Tailgate Storage Box

[kevinmrowland]

Are you good at welding aluminum? I think aluminum angle in the tailgate would be lighter but strong enough and rust free. Are the 1/4 panel doors just a frame and a door? or is there a shelf built into the frame to set stuff on? I cant tell by the pic. This really is a great project and would sell at the right price!

I would not call myself good at it by a long shot, I can do it, but not that well. I made one out of aluminum thinking the same thing, but it was a disaster. The aluminum is so much more expensive and just nowhere near as strong. The steel frame and panel only weigh a bit more than the metal that gets cut out anyway and it is fairly simple to remove and recoat if needed.
The 1/4s are like the tailgate, just a frame and panel. I played with attaching a fold out bin to the panel, putting a shelf in, putting a dropped down shelf in..........
It just came down to the fact that every time I went that route I lost too much storage room. I can fit a good bit of stuff down below floor level and the shelf limited that.

Hi Kevin,

Could you possibly post a pick (similar to the on in post #23) with the tailgate box empty. This will help me visualize hoe it was made.

You want me to empty all that crap out of there!
kidding you want to know right away or will construction updates serve the same purpose? I ask since even when I am showing people the box it is still hard to explain how it was made, and that is with the actual thing in front of us.

Mate, you got any more pics of the mattress setup as this is EXACTLY what I'm planning on doing to my FJ60.

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

I think there is a thread floating around with more pics, I think started by "Dude" I will see if I can find it, seems like I posted pictures before, no use wasting Woodys disk space. I will look for it, let me know if you find it and if not I can send you some images.

Dude you are the king of mods! As many have said before, excellent work. I would be interested in the tailgate box if they become available.

Thanks Dylan

 

[phishincruisin]

looks great. I've been thinking about something like this for a long time, it is exactly what i've been looking for and I'd be interested in quarters and tailgate if it gets to that point.

 

[Tofudebeest]

I printed out some pictures of that tail gate storage compartment and put it under my pillow. I could make them myself, but after seeing yours, mine will look like big P.O.S. and I'll end up sad and disappointed...

So, we will wait for you to quit your job and do what 2badfjs did. 260 units per year (5 day work week, one unit per day), @ $200 profit per unit = $52,000. That's pretty crappy if you go by $/hr. but that all depends on how quickly you can bang these out once you get used to doing them repeatedly. Of course I am kidding. This would have to be a side business, seems to me...

No 60/61/62 owner will pass these up for the right price. Just too obvious an upgrade...

Or, better yet, patent this RIGHT NOW, and sell the plans to a company who will offer them as part of a catalogue, or sell the plans to individuals to DIY.

 

[gen2600]

VERY good job, I'm totally impressed, nice work! I like the idea of cutting the supports and using the box as your support. SWEET look and VERY efficient use of space.

 

[cyberbackpacker]

Mate, you got any more pics of the mattress setup as this is EXACTLY what I'm planning on doing to my FJ60.

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Kind Regards,

Zako

Here is the thread that Kevin mentioned for you. Just trying to be helpful:

https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=97847

 

[kevinmrowland]

Here is the thread that Kevin mentioned for you. Just trying to be helpful:

https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=97847

That was it! Thanks, and welcome to the forum.
Scroll down a bit on this thread:
https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=98524&highlight=ArB+fridge+lid
and you can see a little bit of the back-seat-in arrangement. Basically the front bins are bolted to the back bins, pull the fronts out and the seat bolts back in, fold the seat down and there is a cleat on the underside of the seat base (flipped up to stow, becomes vertical) two supports span the distance from the box to the cleat and the hinged/upholstered panel you can see bungeed behind the seats in the fridge thread folds down and locks in place, very easy to set up.
I know I have some photos of it somewhere, I will dig them up.

 

[kevinmrowland]

I printed out some pictures of that tail gate storage compartment and put it under my pillow. I could make them myself, but after seeing yours, mine will look like big P.O.S. and I'll end up sad and disappointed...

So, we will wait for you to quit your job and do what 2badfjs did. 260 units per year (5 day work week, one unit per day), @ $200 profit per unit = $52,000. That's pretty crappy if you go by $/hr. but that all depends on how quickly you can bang these out once you get used to doing them repeatedly. Of course I am kidding. This would have to be a side business, seems to me...

No 60/61/62 owner will pass these up for the right price. Just too obvious an upgrade...

Or, better yet, patent this RIGHT NOW, and sell the plans to a company who will offer them as part of a catalogue, or sell the plans to individuals to DIY.

Calm down now, I have some parts being laser cut right now, we will make this work.

 

[calphi27]

Calm down now, I have some parts being laser cut right now, we will make this work.

Don't tease us now.... or suffer the wrath of your mud brethren.

Have those guys laser cut those panels, make a few bends, drill a few holes, and wala you have a money maker!

 

[kevinmrowland]

Don't tease us now.... or suffer the rath of your mud brethren.

Have those guys laser cut those panels, make a few bends, drill a few holes, and wala you have a money maker!

;p Yup, just like that.
I did however just get back from a 3 week road trip and since I am in charge of work flow at the shop, things are just a tad bit backed up.
Don't worry, I should be able to start slacking off again real soon though.

 

[TemboTusk]

Don't tease us now.... or suffer the rath of your mud brethren.

Have those guys laser cut those panels, make a few bends, drill a few holes, and wala you have a money maker!

My side panels are thrashed and I have been putting off what I was going to do about it.


You are the answer!


I will also get in line to buy!

 

[LandcruiserIsland]

Thanks for the inspiration on this one!

Great mod, I am going to attempt something like this when I move to a place with a garage soon

Any ideas on where I could put a fly rod case that is out of sight? (about 5 feet long and 2.5" wide)

 

[kevinmrowland]

Got more steel and made a bit of progress last night. The laser parts should be here today so it can get welded together.

 

[calphi27]

best mr burns impression.... excellent!

 

[kevinmrowland]

And a little bit more.
Laser parts came in today and I welded the frame together.

 

[polarweasel]

Very very nice. That is sexy.

 

[haryv]

What a super nice project. If its produced what wood could you make it out of?

I was thinking something nice like teak, maple or some other fine wood. I Might ask my wife for this as a christmas present if its ever produced.

 

[GAS-A-LOT!]

YEAH but......? wheres the alluminum/pvc/anti corrosive material? I'm a real rustophobic

 

[kevinmrowland]

What a super nice project. If its produced what wood could you make it out of?

I was thinking something nice like teak, maple or some other fine wood. I Might ask my wife for this as a christmas present if its ever produced.

Strength-Weight-Cost.
To use hardwood the panels would need to be considerably thicker in order to retain their stability, and even then they would move seasonally. The lightest, strongest, most bang for your buck option is plywood. Ply is obviously available in many grades, even teak if you so desire, but even just the standard cabinet grade birch ply is already quite expensive.

Through the course of testing them, I have come to the conclusion that natural plywood is not advisable on the tailgate because of the abuse it needs to stand up to. While I like the natural side panels, I am not yet sold on their durability. They have a marine spar varnish on them, but they still show the dirt more than the nice durable undercoat on the tailgate.

 

[kevinmrowland]

YEAH but......? wheres the alluminum/pvc/anti corrosive material? I'm a real rustophobic

Strength-Weight-Cost.
The aluminum is more than twice as expensive and less than half as strong. Not only that, but it takes much longer to fabricate as well. To get the same strength out of aluminum I would be close to the weight of the steel and not nearly as low profile. The plywood is dimensionally stable, much stronger than an affordable plastic composite of the same thickness and is fully sealed with an appropriate coating.
The box itself is quite easy to remove which can facilitate re-coating it if necessary. The inside face of the tailgate gets considerably less exposure to road salts and moisture than other parts. So even though I hate rust as well, I have to pick the battles my wallet can tolerate.
Now a stainless steel frame, THAT would be nice..........

 

[cody c]

that is a wicked cool storage box! beautiful work too! also curious about price. where did you get the flush mount handles at?