Well, when I bought a new set of rims for the VT, I also got a matching spare...as you do. The only issue was that the new rim with a 245 wide tyre was too high for wheel well and thus not only was the boot mat sitting on my shinny new rim, but the rim lifted the boot mat up.
Solution...build a new floor in the boot. So what started as a simple little 1 day project to create a basic frame for the boot mat to sit on turned into a slightly larger project.
1) Given I was using timber to make the frame, I decided to put down some rubber non slip matting to keep the frame from slipping. The rubber matting turned out to be a good choice given the direction I ended up going in.
2) Build a simple base frame around the wheel well. I had to lay out the the timber first and then cut out various channels / grooves etc to allow for the ridges in the boot's metal floor.
3) With a floor frame / base made, I then set about using some 5mm MDF sheeting to creat the new floor. When looking at this, I decided that the space between the boot's metal floor and my new wooden floor would make a good area to hold some tools / car parts for the road.
Some after some measuring up of various sections I was able to define the correct shape to cut the new floor to.
Here's the completed floor.
4) Given I'm building a raised floor, I need to put some support blocks at various points on the under side of the new floor, plus some stoppers to prevent the floor from moving.
5) Here's the new floor in raw form.
6) Given I wanted to put tools in the space between to the two floors, I gave the under side of the new floor a few quick coats on black enamel paint just to hide any marks in the future.
7) Then I decided to keep going and cover the new floor with some marine carpet. About $20.00 a sq metre from Bunnings (I used 1.5sqm for this project), and glued it with some basic carpet glue to the floor.
Here's a a couple of pictures of how I managed to get the carpet glued around the edges for a better look.
I gave the glue, espacially on the edges that had been bent over, a good 12 hours to cure before taking the clamps off.
8) As I'd decided to carpet the floor, I decided to carpet the frame too to ensure a better look. By carefully planning how to cut the carpet, I managed to get the frame and new floor all covered in the same 1.5sqm piece, with some left over. This part was way too fiddly for glue, a staple gun made this easy and quick work.
9) Once I'd cleaned up the excess glue from the under side of the new floor, and given the staples a touch of black pen to conceal them, I was ready to install.
All done. Now I put the rubber liner back in and no one sees my handy work.
I think there'll be a part two for this one. I'm thinking a proper floor cover for the wheel well too.
