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Locking rear storage for soft tops?

U

urbex

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Getting ready to throw the Softopper on the K5 in a few days, and after seeing that some jack monkey stole the shackle off my receiver recovery point, (hahaha, joke's on you! That sucker was cracked already.. :D), it got me thinking about theft protection inside. I was looking at the Tuffy cargo drawers, but holy price tag!! I already have two of their center consoles, one of the universals in the K5, and the Samurai specific in the Samurai, so I know they make quality product. And I know, you get what you pay for, windows can still be broken in hard tops, blah blah blah..

That said, are there any less astronomically priced options out there? I'm not trying to make my K5 Fort Knox, nor do I have a bunch of cop equipment to protect...I just don't want my tools and parts to disappear by someone walking by. Even the Smittybilt stuff seems expensive for what amounts to a basic steel box. Maybe it is what it is, but I figured it can't hurt to see if other people have come up with creative solutions, maybe using parts that weren't intended to be used like this in the first place.
 
Metal toolbox bolted down with a locking latch.... a determined thief will get into anything if they are determined enough.

I was going to build a cover for the back of my k5 that went from the rear seat to the tailgate, then bolt a toolbox down under it, just to keep everything out of sight.
 
It’s not what you guys are looking for price wise, but I absolutely love my TruckVault. They sell a plethora of styles and sizes. They are priced like they’re gold, though.
 
I used an aluminum tool box for a pickup truck in my '75 K5,I think it was from a smaller pickup like a Toyota or Ranger..found it at a salvage yard ,paid $40 for it..
I bolted it down using the threaded rear seat mounting nuts welded into the floor,and put a real hasp with a padlock on it..
I couldn't fit it behind the rear seat so I removed the seat,seeing I rarely hauled more than one passenger--you could sit on the tool box but with no back rest it wasn't very comfy..
 
Abusfullofnuns said:
It’s not what you guys are looking for price wise, but I absolutely love my TruckVault. They sell a plethora of styles and sizes. They are priced like they’re gold, though.
Click to expand...

Yes, a few of their reps came to my company for demos. As soon as I heard "public safety" in their spiel, I knew their prices were going to be astronomical, lol. Seems pretty much any time a company specializes in B2B sales the prices go way high.

diesel4me said:
I used an aluminum tool box for a pickup truck in my '75 K5,I think it was from a smaller pickup like a Toyota or Ranger..found it at a salvage yard ,paid $40 for it..
I bolted it down using the threaded rear seat mounting nuts welded into the floor,and put a real hasp with a padlock on it..
I couldn't fit it behind the rear seat so I removed the seat,seeing I rarely hauled more than one passenger--you could sit on the tool box but with no back rest it wasn't very comfy..
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That's actually not a bad idea, and I had completely forgotten about the smaller truck boxes. I have a full size in my K20 now, and the thought briefly crossed my mind until I realized it mounting across the bed rails would interfere with the soft top brackets. Then again, the latches are already jacked up on that one, and I likely wouldn't be able to sell it for much more than scrap value anyways, so I may just cut it down and reweld it. Though I would still prefer a drawer style unit, and something that would cover all, or at least, most of the bed floor space. I like the idea of a cover over the whole thing for camping duties, where I could just toss an air mattress over the top and have a nice sleeping surface too. Otherwise, I'll start getting nuts with it again, and start thinking about building an adventure trailer, and I'm right back to throwing a ton of money at it all, lol.
 
Although more work, a cheap way out would be to build a plywood box, using carriage bolts. Put any hinge screws on a side that won't be accessible when installed and the fasteners that hold it down only accessible when the box is open. Carpet covering would help with looks and could also hide the location of the fasteners. Has the custom size/space advantage, too.
 
Another option I considered for my '72 K5 was one of those "sliding drawer" type storage compartments for pickup trucks--that would have been low enough to allow a mattress to be put on top of it if you needed to camp out in the truck..I ended up making a plywood platform that stood up on legs about 6" tall ,that allowed my "junk" to be stored under it and I could sleep on top..wasn't fun getting at things that slid forward though under it..
 
diesel4me said:
I ended up making a plywood platform that stood up on legs about 6" tall ,that allowed my "junk" to be stored under it and I could sleep on top..wasn't fun getting at things that slid forward though under it..
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This is exactly why I wanted a drawer system. It's hard enough getting to stuff back there now while reaching over the tail gate, and I'd be hating life real fast if I had to do it while reaching under a cover as well. Although, once I do the bumper/tire carrier set up, the plywood boxes may not be such a bad idea, as I could lock the carrier, which would effectively lock the tail gate from coming down and allowing access to the wood drawers. I'm really not concerned about someone atttempting to disassemble the box from the outside, or bust through the wood. The K5 sits high enough now that it would take some effort to to do so, and I'm really only concerned with the opportunistic grab and run types.
 
Yeah, Craiglist, used job boxes or truck boxes. Bolt it down somewheres. Tuffy boxes for Jeeps are on CList too.
I built my own out of diamond aluminum plate I had laying around. Got everything to fit. It's in the build thread towards the last couple pages. For the smaller stuff, ammo cans help take up the small space not already in use :D
 
I recall my plywood platform was up on milk crates in each corner now that I think back--which also could hold some stuff like extra fluids..

The one dislike I had using the platform to sleep on was the fact I'm 6'5" tall,and if I sat up fast,my head got bashed in on the rough textured fiberglass roof!..:doah:..needed another foot of headroom!--I carpeted the platform and ditched the air mattress ,that helped,but I'd still hit the roof if I forgot to not sit fully upright..
 
There was one blazer a few years ago at BB, I think he drove down from Canada. He had a false floor that a PO had built. It looked like they cut the floor out of a blazer and attached it to the bottom of the current floor. Like some smuggling type of s***. Looked really clean and you would never see it if you weren't aware of the of the blazers "curb" behind the driver seats. IIRC access to it was from inside, at the curb, and went all the way back to the tail gate. Looking at it from below the truck, it looked like a flat floor, no kick up.
 
I have a lockable diamond plate box that's about 18x18x36 that I'll bolt down in my Blazer. I had it in my old K10 just inside the tailgate and it worked good. It's big enough for a a small toolbox, shackles and straps. I don't carry a ton of stuff so it works good.
 
I've been debating getting a Truck vault for the suburban even thou its pricey, its $2500 for the dual drawer and mid height box, plus i was going to add the tie down track until i found out they want $245 (damn thats a hell of a markup ) its about $50 for track and tie downs online
 
@H20 Toie
They’re pretty sweet. It’s complicated my plans for subs, though . I shortened a full size one to butt up against second row buckets. It’s nice to have the open space that’s solid AF. I have a dog bed attached with velcro in this pic for the security guard. See avatar. It looks like I took this pic at a mtn bike trailhead based on the gear. When we go camping, it’s filled with all kinds of gear.

C7ACABBE-B3A2-45BB-8FCD-0D4A52876F1F.jpeg
 
Weatherguard makes a bunch of different boxes that lie in the bed or mount to the sides.
https://www.weatherguard.com/en/products/truck-tool-boxes-equipment/pull-out-storage

I personally like the boxes that mount to the side of the bed behind the wheel well. They utilize disrupted space and leave the floor useable. Plus they face back into the tailgate so they're easy to open when the gate is down and no one can get into them when the gate is up and locked.
https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200664820_200664820
 
Tractor Supply has a Black Friday sale ongoing,30% off all truck tool & storage boxes..
 
I may be going with the plywood option after all... Trans just started slipping last night. Looks like it's time for that 4L80E upgrade :doah:
 
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