- First Name
- Matt
- Joined
- Jul 31, 2022
- Threads
- 3
- Messages
- 9
- Reaction score
- 26
- Location
- Cleveland, Ohio
- Vehicle(s)
- 2025 Ford Maverick Tremor
- Engine
- 2.0L EcoBoost
- Thread starter
- #1
I was working on an no-drilling-required aluminum bike rack design to help load our fat tire e-bikes, but I came across this company that makes furniture-grade PVC called FORMUFIT. They say it's 5x stronger, UV and impact resistant. It comes in a bunch of candy colors. You can buy it through Home Depot or directly on the manufacturer's website. They had spec sheets for the fittings, so I sketched up a design in Fusion 360 similar to other PVC bike racks, but that would allow simple velcro straps to the forward bed hook and nest inside the horizontal cavity in the front of the bed.
Ordering 3x Two pack of 1" (1-5/16" Actual OD) pipe x 60", 22 Tees, 2 elbows, 2 internal and 2 external end caps cost about $150 with free shipping. If you make no cutting mistakes, you should have one 60" piece left. Cutting was done on a metal band saw. Assembly was easy until it came to glueing. It uses the same clear PVC glue, but it doesn't give you much time to get the pipe inserted right. I chose 1" insertion instead of the full 1.25" max depth on the fittings. I pre-marked depth using painters tape and used a rubber mallet to tap them into place. There are parts you have to insert two pipes at once, which makes it more difficult to get the same depth on both. I ended up gluing the vertical parts that held the 4" wide tires and screwing the others together once it was fit in the truck. I used the grooves in the bed to align the center of each wheel. To get the tightest fitting, I started locking in the front horizontal dimensions with mallet persuasion, drilled pilot holes and adding screws. This is repeated for the other two horizontals.
I will post a diagram with final sizes if anyone is interested in building one too.
Ordering 3x Two pack of 1" (1-5/16" Actual OD) pipe x 60", 22 Tees, 2 elbows, 2 internal and 2 external end caps cost about $150 with free shipping. If you make no cutting mistakes, you should have one 60" piece left. Cutting was done on a metal band saw. Assembly was easy until it came to glueing. It uses the same clear PVC glue, but it doesn't give you much time to get the pipe inserted right. I chose 1" insertion instead of the full 1.25" max depth on the fittings. I pre-marked depth using painters tape and used a rubber mallet to tap them into place. There are parts you have to insert two pipes at once, which makes it more difficult to get the same depth on both. I ended up gluing the vertical parts that held the 4" wide tires and screwing the others together once it was fit in the truck. I used the grooves in the bed to align the center of each wheel. To get the tightest fitting, I started locking in the front horizontal dimensions with mallet persuasion, drilled pilot holes and adding screws. This is repeated for the other two horizontals.
I will post a diagram with final sizes if anyone is interested in building one too.
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