My cargo box

[Hayes]

My original plan was to construct a split cargo box that would allow me to install/remove either or both halves as needed (I may need my third row to haul kids and kids' friends someday). Considering all the labor I've put into the first half, I may just call it good as-is. I'm also thinking that having the floor of the entire cargo area raised may not be ideal for hauling coolers and other bulky camping gear. Not sure how or if I'll proceed from here.

My box is constructed of 5/8 inch particle board and 3/4 by 1 inch fir, held together with screws and lots of Liquid Nails.

The drawer slides on 30" 250 lb slides from Lee Valley:
http://www.leevalley.com/hardware/pa...614,43616&ap=1

The handles and tie-downs were ordered from Allegiscorp:
www.allegiscorp.com
**if anyone ends up ordering anything from Allegiscorp, let me know. I need a few more handles, and they're minimum order is $30 (which my handles won't meet).**

I painted the tie-downs with Plasticote spray-on rubber stuff to minimize rattling.

The carpet is strategically stapled and glued with carpet glue, and it does a great job of hiding my crude carpentry.
The drawer is lined with vinyl runner material cut to fit, glued, and stapled.

The wood, carpet, vinyl, hinges and barrel bolt all came from Lowe's Home Improvement.

I've lost track of the bill at this point, but a few hundred dollars would be close to my cost so far.

The box:


The barrel bolt is to make sure that the loaded drawer won't lay me out when I drop the tailgate on an incline.

What to do with the cavity that's created between the wheel well and the tailgate? I decided to keep it simple by boxing it in and leaving a square hole that allows this cavity to be used a quick place to huck little junk you can't figure out where to put (seen at the left edge of the box in the pictures above and below).

I've added a lifting hatch that allows me to access the drawer without dropping the tailgate:


With the tailgate up:


The drawer is lined inside and out with ribbed vinyl rubber that I've cut to fit. It should be durable, easy to clean, and relatively quiet.
The drawer slides nicely on the Lee Valley slides:


Rather than have a giant drawer that ran the full depth of the cargo area, I decided to add a separate compartment that could be accessed from the second row of seats (as well as from the cargo area):
*I haven't lined this compartment yet.
**The photo is taken with the second row seats flipped up.




Here are a few shots of the basic construction:


The box is secured to the third-row seat anchors by two u-bolts, as well as one M6 bolt screwed into one of the mounts for one of the rearmost factory tie-downs:


The top of the box sits just above the third-row mounting hardware attached to the top of the wheel wells. The platform is well-supported across it's entire area:


With the 3rd row seat in. Toddler added for scale:








Nothing too complicated to construct--even for a novice like me. The most challenging thing was getting the drawer, lid, and hinge tolerances just right to make everything snug but still have enough room to slide, lift, and close.

Hayes

[Exiled]

Awesome, very well thought-out and executed! I like the separate compartments that can be accessed from the back seat.

[Montana Cruiser]

Nice work! That's pimpin' I like your version of the drawer/hatch combo, looks like it will function very well.

Do you have it secured to the tie downs on the floor of the cargo bed?

I have also considering doing a drawer have the width of the back, but worried about leaning the truck to one side or the other with the constant weight of the drawer and equipment in it.

[Romer]

Nice write up. After the second battery thread we are going to do a storage solutions, you can post the photo there and provide the link to this thread.

Great Job. I have been debating on doing something for half as well.

Ken

[firetruck41]

Looks very good, the only thing I would add, is a way to secure the big lid. That way, in case of accident/roll over (god forbid) the items stored in the drawer won't become missiles. Also can you detail how you secure the drawer system to the cruiser?

[Hayes]

Originally Posted by firetruck41

Looks very good, the only thing I would add, is a way to secure the big lid. That way, in case of accident/roll over (god forbid) the items stored in the drawer won't become missiles. Also can you detail how you secure the drawer system to the cruiser?

Thanks.
I added a description and photo of how I secured the box to the floor.

My plan was to add another barrel bolt to the left side (looking in) of lift-hatch to keep it closed in the event of a rollover. With further thought, I'm questioning the effectiveness of a barrel bolt staying closed in a rollover. Not sure what I'll do.

Hayes

[Biff]

Nicely made. Love the extra compartments.

[Cruiserdrew]

Hayes-Nice work. I think you were smart not to make it full width. Mine is the same and the fridge mounts next to it at floor level. It looks very strong and beefy.

[loquito]

Good work, I too like the drawer/hatch feature.

[ddorsch]

very nice.I too like the idea of a half storage box.My question is;can the remaining seat still be used if needed.

Dave

[Trunk Monkey]

Good work, looks very clean. I'll be stealing some of your ideas for my own storage idea.

[Hayes]

Originally Posted by ddorsch

very nice.I too like the idea of a half storage box.My question is;can the remaining seat still be used if needed.

Dave

That was one of my goals, but to be honest, I haven't actually checked to see if the right-side seat will actually fit with the box in there .

I'll (hopefully) put the seat in tonight and take some pictures.

Hayes

[yellowchaosfj80]

Sweet ....nice work!

[Tuner]

I suspect your carpentry skills go far beyond "crude". That thing is sweet!

[wookieking]

Really cool. I almost like the idea of a single side better than a full floor type thing. More options.

[Hayes]

Originally Posted by Tuner

I suspect your carpentry skills go far beyond "crude". That thing is sweet!

Yeah, I think the finished product looks good too, but you have no idea how long it took me just to measure and cut the particle board. I did all the cutting with only a circular saw (no table saw) and all the cuts were made without the benefit of any kind of physical guide. Needless to say, there are very few perfectly straight lines in the box, but because I used the 3/4 by 1" strips to assemble the cut boards, everything went together well despite the wavy cuts.

The main difference between my skills and someone with actual carpentry skill:

The box could have been built in half the time.

Hayes

[barrypt5]

Great Cargo box!! Need to do that myself here one of these days...good sumer project!

[fuelgeddes]

That looks great ! Everytime I have an idea and starting planning , someone comes along with a great write up and even better design. Sweet.

[nickw]

Nice box.
I really like the flip up to access the drawer.

The you don't have to open the tailgate to get stuff.

Cheers,
Nick

[stevezero]

Hayes,

That box is awesome. I started thinking about keeping one of my back seats as well, even going so far as to try to figure out if I could mount the seats securely enough to the box (with reinforcements) if I wanted to put 6 peeps in the truck.

What would you do differently if you were to do it again? Lessons learned are always great to pass along.

[gbell210]

Very nice box!
Curious... any reason why you built the box on the DS instead of the PS?

Right now I have a rubbermaid plastic box behind the PS 3rd row seat. I chose this because I can keep the PS 3rd row seat laid flat to see my blind spot better. While I can keep the DS 3rd row seat folded up against the window. What are your reasons to start with a DS box first? If you were thinking about it that much

[Beast II]

Wow, that is really nice. Very good job !!

[elum]

suh-weet!

[Hayes]

Originally Posted by gbell210

Very nice box!
Curious... any reason why you built the box on the DS instead of the PS?

The big piece of carboard I used to trace out a mock-up of the base of the cargo box happened to land on the driver's side of the cargo area.

In retrospect, I probably would have done the box on the passenger side. My custom sub prevents the passenger side third row seat from being folded up against the side window. But really, folding the third row up to the side doesn't really add much space to the cargo area anyway--particularly when there's a box next to it. On top of that, I hate having the seats hanging from the oh $hit handles.
Does the loaded box sitting on the driver's side with me sitting in the driver's seat make my 80 lean to the left like John Wayne?
No.
I've been eyeballing my truck for any lean since putting in the box, and I cannot detect any lean. The mass in the drawer is not that far from the center line, and the OME 850/863s seem to be burly enough to keep things plumb.
The situation could be different if you were running stock springs or the OME mediums. But then again, as soon as you add a passenger the situation changes. And what about people in the back seat, etc. etc.

Hayes

[IBCRUSN]

Nice work!

I sympathize with you about making cuts w/o a table saw or guide. I started my storage boxes over the weekend. Sanders are a great thing for those of us who are carpenters. I like your idea of covering with the carpet I may have to follow suit.

[speyrod]

Awesome and very similar to what I have been drawing up. You are a little more complex with the extra compartments which I might add now seeing yours. Can you post a pic with the single 3rd row seat in?

[Hayes]

I realize that this is a topic for the "For Sale" forum, but since this thread has convinced me to officially cancel my plans for the second half of the box, I now have one brand new pair of 30" 250 lb Lee Valley drawer slides that need a happy home in the cargo area of somebody else's Land Cruiser.

Lee Valley sells the 30" versions for $40 including shipping to Utah.
Mine are up for grabs at $30 and I'll pay shipping.
PM me if you're interested.

Hayes

[davegonz]

Very nice Hayes. I was wondering if you sealed the particle board against moisture (clear urethane)?

[Hayes]

No, not specifically.

The carpet is indoor/outdoor type with a rubber base that should keep major water from working through to the board. The vinyl is obviously waterproof.
Everywhere there is carpet or vinyl, there is a layer of glue underneath. The carpet glue is also an indoor/outdoor type that should give more protection.

Other than that, I sprayed a quick couple coats of ordinary paint onto any big expanses of exposed board (pretty much the inside walls of the drawer compartment) to give a little bit of protection.

My moisture expectations are snow melting off boots, drippy wet gear, and spilled malt beverages. I didn't really consider humidity an issue (I live in the desert), but even then, I figure the protection I have should be sufficient.

Hayes