DIY Jeep Door Cart (with Build Instructions)

• uses the Harbor Freight moving dolly (because it's the cheapest wheeled dolly I've seen)
• add stability for the uprights with the trapezoidal pieces that extend the footprint
• I wanted 2 carts instead of one big one so that they would be more maneuverable around my garage
• I wanted the smallest carts possible for better storability in my shed as these will be stored more than in-use.

• You DEFINITELY need to use a short strap to secure the doors to the cart as the rear door gets a little tippy laterally.
• I bought the foam from Home Depot and was very angry to see that Amazon had it for ¼ the price once I got home.
• You could build 1 cart for a 2-door for $40, and could probably save more if you have Harbor Freight Coupons.

• 2 pc: Harbor freight 30"X18" moving dolly: $20 each
• 3 pc: 2" x 4" x 8' : $4 each (only need 2 if you're building 1 cart
• 1 pc: 1" x 2" x 8' Furring strip - $2 each
• 1 pc: Corner Edge Protection foam : $10 (get this from Amazon, Home depot is 4 times the price, link here)

The Last Cowboy said:

Nice. And you can roll it to the Jeep, instead of carrying the doors to it.

Put carpet on the top of the cart too, so the paint on the upper part of the doors doesn't get marred. Now make another, shorter one, for your roof panels.

Click to expand...

AA_Jeeper said:

TLDR: $64 to make a set of door carts, build details are at the bottom if you want to recreate it.

After looking up door cart prices and being sticker shocked at the $200-300 price tags, I decided I'd rather build my own. I scoured the internet to get some ideas, took those, and modified them a bit and built a set for $64 (not including screws because I have those). Here are the design criteria I had to get here:

• uses the Harbor Freight moving dolly (because it's the cheapest wheeled dolly I've seen)
• add stability for the uprights with the trapezoidal pieces that extend the footprint
• I wanted 2 carts instead of one big one so that they would be more maneuverable around my garage
• I wanted the smallest carts possible for better storability in my shed as these will be stored more than in-use.

It was rainy this weekend so I got them built. Overall this was fairly easy with a miter saw, though you could cut with a hand saw if needed. I nested the trapezoidal base pieces to minimize the cuts, and overall building the two carts took about 30 minutes total, and probably another 30 minutes to peel and stick the foam in the right places.

All in all, these seem to work well. Some usage notes:

• You DEFINITELY need to use a short strap to secure the doors to the cart as the rear door gets a little tippy laterally.
• I bought the foam from Home Depot and was very angry to see that Amazon had it for ¼ the price once I got home.
• You could build 1 cart for a 2-door for $40, and could probably save more if you have Harbor Freight Coupons.

Build Details:

Materials: total $64 for 2 carts

• 2 pc: Harbor freight 30"X18" moving dolly: $20 each
• 3 pc: 2" x 4" x 8' : $4 each (only need 2 if you're building 1 cart
• 1 pc: 1" x 2" x 8' Furring strip - $2 each
• 1 pc: Corner Edge Protection foam : $10 (get this from Amazon, Home depot is 4 times the price, link here)

Click to expand...

Abnmp13 said:

I made a set with pallet scraps, insulation scraps from water heater replacement. Only had to buy the furniture dolly. Harbor Freight is about two miles from me.

(Jodee the Aussie approves)

Click to expand...

AA_Jeeper said:

Looks great! Did you use these plans or did we have the same idea?

Click to expand...

Abnmp13 said:

Used yours sir (thank you by the way!).

Took all of 25 minutes and that included setting up my chop saw and running extension cord.

Click to expand...

AA_Jeeper said:

TLDR: $64 to make a set of door carts, build details are at the bottom if you want to recreate it.

After looking up door cart prices and being sticker shocked at the $200-300 price tags, I decided I'd rather build my own. I scoured the internet to get some ideas, took those, and modified them a bit and built a set for $64 (not including screws because I have those). Here are the design criteria I had to get here:

• uses the Harbor Freight moving dolly (because it's the cheapest wheeled dolly I've seen)
• add stability for the uprights with the trapezoidal pieces that extend the footprint
• I wanted 2 carts instead of one big one so that they would be more maneuverable around my garage
• I wanted the smallest carts possible for better storability in my shed as these will be stored more than in-use.

It was rainy this weekend so I got them built. Overall this was fairly easy with a miter saw, though you could cut with a hand saw if needed. I nested the trapezoidal base pieces to minimize the cuts, and overall building the two carts took about 30 minutes total, and probably another 30 minutes to peel and stick the foam in the right places.

All in all, these seem to work well. Some usage notes:

• You DEFINITELY need to use a short strap to secure the doors to the cart as the rear door gets a little tippy laterally.
• I bought the foam from Home Depot and was very angry to see that Amazon had it for ¼ the price once I got home.
• You could build 1 cart for a 2-door for $40, and could probably save more if you have Harbor Freight Coupons.

Build Details:

Materials: total $64 for 2 carts

• 2 pc: Harbor freight 30"X18" moving dolly: $20 each
• 3 pc: 2" x 4" x 8' : $4 each (only need 2 if you're building 1 cart
• 1 pc: 1" x 2" x 8' Furring strip - $2 each
• 1 pc: Corner Edge Protection foam : $10 (get this from Amazon, Home depot is 4 times the price, link here)

Click to expand...

BoiseJL said:

Nice! Only suggestion would be to add a Velcro strap around the top, front of the door to keep it from tipping off accidently.

Click to expand...

GRAK said:

speaking of tippy the smaller one is on sale so tempted to try for more compact storage but prob just too unstable

Click to expand...