DIY Hillbilly II Hard, Incline Truck Bed Cover for the 2019/2020 Ford Ranger (New, enhanced designed pretty Tonneau)

DIYAndy

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DIY Hillbilly II Hard, Incline Truck Bed Cover for the 2019/2020 Ford Ranger (New, enhanced designed pretty Tonneau)

What shocked me, more than anything else, when I bought/received my 2019 Ford Ranger XL and opened/lifted up the hood - it had two gas lifters - what the #@?! What is good for the Ford Ranger front hood should be also good for the back of the Ranger! So, I designed in a gas lifter on my second, newly designed DIY hillbilly hard, incline truck bed cover.(Tonneau)

Before I begin, I need to pay tribute to another forum member aka Hoosier / possible hayseed wannabe Jsphlynch (Indiana) in inspiring me to NOT do any more "ugly" rectangle, without contours, truck bed panel covers but to add "contours" to my new cover truck bed cover design for a modern, sleek, expensive, "pretty" look.

DIY Hard, Incline, Truck Bed Cover (Tonneau) features:
1. Truck bed cover is a solid, one piece (no seams), 1/2", "hard", plywood panel cover that inclines up for easy cargo access.
2. ~ 100 % truck bed waterproof due to a one cover panel piece, with no seam(s) construction.
3. Very low cost - unsealed/non-painted, no frills truck bed cover version ~ $100 - $37 for plywood and $63 misc. parts + beer.
4. Tailgate can be opened and closed with the truck bed cover down.
5. Light weight ~ 6' x 60" x 1/2" plywood weight (after cutting and finishing and this includes the ladder frame weight) is only ~ 53#
6. Truck bed cover can be removed/added/re-installed from the truck bed in about 10 minutes.(quicker - if you are a midget and can crawl fast and use tools below 21" in the truck bed height)
7. No drilling or machining on the Ranger's truck bed.
8. Heavy duty, custom welded pivot hinges, for security, that can only be accessed "below" the truck bed cover.
9. Panel/cover edges are routed and power belt sanded with special contours that gives the truck bed cover a modern, sleek, expensive and pretty look.
10. Security tiedowns (both sides) to prevent the cover from being lifted/inclined unless the tailgate is unlocked/down and the security tiedowns are released.
11. Optional gas lifter strut is used for easy truck bed panel cover incline (It's good for 65# max. cover weight and 20# min. - so using one is more than enough for this 53# max. weight plywood cover panel) -- updated - two gas struts/lifters (not one) were added to finish this project.
12. No screws/bolts in the cover panel plywood for the professional clean look and for tight weather protection seal (except for the rear bulk head 6 hinge bolts which are already sealed)
13. Very low cost, easy to replace and/or to repair plywood cover panel. Just use the old or damaged plywood panel to trace an outline on the new "one" and then finish, seal/paint it.
14. Authentic true wood grain panel cover texture and finish. (Courtesy of Oregon pine or "Douglas FIR" of Roseburg, Oregon)

I now have two, very low cost, DIY Hillbilly truck bed covers (Tonneau) - the previous designed one (the rough rectangle Tonneau with 3 removable panels) is used for driving in the country/rural areas and this one (the "pretty" truck bed cover (Tonneau) with a incline/gas lifter with contours) is used for driving in the big city to Walmart.

Total DIY truck bed cover cost, which includes the optional gas lifter, ladder frame, painting/sealing is ~ $175 max. :cool:

End of completed project
DIYAndy 3/9/20

Pics below
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DIYAndy

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Since the panel weight is only 53# then only one gas lifter is recommended but to balance "the load and looks " two gas lifters could be used. (I just kept the extra one as a spare) Having only one frees up extra room on the passenger side for easy cargo removal near the curb.
DSCN0842.JPG
 
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Bulkhead hinge assembly. Installation of the two 3/8" bolts requires small hands or plenty of cloth towels to prevent your tools and hardware from falling down between the bulk head and cab frame.
DSCN0827.JPG
 
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Top view hinge assembly - the button head hex screws can only be removed from the bottom.
DSCN0832.JPG
 
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Custom made, welded, steel hinges for truck bed cover. A36 3/16" steel plates and angle - primed and painted.
DSCN0811.JPG
 
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Gas lifter/strut assembly on truck bed rail. Notice the vinyl strip protector and the 3/16" aluminum gap filler for secure, solid clamping.
DSCN0841.JPG
 
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Finishing the "special" 5 foot wide, 5 ply, 1/2" Fir plywood sheathing sheet - for the top cover.
DSCN0824.JPG
 
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Bottom side of truck bed cover with ladder frame support.
DSCN0823.JPG
 
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Close up of complete hinge assembly
Btw - the underside still needs painting - in better weather.
DSCN0838.JPG
 
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Finishing the plywood cover panel, I spared no expense to make this plywood sheathing panel "pretty" and weatherproof.

I put the clear drying SealOnce Nano Guard Sealer only to the bottom of the plywood panel cover for protection from water, mold and decay. On the plywood panel top, after putting wood filler in any imperfections and then sanding the 1/2" plywood for painting, I put Valspar's white Latex Bonding Sealer (Lowe's) to keep any wood knots and wood filler from bleeding through the paint. Then I put Valspar's white exterior Latex Primer/Sealer (Lowe's) on top of the bonding sealer. Last, I put two coats of semi-gloss, black, exterior Latex Sherwin Williams "WeatherShield" (Lowe's) to finish the cover panel - this finish should last ten years! The bottom side of the cover has yet to be finished. The total finishing cost ~ $50. (I bought the paint supplies only in one quart containers but only used 1/2 quart of each of them.)
 
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DIY special parts:
One 1/2" x 5' W x 8'L plywood sheathing (5 ply). <-- You read this correctly - This special plywood width is 5 feet wide (instead of the normal 4') for one piece truck bed cover construction!
(The 60" width is almost perfect fit for the (top) rail to rail distance on the Ranger! - 60 versus ~ 62")
Optional - one gas compression spring/damper/strut. (They come in pairs - so keep the extra one as a spare.) (Amazon ~ $22 - "ARANA")
Two custom made hinges and misc. hardware, metal, and construction parts/scrap.
Special part(s) - welded hinge socket(s) and pin(s) - MARLBORO narrow-profile, weld-on lift-off hinge (Grainger)
Note: All fastener hardware is 18-8 stainless steel to prevent outdoor rusting and don't forget to use anti-seize lubricant or bad things will happen.:crying:

Critical truck bed 5' wide plywood panel component availability. In the Midwest, you need to contact Menards. If several forum users need this same product just have one person pick up several sheets at the same time - they stack nicely on the Ranger's truck bed rails. Be sure to do a quality control on the plywood sheets and make sure the finished side is acceptable for this/your project's usage. For those out west, Roseburg from Roseburg, Oregon (near Eugene, Or) supplies Menards- please contact them.
Link:
https://hw.menardc.com/main/items/media/ROSEB001/Prod_Tech_Spec/ROS_Sheathing_102317-DS.pdf
I found this supplier by accident - this is not an vendor endorsement. There could be other "possible" suppliers that have this same product.
 
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DIY truck cover general construction:
Of course, there are other ways to construct this same incline truck cover but this is how this Ohio hillbilly did it. I cut the 5 ply plywood length for my ~ 6 foot bed length (exact 72 1/4" L) and then machine routed/rounded and sealed the plywood edges to make it look pretty. There are two ~ 3/8" pre-drilled (hidden/top secret) mounting holes, in the front truck bed bulk head, of the Ranger, to attach the hinge cross brace (2" x 4" pressure treated) and I also made custom, steel, pivot hinge hardware to attached to the panel cover plywood and cross brace. I was not under any time constraint, like on my previous cover design, so I took my time and made this cover "pretty and expensive looking" (that is a hillbilly oxymoron!)

If you don't have the proper wood working tools, for general carpentry, then find someone that does and have them do it - you will still save hundreds $$$ over a commercial designed Tonneau.
The time it took for actual construction only took 5 hours but the time waiting for the wood filler, industrial adhesive and primer/paint to dry/cure took several days.

Measurement dimensions (for 6 foot bed):
Plywood panel cover overall rectangle size (truck bed panel tailgate "contours" are within these measurements): 1/2" x 5' W x 72 1/4" L.
Top of bulkhead edge to center of the welded pin hinge: ~ < = 1.0" +0.0 - 1/8" " (you can add washers to increase to this hinge height - not the other way around)
Width distance between truck bed vinyl rail to rail (for hinge cross brace): 55 3/4"
Truck bed center line - between the rails (used for panel alignment and hinge installation): 27 7/8"
Distance between the two 3/8" bulk head mounting holes: ~ 47 1/4"
Please note: All of the above truck measurements could/might/will vary between each Ford manufactured Ranger vehicle! Please check and re-measure your truck!

DIY general skills required for construction of this truck bed cover:
1. Painting (labor/time intensive due to the long durations of paint drying)
2. Sanding
3. Using a jigsaw, power sander, hand router, electric screwdriver/drill.
4. General carpentry - wood filling and wood shaping.
5. Drinking lots of "cold refreshments".
 
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Special weldable hinge part. The rating of this hinge part is 155# each - I used two of them.
Proper welding and hardware fastening is required for this proper load rating.
DSCN0821.JPG
 
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Another view of truck bed top cover. A person from Walmart said "it looks just like wood" - duh :LOL:
DSCN0831.JPG
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