| Author | Message | ||
     Jamie (Rover_puppy) Member Username: Rover_puppy Post Number: 151 Registered: 05-2003 |
Last night I finished putting the carpet on my plywood. A man at the lumberyard cut it to fit for me and he used 3/4" indoor/outdoor plywood. I have decided to leave the rear seats in for now, so plywood will be only cover the stock cargo area. I am ready to do bolting. If anyone else is going to do plywood carpet, FOLLOW the advice of others on Dweb and use the 3M spray glue. DO NOT use the outdoor carpet adhesive that is like molasses that home depot says you MUST USE and to put on with a trowl. That stuff makes a humongous mess. It is thick and too gunky to spread right, gets all over everything, and then when you walk on the carpet to push it down, it comes up thru the cheap carpet and gets all over the bottom of your shoes. Duh... I finally switched to the 3M spray when I got to the part of gluing the carpet down on the sides and into the cargo hook holes. I need to bolt down the EE Engle slide-lock that fits the 42-45qt ARB frig/freezer. I also want to bolt down the power tank bracket vertically. John Lee sent me 2 Pelican 1610's that fit perfectly beside the fridge. I have used a photo from EE's Engle page as a starting point: http://www.expeditionexchange.com/engel/DSC05142_.jpg I have a few more dumb bunny questions please.... I went to home depot and local hardware store for bolts and nuts. The only thing they could find to sort-of fit were regular bolts. They told me that stainless steel would be best b/c they would not rust, but they did not have them. Is it ok to use the regular bolts or should I keep trying to find stainless steel? I will put the bolts DOWN into the plywood and make the nuts recessed under the plywood as directed. They sold me drill bits (I have a drill and sort-of know how to use it  Since the bolts are a little longer than the plywood, they gave me an attachment for my drill to sand off the bottom of the bolts once I put them in. They told me that I can use it to make holes for recessing nuts under the plywood. They said to drill the holes the same size as the bolts. Is that right? (I thought when you do drilling, you are supposed to drill the hole smaller than what you are putting in it?). Does anyone have any opinions on which side it best for the frig? the right side or the left side of the cargo area? The frig instructions say to keep 6" clearance between motor end of frig and any solid object. That is a lot of space, does anyone have any experience at putting it closer? Another photo on EE site illustrates how the power tank cord stretches way out to fill up tires. I want to make sure that I mount tank in a practical area. Thinking ahead, my cargo area will be overflowing with STUFF, so I need to put it someplace where I can get to it. I have the guard dog installed to protect the forward cabin from potential flying cargo. If necessary, I think(?) that a few of the wire bars in the guard could be cut out for access to tank regulator/cord from the backseat?? That seems way too cumbersome to try and use it thru the dog guard?? If I mount it nearer to the cargo door, I don't think the frig and peli cases will fit well(?) and my biggest concern if tank mounted near door, it might be in the way of gear that will be needed regularly on the trail? If anyone has any advice or input on layout, I'd really appreciate the input. This kind of stuff takes me A LONG TIME to do and I would much prefer to do it right the first time. It will be A GOOD THING when I finish this. When I unloaded my cargo area I found stuff that I did not even know was back there - including: 9 rolls of paper towels, 7 bath size towels wrapped carefully in 3 separate trash bags to keep them clean and dry, 3 big sheets to spread on the ground for dogs to sit on, 2 oversized beach towels, and 10 containers of wet ones. Here is photo of where I am and the things I will be bolting. Thanks AGAIN for all your help, Jamie  | ||
| Mike Bauer (Mikeb) Member Username: Mikeb Post Number: 72 Registered: 02-2003 |
Don't cut the bars on the Dog Guard! It will defeat the purpose of having the dog guard. | ||
| Ron L (Ronl) Member Username: Ronl Post Number: 152 Registered: 11-2002 |
Jamie, I placed mine on the passenger side. Only reason for it, I generally go on trips alone (no passengers). For the most part the Engel weighs more than anything else that goes with me on a trip. Its placed there to counter balance my weight on the drivers side. Its out of habit from my racing days. Good luck Ron L | ||
| Greg Davis (Gregdavis) Senior Member Username: Gregdavis Post Number: 962 Registered: 08-2002 |
Jamie, I also have my fridge on the passenger side, although for a different reason. If I ever need to carry something long in my rig, I can fold the /40 side of the seat forward without having to move my fridge. Just something to consider. The airhose from the PowerTank should fit between the bars, so you shouldn't really have to remove any of them. | ||
| Kobayashi (Koby) Senior Member Username: Koby Post Number: 483 Registered: 02-2002 |
Jaime- I also keep my fridge on the passenger side for the same reason that Ron stated. When that Engel 45 is loaded, it is pretty friggin' heavy. http://www.expeditionexchange.com/grandcanyon/arizonavacation002.jpg | ||
| Marc M (Mosi) New Member Username: Mosi Post Number: 39 Registered: 09-2002 |
Here is what I did over a year ago. I wanted something that I could easily remove for hauling large objects if needed. I cut a piece of plywood that fits on the floor and notched slits where for the cargo loops to fit. I use 2 ratchet straps running horizontally so the tie down loops pull into each other creating a rock solid clamp of sorts. I put it together with aluminum legs and brackets to help keep the weight down. It's very strong and holds a bunch of weight on top if needed. When I need extra room, just release the straps and remove the whole thing. here are some older pics: http://www.pnwx.net/disco_pics/shelf.JPG http://www.pnwx.net/disco_pics/brace.JPG http://www.pnwx.net/disco_pics/frame.JPG | ||
| Rupert J (Tehamarx) Member Username: Tehamarx Post Number: 39 Registered: 11-2002 |
Marc, Where did you purchase the aluminum legs & brackets? | ||
| Marc M (Mosi) New Member Username: Mosi Post Number: 40 Registered: 09-2002 |
Rupert, I got all of it from Home Depot. The nice thing was that I was able to buy the long lengths and cut them, so there wasn't much wasted material. I thought about puting a cross brace for the legs from front to rear since it wobbles a tad. Since the shelf sits against the rear seats and the rear door, it stays put. The shelf supports the Hi-Lift, Power Tank, and doesn't budge when I sit on it.... I'm 200lbs. | ||
| Jamie (Rover_puppy) Member Username: Rover_puppy Post Number: 155 Registered: 05-2003 |
Marc, Thanks for the pics! I like shelves!! I'm going to hold on to that idea for when (if) my construction skills improve. When you sit on the shelf is that when it is out of your rover -- or are you able to fit yourself into space between top shelf and ceiling?? I have not bolted anything in yet, I got very tired working on my truck - taking a break and watching movies from blockbuster with my dogs. I'll probably get back to truck work tomorrow? I am going to boating supply store tomorrow just to see if they have ss bolts that will fit. Re: my drilling question -- do you drill the hole smaller than the bolt or do you drill the hole the same size as the bolt? Thanks for the input on weight distribution -- good thinking. I was told that I will have to put as much heavy gear in the passenger floor well as I can -- too bad the frig won't fit there! Thanks again!! Jamie |
