[GB SISSON]

Couldn't decide what to name this thread so in the spirit of the twice titled episodes on the Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, I went with both. I have been torn about what to camp out in this year during the 4 day antique tractor/gas engine/steam'threshing/logging up at Lynden Wa. Over the years I have fitted out various early ford trucks as period style campers, but those trucks got sold off whenever there was a recession or building slowdown and the last three years I have towed my display equipment there with my suburban and slept in that. My red diesel powered tonner hasn't made the scene there with the exception of a one day visit when the show was shut down due to the covid.
In order to sleep in the tonner's bed I would need to change out the heavy lumber rack which made it impractical to run a tarp over hoops the way I wanted to. I developed a fondness for a proper tarp job while reading the great post about Austrailian open cab military trucks.
I had two major criteria for my canvas bed cover. 1) That it looked not only period correct, but matched the worn look I had massaged into the rest of the truck and 2) It had to be simple and quick to break it down and store in the bed or up on the two main hoops overhead. The forward hoop (which is backed up by some red barnwood), becomes the new lumber rack and is semi permanent, while the rear pipe hoop needs to lift out as it is seldom needed but needs to come out to rotate the small crane mounted on the rear bumper. I would call the job about 80% complete but this morning's photos show a ladder and random wood slats placed on the rack to help me determine what dimensions are required for the wooden members. I will also be making a third 'hoop' that is lighter in weight but dimensionally the same and drops into the center stake pockets only when the tarp is rigged. My hope is that I can end up with the tarp's grometts about 1 1/2" above the hooks some po installed on the stake pockets, putting it just below the rolled top of the flareside on the bed.
I have raided my stash of old bolts and screws so the various fastenings don't look new, but still need to burn the galvanizing and (even worse, the cad plating) off some fastenings I bought at the hardware store yesterday. I already burned the galvanizing off of the 1 1/2" pipe elbows. I fabbed up the back window guard from a piece of mesh I got from the rock quarry. Ok, I will start with a couple photos depicting of the evolution of this truck from when I bought it at the Portland swap meet a few years back to where it is this morning, having reassembled the bed and installed solid but weathered 1 1/8" douglas fir bedwood with plain steel bed strips. Didn't want that to look new either.