F1scher
New member
Over the last few days, I have received a couple PMs about the rear storage box I built, so I thought I would put together a quick thread with some pictures and some insights.
I am one of those people that quasi live out of their car, and I always had a ton of stuff scattered around the backseat, and cargo area. I wanted a solution to clean that all up, but wasnt about to break the bank for a pre fab storage box that would be totally overkill for my needs.
I didnt need anything fancy, and knew it was liable to store running shoes, rather than 100 lbs of recovery gear. At the same time, I wanted something relatively low profile (still able to retain the use of the cargo area for boxes, coolers, bags, etc.), yet was large enough to actually put stuff in.
I spent a TON of time looking at some really unbelievable builds. Not knocking the 4Runner community, but some of the FJ drawer builders, and those on Exp. Portal are really outstanding. I knew a would never do anything like some of those, but they were good for ideas/inspiration!
Rear Cargo Drawer Build - Toyota FJ Cruiser Forum
Post up your drawer/storage system - Expedition Portal
My goal was to create a platform that covered the entire area (without crevices for crap to fall down into), sat flush with the back seats, and was sturdy enough for a 120 lbs Chesapeake to travel on. I also ended up opting out of pursuing a drawer build, simply due to my lack of wood working ability, and the fact that with a low profile box, drawers really cut down on available space.
Finally, I wasn't going to buy anything from store unless I really had to. This complicated things a bit, but I wanted to reuse a lot of wood materials I had laying around, and wasn't going to buy rather expensive sheets of 3/4" finish plywood if I could avoid it.
Unfortunately, as this wasn't a build I had planned out in terms of what was explicitly going to be used, I dont have a list of materials, nor a cut list for sizing. I did this kind of on the fly, but the pictures tell a good story. I measured pretty much only off of the storage area itself, and the old adage of measure twice, cut once, is a must.
At base, the materials utilized are:
Pictures of the process - As I said, I really dont have a cut list, and just measured as I went. I angled the rear of the box to accommodate for the backseats, and the fit really was quite good. It would obviously have been more efficient, easier, and lighter to build the frame of the box with 3/4" finish ply, but I had all the 2x4s lying around, and I did not have a table saw available to me that day. Assembling the box frame to be square and sturdy took a bit of time, and it looks a bit haphazard, but it turned out really, really solid.
Framed Up
You can see how the frame was put together (poorly:artist2
Floor In
Primed
Painted and Foam Floor In
Struts
Carpeted/Edge Banded
Steel Face
Installed/Turnbuckles (it fit, thank god)
Finished!
In the end, its about ~8.25" tall in total, has two separate top open doors (latched on the side - no pictures of that) which stay open with the struts, and it fits pretty perfectly in the back. Its flush to the backseats, and to the bumpouts on either side. Yesterday I had three people sitting on it, and it was fine w/ the weight.
Not perfect, but serves my purposes well and wanted to share!
Thanks guys!
I am one of those people that quasi live out of their car, and I always had a ton of stuff scattered around the backseat, and cargo area. I wanted a solution to clean that all up, but wasnt about to break the bank for a pre fab storage box that would be totally overkill for my needs.
I didnt need anything fancy, and knew it was liable to store running shoes, rather than 100 lbs of recovery gear. At the same time, I wanted something relatively low profile (still able to retain the use of the cargo area for boxes, coolers, bags, etc.), yet was large enough to actually put stuff in.
I spent a TON of time looking at some really unbelievable builds. Not knocking the 4Runner community, but some of the FJ drawer builders, and those on Exp. Portal are really outstanding. I knew a would never do anything like some of those, but they were good for ideas/inspiration!
Rear Cargo Drawer Build - Toyota FJ Cruiser Forum
Post up your drawer/storage system - Expedition Portal
My goal was to create a platform that covered the entire area (without crevices for crap to fall down into), sat flush with the back seats, and was sturdy enough for a 120 lbs Chesapeake to travel on. I also ended up opting out of pursuing a drawer build, simply due to my lack of wood working ability, and the fact that with a low profile box, drawers really cut down on available space.
Finally, I wasn't going to buy anything from store unless I really had to. This complicated things a bit, but I wanted to reuse a lot of wood materials I had laying around, and wasn't going to buy rather expensive sheets of 3/4" finish plywood if I could avoid it.
Unfortunately, as this wasn't a build I had planned out in terms of what was explicitly going to be used, I dont have a list of materials, nor a cut list for sizing. I did this kind of on the fly, but the pictures tell a good story. I measured pretty much only off of the storage area itself, and the old adage of measure twice, cut once, is a must.
At base, the materials utilized are:
- Multiple Lengths of 2x4
- 1/2" Plywood (Box Floor)
- 3/4" Finish Maple Ply (Box Top)
- Aluminum Angles (Corner Edging)
- 4 Hinges
- 2 Aluminum Turnbuckles
- 2 Latches'
- 2 Suspa Gas Struts ~25 lbs each
- 48" Roll of Indoor/Outdoor Rubber Back carpeting
- Foam Matting
- 7” x 40 ¾” Stainless Steel Plate
- Wood Primer
- Rustoleum Satin Black Paint
- Lots of Misc. Hardware!!
Pictures of the process - As I said, I really dont have a cut list, and just measured as I went. I angled the rear of the box to accommodate for the backseats, and the fit really was quite good. It would obviously have been more efficient, easier, and lighter to build the frame of the box with 3/4" finish ply, but I had all the 2x4s lying around, and I did not have a table saw available to me that day. Assembling the box frame to be square and sturdy took a bit of time, and it looks a bit haphazard, but it turned out really, really solid.
Framed Up
You can see how the frame was put together (poorly:artist2
Floor In
Primed
Painted and Foam Floor In
Struts
Carpeted/Edge Banded
Steel Face
Installed/Turnbuckles (it fit, thank god)
Finished!
In the end, its about ~8.25" tall in total, has two separate top open doors (latched on the side - no pictures of that) which stay open with the struts, and it fits pretty perfectly in the back. Its flush to the backseats, and to the bumpouts on either side. Yesterday I had three people sitting on it, and it was fine w/ the weight.
Not perfect, but serves my purposes well and wanted to share!
Thanks guys!
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