floor access panels

[punchdrunk monkey]

I'm building a VW Thing and the rear bench seat sits kind of high to clear the torsion housing. When my son sits in there his feet dangle. So I am building a subfloor out of aluminum for him to rest his feet on. The dead space is around 6" deep x the width and length of the pan. The subfloor is 3/16" aluminum attached to 1" tubing. I want it strong enough for him to stand on. I was thinking of cutting a 12"x12" hole/panel on both sides of the tunnel to have access to the area below (tool storage or???). Once I cut the 12"x12" section out then reattaching it with piano hinge to make a door. As I think about I think this would look pretty crappy. I'm sure the cuts wouldn't be prefectly straight and there would be a gap.

What would be a better way to make an access panel that's easy to open and strong enough for a kid to stand on?
I can take some pictures of the area if that would help get the creative juices flowing.

[diirk]

I think the cleanest setup would be to flange the floor so the panel can sit flush. You'll need to use a new larger piece of material for the panel. Plus, the flange/panel can hide any irregularities in the cutout on the floor.

[atomicjoe23]

+1 on the flanging and flush mount lid. . .that's what I was gonna suggest as well.

For the latch/release mechanism you could use the kind that are flush mounted as well. . .it's like a hole in the cover with a small push button that fills the hole. . .you push on it and it releases the latch. . .then when you push the cover back on it relatches.

I'll try to figure out where you can get them out since that's a pretty crappy description if you are interested.

[diirk]

Alot of sand car wings have those flush mount type buttons. I know I saw a thread about it on GD a few months ago....

[diirk]

http://www.wicksaircraft.com/catalog/product_detail.php/pid=9411~subid=9879/index.html
http://www.wicksaircraft.com/catalog/images/detail/9411_d.jpg

http://secure.chassisshop.com/partdetail/C73-482/
http://images.chassisshop.com/CACHE7F88EB8DBFDD8834545D9B5BA304E898/200/150/ProWerks/pn_C73482/C73-482_1.jpg

[atomicjoe23]

I like the Chassis Shop versions much more. . .those are exactly what I was talking about.

[TreyP]

I'm building a VW Thing and the rear bench seat sits kind of high to clear the torsion housing. When my son sits in there his feet dangle. So I am building a subfloor out of aluminum for him to rest his feet on. The dead space is around 6" deep x the width and length of the pan. The subfloor is 3/16" aluminum attached to 1" tubing. I want it strong enough for him to stand on. I was thinking of cutting a 12"x12" hole/panel on both sides of the tunnel to have access to the area below (tool storage or???). Once I cut the 12"x12" section out then reattaching it with piano hinge to make a door. As I think about I think this would look pretty crappy. I'm sure the cuts wouldn't be prefectly straight and there would be a gap.

What would be a better way to make an access panel that's easy to open and strong enough for a kid to stand on?
I can take some pictures of the area if that would help get the creative juices flowing.



Get a taller son.:D

[BRINGTHERUCKUS]

Get a taller son.:D

treys a bully tonight lol

platform shoes?

pics of the project!?

[punchdrunk monkey]

I got it figured out. Thanks for the ideas.

Good one Trey, it's not my son's fault his parents are escapee's from a Hobbit convention.