making off the floor storage in the rear?

[cantspell]

Hi there, recently i went on a little wheeling trip with some x-terra guys and many of them have this little shelf they built that goes from rear widow to rear window frame, so it allows them about 5" in storage space (from the roof to this little shelf), to keep whatever.

Has anyone with an EX done this? I often sleep in the rear of mine (when camping) and the problem is, is that half my cargo area is taken up with a box that i use to keep my stuff together.
Can we screw things (hooks, brackets) into the head liner? Or plastic window surrounds?

 

[jasonb]

i've done this. i have a second section that can make the whole thing flat over the rear seats but i have yet to use it. i keep a lot of crap in there and i was tired of not having room and stuff sliding all over the place. its bolted through the floor and the top also hinges open. i would think one that is on the roof would be harder to get stuff from, especially in a lifted vehicle. would look cool, but it seems impractical.

 

[mhn3773]

id advise against putting any kind of a load on the hedliner..or even the roof for that batter but what is pictured about would be perfect for u..just toss some egg crate over it and ur all set

 

[X~FACTOR]

Nice custom-made box, Jason. Why do you have clothes in your truck though? I have a spare shirt in my trunk too but not a whole dresser.

 

[jasonb]

lol.. those are shop rags covering up all the spare parts (hubs, cvs, tie rods, etc...) keeps everything from making noise!

 

[CarFreak146]

Here's what I did....

 

[bluevolume]

Can we screw things (hooks, brackets) into the head liner? Or plastic window surrounds?

Coming up with ways to store more gear in your vehicle can be good, but you have to be careful with what you store, and how well it is secured. Keep in mind that if you get in an accident, anything in your car that isn't tied down becomes a bullet -- heading right toward the back of your head. Even storage boxes that are bolted down can break loose, or fly open spewing their contents.

Blue

 

[CarFreak146]

That's one of my first projects for this summer, is to bolt down my box.... I've got all the hardware for it, I just haven't done it yet.... I"ve got about 120lbs of stuff in the box, not including its own weight, and I found out the other day while wheeling, that it will still slide. I was goin down a steep hill, and I turned around for some strange reason to see the box had slid all the way up, and was touching the back of my front seats.

 

[410Fortune]

on my BII I have been planning to make use of some of the wasted space on the tailgate itself. I can mount my 4 way (tire iron), cb antennea, tow strap, receiver hitch, gloves, flashlight, and fire extinguisher on it. This will get all that junk out of the cargo area and it will be secure and still open with the weight.

If you hang stuff from the roof you risk imparing your visability and also it can come loose and kill you as mentioned above.
For some Ex guys who have ditched the spare tire mounted ujnder the floor the wholoe floor could be cut out and a big storage space could be made to fit where it once was.... I plan to re-locate my batteries and also an air tank into the floor of my truck, on a BII it will go on the drivers side opposite the muffler (where the explorer gas tank is), I will cut out much of the cargo floor for this and build a deep box with a new floor.

 

[Jefe]

Another point that should be made, is that when wheeling you want your center of gravity as low as possible. Not sure what you want to keep up near the roof, but if its anything over 100 lbs you're going to wish it wasn't there when off camber.

I also have constructed a box for the back of my truck. It has slots to slide in 3 identical tool boxes, and when open acts as a tailgate to put stuff on. I also placed hooks in the top to tie down extra stuff (spare tire, ice chest, etc).

 

[CarFreak146]

Jefe, can you post pics of your box??

410, make sure you post pics when that gets done.

 

[Jefe]

It is now carpeted on top and that monster of a spare tire got moved to the bumper tire carrier. Just behind the rear seats is another storage area with loose stuff, along with my CO2 tank.

 

[CarFreak146]

Wow, that is awesome man!! I will have to change my box design as it starts becoming more and more trail only.

--Ryan

 

[Positive Vibes]

Jefe how the hell do you find time to do all this stuff and do it right???

 

[410Fortune]

that is badass! Remind me next time I see you Jefe to check that sucker out.

Joe Deitz (not on the board much but he will be in Moab) has a monster of an Ex, he used one of those HUGE metal boxes built for the back of Jeeps I believe that has the slide out drawer in the back of his Explorer. Hes got so much crap in there its not even funny, but it worked out very well for an Explorer.

The BII has ALOT less cargo space then a Ex, I have to take out eh back seat in order to fit the 33 inside....

 

[Arnie897]

I did the same as most of the above...

 

[410Fortune]

why dont you guys mount up some hydro shocks to open those up? Or at least some prop rods? hahaha what do you do when you dont have your umbrella or your jack handle?

 

[Arnie897]

EBInterceptor gave me his old hood lifts that I'm trying to get working....those things are strong though and want to keep that thing open all the time.

 

[Iowa Hick]

I was just thinking yesterday about how I have too much junk sliding around in the cargo area of my X, now you guys are getting me all pumped up to start a carpentering job

I might have to try to design me something that would just fit along one side though

 

[Charlie's_93EB]

i would love to show mine box, but mine looks like childs play next to all of these.
but have not been able to post pics since the site change :fire:
can i have a lil help
and what is the max pixil X pixil? 520x640?

thanks