Well, I got tired of lugging my old faithfull tool box in and out of the X every time we would go wheeling. Got to talking to a friend of mine about building a tool box for the back. Something that could carry tools, spare parts, and weight on top.

So we all know what this is.....

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c2/triumphwoody/Maxine/RearEmpty.jpg

...an empty cargo area.....

Well, after $65 in wood, glue, and screws, I now have this....

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c2/triumphwoody/Maxine/RearDriverSide.jpg

...connected in the front with some aluminum...

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c2/triumphwoody/Maxine/RearHooks.jpg

...it is held down with another strap.....

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c2/triumphwoody/Maxine/Rearw-drawers.jpg

...and is completely removable....I got one side for tools, and the other for parts.


I still have to figure out how to mount the spare to it, cut up some carpet for the exterior, and get some some padding for the tools to sit on. I also plan to mount my fire extinguisher to it and create a spot for a cooler to sit on to get strapped down as well.

Was a long day, about 6 hrs of work, but I have 2 drawers that measure ~19"x18"x4". Now I can put my tools in and leave them there........Oh, and they are my spare tools too, not my good tools. Those will stay in the garage locked up!

Vey Nice Woody! Doing mods right takes a long time but it is worth it!!!!

nice!! is that 1/2" wood??

good job man

Yes. I got more pics, but I am tired and photobucket is being a bitch tonight. I will get more pics of the effort up in the next day or so. I have a couple free evening this week!!!!!

Nice job!

Wrap it in carpet and go to Home Depot and by a roll of contact matting. It's a rubber matting that has a no-slip surface which holds tools in place and keeps stuff from sliding around. One roll is like $5. Just an idea.

Regardless of which way you go, I like the idea and it looks really good.

like the carpet that is on speaker boxes?

like the carpet that is on speaker boxes?


Yep. Easy to apply with some spray or brush-on adhesive and a staple gun. Although diamond plating would be sweet too but heavy and pricey. Hmmm... ideas and inspiration just hit me... need to jot these ideas down for my damn self and quit giving all of them away. hahaha

Got some carpet from James' X to put on there. I plan to put contact matting in one drawer, but I am not sure how I am going to set up the other drawer yet. Still not complete, but it built and that was the hard part.

i want something like that.. but on a much smaller scale

stevin has a sweet box in the back of his x maybe we can get him to post a pic of it

Very creative!

Nice work. That looks like a really worthwhile and useful mod.

Looks good Woody. ;)

Well, I screwed up cutting the carpet for it last night. It was from James' cargo area. So, we went out and bought some more. Got it sanded down. Should have some carpet started on it tonight. Just need to figure out what I am going to do with the drawer fronts for aesthetics and locking so they don't slip open.

Black laminate or something to that affect I think would look good. Especially if you could find a textured style.

To hold the drawers closed, you could put on a simple hasp like this:
http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=100153103&N=10000003+90401+502687

If this is like the ones I'm thinking of, it won't require a lock or something similar to hold it closed. The eye will twist and hold the hasp. Although with tools in there, even cheap ones, it wouldn't hurt to lock it and keep the key somewhere in your X and off your keychain.

nice work woody, I dont know how close the drawer is to your door but the toolbox setup that I have, which is similar to yours, gets held closed with my cargo hatch and I havnt had any problems with it.

If it opens, it would only be about an inch or so.

I can't take all of the credit. I only had the design part. Good friend of mine did most of the cutting and other parts I couldn't figure out to make it look so good.

Couple of you asked about my box so here's the photo of it:
http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/mm247/samonett21/xterra/100_0555.jpg

Did you get a deal on what looks like Xterra Carabiners?

Nice looking cargo box. If you built it Great Job if not where did you pick it up from?