OT: Retro Wrangler/Willys Pickup (long)

[bigwalton]

Along the lines of what Jim posted, but less "bulky"-- what if you simply drill some holes instead of mounting those clevises and make backing plates with nuts underneath the bed to screw in screw-eyes. They could be part of/attached to the crossmembers for support.

You could make/find simple flush-headed bolts/screws/caps/plugs to put in the holes until you need to pop in a screw-eye.

Might not be the most "factory" function, but when they weren't in use, they'd be a lot less obtrusive/obvious than something mounted on top of the bed like these two ideas and wouldn't collect crud like the recesses with the clevises (with use of caps/plugs)

 

[jscherb]

How about recessing this into the deck boards so it's flush with the bed deck?

Not sure what the depth is of these... ideally you'd want to secure these to the underlying deck cross members. Perhaps holes in crossmembers to allow installation?

Jim,
Thanks, I looked at those - they are made to fit in a stake pocket, and are 2-3 inches deep below the top plate. I didn't see a good way to adapt them to mounting in a floorboard.
Jeff

 

[jscherb]

Along the lines of what Jim posted, but less "bulky"-- what if you simply drill some holes instead of mounting those clevises and make backing plates with nuts underneath the bed to screw in screw-eyes. They could be part of/attached to the crossmembers for support.

You could make/find simple flush-headed bolts/screws/caps/plugs to put in the holes until you need to pop in a screw-eye.

Might not be the most "factory" function, but when they weren't in use, they'd be a lot less obtrusive/obvious than something mounted on top of the bed like these two ideas and wouldn't collect crud like the recesses with the clevises (with use of caps/plugs)

Thanks... I suppose that could work, but it sounds like a lot of little random metal parts to store in the Jeep when they're not being used. But they wouldn't collect crud, so that's a plus. I'll have to think about this one some more.
Jeff

 

[bigwalton]

All of this would fit in less than a small zip-loc and would fit in the map pocket in the door...

 

[CJ-8_Jim]

Jim,
Thanks, I looked at those - they are made to fit in a stake pocket, and are 2-3 inches deep below the top plate. I didn't see a good way to adapt them to mounting in a floorboard.
Jeff

I was hopeful that a hole the size of a stake pocket in the crossmember wouldn't compromise the cross member integrity. (especially since you have redundant cross members for the added deck support).

 

[jscherb]

I was hopeful that a hole the size of a stake pocket in the crossmember wouldn't compromise the cross member integrity. (especially since you have redundant cross members for the added deck support).

Just to be sure, I measured both - the stake pocket is 2" wide and the cross sills are 1 3/8 wide.
Jeff

 

[jscherb]

Got the bed "wood" in today

Still waiting for the additional cross sills to be delivered, so the wood and bed strips aren't really bolted in yet. The TimberTech worked out pretty well.
Jeff

 

[bigwalton]

Looks really nice...

 

[twmattox]

For some reason, I look at the work you are doing, then look at my Scrambler...then get very very depressed...

 

[jscherb]

For some reason, I look at the work you are doing, then look at my Scrambler...then get very very depressed...

Hey, don't feel bad... when I look at the work I'm doing and then I look at MY Scrambler, I get very very depressed... we're talking new construction vs. a 25 year old 100,000-mile+ vehicle.

Some days I think I want to sell my Scrambler because I get so depressed about it :-(

Jeff

 

[jscherb]

Progress on mostly boring parts this past week. Photos below:

- Before and after showing the cross sills added to support the less-rigid-than-wood TimberTech.

- Taillights mounted

- Fun project - cut a bunch of 90 degree notches in a piece of 2" 14-ga. square tube, folded it up, welded it and painted it. It's a spacer to mount the spare tire carrier on the bed side so the tire clears the angled lip of the bed. Still have to make another for the spare on the other side.

Later this week finalizing the making the bed-to-frame mounts.

Jeff

 

[bigwalton]

What structure is there in the bedsides to support the spares? That's a lot of leverage by the time you get out to the tire, although I guess they're relatively small...

 

[Hazard]

I've been thinking how to secure cargo in the bed. This TimberTech is fairly slippery stuff (sort of like one of those plastic bed liners), so I think I need something. I found these stainless tie-downs, and routed a recess in a sample board so the tie-down is below the surface. This isn't the actual color I'm using, my boards will be a light teak brown, and the recess is a little rough because I didn't have exactly the right router bit on hand today.

I was thinking of putting 4 of these along each side of the bed. I could keep some elastic tie down straps in the truck and when needed hook them on these and over the cargo.

The negative is that these recesses will probably collect dirt and crap and I'll always be cleaning them out. I looked for some better tie downs that wouldn't require recesses like this and can only find zinc plated ones, which will rust quickly.

I'm not sure about this idea, what do you guys think?
Jeff

I like the pop up ones. I was actually going to recommend a boat pop-up cleat. As far as the ones I have seen, they don't require much of a depth (just the depth of the cleat itself). This will keep them flush and keep them from collecting dirt. Not sure if you could modify or use boat cleats though, just thinking of solutions for you!

Here's an example one, but its pretty long (and deep). I've seen them much smaller (2-3" long).

http://www.fishing-catalog.com/AcconMarine/POP-UP_Cleat.htm

 

[jscherb]

What structure is there in the bedsides to support the spares? That's a lot of leverage by the time you get out to the tire, although I guess they're relatively small...

The super-light alloy wheels with the space-saver spares weigh 21 pounds each. With the spare carrier and the spacer, the weight to hang on each side of the bed is 35 pounds. They will hang close to the corner of the bed (stronger there) and will bolt both above and below the bed floor angle, so it won't be a problem at all.

 

[jscherb]

I like the pop up ones. I was actually going to recommend a boat pop-up cleat. As far as the ones I have seen, they don't require much of a depth (just the depth of the cleat itself). This will keep them flush and keep them from collecting dirt. Not sure if you could modify or use boat cleats though, just thinking of solutions for you!

Here's an example one, but its pretty long (and deep). I've seen them much smaller (2-3" long).

http://www.fishing-catalog.com/AcconMarine/POP-UP_Cleat.htm

Thanks - I liked these a lot until I clicked on the extra link on the page to see the prices - $99 each for the smallest ones!

This is the right idea, but if I wanted to put 6 or 8 of them in... ugh $600 or $800? Anyone know of something else along these lines that isn't quite so pricey?

Thanks for the idea, now to find the idea + the right price and we're set

Jeff

 

[Hazard]

Thanks - I liked these a lot until I clicked on the extra link on the page to see the prices - $99 each for the smallest ones!

This is the right idea, but if I wanted to put 6 or 8 of them in... ugh $600 or $800? Anyone know of something else along these lines that isn't quite so pricey?

Thanks for the idea, now to find the idea + the right price and we're set

Jeff

Whoa! Do some searching, I've seen them at boat shops in the $25 range.

Edit:
Here are some good ones.
http://www.boatersworld.com/product/367990181.htm

and heres a set for $29
http://www.discountmarinesupplies.com/HARDWARE-Boat_Cleats.html

Here's a little 4" for $32.
http://www.greatlakesskipper.com/products.cfm?CatID=SS205

That was in like 5 minutes of searching, so I'm sure the right one is out there for you if you go that direction. Boat hardware is typically well designed for space issues and nice stainless look.

 

[jscherb]

The bed mounts are coming together. The bed will mount to the frame on four crossmembers - it will mount on the rear crossmember directly (using the stock LJ "puck holes"), and on three raised crossmembers, one of which is seen below. These crossmembers came from a Dakota pickup (actually, three Dakotas). They are somewhat modified to fit this application, including mounting pads to hold Jeep-style rubber body mount pucks (wood blocks are standing in for the rubber pucks in these photos).
Jeff

 

[jscherb]

Still looking for the right bed tie-downs. Found these at K-Mart of all places, they are stainless steel, they mount flush when not in use and pop up with a lever release. Even though they are designed to mount in stake pockets, the hole they require is quite small. The only thing I don't like about them is that the release lever (more like a slide switch) is nylon, not metal. Not sure how that will hold up on a bed floor. I'm going to experiment with recessing them into a sample piece of bed wood to see how they would work in a bed floor.
Jeff

EDIT: This is actually one Jim found earlier, but I couldn't see the bottom of it until I saw them in K-Mart today. I assumed they were the size of stake pockets underneath, but the are actually quite small.

 

[jscherb]

Here's the answer for the tie-downs in the bed. Forget the ones in the previous post, I just couldn't get over the cheesy little nylon release button, they were sure to be snapped off by something sliding in the bed.

These anchors are removable (thanks for convincing me, Eric). They use a standard 5/16 thread so I can use eyebolts or any other type screws in them in addition to the big chrome tie-downs that come with them. They are 100% stainless, except for the tie-down itself, which is chrome. All that will be in the bed when they are not being used is the stainless plates on the bed floor (top row center photo, but not screwed in yet). Bottom photo below shows approximate position of them on one side of the bed.

One other nice side benefit of this type is that I will be able to use the front pair to secure the bed box in the bed. I'm trying to buy the bed box this week; Tractor Supply is having a 10% off sale so might as well buy it now, except my local TS is out of the one I want.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions; thanks Jim for making me look again at stake pocket tie downs.

Jeff

EDIT: Almost forgot - update on the house: trying to schedule the closing for next week! Then allowing two weeks for getting moved in, hopefully I can begin cutting on the LJ the beginning of August.

 

[bigwalton]

Nice, I think that setup will serve you well.

We need a countdown to first cut! I can't wait!