Carpeting Hatch lids (Cabelas)

Good Afternoon

I am in the middle of my conversion and would like to pick some brains. I have a couple of the aluminum hatches sold by Cabelas. Overall they are pretty nice but the way they did the lids has me wondering how I’m going to get them carpeted correctly. I meant to snap a few picks but ran out the door in a hurry to get to work on time so I will have to try and explain.

The lids are brake bent like you would normally see however they did not bend the hinge side. The hinge attaches to the underside of the lid with rivets running down through the top of the lid into the hinge. I was figuring on removing the hinge and wrap the carpet like you would on a normal lid and reattach but I don’t like the idea of the rivets being exposed. I have gone through a lot of time and money on this conversion and finishing the lid this way seems like it will look tacky. Another approach would be to leave the hinge attached and carpet the other three sides like normal then run the carpet up to the barrel of the hinge and trim it off there, but I’m afraid the carpet will eventually fray and end up looking like crap. I was hoping to get some insight from others here before proceeding.

Sorry for the long read!

It might be better in the long run to just drill out the rivets, carpet, then re rivet. If the rest of the deck is getting carpet then you will also need to get the hatch frame carpeted.
I think leaving it hinged and then carpeting will not work so great. If that is the only option you would want to maybe take a soldering iron along the carpet edge to keep it from fraying and use contact glue.

edwonbass said:

It might be better in the long run to just drill out the rivets, carpet, then re rivet. If the rest of the deck is getting carpet then you will also need to get the hatch frame carpeted.
I think leaving it hinged and then carpeting will not work so great. If that is the only option you would want to maybe take a soldering iron along the carpet edge to keep it from fraying and use contact glue.

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The lids have been removed from the frames. The frames are already installed in the deck. What is left is the lid with the hinge attached. I will try to get a pic posted later for a visual

do you have a link to the hatches on Cabelas that you purchased?

perchjerker said:

do you have a link to the hatches on Cabelas that you purchased?

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https://www.cabelas.com/product/Custom-Hatch/699966.uts?dest=%2Fproduct%2FCustom-Hatch%2F699966.uts%3F&redirectURL=%2Fproduct%2FCustom-Hatch%2F699966.uts%3F

The first pic showing it carpeted isn't what it looks like. The second one showing the bare hatch is correct but doesn't show the hinge area very well.

yeah I see what you mean now. Not really sure. They do look like two different hatches.

maybe ask on the website see if they reply?

What if you pull the lid off, carpet it and rivet it like you said. When you install the rivets make small slits in the carpet to get the rivets through. Once it's riveted in place use the glue you used to attach the carpet in the small slits. Without knowing what rivets you are using I'm thinking the slits would probably be less than 1/2" in length.

allanlebar said:

What if you pull the lid off, carpet it and rivet it like you said. When you install the rivets make small slits in the carpet to get the rivets through. Once it's riveted in place use the glue you used to attach the carpet in the small slits. Without knowing what rivets you are using I'm thinking the slits would probably be less than 1/2" in length.

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I was thinking this would be the best possible way of doing it. Tedious but would probably be worth it in the long run. They are attached with 5/32 rivets so the carpet would cover nicely. Just got to watch out for the fraying. This carpet seems to fray easily.

maybe you could super glue the loose ends down

Could you put the carpet on the deck, and run it over the hinged area onto to the hatch lid? Not doing the lid separately, but almost as part of the deck. The the carpet would hide the hinge, the rivets, and it would bend when the hatch was opened or closed. Not sure if doing this would allow you enough xtra to wrap around the other three edges of the lid or not, depends on the application I suppose. Just food for thought.

Here is a pic of the hinge attached to lid.

Side view

And finally the underside of the lid.

The hinge sits pretty tight to the edge of the lid and the holes close to the end of the lid. I'm gonna try to wrap the carpet and then cut the small slits to feed the rivets through but I'm afraid with the way the hinge sits against the lid the that once the carpet is in between I won't be able to get the holes lined back up. There isn't any room to drill new holes so here's to hoping I can make it look good.

I don't know how they expect you to carpet this. I would be tempted just to return them and try something else

perchjerker said:

I don't know how they expect you to carpet this. I would be tempted just to return them and try something else

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Unfortunately I'm at the point of no return. I have installed the frames and carpeted the deck already. If it comes down to it I'll trim the carpet at the hinge and deal with it. Once the carpet is shot I'll just paint the darn thing. Should have painted it to begin with but I insisted on having carpet...............

Well with some patience and ALOT of determination I managed to get an acceptable outcome. May not be perfect but it will do!

wow looks great from this angle!!!

As far as lining up the holes after you have carpeted the top....I imagine you could take an awl and punch small holes UP through from the underside of the hinge. Then, stick a piece of wire up through each tiny hole and use it to direct your screws/rivets back down.

Of course, I can't see the project, other than through the pictures, but, I think that would work. ??? regards richg99