Aluminum Flatbed - New Oztray Truck Tray

[OZTRAY-JOHN]

Andre, Thanks for the info. I've been hoping someone would give me a heads up. Cheers! I'd be happy to sponsor the site as I seem to spend a scary amount of time here reading through the treasure trove of information! I'll make sure to get in contact with Scott.

[dieselcruiserhead]

No worries at all... Again you have me scratching myself about a possible Oz-Tray (or building one myself but probably out of steel) on my '91 extra cab as I really like the design/concept... I might build mine a little narrower to have more of a narrow 4WD approach but I really really like the concept and have been trying to figure out trucdk bed ideas for some time either using the stock bed or something new. As you probably know this era Toyota has a retarded design where the rear of the frame comes out just in front of a body panel below the tailgate, so it is a major PITA to even build a rear bumper... I like the idea of starting completely fresh anyway..

[OutbacKamper]

John;
I will chime in with some of my ideas here. You have heard some of this, from me, before, but perhaps some of the others members will give their opinions too.

1) "Would you want the tray to be anodized or powder coated?"
The tray itself should be mill finish aluminum. Any anodized, painted or powder coated finish will quickly wear off. Aluminum is soft and none of these finishes will last in high wear areas like the top and edges of the flat bed, and on top of racks. I think a spray on bed liner such as Rhino-Liner or Line-X may be worth investigating though. The surfaces that don't get much wear, such as the exterior of storage boxes, doors and exterior of fold down side and rear panels would look best powder coated to match the vehicle.

2) "I'm undecided whether to go with a fiberglass canopy or an aluminum frame and skin canopy. Perhaps even some sort of honeycomb composite material? Any suggestions?"
I think that since you will need a variety of sizes in small quatites that molded fiberglass would not make economic sense. Aluminum frame and skin is very labour intensive but works well when custom shapes and sizes are required. Composite panels would be the easiest to customize because all the corner extrusions, edges and trim would be the same for each canopy you just cut the panels to different sizes. The last 2 pictures show a canopy on a similar tray, is this the concept you had in mind?

3) Overall Design/Market Share:
I think to appeal to the largest number of customers you need to move away from the "industrial" look and do everything you can to make the product blend in as seamlessly as possible with the truck. The first attached photo shows the typical "industrial" look, with exposed suspension, exhaust and clutter. Most of this can be accomplished by installing storage boxes and illiminating exposed rails, braces etc. The choice of hinges, handles and hardware is also very important. The second photo shows a less industrial look tray. The third pic shows a great example of an intergrated tray design, it is hard to tell where the camper ends and were the tray begins.

Cheers
Mark

on edit: pics added

[BiG BoB]

Haha Australia's taking over the world

It looks like a good product, best of luck!

Sean

[theMec]

Haha Australia's taking over the world

Not so fast, buddy! :-)
There's a number of Aluminum bed makers in the states. There's only one that I've found that combines alum bed w/ custom toppers. I've talked w/ these guys and they were cost effective for a bed / topper combo. They do custom work. Here's the link to Alum-Line. Here's an example of a contractor "topper" on a bed.

[OZTRAY-JOHN]

John;
I will chime in with some of my ideas here. You have heard some of this, from me, before, but perhaps some of the others members will give their opinions too.

1) "Would you want the tray to be anodized or powder coated?"
The tray itself should be mill finish aluminum. Any anodized, painted or powder coated finish will quickly wear off. Aluminum is soft and none of these finishes will last in high wear areas like the top and edges of the flat bed, and on top of racks. I think a spray on bed liner such as Rhino-Liner or Line-X may be worth investigating though. The surfaces that don't get much wear, such as the exterior of storage boxes, doors and exterior of fold down side and rear panels would look best powder coated to match the vehicle.

2) "I'm undecided whether to go with a fiberglass canopy or an aluminum frame and skin canopy. Perhaps even some sort of honeycomb composite material? Any suggestions?"
I think that since you will need a variety of sizes in small quatites that molded fiberglass would not make economic sense. Aluminum frame and skin is very labour intensive but works well when custom shapes and sizes are required. Composite panels would be the easiest to customize because all the corner extrusions, edges and trim would be the same for each canopy you just cut the panels to different sizes. The last 2 pictures show a canopy on a similar tray, is this the concept you had in mind?


3) Overall Design/Market Share:
I think to appeal to the largest number of customers you need to move away from the "industrial" look and do everything you can to make the product blend in as seamlessly as possible with the truck. The first attached photo shows the typical "industrial" look, with exposed suspension, exhaust and clutter. Most of this can be accomplished by installing storage boxes and illiminating exposed rails, braces etc. The choice of hinges, handles and hardware is also very important. The second photo shows a less industrial look tray. The third pic shows a great example of an intergrated tray design, it is hard to tell where the camper ends and were the tray begins.

Cheers
Mark


on edit: Sorry I still can't seem to attach pictures, I will try again later

1) I agree totally that these finishes won't last on high wear areas. However I think either will last on the outer surfaces, the non working surfaces. If anodized I would anodize everything except the floor. The insides of the sides would become scratched over time but they will be textured anyway so it won't be very noticable. Without anodizing the aluminum will become pitted from the salt spray. Not something I ever would have thought of back in Australia! Several customers of the present design have rhino lined the floor so this is certainly an option. Powder coating the exterior is something that can be done on custom orders.

2)I agree. I also like the idea of keeping it all aluminum.

3)This is difficult. I personally quite like the no nonsense look of aluminum bodies. To me versatility and useability make it look good. I realise though that I'm a minority in my thinking. It's a fine balance between making it look "good" and making it look "tough". The Oztray is to be both recreational and industrial.

I look forward to seing the pictures when you get a chance to get them up.

[OZTRAY-JOHN]

Not so fast, buddy! :-)
There's a number of Aluminum bed makers in the states. There's only one that I've found that combines alum bed w/ custom toppers. I've talked w/ these guys and they were cost effective for a bed / topper combo. They do custom work. Here's the link to Alum-Line. Here's an example of a contractor "topper" on a bed.

Alumline look they've got some great products. We're not the only ones thinking along these lines that's for sure. The more of this kind of body available the better as far as I'm concerned. From their website it doesn't look like the toppers are intended to be taken off the deck easliy.

[CLynn85]

Any updates?

I'm definitely considering replacing the plastic bed on my truck with something a little more utilitarian like a ute-bed/oz-tray.

[boblynch]

John, how is development of the unit in your original post coming along?

[The Adam Blaster]

. Here's the link to Alum-Line.

I didn't notice any prices on their website???