Redwing

Sounds good, thanks. Excuse my ignorance but is biminis the material?

Hello, I bought a '76 Chinook recently that had its pop top ripped off in a hurricane. As I am fixing the roof, I will need to get the canvas remade since it got torn up during all the chaos. Does anybody have any recommendations on where I can take it to and what material I should use? Thanks in advance!

Thought I'd resurrect this old post as Im in need of doing the subfloor on my 'Rader Looking for the strongest possible solution since I'm having to do it anyways, might as well do it right. Would NidaCore be stronger than Ply? Has anybody ever used it before? Will i need to build out a framing system below for added support/stability? Thanks in advance!

Hey guys, just wanted to give you an update. Sunrader shell is totally gutted and she is sitting perched as she awaits her new home I ended up selling the Hilux it originally sat on (for what I paid for it initially) as it was more of a project than I wanted to take on and ended up buying a '81 Hilux as my daily while I work on this project Soooo, I'm still on the hunt for my donor truck. I'm really leaning towards a Jeep Comanche Long Bed. I've done quite a bit of research and talked to Jeep experts about the project and all that, but I would love to hear your opinions on the idea...

Yeah man, you're definitely right. Cool, well please keep us updated on your project as well!

Also, do you have any photos of this build?

Good to know. Yeah I think thats what I'm leaning towards at least for now, but yeah like WME said these are all conceptual right now but with good research I hope to have a good outcome

Good to know and yes, that crossed my mind as well. Ultimately, the frame of the donor truck I will be putting the truck on will justify which move I make.

Yeah, initially I was thinking of a way to raise the center by cutting out the roof like you mentioned, but the downside there is that the overall height would increase (I'm trying to keep a low center of gravity since I plan on putting the shell on a 4x4 which will increase the height substantially as it is) so my other idea was to drop the floor since I need to make repairs on it anyways. There is a 'step up' at the door that is about 4" so I'm thinking of just making that whole section level and meanwhile achieving more interior height.

Yeah I do have a bit of sagging in the floor but honestly, I was planning on putting in a new subfloor anyways. If I've come this far why skimp out right? Another thing I was thinking that I'd like an opinion on...I cant quite fully stand upright in the sunrader (i'm 6') so I'm considering dropping the subfloor a few inches while I'm at it to achieve more clearance on the interior. Any reason I shouldn't do this? I cant really see any reason why it wouldnt work but thats just me...

This is great info as I also, would prefer not to have a dually on the rear. Thanks WME!!

My rear axle width (with the dually) is 77" so I definitely would like to match that when swapping the Sunrader shell especially since it'll be taller / more top heavy. Probably going to need some modifications but since I'm planning on keeping the stock Hilux as a work truck, I may just swap that rear axle when the time comes. I'll have to weigh out my options with all that.

I'm going to take it over to my buddies shop to install it. Assuming I will need to weld on brackets and such to make it work, I'm expecting to have to put it on then take it off at least once. Plus after as hairball as it was getting it off, I've come to realize that paying to use larger machinery is well worth it so as of right now, I think thats my move.

A couple more updates. I built a dolly system (one at the front and one at the rear) so I could move the Sunrader Shell around my backyard/driveway area while she awaits her new truck. I wanted a low center of gravity so it is sitting about 5" above the ground on a slight slope (of about an inch) so water can run off the top. Works very well and would recommend this for anybody who is trying to do a similar project.

Hmm, good to know, thanks Linda! I considered that but I'm keeping the hilux and turning it into a flatbed work truck once I get the clutch fixed.