Hard Shell Boot Cover/Tonneau

[joelittel]

I've been working on this for on and off for a few seasons but am finally happy with how it is coming along.

I built the framework out of cardboard, masonite board and painter's tape. Then added details with modeling clay. Once I was happy with how that was looking I fiberglassed over the entire thing to give me a sturdy base to work with. Then using polyurethane foam (my new favorite medium) I added additional details until it roughly resembled the shape I'm going for. Once that was looking good I glassed over then entire thing again.

Now I'll sand away at it to fine tune the shape until I'm happy with it.

Next on the list will be cutting it into three pieces so that it can be stowed in the car when not in use. I'm considering adding a few bells and whistles, like a third brake light, wind blocker and possibly LED lights on the inside to help see what we've tossed back there at night but those things seem like a long way off at this point. Cutting the shape down and getting it symmetrical is going to take me awhile to get right. The more I sand, the more I have to reinforce the underside or I'll weaken the integrity (and we all know, no matter what I say to people, someone will sit on it).

[TheBender]

Glad it's all coming together and looking great. I like the idea of the light.

[joelittel]

Thanks

I have a couple of the LEDs I used for my foot wells left over, and I suspect they will be perfect.

[BwBrown]

Nice work!
You need to make a mold and do a small run of these - I would buy one in a heartbeat! Let me know when it is ready and I'll send you the funds. (Don't get so involved that you wreck your hobby - just make enough that I can have one too. )
bob;

[joelittel]

Thanks

The project has been getting a lot of positive feedback and a handful of people have said they would be interested.

To do this correctly I’ll need to make a mold anyway so I cannot see why I wouldn’t sell a few units to cover some of my costs. But I’m a long way away from making the mold. There are lots of little details that still need to be figured out. Currently I’m concerned that I didn’t leave enough room for the seats to be set in their furthest back position. Neither my wife or I drive with the seat pushed all the way back, but I feel that my design should accommodate that need should it arise. This is not a huge headache but rather an example of something I hadn’t thought of soon enough.

Fun problem to have.

[BwBrown]

Joel,
You are sure doing some nice work.
IF you do end up with an extra unit, please keep me in mind. You can always get ahold of me at my email address:

rwbrown at frontiernet dot net

And you should, at the very least recoup your costs - even figure your time in the equation.
In the meantime, have a happy new year.
bob;

[joelittel]

Still working on the symmetry. It is hard to tell by the photo but the two sides are much closer to being symmetrical than before. The drivers side hump was larger than the other and not centered with the headrest like the passenger side was.

Also started the process of moving the leading edge further back to give my seat backs a little breathing room. This involves building up the inside with fiberglass matting and sanding down the front.

As I go I’ve been filling the small imperfections with more foam. The little wart like bumps are easily sanded smooth.

[georgeramos]

Awesome project and great work!

[joelittel]

Thanks George.

I haven’t updated the post in awhile but progress is being made little by little. I’ve decided to remove the bumps, as they contributed to the entire piece looking very “heavy” and were quite difficult to get symmetrical. It’s important to me that this piece “feels” as small as possible. When you consider how much space this thing actually covers you can imagine how awful it would look if it attracts too much attention.

Long story short, the last few weeks have been consumed by reinforcing from the inside and sanding away from the outside. So far I’m very happy with the fit but still working on the shape.

I’ve also been slowly pushing the leading edge back (towards the boot) to make room for the seats in their furthest back position. Neither my wife or I drive with the seat all the way back but we often leave the passenger seat in that position.

I intend to incorporate a folding windscreen (wife LOVES how well it works on the highway and has deemed it a MUST HAVE) into the final design so it’s equally important to me that the screen itself be far enough away from our seat backs to avoid making contact with the occasional backwards ball cap or ponytail.

One of my goals for this piece is to install a LED dome light so that we can easily see/find anything we’ve stowed back there (parcel bench and cubbies) while driving at night. But what I didn’t want was a clumsy connection that was difficult to secure or detach. After hunting around I found a clever little connector called Dyna-Snap that securely connects wires via a magnet. My idea is that by simply putting the boot cover in place the wires will snap together on their own via the Dyna-Snap. If I can get this “fancy” wiring harness to work I’ll start looking at a third brake light using the same type of connection.

I should have some time this weekend to post updated pictures of the top. Currently there isn’t much to show as far as the wiring or windscreen are concerned.

[joelittel]

Bumpless

[Johannes]

Very nice project, I really envy your skills.

[aj81spider]

I think bumpless is an improvement. That's a fantastic project - should be a great addition to your spider.

[joelittel]

Thanks guys.

I think bumpless version will look great, but I’m glad I took the time to build the bumps and fully consider them. Had I not seen them in place I would have always wanted to build another version of this cover, because in my mind’s eye the bumps were amazing.

[MattVAS]

This is really cool looking. Keep up the awesome work!

Also, I saw on facebook this week a guy selling his car with something just like this and he did have bumps. I thought the bumps were a little extra, but that is my opinion. If I saw someones car with this and it had humps I would shack the hand of the man who worked his a$$ off.

[MattVAS]

I found the facebook post.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/it ... 219697067/