I was wondering what you guys thought about this. I know its not exactly as much tech as 2.5's and linelocks, but I didnt want any one in shitchat to have to think either. :D

I am wheeling my daily driver, but right now cant affoard to get a trailer for towing stuff along with it.

The inside is huge with the back seat taken out... but it still seems like I run out of room the way I pack shit.

Since it is my daily driver I need to be able to fix almost any breakage when I am out of state, so I can get back from the trail and to my job and school. Basically I am going to stock a bunch of tools and spares when I am done building it up.

What I want to do is build a box that goes from the back door... all the way up to the front seats, with some room the recline.

I want to make the first part of the box slide out... like a big drawer. I will probally keep tools and camping stuff in there. Section it off.

The rear part of the box will have lift open compartments... that I can store spare parts in.

I wonder if any one else has built something like this.

I dont know if the ease of organization, and being able to sleep on top of my gear, and have it out of sight is worth the extra weight.

I also wanted to type it out so I could get my idea out of my head and onto a page.

I did the same thing in my 82 FJ40, I'll get some pics tonight when I get home;)

Originally posted by Mustard Dog
I did the same thing in my 82 FJ40, I'll get some pics tonight when I get home;)

Sweet. I did a search too... http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=54802&highlight=storage

But wanted to get some up to date convo on it. Did you used wood for the box... or a steel frame?.

I was thinking steel fram and expanded steel at first... but the wheeling I do in the NJ pinebarrens has the rig under water... so I want something I can somewhat seal up. Or atleast have water entry only able to come in through the top.

I made mine out of wood (MDF) because I used to build custom furniture for a living. It can be made lighter if you use metal, I just didn't have enough experience with that material to do a good enough job;)

Originally posted by Mustard Dog
I made mine out of wood (MDF) because I used to build custom furniture for a living. It can be made lighter if you use metal, I just didn't have enough experience with that material to do a good enough job;)

Yeah I probally will do it with wood as well.. since I have more wood working tools than metal fab tools.

Is the MDF lighter than regular plywood or particle board?

I think I will make a frame for the box with 2x2 or something... and just screw the plywood around it. The caulk it with silicon and paint it with herculiner. Should turn out well.

That is an interesting jump of profesions. A cabinet maker to a cop.. your a cop right. :D

Malltero,
Do a search thru some of the Austrialian off road magazine sites and off road shops. There are companies there that make full length drawers for the rear of SUV's. Also look in "Fine Homebuilding" magazine as there are a couple of companies that make drawers to fit full size vans and trucks. Probably pricey, but with a bit of dectective work you should be able to find out who makes the slides. Think about how heavy the drawers will be when loaded with parts and tools.
Hope this helps.
Mike
:usa:

Here (http://coloradok5.com/packitup.shtml) is something that might help. Also, one of the guys who wheels with us in Phoenix has a cool box that covers most of the bottom of bed in his K5. It has a drawer that pulls out the back with the gate down, it's made of wood, and it's about 5" high or so...

Originally posted by D110pickup
Malltero,
Do a search thru some of the Austrialian off road magazine sites and off road shops. There are companies there that make full length drawers for the rear of SUV's. Also look in "Fine Homebuilding" magazine as there are a couple of companies that make drawers to fit full size vans and trucks. Probably pricey, but with a bit of dectective work you should be able to find out who makes the slides. Think about how heavy the drawers will be when loaded with parts and tools.
Hope this helps.
Mike
:usa:

Yeah I have seen those. Actually I am not concerned with the slides. I found companies that make pretty long full extension ones... that can hold about 240 pounds. Or I can allways put two 150 pound sides per side.

I dont think I want a slide that goes the whole length of the box though... since there wouldnt be room to open it all the way on some situations... and I would be shit out of luck if something I needed was way in the back.

Just a couple of more thoughts. I like the idea of a lockable steel box. There are some off brand 'Knack' like boxes for a few hundred bucks. Use it for the main box and put your stuff in various size ammo boxes. If you have a 'Northern' (hydraulics/handyman/whatever they call themselves today) near by they have all size boxes up to about 30" long at dirt cheap prices. If you make it out of wood I'd use exterior glue plywood (I made one that way for another application) Particle board will fall apart if it gets really wet a few times. I'm not sure about MDF. The other thing to consider is how much weight is in the box and what happens if you roll it over. There is a lot of force with loose stuff trying to tear the wooden box apart Reinforce the corners with 2x2 and maybe the bottom with 2x2 (on the outside) to keep it out of the water/moisture. And you have to figure how to hold it down to survive a rollover.Having said all that I custom made a box out of 1x1 angle iron and used 16 gauge tack welded on the inside and silicone sealed all the seams.