remember last time i finally managed to install the firewood cradle that’s been sitting in the garage for two years. amazing how much more room i have there now. and check how much more professional the karavan looks, too. there are a few more steps, however, before the cradle is fully functional. as it sits on top of the multibox it needs to swivel up with the lid whenever that is opened.
to achieve that i had to connect the lid and the cradle using the rods i made last time. the connection to the cradle was the easy bit, just a (stainless steel, of course) bolt with a few washers including one nylon piece to keep the parts from rubbing. the connection to the lid was a bit more challenging; it required a new hole and i always hate making holes in perfectly good parts.
it also required strengthening the lid where the rod connects. it’s not a particularly elegant design to be honest but i thought i’d stick with the way kk originally built it. since i could not weld the reinforcement in place as kk would have done i used i used strong double sided tape. hopefully it will do the job, time will tell.
interestingly kk threads the hole instead of just sticking the bolt through. i followed that method; it’s a good thing i have a set of taps and dies in the workshop. but then who doesn’t, right?
the lid itself is heavy, add to that the cradle and any potential contents and lifting it could get a bit tedious, let alone holding it open to get something from the box. that’s where the gas struts come in. i now have a choice: i could leave the struts connected as they were (bolted to the lid) or connect them how kk designed the cradle system initially (bolted to the cradle). i haven’t made up my mind: the cradle design is probably better in that it puts less stress on weaker parts of the box but the lid connection does not require new holes.
and while i ponder these complex questions nat and i practice our social isolation skills. i hope they don’t shut down the trails, it’s not like we bump into many people out there.
update: after careful consideration i decided that while there are days when drilling new holes is appropriate today wasn’t that day. so for now (at least) i’m continuing to use the current strut mounting method (and the lighter struts to avoid bending the hinge again).
i can always change the setup if it turns out not to work, but at least i’m not turning the multibox into swiss cheese just yet.
i used the time more productively and installed an led light bar in the lid. it can get a bit dark in there, but not any more. well, i still have to hook it up to the battery but that’s not urgent. i have to leave some work for another day.