bucknasty07
New member
The one thing that always drove me crazy about my 4runner was the lack of storage space. The two little flip up plastic drawers on the wheel wells are fairly useless, so I took some motivation from the many great builds people have done for some cargo boxes.
Let me first say, I am not a carpenter or a skilled builder in any sense of the word. This project took me at least 3x longer than it should have. But the end product looks good and functions good and thats all that matters. My goal was to create a box that didn't rise above the wheel wells so I would still have enough room to stack various things on top of it if needed.
First, I used the rear mat as a template and cut a piece of plywood. It was a little longer than the mat so when I removed the rear shelving piece it would sit flush with the rear strip with the tie downs. (Can't figure out how to put these pictures after paragraphs so they're all at the end.)
I made an identical frame for the bottom and attached everything to create a box frame. The 3rd picture shows a weird gap in the center but this was replaced with a single 2x6. The box would probably bow if I put weight on it so that was a no brainer. Bad planning, like I said I'm no carpenter or builder. The frame was approximately 9in tall. This allowed the box to sit almost flush with the wheel well and didn't get in the way with the little plastic drawers so they could still be used if needed.
Next, I carpeted the entire top and made my 2 drawers and carpeted the outsides of them. Got this carpet from Home Depot for about $15. I swear the exact color of the toyota carpet must be trademarked or locked in Fort Knox because I couldn't find an exact match anywhere. But this carpet was close enough. I used spray adhesive and staples so it wouldn't move around as I move stuff along the top of it while loading and unloading stuff.
I put self closing drawer pulls because, why not! They can support 400lbs and they were long enough (24in) to help secure the drawers in place. Once the box was all set up, I added the handles to the front and added 4 tie downs to the top.
I needed to find a way to secure this box down so it wouldn't tip or fall out when I had it loaded and out for use. Originally, I was going to drill into the frame and bolt it down. But my wife is a genius and suggested a different approach. I needed to be able to remove the entire box if I needed and also to make it a 1 man job. I found the perfect solution. So I added tie downs to the sides of the box where the 4 tie downs are on the floorboards. 2 are in the rear, 2 are behind the rear seats. I used small clevis pins and a 2 ended tightener. Not sure what they're called but there's a picture. This allowed me to quickly and easily remove and install the box.
In the end I think it turned out very nice. I sprayed the drawers with Rustoleum Bed Liner to add some extra grip. I plan to create a foldable platform that can sit on the drawers when they're fully deployed so it can act as a table. Now I'm ready to haul some stuff without it flying around in the back driving me crazy.
Let me first say, I am not a carpenter or a skilled builder in any sense of the word. This project took me at least 3x longer than it should have. But the end product looks good and functions good and thats all that matters. My goal was to create a box that didn't rise above the wheel wells so I would still have enough room to stack various things on top of it if needed.
First, I used the rear mat as a template and cut a piece of plywood. It was a little longer than the mat so when I removed the rear shelving piece it would sit flush with the rear strip with the tie downs. (Can't figure out how to put these pictures after paragraphs so they're all at the end.)
I made an identical frame for the bottom and attached everything to create a box frame. The 3rd picture shows a weird gap in the center but this was replaced with a single 2x6. The box would probably bow if I put weight on it so that was a no brainer. Bad planning, like I said I'm no carpenter or builder. The frame was approximately 9in tall. This allowed the box to sit almost flush with the wheel well and didn't get in the way with the little plastic drawers so they could still be used if needed.
Next, I carpeted the entire top and made my 2 drawers and carpeted the outsides of them. Got this carpet from Home Depot for about $15. I swear the exact color of the toyota carpet must be trademarked or locked in Fort Knox because I couldn't find an exact match anywhere. But this carpet was close enough. I used spray adhesive and staples so it wouldn't move around as I move stuff along the top of it while loading and unloading stuff.
I put self closing drawer pulls because, why not! They can support 400lbs and they were long enough (24in) to help secure the drawers in place. Once the box was all set up, I added the handles to the front and added 4 tie downs to the top.
I needed to find a way to secure this box down so it wouldn't tip or fall out when I had it loaded and out for use. Originally, I was going to drill into the frame and bolt it down. But my wife is a genius and suggested a different approach. I needed to be able to remove the entire box if I needed and also to make it a 1 man job. I found the perfect solution. So I added tie downs to the sides of the box where the 4 tie downs are on the floorboards. 2 are in the rear, 2 are behind the rear seats. I used small clevis pins and a 2 ended tightener. Not sure what they're called but there's a picture. This allowed me to quickly and easily remove and install the box.
In the end I think it turned out very nice. I sprayed the drawers with Rustoleum Bed Liner to add some extra grip. I plan to create a foldable platform that can sit on the drawers when they're fully deployed so it can act as a table. Now I'm ready to haul some stuff without it flying around in the back driving me crazy.
