Sheet Metal Cab?

[akcrawler]

wheeler, i have a 3 wheel trike that i made a complete bubble enclosure for so i could ride it in the winter. i used 3/16 thick polycarbonate sheets. they sell for around $ 35 for a 2x4 foot sheet. i made a frame work first, them made templates out of cardboard. once i had the pieces traced and cut onto
the poly sheets, i cut them out with a jigsaw and fine metal blade. any bends needed i softened the poly with a heat gun and it bent easily. all pieces i attached to the framework with small round head bolts and cap nuts. i also bought a special adhesive for poly that bonds quickly and is very strong. it's very tough and all clear. looks alot like a canopy on a jet fighter. anyway, hope it gives you some ideas. you can by sheets up to 4x8 foot. check around for suppliers and prices. johnboy va.

Johnboy, do you have any pics? I can visualize what you did, but the bends and all are a little tough. It is always good to have a pic to spur on the old idea factory.

Mike

[john swenson]

hey guy's , if you already have some uprite front poles and a back rollbar, to finish out a frame just connect them front to back with some 1'' litewall square tubing. basically your looking to make a square frame like a box. that way there is really no need for bend the poly. top, sides, front and back will all be flat sheets.once they are attached to the frame, just attach the poly with small nuts and bolts or rivets,etc. all the corners can be edged with liteweight aluminum angle. when you cut the templates, have them follow the contour of the body. you can even put rubber edgeing on the edges of the poly. you don't want the enclosure airtight anyway. before installing the last side, cut out a door from top of the sheet to the bottom however wide you need to get in. hinge it at the front frame tube and install a latch . the nice thing about a all clear enclosure is ,on a cold sunny day it's warm inside like a greenhouse. i've been in my trike on a sunny 30 degree day in just a t shirt. anyway these are some basic ideas to think about. it's really like what you would do with wood pretty much. let me know of other questions johnboy va.

[Disabledsportsman]

Hey guys, I am in the process of fabricating a compleat enclosure for my MaxIV with nothing more then some pickup bed liners that were given to me. All bed liners are made of abs plastic and can be formed very easy.because of the heavy ribbing that they have,I was told you can install polycarbonite or acrylic windows wedged in a rubber window seal like they use on many outdoor construction equipment. Cutting the abs is fairly easy with a proper blade and to form the abs around the roll bars are also easy using a heat gun or a heat tape that you can buy on the Internet that will help in bending the abs or your polycarbonate or acrylic windows for that matter.I will be posting photos of the work in progress as soon as I can figure out this new I phone six and how to post on the site. Stay tuned and if you have any questions I can answer for you, please feel free to ask. Talk to you all later and hopefully with photos take care and God Bless.

Jerry.

[tattooman]

I use part of a truck bed liner for a hard top on my maxll. I believe they are hdpe. I have blaze orange camo doors that my sister inlaw made for me. They snap in front and back, Velcro around the cab bars at the top. Vinyl windows.I had her put in zippers from an old ground blind so that I don't have to unsnap the doors. The door cloth has a black rubber backing so it is water proof. The cloth is called true timber. Will try to post some pics soon. My front and back windows are plexiglass.

[john swenson]

just shows how creative you can be with different materials. look forward to the pics and thanks for sharing ! it will help others according to their abilities, etc. johnboy va.

[wheeler]

All great ideas. Interesting about the temperature and what the plastic may do. I live in Minnesota and it gets real cold. I can imagine if it's real cold and a branch smacks it. Not good I'm guessing.

[john swenson]

i believe polycarbonate sheeting 3/16 thick will stand cold temps. it's not the same as plexiglass. johnboy va.

[wheeler]

Thanks John
I got some planning to do. I believe I'm going to take angle iron and bolt it to the roll cage and then put polycarb on as doors and windows.

[beagle man]

Hey wheeler, I've been thinking of making a hard top using a nylon covering like you would put on the wall behind a counter top and liquid nails some 3/8" or 1/2" pink foam insulation with the foil to it and frame it with strapping. I think it would bend easy for a little pitch on the roof if you bend it before the liquid nails sets up and it would be light weight.

[wheeler]

Interesting, let me know if you do it and how it came out.