New truck canopy...looking for ideas to make dive friendly.

[huskychemist]

Hard to decide where to put this thread...

Since it deals with making our own stuff, I decided to put it here. Today, I bought a canopy for my truck. ($50 on craig's list)

Now coachrenz and I are going to work on turning my truck into the "ultimate dive vehicle" and we're looking for ideas for gear racks, tank racks, awnings (you know how much it rains here in the Puget Sound area...since coachrenz wimped out and got a drysuit, he wants an awning too...hehehe), etc.

If you have a truck with a canopy, what have you done to make it more dive friendly? (Or if you don't have a truck with a canopy, what would you suggest?) How do you lock your canopy? Just the regular lock, or did you rig something special? What kind of tank rack do you have for storing the tanks? How easy is it to get to all of your tanks? For our trip this summer to SoCal, we'll need to store six tanks (three steel 119s and three Al80s). Normally, storing two 119s and two 80s will be enough.

Send your ideas (with pictures?) our way. When we're done, we'll post the final set up.

Thanks.

Lowell

 

[ItsBruce]

There is a picture of my tank rack somewhere on SB. The original version was essentially a rectangular box made of plywood with holes in the top to accomodate the tanks. The only problem was that given the orientation and location, no human was strong enough to actually limt a tank out of it. (Consider holding a tank out at arm's length at chest level.) Make sure you get yourself a Sun Shower. It's wonderful to wash off with fresh, hot water after a dive.

 

[mikediveguy]

ok here we go ..lol what i did was measure the distance from the tailgate to the wheel well...check to see how many tanks [and what configuration , ie 1 80 and 1 119 , 2 119/3 80's whatever ] will fit in space, my old truck fit 3 80's my new only 2 , and then using a piece of 2x4 cut out a curve that the tanks will fit in , and bolt it to the side rail of the box with eye bolts. I used a ratchit strap with the strap goin through the eyes to hold tanks in place. easy access and better space usage lol

 

[RiverRat]

This should be interesting. I just bought a Nissan Frontier and have been contemplating building in some storage. I have channels in the bottom and top of the bed with these sliding "eye hooks" I use with ratcheting straps. Works for tanks but I've been thinking about building a "dive box". Basically half a slip in toolbox, one side for gear storgage and make the other half like a fold down tank strap/bar or something.

 

[Firecracker]

This should be interesting. I just bought a Nissan Frontier and have been contemplating building in some storage. I have channels in the bottom and top of the bed with these sliding "eye hooks" I use with ratcheting straps. Works for tanks but I've been thinking about building a "dive box". Basically half a slip in toolbox, one side for gear storgage and make the other half like a fold down tank strap/bar or something.

Hey RiverRat, aren't those channels GREAT!!! I've got a Titan and also have those tracks. Take a look at www.mcmaster.com under "unistrut" for accessories and such to fit that track (hooks, brackets, bolts, etc.) I believe you have the same size tracks that I do. Lots of possibilities!

Sorry for "hijacking" your thread Lowell.

 

[RiverRat]

Hey RiverRat, aren't those channels GREAT!!! I've got a Titan and also have those tracks. Take a look at www.mcmaster.com under "unistrut" for accessories and such to fit that track (hooks, brackets, bolts, etc.) I believe you have the same size tracks that I do. Lots of possibilities!

Sorry for "hijacking" your thread Lowell.

Interesting. Maybe that's an idea, to build something modular maybe to work off the tracks? got me thinking.....

 

[SIR VEYOR]

My quick suggestions, can't link websites 'cause of work rules:
the sliding bed that can be fully extended out from the bed without supporting legs. All gear on that, slides out the full length of bed, do two levels, upwards of 16' of racking space, 1' high on the bottom, maybe more on top due to cap height
this may be a little pricey, bu if you want the whole bottom full of tanks.....
home Depot and others also sell high load drawer railings as well, but maybe not for the full length of bed
Place omnidirection rollerballs on bed and lay plywood on top and add dropable legs, should be cheaper, Woodworking store Lee Valley among other has these.
Seriously look at RAM mounts for creating any swinging arms or platforms if you cap has side windows that open or slide.
Seriously consider running cables from the battery into the bed and mounitng a power inverter there (1000watt for $100-200). You'll use it more than you could expect. Worklight, power tools, etc.
The propane powered water heater? Heats up river water on the fly, can reciculate it in a large tub to get it even hotter. Kinda pricey, but those with 'em love'em
My suburban may be getting some of these ideas thrown at it soon, as the lack of good storage is annoying.... The lack of funds to do it properly is even more annoying...

Hope that helps,
Sir Veyor

 

[Firecracker]

the sliding bed that can be fully extended out from the bed without supporting legs. All gear on that, slides out the full length of bed, do two levels, upwards of 16' of racking space, 1' high on the bottom, maybe more on top due to cap height
this may be a little pricey, bu if you want the whole bottom full of tanks.....
home Depot and others also sell high load drawer railings as well, but maybe not for the full length of bed
Place omnidirection rollerballs on bed and lay plywood on top and add dropable legs, should be cheaper, Woodworking store Lee Valley among other has these.
Seriously look at RAM mounts for creating any swinging arms or platforms if you cap has side windows that open or slide.

That's exactly what I'm thinking of doing so I can retain my bedcover (tailgate locks for security). BTW, what are RAM mounts?:06:

Seriously consider running cables from the battery into the bed and mounitng a power inverter there (1000watt for $100-200). You'll use it more than you could expect. Worklight, power tools, etc.
The propane powered water heater? Heats up river water on the fly, can reciculate it in a large tub to get it even hotter. Kinda pricey, but those with 'em love'em

Great Ideas!!! Thanks

 

[SIR VEYOR]

RAM mounts are a system of heavy duty adjusting balls and arms. They are used a lot to position computers and instrument panels on police cruisers and equipment that vibrates or operates in rough environments. Definitely not the cheapest, but with 1000's of different connectors that connect to the balls, definitely flexible. You can easily change the design after you've used it a few times and think a different way might be better. They come in different sizes, with the smaller ones being able to hold less weight. For a small size that would hold a GPS unit for example, maybe $30-50 for the whole thing. For a laptop they have some systems at around $150. High quality system though. Bass pro shops are supposed to carry the plasitc version of their line, but I don't know for sure.
The roller balls are also known as transfer balls, and some of them can carry 200lbs each @ $20-45 each.
If you do run 12V into the back, look at a disconnect switch the ensure everything stays off, when you want that, and maybe put in an add-on fuse box there to give you long-term flexibility and circuit protection.

 

[huskychemist]

Thanks for all of the suggestions. I hadn't thought of running the battery back to the canopy for power.

Call me naive, but I can't seem to picture "ratcheting straps." As soon as I see one, I'm sure I'll do the palm-to-forehead slap of realization...can somebody help me out here with that one...

Somebody on Northwest Diver recommended a tank-rack like the one in the link here:

http://shop.divebooty.com/3333.html

Not necessarily recommending the seller...just using this as an example. The rack flips up when it doesn't have tanks in it...takes up less space that way. Just a thought.

Thanks.