The earliest of the tray back Land Rovers in Australia had wooden trays, and mine, being a 1960 model, would almost certainly have had one initially. An old wrecked Series 2A in the dump at Naryilco Station, north of Tibooburra, had a wooden tray and I took great interest and many photos to guide my own efforts. This tray used angle iron bracing on the cross members but I decided to mortice and bolt the cross members to the bearers for increased strength and longevity. Good seasoned hardwood is now hard to find and so I used laminated Merbau for the longitudinal bearers and cross members, and kiln dried Kapur for the decking, headboards and sideboards. The frame was sealed in epoxy prior to bolting together and the remaining timber was treated with multiple coats of Scandinavian oil. Galvanised angle iron was used for the headboard uprights. All fittings and bolts were galvanised and the decking screws were stainless steel. Initially I was going to paint the tray dove grey to match the cab, but seeing the oiled timbers during construction, my wife and others encouraged my to stay with a "woody" tray. Hopefully a coat of Scandinavian oil every six months or so will keep it looking good.
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