Thanks! I'm working on first drafts of my own platform since I don't feel up to grinding and hammering today (flu?)
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Thanks! I'm working on first drafts of my own platform since I don't feel up to grinding and hammering today (flu?)
great work, gents
Update.
Lots of use with the shelf. One thing I was worried about when starting the project was if the shelf was going to get in the way. I don't carry a lot of tall items in the back but if I have the shelf installed those items would have to be rotated to fit on or below the shelf. No big deal but not all cargo can be rotated. So far I haven't needed to remove it so I'm glad I didn't try to make it quick release and risk the chance of it being something that rattled on it's mounts or releases. I'm very happy with my clean hex head mounting.
In the beginning I left the mounting arms tall to accommodate the two different levels of packing a majority of our trips require. I was pretty set on one height but not so sure on the second level (upper). I finally took time last month to make the decision, cut, weld, paint, etc and call it good. If it wasn't/isn't going to work out I've got options or I can just omit the shelf if need be.
Second was a cargo net I showed in Kryptoroxx' post. Basic and removable.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-e...516_153936.jpg
Here is a good picture of the back loaded up. The shelf isn't so big it takes up space or makes me reconfigure my containers. As you can see there was still stuff on the roof but it wasn't going to fit inside anyways. That's what the rack is for, to be used.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-g...522_133944.jpg
One of my main wants was to be able to remove the ice chest without taking half the gear out. Sometimes you need just a soda. Sometimes you're making lunch for four. Either way I don't want to remove the kitchen sink and everything else just for lunch, if I don't need to.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Q...522_133504.jpg
The lights are handy as well. Here's a picture from a self supported 80 mile mountain bike ride I did with my buddies. We returned to the vehicles several times throughout the day and the shelf was like a kitchen counter for me. Once the sun went down the under side leds made digging through stuff much easier.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-A...125_174834.jpg