Service Tray Build.

[south_paw]

Hi All,

Ever work under the hood on a car and wish you had a place to rest your tools and equipment? I did and finally did something about it. I built a service tray on casters that can reach into the engine bay and has enough space to hold your tools and diagnostic equipment too.

The basic structure is made with box steel to ensure it's sturdiness.

The tray frame is made with angle iron. This allows for the tray to sit nicely in place. After I completed welding everything together, I primed and painted it.

I chose to go with a 2'x2' tray to ensure I had plenty of space for tools. The tray is made from 3/4 plywood and covered with a foam backed vinyl.
Here it is, complete with protective foam and all,

Now I can work on my car and not worry about where to rest my tools

 

[koditten]

Very nice, I've been meaning to something similar. Thanks for reminding me of one more chore to get on the list.

KO

 

[slghmmr88]

I'm keeping an eye out for a used one of these I can pick up cheap or free, I have friends that have picked them up for free with chipped tops.

 

[Hephaestus29]

Cool, how about some pics of the car, it looks good from what I can see.

 

[zuk123]

First thing I thought of was to add a lip to keep stuff from rolling off and falling in.

Great execution on your idea though!

zuk

 

[jamesemery728]

Very nice, I guess the foam keeps tools and things from rolling around.

 

[Jagmandave]

I like the idea, but for me it would be one more thing to try and find a hiding place for when I'm not using it. A fold away top would help greatly.....

 

[the_saint]

Nice

Pretty much what we use all over the hospital but about 10x sturdier.

 

[south_paw]

Cool, how about some pics of the car, it looks good from what I can see.

Sure, here is one from a show this summer,

 

[south_paw]

First thing I thought of was to add a lip to keep stuff from rolling off and falling in.

Great execution on your idea though!

zuk

Thanks! That was the initial plan, to have a lip. The angle iron is 1" high and the plywood is 3/4" but then I decided to add the foam backed vinyl which leveled it all off. Ultimatly I need to swap out the 3/4 for some 1/2 plywood this way I get the lip back.

 

[south_paw]

I like the idea, but for me it would be one more thing to try and find a hiding place for when I'm not using it. A fold away top would help greatly.....

I started with a hinged top but it became to flimsy for my liking so I ditched the idea. I thought it would get in the way as well until I started using the tray. I'm using the thing all of the time just as a roll around work bench. It's nice having a 4' high working platform.

 

[Kevin54]

Just call it a prototype then make you another. Add a fold down top and add an adjustable height top. Also make sure you have a lip around it to keep anything from rolling off.

Whan you get the second one made, I'll take this one off of your hands.

 

[don long]

Sure, here is one from a show this summer,

I'm guessing a1955 eldorado baritz

 

[timbitca]

Nice work table and nice car!

As soon as I saw your pics I tought, 'Hmm, one of those bed tables they have in hospitals would work awesome for this...' and looks like someone beat me to it. If you were able to snag one with an opening top it would be even better, you'd have some extra tool storage!

 

[south_paw]

Thanks.
The hospital tray is where I got my idea from, unfortunately they only go 39" high. I needed at least 42" high. I went 46" to play it safe. Damn Caddy is pretty tall.

 

[rslaback]

Just out of curiosity, why did you go with the diagonal legs instead of going with a flat U? It seems a flat U would have made it easier to navigate around stuff like tires when in use.

 

[south_paw]

Great question... I forgot to mention why I did that. I wanted to ensure that there was little to no chance for the cart to hit the car when I use the cart on the fender side. The diagonal legs act as a wedge around the tires causing the cart to stop before it gets too close(don't let the pic fool you, the support rods are 4" away from hitting the fender).

 

[3xpendable]

THAT IS AWESOME!

I like the tray too

Both are very nice well done

(x)

 

[kv501]

I wanted to ensure that there was little to no chance for the cart to hit the car when I use the cart on the fender side. The diagonal legs act as a wedge around the tires causing the cart to stop before it gets too close(don't let the pic fool you, the support rods are 4" away from hitting the fender).

Outstanding.

 

[the_saint]

Thanks.
The hospital tray is where I got my idea from, unfortunately they only go 39" high. I needed at least 42" high. I went 46" to play it safe. Damn Caddy is pretty tall.

Nice.

The ones we have go at least 42" in height, but I guess they are variable depending on the vendor.