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Build your own Aluminium Canopy |
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Because I cannot weld aluminium we had to get somebody to do the welding for us. We had some ridiculous quotes like R6,000 for the welding only. Finally we had an arrangement with two gentlemen from Langebaan that we will do the cutting and fitting and they will do the welding for us for an undisclosed amount. They gave us a good discount because they want to start building canopies but needed the experience. So we got Cobus and Charl to do all the Aluminium welding. (Click here for their details.) We decided to use 38x38x3mm square tubing for the frame. We decided on this purely for strength. Niel will be adding a roof top tent to his canopy soon and he is a big guy and myself will be standing on my canopy when taking photographs. That is why 38x38x3 seemed like a good strong option. First we welded the bottom frame, the size of the load bin. We both have 1998-onwards Hiluxes. Niel a 2004 KZ-TE and myself a 1999 2700i Hilux. The load bins are the same size so we could build both canopies at the same size.
The size of the base frame is: 1,410mm long and 1,530mm wide This is where we made our fist little mistake. We built the base frame the same size as the loading bin. Only after everything was finished we realized that it should be slightly smaller. The reason for this is that if it is the same size there will be very little space between the canopy and the cab at the front. If you install a window, the window rubbers will touch each other. In the picture below you will see that we moved it backwards about 10mm in order to increase the gap.
Thus on the first canopy we had to cut the frame, remove 10mm and re-weld it again. The measurements I gave above is the correct size. It will be best to always measure your own vehicle as the measurements might vary slightly between vehicles. |
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