ShortyNavros
Member
Okay so I have been doing some research into an alloy canopy (1800x1800x800ish) to mount to a tray for my touring set up to go to the cape and gibb river etc. I tend to like the look of the flat plate canopies that are painted. I am just not keen to tow a camper offroad, however there are plenty of bargains around
So I went to local supplier and they gave me their opinion, they make their own custom alloy canopy which is not seam welded, it is made with an internal frame and their own brand of alloy extrusion for the upper rails which has a t slot for fitting racks etc up top. Instead of seam welding they simply sikaflex the alloy sheet straight to the frame. He says the advantage of not having them full seam welded means the canopy can flex with tray and chassis when traversing rough terrain offroad, he says the canopy can be full deformed so that the doors wont open or close but when level again everything springs back to place, this is a good theory. There price for the base canopy is $5000, however this comes with internal frame and the ability to drop an 8mm bolt into the t slot on the roof and bolt whatever you like to it, they also make every canopy with the jack off style incorporated but if you want to buy the legs it costs $1000 (I could make my own out of jockey wheels though). They want 1300 for plain paint or 1650 for metallic paint, I assume this is 2pac due to the price.
They also sell chinese imported canopies like these http://www.matesratestools.com.au/canopy-product-details.php?product_id=3
These are fully seam welded and apparently imported straight from China fully assembled. To get one of these costs 2200, with an internal frame add 250, with jack off system add $750 (incls 4 legs), with flat plate add 150, 2 roof racks add $130. They want $900 odd to powder coat it, they think around 600 for poweder coating but they charge 300 labour to disassemble and reassemble. So total cost is about $3500 plus paint, I could paint either canopy myself in just a hammer tone finish which any muppet can spray for about $100 which has the advantage of pressure packs available to fix future scratches easily.
Now the advice given to me was that the custiom canopies are for off road camper types, the fully seam welded cheapies are fine for tradies utes who just use it to store tools and only really drive on the road. As when one of those seem welded canopies is used offroad over time due to the distortion the canopy starts to crack as it is a rigid frame and box. The custom canopy does have a full welded frame though, so going by this frame of thought if the custom setup was distorted all the time, yeah the panels would be fine but would the frame not suffer the same cracking as the seam welded panels of the cheap alloy canopy?
The thing I like about the cheapies are the doors are recessed and hence are flush mount, the custom ones my local make are no flush mount and just have a rubber weather seam strip around the outside.
Has anyone had any experience with cracking of their fully seam welded alloy canopies? Most people I see on here and facebook etc have the fully seam welded type.
The plan is to mount a RTT to the top of it and put a water tank under the tray. The other option is camper and hence I only wanted to spend about the same as what a camper is worth on this alloy canopy setup. However I just dont really want to tow a camper, but if that is the far more economical option I may be pushed that way.
Cheers,
Alex
So I went to local supplier and they gave me their opinion, they make their own custom alloy canopy which is not seam welded, it is made with an internal frame and their own brand of alloy extrusion for the upper rails which has a t slot for fitting racks etc up top. Instead of seam welding they simply sikaflex the alloy sheet straight to the frame. He says the advantage of not having them full seam welded means the canopy can flex with tray and chassis when traversing rough terrain offroad, he says the canopy can be full deformed so that the doors wont open or close but when level again everything springs back to place, this is a good theory. There price for the base canopy is $5000, however this comes with internal frame and the ability to drop an 8mm bolt into the t slot on the roof and bolt whatever you like to it, they also make every canopy with the jack off style incorporated but if you want to buy the legs it costs $1000 (I could make my own out of jockey wheels though). They want 1300 for plain paint or 1650 for metallic paint, I assume this is 2pac due to the price.
They also sell chinese imported canopies like these http://www.matesratestools.com.au/canopy-product-details.php?product_id=3
These are fully seam welded and apparently imported straight from China fully assembled. To get one of these costs 2200, with an internal frame add 250, with jack off system add $750 (incls 4 legs), with flat plate add 150, 2 roof racks add $130. They want $900 odd to powder coat it, they think around 600 for poweder coating but they charge 300 labour to disassemble and reassemble. So total cost is about $3500 plus paint, I could paint either canopy myself in just a hammer tone finish which any muppet can spray for about $100 which has the advantage of pressure packs available to fix future scratches easily.
Now the advice given to me was that the custiom canopies are for off road camper types, the fully seam welded cheapies are fine for tradies utes who just use it to store tools and only really drive on the road. As when one of those seem welded canopies is used offroad over time due to the distortion the canopy starts to crack as it is a rigid frame and box. The custom canopy does have a full welded frame though, so going by this frame of thought if the custom setup was distorted all the time, yeah the panels would be fine but would the frame not suffer the same cracking as the seam welded panels of the cheap alloy canopy?
The thing I like about the cheapies are the doors are recessed and hence are flush mount, the custom ones my local make are no flush mount and just have a rubber weather seam strip around the outside.
Has anyone had any experience with cracking of their fully seam welded alloy canopies? Most people I see on here and facebook etc have the fully seam welded type.
The plan is to mount a RTT to the top of it and put a water tank under the tray. The other option is camper and hence I only wanted to spend about the same as what a camper is worth on this alloy canopy setup. However I just dont really want to tow a camper, but if that is the far more economical option I may be pushed that way.
Cheers,
Alex
Sparky by trade so wiring is in my blood. Hahaha, nah only carry the saw when needed. Most of the time it gets tied onto the roof. Takes up so much space but very handy. Got used alot in the Vic high Country. Had a look at you set up, looks awsome. Love the slide out draw and the canopy, its def the way to go. Couldnt do a tub with canopy again. Tray and canopy is the way to do it.Truck looks in exceptionaly good nick too
Paid $430.
