Just showing some of the CAD, Cardboard Aided Design, I went through to come up with a shape for the rear bed panels. I thought this was too boxy and low.
This was too much the other way and the spare shows more than I like.
This was the depth I liked for the skirts but the licence plate hanging off the end looked like an after thought.
The plate held in by the hitch pin was my original plan, but looks too crowded with everything in a row.
Just dropping the centre down hid more of the spare tyre, but had a bit of a soiled nappy/diaper look to it.
So decided on the lowest drop in the centre while still doing a step around the plate and lights. This step is 5mm-3/16", the same as around the taillights and the factory put in the doors and back of the cab.
I tipped the flange in the bead roller using the metal bottom V groove die, but have never liked how it leaves a crease, so rarely use it. Can see I have a lot of flattening out to do yet even though I stretched the inside corners and shrunk the outside corners before tipping.
I bent up a piece of flat bar the same width as the space between the step and the flange. It is upside down here and been hammered into the back of the outside corners. This flattens it and the stretching there means I will have less shrinking to do on the edge of the flange.
Tacked the bar to the table so I could slowly work the flange over it. Can see one end is most of the way there.
There was still two small tuck shrinks being slowly worked down the flange. Cut the bar short so I could do the inside corner. The edge of the flange there needed to be stretched for it to sit down flat. Used the rounded ends of the bottom hammer for that area and the top hammer was used for the rest of the flange.
Got it sitting nice a flat now so can move onto the next step.
I made the rest of the roll pan from pieces from the valance I first made. The radius around the exhaust outlets were also done with the same step roller dies and then the centre cut out. Keeps it all nice and uniform.
Once welded together I made new mounts for the parking sensors, outside ones with built in heat shielding. They will end up flush on the outside. Also a bracket for the factory Mopar trailer plug from the donor. It is easily accessible but not seen once in place.
Thought this was the best compromise with covering enough of the spare tyre and spreading out everything for some balance. It is all wired and working which means the last of the chassis wiring is completed.
