Has anyone made the molle panels from underland off-road work for the first gen tundras campers? Feel like the Tacoma one would be similar. I figure it would require some modification. Thanks!
If you want to make your own it would be a pretty easy process. Not trying to be snub I just like enabling people to DIY.
- Make a detailed 2d drawing with exact dimensions of what you need. Downloading a 2D cad software and exporting a .DXF file will make step #2 easier.
- Ask your local sheet metal shop to laser cut it out of 5 gauge aluminum
- Bring it to a local powder coater, spray paint it, or leave it bare
Might even be cheaper than the ones on the market.
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Interesting. Never worked with it but would love to learn and try. I’ll follow your steps. Thanks for the info!
Yeah no problem! I am sure anything 5-7 gauge would work for aluminum. 5 gauge Aluminum is just what backwoods adventure mods states they use. If you look up your nearest metal supplier, you could call them for their stock and prices. That is likely who the sheet metal shop buys from. You could also do an 8 gauge carbon steel, it’ll be cheaper, heavier, and require powder coat so it doesn’t rust.
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that’s my plan too.
but the problem for me is finding metal shop that can laser cut it for cheap lol
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what are the quotes that you have gotten so far
few hundos… i was expecting like around or under a hundo lol
im new to metalwork but not so new to metalwork. I’ve done welding and cutting on my own projects at the shop for free so I really have no idea what I should expect
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The material cost is the main driver here. The laser time and labor is minimal. If the laser/sheet metal shop stocks the material, it’ll be a lot cheaper. You can always ask them what they stock.
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I made a molle panel for a V1 GFC in Los Angeles and there was a $150 setup fee and I think another $200 for materials, this was a few years ago.
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good to know!
now I have a baseline to work with!