polizi212
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- October 3, 2012
- Messages
- 295
- Reaction score
- 1
- City, State
- Northeast Ohio.
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 2008 Ford Explorer XLT
I love my Explorer and it has been a good Vehicle so far but it lacks any kind of storage area where I would feel comfortable keeping my Firearm securely locked up in. Glove box is not secure the center console is not lockable nor would it take much to rip it open.
Well since I am licensed to carry a concealed firearm, I needed a place to lock my Firearm up when I am unable to take it into a location that forbids them. Yes I try to avoid that but sometimes you just have to do what you have to do! Looking at the market of available options some too cheap and flimsy and others so expensive you might need a loan to buy them. I decided on a locking gun box made by Bulldog
After getting this and seeing its construction its a sturdy item that will keep lowlifes from just walking away with your goods!
This car vault has two main parts! The shell/sleeve that mounts to the vehicle or other objects!
And the Actual lock box its self.
these two mate together by sliding the lock box into the sleeve and then locking the two together with the lock on the box.
The box I bought was the large version and as you can see its plenty big enough for my Ruger P95.
The next issue I had was where in the heck was I going to mount this and be able to access it easily. I looked under my front seats but neither the passenger side or drivers side had any room to mount this with out removing wires and I was not going to do that. I also have a dislike for just drilling holes in perfectly good cars if I don't need to. So I had to hunt around for a good mounting point! My search lead me to the space under the 2nd row seat on the Passenger side that had a really nice area for my vault that also had a slight elevation to it and had a good metal point to mount my box to. In this picture You can see I already have the hole tapped. But if you look at this area on a 2008 Explorer you will see it has two hole already in the metal cross piece, so I didn't have to drill I just tapped the hole to fit the bolts I was going to use. The area is also just slightly off the center of the vehicle so I can reach behind my seat and access the box from a seated position.
So here is what I did! You may do something different! I didnt take picture of the actual work as I was doing it. I did these after i was done.
First I found the location I was going to mount my box and then I figured out the hole size and made a trip to Lowes for bolts I found some 5/16 18 thread Allen head bolts about 1 inch in length. These are used to bolt the box to the floor.
Next I needed to mount the mounting sleeve to some plywood so that that could be secured to the floor. I made the plywood a few inches longer to allow for the mounting bolts and it also put the vault in just the right space.
The plywood I used was 1/2 inch. I attached the mounting sleeve to the plywood and then attached it to the floor in the hols I tapped earlier.
In order to save my fingers I used my electric drill with a modified Allen key to quickly run the screws in nice and snug!
After it was all tight you can see it is out of the way and you really have to be looking for it to find it under the seat. The way it is mounted the seat has a cross bar that runs just over the top of the vault keeping you from pulling up on the safe to pry it out and since it rest on the center hump you can not push down on it to break it free either, It is not 100% going to keep a bad guy from taking my stuff but I do not think in the short time he will have a chance that he is going to be able or willing to try to get it open.
Here is a shot of the inner box half out of its mounting sleeve!
For good measure the box has a cable that you can use to further secure your items to you car!
The project didnt cost much and here is a break down of what it cost me. Your cost could be different!
Bulldog Gun Vault $41.08 From Amazon.
Allen Head Screw $ 1.15
Plywood -Free
Time for this project about 1 hour and 15 mins mostly finding my tools and shop light and then cleaning up. I really like my lock box location and After I made some modifications to the interior lining of the box its much better now.
Well since I am licensed to carry a concealed firearm, I needed a place to lock my Firearm up when I am unable to take it into a location that forbids them. Yes I try to avoid that but sometimes you just have to do what you have to do! Looking at the market of available options some too cheap and flimsy and others so expensive you might need a loan to buy them. I decided on a locking gun box made by Bulldog
After getting this and seeing its construction its a sturdy item that will keep lowlifes from just walking away with your goods!
This car vault has two main parts! The shell/sleeve that mounts to the vehicle or other objects!
And the Actual lock box its self.
these two mate together by sliding the lock box into the sleeve and then locking the two together with the lock on the box.
The box I bought was the large version and as you can see its plenty big enough for my Ruger P95.
The next issue I had was where in the heck was I going to mount this and be able to access it easily. I looked under my front seats but neither the passenger side or drivers side had any room to mount this with out removing wires and I was not going to do that. I also have a dislike for just drilling holes in perfectly good cars if I don't need to. So I had to hunt around for a good mounting point! My search lead me to the space under the 2nd row seat on the Passenger side that had a really nice area for my vault that also had a slight elevation to it and had a good metal point to mount my box to. In this picture You can see I already have the hole tapped. But if you look at this area on a 2008 Explorer you will see it has two hole already in the metal cross piece, so I didn't have to drill I just tapped the hole to fit the bolts I was going to use. The area is also just slightly off the center of the vehicle so I can reach behind my seat and access the box from a seated position.
So here is what I did! You may do something different! I didnt take picture of the actual work as I was doing it. I did these after i was done.
First I found the location I was going to mount my box and then I figured out the hole size and made a trip to Lowes for bolts I found some 5/16 18 thread Allen head bolts about 1 inch in length. These are used to bolt the box to the floor.
Next I needed to mount the mounting sleeve to some plywood so that that could be secured to the floor. I made the plywood a few inches longer to allow for the mounting bolts and it also put the vault in just the right space.
The plywood I used was 1/2 inch. I attached the mounting sleeve to the plywood and then attached it to the floor in the hols I tapped earlier.
In order to save my fingers I used my electric drill with a modified Allen key to quickly run the screws in nice and snug!
After it was all tight you can see it is out of the way and you really have to be looking for it to find it under the seat. The way it is mounted the seat has a cross bar that runs just over the top of the vault keeping you from pulling up on the safe to pry it out and since it rest on the center hump you can not push down on it to break it free either, It is not 100% going to keep a bad guy from taking my stuff but I do not think in the short time he will have a chance that he is going to be able or willing to try to get it open.
Here is a shot of the inner box half out of its mounting sleeve!
For good measure the box has a cable that you can use to further secure your items to you car!
The project didnt cost much and here is a break down of what it cost me. Your cost could be different!
Bulldog Gun Vault $41.08 From Amazon.
Allen Head Screw $ 1.15
Plywood -Free
Time for this project about 1 hour and 15 mins mostly finding my tools and shop light and then cleaning up. I really like my lock box location and After I made some modifications to the interior lining of the box its much better now.
