Let's see your frugal DIY mods!

Final mock-up of the DIY cab rack using zink coated superstrut and aluminum to dress it up a bit on the outside. Each of the cross members will actually have a 1/4 sheet of plexi covering it so materials slide across them easier. Sorry I don't have that photographed. There are also 3 slotted pieces of scrap aluminum I had come across I can use to mount pretty much anything later down the road. Although the superstrut and the accessories that accompany that system can do much the same thing.
Hope to have it mounted later this week.

 

Righto! I already have my local maps loaded, for Waze and Nokia maps. Windows phones are remarkable in how much they can do with a live network connection. My droid devices lock up, but windows just keeps going. The fact that I was able to yank the SIM card and have this phone functional in minutes is astounding.

 

so you can have the map, thats cool. Does the GPS overlay work after downloading?

Now you have me thinking...

 

just did my first Cheap Mod

$3.99 for the clamps
& an old Maglite I had

 

You mean the Waze overlay with traffic and stuff? Yeah that part works fine without a live connection. Before I got a data plan on my 635, I used to run Waze all the time. If it knows where you are going, it will grab the map and as much traffic data as it can. Without a network connect you can't get updates or send info, but the original data points will show up. It's much better with a live connection, but it functions fine without it.
This morning I ran the OBD reader to work, and it was nice to get an idea on my mpg and engine temps. The 640 was low on battery because I forgot to shutdown the glance screen. I'll have to tweak it a bit to get longer battery life or just run power.

 

awesome read, subb'd

 

I borrowed @LUSETACO's Trailer Hitch Cargo Rack turned bed rack mod and took it a couple steps further...

I started with the crossbars... I didn't want the rack sitting above the bed, so instead I created a U-shaped frame. 2x2x1/8" angle that sits on top of the bed caps and bolts into the rails (and under the canopy too), and 3/4" tubing (to match the cargo rack)



Next, we took apart the cargo rack and welded new tubing between the bars that mounted to the trailer hitch tubing because I didn't want to leave excess space between the rack and the bed sides, plus this way the damn thing fits super snugly. We also welded the upper support bar in place, but I'm not loving it so it may get cut out and replaced with a new piece of the leftover tubing that I have.



I realized after all this that there's a benefit to the rack having an open side (facing the cab in the last photo)... Come summer time, when it's warm out (well, for Portland at least) and I take the canopy off, if I turn the rack around so the open side is facing the tailgate, it turns into a seat for my daughter and nieces when we go to the drive in theater!!



Now I have a problem with taking something apart to use for a new purpose, without destroying it's original purpose (a trailer hitch cargo rack is fairly useful for camping & hunting trips, IMO), so rather than just throw away the trailer hitch tubing, I had a piece of 18x6x1/4" plate cut (which ended up too short... should have gone 21" long, for the rack, not the tubing), welded a few scrap angle pieces it and drilled holes for the original rack-to-tubing bolt holes. A couple pieces of all-thread and a few nyloc nuts & washers, and the rack can be returned to it's original purpose.



Now all the pieces will likely get derped here when the weather warms up a bit, and if I can find a place cheap enough, I'll have the rack sand blasted to clean it up before I derp it. The rack will bolt to the crossbars via a few randomly placed 1/4x2" bolts, but since the bars that bolted to the trailer hitch are a bit wider than the 3/4" tubing (can kind of see it in photos 2 & 3), we had to notch the bars so they kind of already lock into place.

But I'm not quite done yet either... sitting around the house somewhere I have 3 sets of bike fork mounts, rear tire straps, and front tire mounts that can be bolted to the crossbars holding the rack, and now I've got a bike rack

20 ft of 3/4" Tubing = $13
5 ft of 2x2x1/8" angle = $12
18x6x1/4" plate = $20
misc nuts & bolts = ~$5 (so far at least)

$50, plus parts that I already had lying around. So fricken happy I saw his version of this

 

Well my "free" foglights finally crapped out and broke on me, so i splurged and bought an $18 set of LED fogs to replace them. I thought theyd be cheap and plastic but they're all aluminium and they are pretty freakin bright.

 

My attempt at a bed tent on the cheap...

 

Where did you get the new fogs?

 

The Amazon machine

 

Thanks

 

Dude! I think you have a great idea going. I would somehow design it so you can close the tailgate for transport. Then when you get onsite, you just pop the tailgate throw a big tarp over the frame and start camping. I would get a tarp big enough to run straight to the ground and use the sides for storage. Or stake it down to underneath the truck. Lots of possibilities here

 

im curious about the cargo pics too

 

All good ideas. As it is, it's all just press fit together. It breaks down into a duffle bag. The tarp I have (12 x 12) doesn't come anywhere near the ground. It just clears the edges of the bed so I use little bungies to attach it to the underside of the fender well and the bumper. I'm still working on my ultimate tarp solution so I'll post when I do some more experimenting.

 

There's companies that make trade show canopies and they sell the side panels individually. You could probably get a zippered panel for the front for not too much expense. One company off the top of my head is EZ-UP.

 

Just did that... worked for me... can someone recheck?

 

So you disassemble the frame while driving? Why not a regular groung tent? Just asking...