If your truck has an extra cab, you could pile all your tools back there, let them fly around, and hunt for what you need, but there’s a better way.
Here’s what I did. I’ve got a fairly simple built-in in the back of my truck that keeps my tools organized. The first thing I did was take my seats out–which turned out to be not very difficult. Then I built this box out of 3/4 in. plywood. There’s a separate bottom that is just sitting there. There’s a front piece that runs all the way through, and there’s a shelf that also runs across the entire width of the cab. The other side is a mirror image. There’s a plywood divider in the middle. Now to hold this in place, I used these brackets that the seats used to hang on. I cut notches in the plywood shelf and used small metal clips to secure the box to the seat brackets. I added a couple of drawers on full-extension slides to keep screws, nails, and other hardware. Power tools go in the big compartment on either side, and longer items like bar clamps and levels go in the space between the built-in and the back of the seats. It keeps me organized and ready to go.
I know it was my idea, but I still think it’s pretty clever. And I know Chuck is glad that I sent it in.
Kevin Ireton is editor-at-large and a good friend and former colleague of Chuck Miller’s. Keep your eye out for more Better Way videos from Kevin and several of our other regular contributors in the near future.
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More smart truck-storage ideas:
Video: Build this truck-bed storage drawer
Reader-submitted: Beautifully-built truck-bed organizer
Video: Sliding dump bed makes unloading gravel fast and easy
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View Comments
An interesting storage idea for sure! But better for work vehicles and trucks I think. My wife would kill me if I put a storage unit in the back cabin of my Ute like that becausae then where would the kids go! Maybe something for the back carriage would be a little bit more feasible..
An interesting storage idea for sure! But better for work vehicles and trucks I think. My wife would kill me if I put a storage unit in the back cabin of my Ute like that becausae then where would the kids go! Maybe something for the back carriage would be a little bit more feasible..
If you're going to carry around that many things in your truck, a customised storage cupboard would definitely be a good investment I think! Better than stacking things up and praying that they don't get tossed around too much when you're on the move anyway. A storage cupboard would really be much safer!
I don’t think that I would fill up the extra cabin with tool storage to be honest, not when I have lots of real estate in the back. Even if I needed storage space, where there are nice cushions for people to sit on I really would want to retain that functionality rather than turning it into a little pull out cupboard.
It's amazing what solutions people can come up with when they put their minds to it! This is an excellent option for more storage in a vehicle!
It is a cool idea and executed well. Although, it completely eliminates the functionality of purchasing a extended cab with seats. The author, as well as I, have a nice extended cab truck. It makes it seem "dirty"? I have a nice chrome diamond plated cross box that gets a lot of compliments to my ride and serves the purpose of storing tools and equipment.
Any reason why you didn't buy a van?