[kevinmrowland]

All that wasted space inside my rusty ol’ tailgate was bothering me so I wasted my Sunday and made this.

Thought I would post it ‘cause I’ve never seen one before.
Now I know that the reason I’ve never seen one is because it's kind of a waste of time, and you don’t gain that much space.

enjoy

[nikos8]

Maybe, but the wood paneling looks nice.

[MANUCHAO]

Nice work.

Whats with all the stickers...... you climb ?

[euclid]

Jumper cables and such would probably fit in there. I tried to snag an extra tailgate a few years ago for free thinking the same thing.

How bout some details on the build?

[nuclearlemon]

nice for the small stuff for those of us that don't have the boxes in the back. quarter panels are also a good place for stuff like that.

[Weaver]

shoot that looks perfect to me. i've been needing a storage option for my extra bungees, compressor hose, zip ties, all kindsa random items but didn't want to commit to a large pull out system for the back. it still sturdy enough for a couple people to sit down on for camping/tailgaters etc?

and whats the black surround, i'm assuming metal but the fit looks almost to perfect to be made in your free time on a sunday.

you do some great work, i must say

[MANUCHAO]

deleted

[import silvia]

I agree, that looks very good. And would also like a few more details on what went into the construction and just how much can be held in there.

[NorCal60]

Good idea, very nice!
I just might have to do the tail gate and cargo panels now.
What wood is that, Birch?

[kevinmrowland]

Thanks
Yes I climb, nothing to do with the stickers though, I just like them.
I already putt some hinged panels on the quarters, those are great, and VERY usefull.
I was thinking that the tail gate box would be good for emergency stuff, axe, jumpers, tow strap, jack (too bad the jack wont fit in there)
Now I am thinking that I will make it an overflow kitchen box since I lost so much kitchen drawer space due to the NEW FRIDGE!!!!

Since the main structure is made from angle iron it is still very strong, actually its stronger than OEM. I had the classic caved in tailgate and I used this to straighten it out.

The main thing is to keep access to the internal door mechanism so whatever I put in there needed to be relatively easy to remove, that limited the size a bit. The box is 48” in length but only 3.25” at its deepest, and that is right up to the outside metal.

Here's a pic of just the box outside of the gate. Basically the rim is made out of angle iron, the top bit has a 2" leg to clear the latch mechanism and the rest is just a few pieces of 16ga. I cut the tailgate out with a jig saw and welded on some 1/4-20 nuts to bolt the whole thing on. Oh, and some 1/4x1/4 rod makes the lip for the lid to rest on.

[kevinmrowland]

Yeah, so I looked at the pics I posted......and they suck, sorry 'bout that.

Here is a zoom in of the original photo, perhaps it will explain the constuction a bit.
I can take a few better ones tomorrow.

[Southbound]

That's quality, very nice. Now I'm curious about your quarterpanel storage.

[Weaver]

i should've figured it wasn't as simple as it looked in the first pic. that is some great work. i WILL be stealing your idea, however i think i'll ghettofy things a bit and just do a hinged panel here with no "frame" to speak of really. again, great stuff

[kevinmrowland]

The quarters are just the original vinyl panels glued to a sheet of aluminum, hinged on the bottom with a little 1/4 turn compression latch at the top. I am seriously considering doing something just like this so that there is actual boxes in the quarters.

I would not suggest cutting a hole in the tailgate without planning to reenforce it a lot.
Once the center bit is cut out there is pretty much no strength to the tailgate anymore.

[High Desert]

Great use of space. How much aprox does it weigh?

[cbmontgo]

Kevin, I think I have responded to some of your other posts in the same way: very nice work. I may have to steal that idea.

[kevinmrowland]

Thanks again

High Desert, sorry I did see your post. My guess would be about 15-20lbs for the box, but that is empty. It makes the gate drop a bit faster but it surprisingly didn't seem to make it that much harder to lift.

[calphi27]

I have always thought about doing this, as I am sure most others have too, but I always thought the opening mechanisms for the tailgate would get in the way. Glad to see it works!

Any pics on the quarterpanel storage. I am a visual learner. Gracias.

[kevinmrowland]

rear cargo area panels

Talked about the 1/4 panel stuff here.
Now I am thinking I might have to make them match the tailgate.

[AuburnFJsexy]

That is a good idea and looks really nice and with 1/4 panel stage like that too would be awesome.