Hey guys I've been wanting to get ahold one of those interior truck shelfs. I found some on ebay and at jcwhitney for the tune of about 80bux +shipping etc Shelf-it i think its called. However I really didnt care to spend that much for something I could make so here goes. It was fairly simple and looks and works great. Atleast seeing as how i made it I can choose to have it as high/low and sit as close to or further from the windsheild.

Materials Used :

- Lumber (1" x 6") x 6'
- Lumber (1" x 2") x 6'
- Your choice of apoulstery (black fleece)
- Finishing Nails
- Screws (i used black deck screws 1" x 1,1/2")
- 3M Apoulstery/All purpose Spray adhesive
- Scrap sheet metal/aluminum

*** I apologize some of the pictures are kinda rough I took em at night
let me know if you would like to see it in the daytime.

First I cut My 2 pieces of lumber to my choice of length for the overall width of the shelf. I chose to cut it at 49,1/2".


Once i had my lumber Cut i used the finishing nails to fix the 1"x2" to the
1"x6" to create the front lip that will be facing you when its mounted.
[IMG]http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb212/Probass1440/SA400066.jpg[\IMG]

Checking the raw material for an initial fit to see if I need to cut it down.


Once i made sure my shelf was gonna be the length I wanted, I gave it a coat with a clear urethane and let that dry. I then started slowly applying the spray adhesive and fleece material to the shelf. The can says theres a temp/permenant option for using the adhesive, which i reccomend the permanent route, which just involves spraying both items with adhesive.


I used the sheet metal to make my brackets, i bent the sheet metal to a form that would allow me to mount them to where my visors mount and allow the shelf to sit level. I removed my visors. I then marked my bracket for drilling holes for mounting the brackets to the roof and to the shelf.

Then I had planned to use a black primer or something on the brackets but i decided to try using apoulstery to make the brackets a little nicer looking.

I bolted the brackets in first and made some last minute adjustments so that they both sat level and in the same position. Then i carefully punched the holes through the material on the brackets to get ready for mounting.
This part requires a lil help, someone to hold the other side. I then used the corse black deck screws to attach the shelf to the mounts.

 

i got same kind of thing going to i half way done but i got it so u cant see any screws and i didnt drill any extra holes ill show when i take pics lol mine will only hold cb and gauges. i like urs still i like the hole inside of ur truck i thinks it better with everything up top then all jammed near the floor and im also makeing my seats lower to the floor

 

i bought the shelf-it, worth every penny.

 

i didnt drill any extra holes either just used my existing visor screws/mounting location

 

i smell a sticky great work i think i'm gonna have to do that thanks for the tip

 

Nice work and a superb idea as well!

 

Great Idea! Makes it easy to mount the CB I see.

 

Is there anyway you could scan a template of your brackets? Or at least some dimensions?

Aaron

 

sure i have to take the shelf down this evening to run my CB antenna coax and some other things over the headliner ill take some pics and get dimensions and draw up some blue prints

 

Yeah, that would be great to have some prints of your brackets.

Aaron

 

Looks pretty good, and a nice write-up, too.

 

Good job GhostRyder. I looked into the shelf-it and was told they went out of business. J.C Witney does not carry the shelf either for our trucks second and third gens only i think. Their customer service told me this. By the way when i was looking at shelf-it they were around $69.95. I have an 85 crew cab without a liner like yours. I have a metal liner i guess you could say. Any way i am going to basically do the brackets like yours but use a piece of aluminum for the shelf part, i have an old aluminum running board i am going to see if it will clean up and be used. Then i am going to make a face plate from front of shelf to roof and make it look like an actual overhead dash. You can mount radio,cb,cb kicker/linear (whoooops i think illegal maybe still?) also stereo speakers, guages etc. etc. use your imagination. I also would like to see pattern for the brackets if possible. Good Job!!!!.... Augie

 

Hey guys heres a template for how my brackets came out. I dont believe its actual size how ever the dimensions i illustrated are correct. I would reccomend checking your initial height once it would be installed. With mine installed with the brackets as illustrated seem to be about 1/4" - 3/8" too low. Its probably going to depend of your height. It may be ok, I am going to alter my brackets because the shelf is low and in my rearview mirror its a bit distracting. Once you have the brackets cut you can bend them with the angle that will allow the top 2,1/4" section sit where your visors would normally mount. Its fairly simple if you have any other questions or picture requests just let me know, ill be glad to help.

 

I bought a Shelf-It unit a few years ago but I found that it bounced too much in the middle so I bent a metal strap and bolted it from the headliner to the shelf. No more bounce and things stay up there much better. Just my on how to improve a good design.

 

I havent seen a problem with bouncing in my design yet but due to using sheet metal to make the brackets i have found a side to side shake that i need to fix. Im going over a couple options to handle this when i settle on one I'll let you guys know and send pics.