The Craftsman Project WITH PHOTOS

[ExplorerDLUG]

Craftsman Garage Tool Boxes Installed in rear of 2002 XLT Bolted to frame through the seat belt bolt holes on both sides. Im going to clean up the crappy bed liner painting I did on the base but over all I'm very happy with the way it turned out. I'm thinking about cutting out the floor center since the 3rd seat is gone it's pretty hollow in there could be good storage. Maybe a couple hinges would do the trick. This is the very start of my explorers transfer from my Snowboarding vehicle in california to my Locksmith work vehicle in Hawaii when I move there in June!

 

[aldive]

Looks great; job well done.

 

[not8taxi]

looks cool...great job

 

[High_Order1]

I hate to be the lone dissenting voice...... but

I think you are wasting a huge amount of space there. I think its' great you are trying, but I think if you are capable of doing all that by yourself, you could prolly build yourself a custom console that would befit you better.

It also looks like you are going to be reaching waaaay in or climbing up in there a lot, too. You could build some shelves that pull out so you could stand up behind the vehicle and pull them out and work that way.

Since you are locksmithing, you could even build a drawer that pops out with a pop up anvil and a grinder / key cutter. ANYTHING to keep from climbing in and out of a vehicle, seriously dude, it gets old quick.

Just an opinion......

Shawn

 

[Charlie]

Looks great! Let us know how it works out!

Do you have a way to keep the drawers from opening up while cornering?

 

[High_Order1]

I forgot - look at what EMS and Fire are buying for their command vehicles. Truckvault and EPI are two companies I can think of off hand. Copy their designs and modify them to suit you...


-Shawn

 

[jimbo74]

Do you have a way to keep the drawers from opening up while cornering?

its got big anti-theft bars running in front of the middle of the drawers, that should hold them shut




sorry, but i too, am not a fan..... those boxes are not made for movement.... tools will be all over the place, and will jump their drawer and migrate... ive had tools migrate, jsut from rolling the box around the garage, nowhere near as much movement as in a truck.....

i would look into getting real truck boxes that have that in mind when they were designed

 

[ExplorerDLUG]

Foam Drawer Liners - Cheap - No Noise - No Movement

 

[Black92LX]

Should have bought an old mail vain from the USPS. You can get them pretty cheap. Pull out all the rear seats have a full smithing bench on one side and have a place to work inside the vehicle.

A buddy of mine is a lock smith and i have to say his van is pretty sweet.

But the project looks good. Though I have to agree with a past poster that seems like you will be reaching awkwardly especially from the back.

 

[High_Order1]

yeah -

don't take what I say personally. like i said, I am all for the effort you've made. I have spent a LOT of my life putting tools into, or pulling tools out of vehicles.

Having items that were easy to get to seems trivial. But over time, even little things can piss you off to the point you start taking power tools to things...

Another thought I had rereading this thread: I know zero about Hawaii. But it appears mountainous, and I know mountainous.

Have you tried tilting the vehicle yet with those things loaded? I realize you say its' bolted down, but if they are top heavy, there is the possibility your load could tilt, and send that one box through the side window. Especially if you are as bad as I am about ratholing things as time goes along....

-Shawn

 

[trucku]

looks good. I would put them back to back. The small one you can access by dropping the back seats and the big one will be right at your back window. If you had it in the center you would load the trucks suspension evenly and keep her stable

 

[Uafan]

Very unique. Job well done.

 

[DavidS]

Be sure that you put something like Master 185 or 187 series padlocks on everything you have uses padlocks. Hawaii has an incredible problem with car theft/auto burglary/house burglary due to the huge numbers of meth addicts on all of the islands. Anything less than these locks on your toolboxes or anything else that uses one will not be effective as lots of these meth heads carry around bolt cutters just looking for work-type vehicles with tool boxes to break into. Those security bars you have on the boxes will not be enough, you need something more substantial. I kid you not, these people will try to break in on your stuff even when you go in to pay for gas at a convenience store. I've never seen anything anywhere like the theft and burglary problems that Hawaii has. I hope you've done your research thoroughly about the island you're moving to and to individual neighborhoods/towns on the islands. A lot of neighborhoods and even whole communities are quite hostile to outsiders moving in, especially if you're white or military. I'm not exaggerating in the slightest. Contact me at maui4me at charter dot net and I'll give you any info that I can to help you with your transition to island life. I'm not trying to burst your bubble about moving to paradise, but paradise has drastically changed in the past few years. Even ten years ago, many folks in areas outside of Honolulu rarely locked their doors and left their keys in their cars! Now, we just can't afford to live there anymore. Aloha, really~

 

[Donner]

If you had a crash, a header, what stops those boxes from going projectile and causing massive physical damage to anyone in the vehicle? Or a rollover? Technically, it's not really diff from having excessive audio equipment, but just curious.

 

[Donner]

Oh, and the gray o-rings around the base of the headrest, if you have them and they are in good condition, and you'd like to sell them... let me know. I need them. It looks like your original front seats are replaced too...

and the storage panels, are they available for sale? pm me, or post... thanks!