cabinet hinges and a cabinet style keyed lock.
 
Hey clamper, I've been studying deck lid attachments for a couple of years now, trying to decide how to do mine. I don't think I've seen any two done exactly alike. Here's some of what I've seen...

< hinged at the front with:
- European-style swing-out-and-away hinges
- standard cabinet hinges
- piano hinges
- custom-made articulated hinges (GAB)
- teardrop trailer galley hinge
- modified trunk lid hinges

> hinged at the back with:
- any of the above except the Euro-style or articulated
- gate hinges
- strap hinges

^ split down the center (fore & aft) and hinged at the sides

|| slide back on drawer slides with some sort of latching mechanism

-- not hinged at all, just pop off the whole lid, retained with:
- quarter-turn (Dzus) fasteners
- studs & wing-nuts
- knurled bolts into glassed-in t-nuts
- over-center clasps

Some folks have keyed latches, most don't.

By far the most common finish on the lid itself is upholstery. Some have gotten creative and fabbed beautiful wood decks, diamond plate lids, 'glass lids with spoilers or even wings, you name it.

You can do just about anything you want, depending on taste and fab skills. Personally, I'm leaning toward hinged at the front with GAB articulated hinges, and diamond-tufted upholstery.
 
Lee,
I apprciate all the information, and I'm looking at a front hinged assy and diamond-tufted upholstery. What is a "GAB articulated hinges"? I've googled it and haven't come up with anything.
Again thanks for the info.:welcome:
 
GAB is our own George A. Barnes (posts here as GAB). He has designed and prototyped what I would call an articulated hinge. I don't know if he has ever posted his design on this forum, but he did on that other T forum, and I kept copies of his drawings. I don't feel I should post the drawings without his permission, so we'll wait and see if he chimes in here. His design works on the same principal as the Euro-hinges with the multiple hinge points, where as the door opens, it also swings away from the hinge point. This would solve the problem of hinging the deck lid from the curved surface of the back of the T body.
 

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