Pickup/ute body business? Opinions please

[Stere]

Looks like its also  handy for standing on the roof  to reach stuff.

[G00MER]

What sort of rough price ?

I’m not sure yet.
If there’s interest and I buy materials and parts in bigger quantities they get cheaper.
Good hinges, locks, seals, lighting etc add up.
I met a farrier who had imported a basic one from Australia for just under £5k, and saw a dodgy home made looking job that were asking £4K+.

Really rough guess, probably start at just over £3k for a basic canopy. After that depends what you want... colour coded, Inverter, batteries, solar panels, fridge, water... anything really.
I want to make them realistically priced, but they’ve also got to be actually worth making.

[G00MER]

Definitely make it modular 

The idea is to have a standard size for double, xtra, and single cabs with just different mounts for different chassis.
There’s also the possibility of having a flat bed with the canopy being removable

[Stihl123]

saw something similar and they made it with legs so u could just jack it up and drive out from underneath so then you have a pickup again

a real neat idea

anyone struggling to reach in the back of their truck, i just built a ply tray that fits in the back perfectly, and just can just pull it out and grab what you want, alot easier that reaching over!!

[rosscoyorks]

This outfit popular round here, look on desktop website at specialist specs

N & J Aluminium Linings Ltd

WWW.NJALUMINIUMLININGS.COM

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N & J Aluminium Linings Ltd are the market leaders in design and manufacture of aluminium linings and accessories for 4 x 4 vehicles.

[Sequoia]

You'll struggle to make profit if they are all bespoke. Come up with a good design and churn them out and then offer optional extras to suit different trades. By all means get involved in odd bespoke canopy, but the time and materials involved in getting it perfect (you're the perfectionist) will eat profit.

[difflock]

43 minutes ago, Sequoia said:

You'll struggle to make profit if they are all bespoke. Come up with a good design and churn them out and then offer optional extras to suit different trades. By all means get involved in odd bespoke canopy, but the time and materials involved in getting it perfect (you're the perfectionist) will eat profit.

The very nub of the issue!

[geoffers]

I’d buy one. Looks great, well made, and keeps all the kit safe while on site. Standard half decent canopy’s are around £1500 anyway so it would be money well spent in the long run. I’d be happy to spec it up how I want it aswell. Plus you get the added bonus of removing it when changing trucks. You should do a base model then design interiors to go in as optional extras to spec it up. And offer bespoke. Good luck

[G00MER]

You'll struggle to make profit if they are all bespoke. Come up with a good design and churn them out and then offer optional extras to suit different trades. By all means get involved in odd bespoke canopy, but the time and materials involved in getting it perfect (you're the perfectionist) will eat profit.

The basic canopy shells would all be the same, and fairly easy to produce. They would only differ when it comes down to fitting it out with optional drawers, dividers, roof racks etc

[G00MER]

I’d buy one. Looks great, well made, and keeps all the kit safe while on site. Standard half decent canopy’s are around £1500 anyway so it would be money well spent in the long run. I’d be happy to spec it up how I want it aswell. Plus you get the added bonus of removing it when changing trucks. You should do a base model then design interiors to go in as optional extras to spec it up. And offer bespoke. Good luck

That was my thinking. Two people I work with have decent aluminium hard tops on their trucks, both cost £2+