Cargo Area Storage - Trunk and Security

[jayhat]

Pic heavy warning!

Just redid my storage area in my Trail. I went from a massive rolling duffel that stretched the back area to a Husky hard case rolling trunk/toolbox. I actually bought two of these with the idea of them taking up most of the room but making sort of a platform, but they were just a bit too big. They fit but it was hard to access the latches and open them. I decided to pack one really full and store my extra clothing on a bag outside of box.

*The main question I have is do you think this one strap I have holding this box down will be strong enough to hold the box in place if I were in a bad accident (all but a rollover). I am very paranoid about stuff flying up and hitting (killing) me or someone else if I were in a an accident, yet I tend to always have a bunch of emergency shit just in case (still paranoid?).*


Started out with the Husky 35 in. Mobile Job Box, Dimensions
Assembled Depth (in.) 34.6 in
Assembled Width (in.)22.5 in
Assembled Height (in.)13.6 in
Handle Length (in.) 13.5
25 Gal / Holds up to 100 lbs. of gear

Cargo area - OEM cargo mat and 4x climbing rated biners for easy attachment of stuff.

Anchor points and bolts. I bought these to give additional (NON-WEIGHT RATED) mounting points on top of the trunk.

Anchor point mounted

One idea being that I can use them as sort of a "stuff" spot to stuff light items, blankets, coats, etc, as well as a good place to keep bungie cords stored and organized.

Getting it loaded and organized

Decided to mount a Lil Larry light in the lid for lighting the trunk in the dark and easy access to remove. These are actually pretty great little lights. They are 250 lumens, run on 2x AAs, have a magnet in the base (stick to hood or any body panel), and clip. They have 2 brightness modes and a red flashing mode. It's velcored to the lid.

Car mounting - I thread the biners through the loops in the end of the straps. That way it doesnt fall off when I loosen it. The lid has a nice channel that really securely holds the ratchen strap in place.

 

[jayhat]

Also have the OEM "envelope" net. I have never had one of these and used to think they were stupid. I was totally wrong - this thing is great for groceries and misc small stiff. Very handy. I saw another member thread a bungie through the bottom of the net to each of the D rings to give it more rigidity. It's a great idea.

Since this box did not hold the massive amount of gear I had in my duffel, I had to settle for a small clothing bag outside. I sort of like this model actually. The clothing module gets changed out depending on the season. Right now it's packed full of winter clothes and one spare set of regular clothes. Having a backpack is also nice because if I need to ditch the car and walk back somewhere, I can empty it, grab clothing/food/water/survival stuff/etc and head out on foot. My FAK is in the tool bag next to it.

Again paranoid of stuff flying up in accidents. The backpack and FAK are clipped with a biner to a doubled up climbing rated sling, and binered to the D ring. The handles I am using to clip them too are a weak point here, but I may revisit that.

Cover it all with a black wool blanket. really helps disguise there is anything in the back when trying to look in (hard to see anything). Also good for emergencies, camping, etc.

Pics of the rig

If anyone is interested, the case hold the following (probably missed a couple things):

Recovery Bag
Smittybilt Hitch shackle
ARB snatch strap
Tree saver (for bridle)
Regular tow strap (soft ends)
2x shackles (3/4")
Warn strap/line dampener

Tools / misc automotive
Pretty big tool bag - most everything you'd need for field repairs (not going to list it all)
VIAIR 300P Portable Compressor (takes up a lot of room)
Small take down snow shovel
Small regular shovel
Sven saw
Bat (never know haha)
Paracord (~100')
More ratchet straps
Thick rope 25'
10x10' tarp
High vis safety vest
2x road triangles (break down)
2x road flares
Jumper cables

Survival Gear
Fishing kit
Metal pot
Iso butane stove
Iso butane canister
Canteen w/ metal cup
Goretex Bivy
SOL Bivy
2x thin painters drop clohts (shelter)
2x cheap space blankets
1x thick space blanket
Misc signaling stuff
Fire kit
Sawyer squeeze water filter w/ extra bags
3L water bladder and hose (empty)
Bunch of food and snacks vacuum sealed in a bag
TP
Knife and razor

 

[MikeNH]

This is fantastic. In my Jeep currently I've been using saddle bags that fit above the wheel wells and have been poking around looking for a large duffle or similar for the 4Runner (buying in a month or two hopefully). This seems like a much better solution, especially making it so you can use the lid as a storage platform.

 

[jayhat]

This is fantastic. In my Jeep currently I've been using saddle bags that fit above the wheel wells and have been poking around looking for a large duffle or similar for the 4Runner (buying in a month or two hopefully). This seems like a much better solution, especially making it so you can use the lid as a storage platform.

Thanks. I keep thinking I like the idea of drawers, but at the same time I keep thinking I don't want something that permanent. I think it will be a good solution.

 

[chitown40]

Very nice, and a nice write up too.

To answer your question though, I would not count on the one hold-down/ratchet strap to secure that Husky box. If you get hit with any type of signifcant lateral force that box will dislodge from the hold-down strap.

Drawers are nice, but you're right they can be more permanent. I like the setup of building a plywood T-style platform that can be anchored to the four factory hold-downs with either a lynch pin or similar setup. Then use Rubbermaid under-bed storage drawers (long and rectangular). The under bed drawers are cheap, hold a lot, and you can keep several loaded at home (and stored under workbenches, etc) with different gear. You can then select the one or two that you need for the type of trip you are taking.

Anyway, your setup looks well-thought out and clean, and that goes for something too.

 

[JSparky]

Lol the baseball bat . I don't blame you, it's just funny. I keep a can of bear spray in mine.

 

[jayhat]

This is fantastic. In my Jeep currently I've been using saddle bags that fit above the wheel wells and have been poking around looking for a large duffle or similar for the 4Runner (buying in a month or two hopefully). This seems like a much better solution, especially making it so you can use the lid as a storage platform.

If it were up against the back seat do you think that would be safer? I was trying to imagine the dynamics of stuff back there when moved with a lot of force. It's hard to imagine that thing flying up and over the seats in anything but a rollover. Never know I guess.

 

[MikeNH]

If it were up against the back seat do you think that would be safer? I was trying to imagine the dynamics of stuff back there when moved with a lot of force. It's hard to imagine that thing flying up and over the seats in anything but a rollover. Never know I guess.

I think you intended to quote chitown40 and not me here but my thought is if it fits vertically against the wheel well and doesn't cover the tie down hooks, I'd mount some sort of tie down to the case at both ends and run an individual strap to each anchor point. Or against the seatback and anchoring to the child seat tether (assuming you don't have to actually use it for a child seat) as those are plenty rugged.

 

[jayhat]

I think you intended to quote chitown40 and not me here but my thought is if it fits vertically against the wheel well and doesn't cover the tie down hooks, I'd mount some sort of tie down to the case at both ends and run an individual strap to each anchor point. Or against the seatback and anchoring to the child seat tether (assuming you don't have to actually use it for a child seat) as those are plenty rugged.

You're right, I misclicked. Good points! I didn't know how strong those child seat points were. I don't have a kid so that works as well.

 

[jayhat]

I think you intended to quote chitown40 and not me here but my thought is if it fits vertically against the wheel well and doesn't cover the tie down hooks, I'd mount some sort of tie down to the case at both ends and run an individual strap to each anchor point. Or against the seatback and anchoring to the child seat tether (assuming you don't have to actually use it for a child seat) as those are plenty rugged.

Well I took your advice. Went to the local hardware/everything store that has a huge selection of strapping, mounts, clips, etc. Bought several different things with the idea of figuring it out as I went.

2 U-Bolt style tie down mounts with nice backing plates.
2x thin red 2000 lbs looped end straps
2x thicker black 2000 lbs looped end straps (like seat belt material)
2x 2000 lbs screw gate biners
2x D-Ring tie downs

Also bought a box of these Quick Fist mounts - might mount the shovel and a couple other things to the lid of the box

U-Bolt tie down mounts

The U bolts are massive and kind of awkward inside the box, but they are down low enough that it did not present a problem when mounting. Was going to do one or the other but I decided to go for both.

Straps and biners- I need to swap out the wiregate biners. They are not load rated if it moves around and the strap pulls on the wire. It's got to pull straight down. I need a couple other screw gate biners. After getting it mounted in the truck I wished I would have put one mount at the front end of the case to help it from flipping forward in the event of a wreck (might get one more for each side haha).

Ratchet holding it tight against the back

Can open enough without moving it

All packed up

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[CoolMax]

excellent post...I've got the same husky box....trying to figure the best way to secure it while offroading..

 

[WaldoOneFive]

I love this so much! Thank you for sharing and providing all the good pictures!

 

[T4RGold]

Great write up. I had a similar idea but hadn't considered tie-downs



Thanks for the information.

 

[RonJR]

What I've used in place of your straps and biners are screw hooks and turnbuckles. Assuming your tiedowns don't require excessive reach to the anchor points, the hooks and turnbuckles work well, provide a lot of strength, and can easily be tightened such that the box literally can't move.

The important thing in all of this is to limit any motion of the box relative to the truck. If you keep the box tightly "involved" with the vehicle, as they say in the NTSB accident reports, the g-forces aren't all that high, even in a crash. It's when the box keeps moving as the vehicle stops, and then generates a secondary collision inside the vehicle, or gets brought up short by a loose hold-down strap, that real damage/injury occurs. Loose hold-downs are much less effective than tight ones.

For the same reason, snug seat belts are very effective in protecting occupants. Loose ones, not so much.