Welcome to the first entry in July’s Medium Mod Contest. One Medium Mod will be published in every Email Alert in July. At the end of the month, we’ll hold a reader vote to determine July’s winner. Click here for information about the 2023 Mod Contest, including how to enter.
Nathan Geving, Kearns, Utah
A Different Take On A Ladder-Mounted Tray
2007 Ford F350
2022 Wolf Creek 850
This is my take on a ladder-mounted table by the camper door. This will mostly be used for “Hey, your drink is ready” and the drink will be placed on this tray instead of handing it directly to the recipient. Other people have submitted a similar modification to TCM. We saw it and had to build one as well.
I bought UTV light bar mounts on Amazon for $15. I tapped 3/8”-16 threads into the pre-existing hole.
I carefully drilled a grade 2 bolt to take a 3/16” linchpin.
I then put the bolt into my drill and used a grinder to round off the top of the bolt; a poor man’s lathe.
I drilled this Cuisinart tray so the newly fabricated pins will go through it using a fender washer. This spreads out the load.
Since my homemade pins are threaded, I can adjust how much they stick out of the brackets and get the tray snug.
I used a regular nut as a jam nut on the bottom to keep my homemade pins in place. This tray was not fun to drill. It chipped using regular drill bits. We may end up with a different tray or I may just use a flat piece of aluminum and cut it to odd shape.
The corner of this tray just barely comes into the way of entering and exiting the camper. If it’s a problem, this tray can be modified or replaced.
To make storing and cleaning the tray easier, I didn’t want to have mounting hardware mounted to the tray.
This way the tray is just a regular tray with two holes in it; easy to store and clean.
We have not field tested this mod yet, but it should work out well.
I bought two trays for $25 and the UTV light bar brackets for $15 on Amazon. I got the hardware at a local specialty hardware store for $10.
It took me two hours to complete this modification and cost me $50. In my opinion, the skill level of this modification is medium.
Disclaimer: The modifications above are submitted by Truck Camper Magazine readers. It is your responsibility to make sure that any do-it-yourself modification project you undertake is safe, effective, and legal for your situation.
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