Well, after seeing others building cargo boxes, I got jealous and built one too. My requirements were somewhat different though.

Requirements:
1. Must be easily and quickly put in/out of truck by one person.
2. Must be able to be fastened down without using any tools.
2. Must hold Hi-Lift jack, tools, and recovery equipment.
3. Must be low profile enough to fit dog cage on top.
5. Must work with dog barrier.
6. Must be relatively inexpensive (less than $100).
7. Must look decent.
8. Must not make any permanent changes to truck, everything must be reversible.

The bottom is 1/2" plywood, the top is 3/4" plywood, and the vertical supports are 3/4" solid wood. The drawers have 4" vertical space, and the entire thing is less than 6" high. I carpeted the entire thing, inside and out. Sorry, I didn't take pics as I was building, but here are a few pics of it completed.

Here it is in the truck:



I just slide it into place, and the forward section has tabs that slide into the cargo D rings for a secure fit:



The rearward section has angle iron with slots cut in, that drop down over the rear cargo D rings. Then I simply put a "T" shaped bracket through the D rings with a pin to lock everything into place:



The dog cage and divider attach directly to the box and use no tools to fasten down. I can easily install or remove them both in less than a minute:



The drawers don't use any drawer slides, they just slide on the carpeting, which I installed on the bottom inside surface of the box for drawer sliding and a sound dampener:



The hi-lift jack has its own compartment to slide into and a pin to secure it into place:



I also never liked the removable passenger side cargo compartment door, so I made one that hinged open from about 1/3 of the height from the bottom:



Oh, and some happy customers:





To remove everything, I just remove the two drawers and hi-lift, then pull two pins, and slide the box out. I know I probably didn't explain everything very well, so if you have any questions, I will try to answer them.

Thanks,

 

VERY nice!

 

Nice. I like how you intergrated the high lift into the design.

 

I dig it !!!

The dogs are cute BTW !!

 

What brand of cage divider in that on the back seat?

 

Well done, I dig it. I attempted to make drawers for mine, but failed..clean install.

 

Nice job! I really could use one of those

 

Thats sick! Too bad you didnt include a write up on it!

 

Cool, another box build, very nice.

 

wow man, nice job.. i really like how you included the hi-lift into the design of the box. Iv never really thought about building something like that for my 4runner, iv just got a big ol' rubbermaid plastic tote that i throw all my junk in. i may have to go get some plywood and try my hand at building a storage area now.

 

Nice, very slick!!!

 

Looks great.
Out of curiosity, why have one dog in a crate and one outside? Seems as though it leaves neither with much room.

 

Sorry, can't remember the brand name, but I picked it up at the local pet supplies store for about $60. I modified it by adding a plywood piece to the bottom of it. It creates a nice cubby hole between the slanted rear seat backs and the divider, which is a great place to put tools, axe, shovel, etc.

There wasn't really much to write about.
1. Design, re-design, re-design again, then tweak the design some more.
2. Build box, continue tweaking design.
3. Build drawers to fit in box.
4. Add hardware as needed.

Seriously, if you have specific questions, I'd be happy to try to answer them.

Couple of reasons:
1. The younger dog (in crate) is a chewer. The crate keeps him from destroying my interior.
2. Dogs get hyper when the know they're going for a ride. When they're hyper, they rough-house. I don't want them rough-housing in the back of the truck. Separating them keeps them much calmer.
3. The crate creates a space on the driver side that can be used to put stuff, that neither dog can get to.

Thanks for all the compliments.

 

just curious, what did you use to glue the carpet down with? was it a spray adheasive like 3M brand's M77 (thats what my boss calls it at work, dont know if thats the actual name but i do know its made by 3M and it comes in a arisol can) i think im going to start designing and gettin materials togeather for something similar for in the back of my 1st gen runner.

 

The carpet is not glued down, it is held down with many 1/2" long tacks.

 

Very nice

 

What exactly are the little "t" things that go through the D rings, and where do you get them? Oh ya, and what size Hi-Lift is that?

 

The "T" shaped pieces are custom made. I just found some 3/4" thick aluminum at work, and cut it to the shape I wanted. Then ground it down to fit through the D ring.

The Hi-Lift is a 48" model. However, to make it fit in that location, I had to cut about an inch off of the top of it.

 

great work..

 

looks good!