Another cargo box, but with a twist (lots of pics)

[gaterose]

I've seen a lot of good cargo boxes here and on toyota120.com and decided to build one of my own. I'm accustomed to my Z71 with a toolbox so I've felt a little helpless being unable to carry tools with listening to them slide around back there. The twist is the sub, I got tired of the JL 8 in the factory spot so I upgraded to a JL 12 (right now a 12w1, but a 12w3 is on the way) and built it into the cargo drawer. I figured I would share it with everyone.

I had some plywood, mdf, & vinyl laying around that I bought a while back for other tasks. I decided it would be better to build something that takes up the full cargo floor area and has a flat top so that I could still haul things back there only the floor would be higher. It took a good while because I had to work on it at my house in Tuscaloosa but I spend most of my time 2 hours away at my apartment in Montgomery. I also had to wait on parts (like the latches and I'm still waiting on better hinges to get here). Altogether I've got about a month in it now.

The sub box and the cargo drawer are 2 separate units but look like one because the cargo drawer top covers the sub box. The sub box is bolted to the floor in two spots while the cargo drawer is bolt in 4 places.

Since I had a couple backpacks, gps, pistol, and spare key stolen from the 4runner about a month ago, security was a big issue. When the drawer latches are locked the sub and drawers cannot be removed from the vehicle. I used security screws to hold the lexan over the sub so that it can't just be removed by unscrewing with a philips head.

This is what I came up with:

I started by removing the double decker, all the carpet & padding so i just had a blank floor then I took some measurements and cut my base.

I made one long cut for the risers and then cut that into smaller lengths so that it would be a uniform height. I bought five 4' lengths of 1/8" aluminum angle stock and cut & drilled that into A LOT of 4" corner brackets; it was cheaper/lighter than buying a bunch of steel braces and it's stronger than driving the screws into the edges of the wood.

I also bought some cheap foam padding for the top as I'm thinking I may build an extension and use this as kind of a sleeping pad but I'm undecided and may remove the padding.

I cut a hole out of the drawer top so the sub would be exposed, then put vinyl on all the horizontal boards, and carpet on the vertical boards. I also cut the base for the sub box out and drilled holes for the places where everything would bolt in at this point. I used threaded compression nut inserts in holes drilled thru the cargo floor for anchoring.

 

[gaterose]

I decided to make one drawer shorter and leave a cargo bin that could be accessed easily, if need be, from the driver's side through the back door without going to the cargo area. I cut the door for the bin to match the angle of the seats so that it could also be easily accessed from the back without moving the rear seats.


I need something to cover the sub and let the floor remain level so I bought a 18x24" piece of lexan from home depot and cut it to shape with a fine-tooth jigsaw. You can't tell because of the padding but it's recessed into the plywood. I also cut the JL logo out with a drill, dremel, and the jigsaw to allow sound to pass through. I also lined the top of the sub box with red (a t-shirt) to look similar to JL's boxes.

This was the first time I've worked with lexan, and I messed up a little, so I'm prolly gonna go buy another piece and make a nicer grille. It will be basically the same as this because I'm very happy with the looks and sound of the design. The holes have to be small so my dogs' paws can't get stuck when they're back there.

The longest wait was on the perko livewell style latches and the recessed cargo tie downs from an audi a6. I just put those in today and I think they add a real nice, almost factory touch.

The drawers and lidded compartment are lined with carpet I got from a local carpet retailer's scraps to prevent rattling tools. I also picked up some waterproof home carpet padding that lines the entire floor of the cargo area (including under the plastic pieces on the side). It's much better than the stuff toyota had under there.

Both drawers fully extended, the smaller drawer is 13x17, the larger drawer is 22x26, and the cargo bin is 23x14.

I also have an old 3D mag lite mounted on the driver's side, but I bought a streamlight ultrastinger from a friend and mounted that on the passenger side, plugged into the rear outlet. I'm sure I'll hardwire it later but not today, I may also pull the mag out.

 

[ARK_SWAMP_RIDER]

Awesome build, love the sub integration!!! I've long thought about something like that but don't have the skills to do so.

 

[gaterose]

Awesome build, love the sub integration!!! I've long thought about something like that but don't have the skills to do so.

Thanks! I've been building it in my head for a while now and finally started cutting. I'm no carpenter by any means, if I built it anyone can. This was my first time to do pretty much every bit here (lexan, drawers, latches, & vinyl) except cutting & drilling. Just plan ahead and measure/prefit everything twice.

 

[euy]

ya dood, awesome build!!! that thing would come in so handy for me. i may have to consider something similar in the future.

-euy

 

[gaterose]

ya dood, awesome build!!! that thing would come in so handy for me. i may have to consider something similar in the future.

-euy

Thanks, it took a while to build but it's easy to do and I use it all the time. I posted all those pics of the assembly so others could see the design in case anyone wants to replicate it or use some of the ideas & info.

 

[chaz]

nice job!

 

[2003-4x4runner]

Very Nice. How much does it weight and what's your gas milage now that you have the extra weight?

 

[gaterose]

Very Nice. How much does it weight and what's your gas milage now that you have the extra weight?

Thanks, I have no clue what it weighs. I know that if I can pick it up by myself easily (just the drawer box, not the sub box it's separate so I can't really pick up both at once); it can't weigh too much. If I were to guess I would say somewhere between 45-60 lbs.

When I put the box in, it was just before a trip to CO and I pulled my MegaWarrior roof rack, which led to about 1-1.5 mpg gain, so I have no clue if the box changed it any. It doesn't weight much so I can't imagine it decreased mileage much.

 

[gm350reratliff]

Very nice! I've been thinking of building something like that too. Thanks for sharing.

 

[2003-4x4runner]

Thanks, I have no clue what it weighs. I know that if I can pick it up by myself easily (just the drawer box, not the sub box it's separate so I can't really pick up both at once); it can't weigh too much. If I were to guess I would say somewhere between 45-60 lbs.

When I put the box in, it was just before a trip to CO and I pulled my MegaWarrior roof rack, which led to about 1-1.5 mpg gain, so I have no clue if the box changed it any. It doesn't weight much so I can't imagine it decreased mileage much.

45-60 pounds isnt too bad. I think i will go ahead and build one for myself, but with out the sub box. Might even make a hidden compartment to hide my gold , lol.

 

[gaterose]

I've updated the box a good bit since posting this thread and thought I'd share the changes.

I removed the cargo lidded area and made the sub box a bit bigger so it would sound better. Now the entire sub box is covered in carpet and the SUB has a JL OEM grille instead of the recessed/plexiglass covering. The drawers are both 24" deep with the same widths (I like how they match the split in the rear seat).

I haven't added cargo tie downs back yet because I'm not certain how I want them and if I want to use the Audi recessed tie downs, the bolt on type, or one of the tie down systems like the hi-lift one.

I screwed a metric socket holder/set and ratchet wrench holder/set onto the drawer front and have a deep well set I plan to add under the standard set but haven't had a chance to do it.

I also added this little tripod mount because I keep the tripod in the 4r most of the time and didn't like it floating around back there. I used the cargo cover bolt, foam backing, and the star clip cargo tie down so it didn't require drilling or scratching the OEM plastic.

edit: And YES I removed the padding that everyone including my friends complained about. And the dogs HATE it when they have to ride off road back there without padding.

 

[norcal2]

Looks nice, how is your locking mechanism holding up for the drawers when closed and where did you get the hardware? im thinking about doing something similar only half as deep...im just worried about the drawers wanting to slide open all the time and rattling...

 

[gaterose]

Thanks, the locking mechanism works great, they are perko live well latches.

The drawers don't come open on their own or rattle.

 

[BigRogers]

great size build man, tools & storage, IMO you killed it........:sniper:. love the integration of the sub and idea with the storage holders. Dig the handles too, were did you pick them up?
definitively rethinking my build plans.

 

[gaterose]

Thanks a lot!

I got the handles from eBay I think, but it may have been Amazon. They were kind of expensive so I looked for a while and waited to find some cheaper ones.

 

[Dougtoms01]

Very nice build and good documentation. Thanks for sharing. Best regards, Doug

 

[wrestler157]

i might of missed it when reading but what type of wood did you use?

 

[gaterose]

i might of missed it when reading but what type of wood did you use?

3/4" plywood for the drawers and 3/4" MDF for the sub box. I'm probably going to switch some of the 3/4" plywood for 3/8" over the next few weeks to reduce a bit of weight and increase room slightly.