4-Ripcord
New member
Cargo Box Build Project
|May 4, 2012|
Cargo Box Build
With Moab coming up, I have been wanting a better storage solution, I can't just throw all the stuff I need in the back and expect to keep it organized. With inspiration from BigFishAllDay and BigRogers' Cargo boxes, I decided to set out making my own.
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-g...-one-2001-sport-ed-trd-scd-18.html#post826736
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/107165-cargo-box-deck.html
There were a few things that I wanted to change from those two though..
1) I didn't want any DEEP compartments. As most of the time I will be reaching in while standing outside and behind the vehicle, a deep compartment would be difficult to get stuff out of.
2) I didn't want the top doors to be so tall swing on an axis along the width of the vehicle, I wanted short doors that would swing sideways on an axis along the length of the vehicle.
3) I wanted one of the compartments to be able to fit a CV axle without being in an awkward position.
4) I didn't intend to screw directly into the side of the plywood. I was always taught that was not very strong, even if you drill pilot holes. So I wanted to use some support pieces for all the screws instead of going directly into the plywood.
5) Don't leave bare wood. Paint it.
Which Side?
When picking which side to build the box on, these are lots of things to consider. All of these reasons are why I decided the passenger side was better for my uses.
1) There is already too much weight on the driver's side. Such as battery, fuel tank, driver.. I wanted to try to balance it out at least a little bit.
2) The filler neck hump on the drivers side wheel well presented a huge obstacle for me. I didn't see any way to get around or over it without losing a ton of storage room.
3) If I could somehow incorporate the existing passenger side cargo compartment into a cargo box build, that would be even more clean.
4) As I occasionally sleep in my truck on camping and lake trips, I wanted the box to be like a night shelf. And therefore I wanted the power outlet to be near the box.
Supplies/ Parts:
$36.97 - 1 sheet 4'x8' Arauco Plywood (19/32")
$23.04 - 2 pieces of 3/4" x 3/4 x 8' Pine
$18.98 - 6'x8' Gray Area Rug
$12.88 - Fulterer "FR5000" HD 8" drawer slides. LINK HERE
$8.47 - 1 box of 1-1/4" Deck Screws
$8.10 - 3 Arched Handles (Satin Nickle Finish)
$6.18 - 2 pairs Self-closing Hinges (satin nickle finish)
$5.52 - 2 Turnbuckles (5/16"x9")
$4.42 - 1 Satin Nickle Tri-Hook
$2.76 - 3 sets of spring loaded Door catches
$1.98 - 1 pair of heavy duty Open-ended "S"-Hooks.
$1.11 - 2x 3" long screws
$13.05 - "TerraLUX TLE-6EXB MiniStar5 140 Lumens Extreme LED Replacement Bulb for 2-3 C&D Cell MagLites"
$4.75 - "MAGLITE ASXD026 D-Cell Flashlight Mounting Bracket"
SUB-TOTAL: $149.57
Tools used:
Dewalt 18V cordless Jigsaw (awesome!!)
Makita corded high speed drill
Black & Decker corded power sander
Tape measure (duh..)
Staple gun (with LOTS of heavy duty staples)
Time:
I spent probably 10-12 hours building this box.. over the course of 3 days.
Started with this:
back piece cut:
Fitting Floorboard
Structure is about halfway done here
Time for the Front piece.
Had to contour the top door so it could open without hitting the side of the truck and the window supports:
Paint it white:
Fitting the drawer slides:
Rug layed out:
Carpeted.. I used probably 100+ HD staples.
Test Fit!
Had to flip the factory mounting points to be able to use them on the cargo box system.
Used turnbuckles. You can see why those open-ended S-hooks are needed.. Too many closed ends.
Using the stock cargo cover mounting points- Big credits to BigFish on that one..
Swapped the regular bulb in the 3-D maglite for an LED bulb.. its awesome!
... Due to pictures-per-post limit, continued on next post.
|May 4, 2012|
Cargo Box Build
With Moab coming up, I have been wanting a better storage solution, I can't just throw all the stuff I need in the back and expect to keep it organized. With inspiration from BigFishAllDay and BigRogers' Cargo boxes, I decided to set out making my own.
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-g...-one-2001-sport-ed-trd-scd-18.html#post826736
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/107165-cargo-box-deck.html
There were a few things that I wanted to change from those two though..
1) I didn't want any DEEP compartments. As most of the time I will be reaching in while standing outside and behind the vehicle, a deep compartment would be difficult to get stuff out of.
2) I didn't want the top doors to be so tall swing on an axis along the width of the vehicle, I wanted short doors that would swing sideways on an axis along the length of the vehicle.
3) I wanted one of the compartments to be able to fit a CV axle without being in an awkward position.
4) I didn't intend to screw directly into the side of the plywood. I was always taught that was not very strong, even if you drill pilot holes. So I wanted to use some support pieces for all the screws instead of going directly into the plywood.
5) Don't leave bare wood. Paint it.
Which Side?
When picking which side to build the box on, these are lots of things to consider. All of these reasons are why I decided the passenger side was better for my uses.
1) There is already too much weight on the driver's side. Such as battery, fuel tank, driver.. I wanted to try to balance it out at least a little bit.
2) The filler neck hump on the drivers side wheel well presented a huge obstacle for me. I didn't see any way to get around or over it without losing a ton of storage room.
3) If I could somehow incorporate the existing passenger side cargo compartment into a cargo box build, that would be even more clean.
4) As I occasionally sleep in my truck on camping and lake trips, I wanted the box to be like a night shelf. And therefore I wanted the power outlet to be near the box.
Supplies/ Parts:
$36.97 - 1 sheet 4'x8' Arauco Plywood (19/32")
$23.04 - 2 pieces of 3/4" x 3/4 x 8' Pine
$18.98 - 6'x8' Gray Area Rug
$12.88 - Fulterer "FR5000" HD 8" drawer slides. LINK HERE
$8.47 - 1 box of 1-1/4" Deck Screws
$8.10 - 3 Arched Handles (Satin Nickle Finish)
$6.18 - 2 pairs Self-closing Hinges (satin nickle finish)
$5.52 - 2 Turnbuckles (5/16"x9")
$4.42 - 1 Satin Nickle Tri-Hook
$2.76 - 3 sets of spring loaded Door catches
$1.98 - 1 pair of heavy duty Open-ended "S"-Hooks.
$1.11 - 2x 3" long screws
$13.05 - "TerraLUX TLE-6EXB MiniStar5 140 Lumens Extreme LED Replacement Bulb for 2-3 C&D Cell MagLites"
$4.75 - "MAGLITE ASXD026 D-Cell Flashlight Mounting Bracket"
SUB-TOTAL: $149.57
Tools used:
Dewalt 18V cordless Jigsaw (awesome!!)
Makita corded high speed drill
Black & Decker corded power sander
Tape measure (duh..)
Staple gun (with LOTS of heavy duty staples)
Time:
I spent probably 10-12 hours building this box.. over the course of 3 days.
Started with this:
back piece cut:
Fitting Floorboard
Structure is about halfway done here
Time for the Front piece.
Had to contour the top door so it could open without hitting the side of the truck and the window supports:
Paint it white:
Fitting the drawer slides:
Rug layed out:
Carpeted.. I used probably 100+ HD staples.
Test Fit!
Had to flip the factory mounting points to be able to use them on the cargo box system.
Used turnbuckles. You can see why those open-ended S-hooks are needed.. Too many closed ends.
Using the stock cargo cover mounting points- Big credits to BigFish on that one..
Swapped the regular bulb in the 3-D maglite for an LED bulb.. its awesome!
... Due to pictures-per-post limit, continued on next post.
Last edited:
