Building a posh new lightweight chip box

[twobob]

sizing up building a new back on my 3.5t canter using Ali box section and GRP sheet, wondered if anyone could point me in the right direction for a good GRP supplier or any advice on this material as even though its commonly used I've never worked with it before, specifically thickness/strength/weight ratio and if it can be painted. any suggestions and preferences for other alternatives and lessons learnt from past experiences of this kind of thing all appreciated.

 

Much obliged

[Dean Lofthouse]

I spent hours working out weights on this one.

 

If you do a drawing of how you want your box to be, then do a cutting list of the metal and size of the sheets you require, there are a lot of suppliers that give the weights per foot or metre of each material they sell.

 

I work the latest one out using mild steel, 40mm x 80mm x 2.5mm box section and 1.5mm steel sheet with 2mm sheet for the bottom 1ft of the box to give it a bit more strength.

 

I intend leaving the tipping bed it has on now so the weight is just for the box on top with an open top and vinyl cover over, worked out at 240kg worth of steel.

 

Which is the same as all the 19mm plyboard, steel drop sides and headboard that I would be throwing away.

 

So no extra weight gain

 

Service metals in leeds has weights of glassonite boards on their website