Ute canopies - your ideas

Hi Norm,

Thanks for your reply. We will be building it ourselves as we obviously have the materials and facilities - Cameron wuld be horrified if we didn't!

Bill wants to carry the outboard in the ute as its a 20HP 4 stroke Honda and weighs about 60kgs so very heavy for the drawbar, plus the generator is already there in a box. He has a slide already made that slides and tilts down (don't ask me the technical bits) with a gantry setup to lift on to the boat - hence the rear door.

What I would like is some ideas on what others store in their canopies and how they have set them up. People on this forum have tried and tested things - often something looks a great idea & then is more of a nusiance because of something you didn't think of. Like the idea of a warning light to let you know a door isn't shut - I'll bet Bill hadn't thought about that!

Is there anything in your setup you'd change and what's the best thing in it?

Cheers

Dian

Yes, smart to make it yourself since you have the skills. I suspect only about one third of my price was for materials. The rest is labour, overheads, profit and GST.

Having had a canopy on the Hilux previously, I knew the secret is to design the storage so that you can use the full capacity of the canopy, but be able to get at most things easily without having to unload other stuff.

So far, there is nothing I have regretted or that I would change, but we have only done short trips with it so far. I think the best design ideas in mine are:

- The two Engels on slides (one each side). Behind the Engels, I have two AGM batteries (one always there, the other comes out and becomes the starter battery and to run the electric motor on the boat). Over the top of the Engels, I have installed a 150mm PVC pipe that runs across the width of the canopy (strapped to the mesh shelf). In that I carry spare tent poles and fishing rods. I've also installed a 12V power point on each side above the fridges for ready access top power.

- The plywood draw unit I made. It is about 900mm deep (about half the width of the canopy), with 2 big drawers for tools and smaller stuff I want to be able to access. A shelf above the drawers carries the tent (for if we want to go somewhere we don't wish to take the van). The Sat TV dish sits on top of the tent. I selected the tent and dish before I made the drawer unit. The dish therefore slides in very firmly and cannot move.

-The full width (removable) plywood shelf across the rear of the canopy. There is space under the shelf for 6 large plastic storage bins (once again I selected the bins before installing the shelf). I can pack stuff on the shelf right to the underside of the top mesh shelf and still slide any or all of the bins out without unpacking anything else.

The only issue with the way I have set up is that with the plywood shelf in place the only area where I have full canopy hight available inside is an area of approx 900mm x 900mm behind the drawer unit. Even there, I only have up to the underside of the top mesh shelf. This has not been an issue so far and I can easily remove the plywood shelf if I ever want a larger area of 'full' hight. The drawer unit can also be removed if necessary.

Not all of this will be relevant to you, but I hope some of it helps.

Norm CImage Could Not Be Found

Looks really great Norm. Have printed it off for Bill to have a look at - guess what he'll be busy with over Christmas!

All the best for Christmas and the New Year - we might meet up on the road in 2009.

Cheers

Dian

Thanks for the reply but our outboard is a 20HP 4 stroke Honda with power start and tilt and weighs 60kg so not an option for us, plus the generator is already on the bar.

Cheers

Dian