I dont feel comfortable pop riveting the sides to my truck although i do feel comfortable welding, idk i'm strange lol.

x2 on this

yeah thats the only problem.

 

x2.

i wouldn't mind putting some external storage compartments in the sides of my bed

 

I agree with you that it shouldn't rattle when it's tightened down enough, but it's so hard to keep all of the interior pieces tight I don't think that it will really be that simple.

Let us know how much (if any) it rattles, I love this idea, but would hate even more rattle!

 

I have thought about doing this for a while. I think 1" foam tape around the perimeter of the panel with screws holding it in place and then maybe putting strips of it on the back side may help with any rattle of the panels. The .080 looks pretty thick.

 

.080 is very thick. .027 is used for light roll cages, and .065 for the structural members. all you would need is some thin sheet

 

I used pop rivets on mine, that and the caulking on the floor where the side meet the floor....NO rattles. The only thing that makes noise on mine is the locks for the doors when going over large bums pot holes ect but they are rubber on the bottom so its not that bad

I see a few access doors available through out the side, depending on relays ect behind the stock panels. I would just make sure to plan for the braces that the stock panels attach to and put your access doors in between....would be great!

 

I used .080 because it is easier to work with, and holds its shape better. Any thinner and it really doesn't have that much rigidity. I was able to make all my cuts with a jig-saw with a 14 TPI blade. Any higher TPI and it gums up since the Aluminum is so soft.

For the rear corners where the OE curves, I left it flat and just butted it into the corner. You can see this in the 3rd picture of the original post.

As for rattling, I haven't had any. I put foam tape around the perimeter, then fastened it to the bed sides with sheet metal screws.

My original intent was to add additional storage, but then I realized how strong it was and decided to mount some speakers to it instead I will gain a bit, but not too much more over stock.

 

i know this thread is old, but it is what inspired me to do the cargo panels in my 4runner. I used 6mm riv-nuts in the OEM holes to make my panels removable, yet still feasibly stock as they are metric. used flat head allen heads and finishing washers on the outside. moved the rear cargo light to a more useful location. rounded the rear corners to match the OEM panel radius. (that was hard considering its 0.125" aluminum sheet)
i did it in my spare time, thats why it took so long.(had bigger problems to fix that required my first round of attention).

although still not done, as you can see. still need to add access doors and make caps to cover the top rear portion of the panel (where the wiring harness for the wiper motor goes through)

cant decide if i want to let them ride in the nude, or have them linexed / raptor upol to match the gray interior.

i had to make them so small you probably cant see **** but lets hear what you think anyway

 

Nice!

 

Bryan those panels look good. one thing that will help is adding to that little light back there. Inspired by 4 crawlers write up....http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTri...l#DeckLightMod

I found someone on CL selling waterproof flexible LED strips, bought a bunch for myself and the other locals here and went to town.

$15 bought a 3 meter strip that you could cut and solder new wires on to make multiple lights. I made 2- 9 LED strips for the doors and used the rest for the rollbar, running the wires down the rollbar and tacking into the stock light. pics... (all taken with 3GS- no flash on this crappy camera...)

stock light


This is what we bought


roll bar......


from inside


and the courtesy lights, only come on when you open the door, light up the ground as well as the step in .

 

Nice light mods Kiyo!!!!

 

Thanks Ricky!! I just figured its a nice thing to add on if you take all the time and effort to make such nice custom panels. You can actually find things back there at night. Pretty happy with it. Logan even used a strip under the hood for a worklight.

 

I have been looking to fabricate some panels myself. Initially I was going to use some .080 ABS plastic sheet. You can plastic weld it for storage and for the storage pocket in the rear seat. I have been looking at steel as well for the ruggedness, but I worry about rattles as well. After a bit of research it seems the way to go regardless of the panel, is to riv-nut the original holes, and cover the back of the panel with fat-mat, a sound deadener. Do this for all of the panels and double on the firewall, and I'll bet your rig quiets down a lot.

 

I have a silly question. What kind of glare do you get off of the panels?

 

Funny this thread should come back up, I just picked up a sheet of masonite to redo my passenger area panels.

 

I have the aluminum drivers and passenger alumn. door panels and they have zero glare.

 

Btw forgot to add metalbytheinch.com has the best price by far on aluminum.

 

I will amend myself on the sound deadener; after more research it seems the best bang-for-your-buck sound deadener is ez cool insulation; it also will keep you warm/cool!

It is here: http://www.lobucrod.com/

2 Layers on the Floor/Firewall

1 Layer on the outer skin, 1 layer (ez cool or mass-loaded vinyl) inside panels aluminum/steel/abs.

I originally wanted to go ABS for the panels for the ease of working and the increased insulation as well as the lack of noise.

Does anyone know the strength to weight ratio of .080 ABS vs Aluminum?

 

Those panels look pretty sweet

 

another option