Custom storage box ideas

[russj67]

I've been trying to think of a cool way to add storage to my truck. I don't really want a diamond plate tool box. I was thinking of a strong box, painted to match my truck, but looking for ideas. Anyone have pics of what they have done?

I want something that looks clean, sits below the top rail of the bed, but will hold a decent amount of stuff (camp chairs, ice chest, etc.)

[Primered_69]

Man I will be watching this...

[72 cheyenne pdx]

You have a nice truck. Maybe too nice for a storage compartment in the bed. I would get a trailer that matched your truck or something to your liking and tow it. Even if you decided to get a removable storage unit, then you risk of scratching the sides/wood. If you don't mind that, you could always get a hard tonneau. They make they that sit flush to the bed rails.


Good luck.

[slomotion]

How about a box to match or contrast the deck in the box? This one happens to be mahogany, but a varnished oak box would look pretty cool in your truck.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Since we're all offering our $.02 let me first say I friggin' LOVE your truck! A '67 small window is EXACTLY what I was looking for when I bought my '46. I like my '46 a lot, but I know in my heart of hearts I will have a '67 shorty one day.

The 70's and its "earth tones"; like your truck, were my teenage years. Your color is awesome. What exact color is it, if you don't mind telling?

I am not in favor of hard tonneau's for older trucks. To me, they're not correct for the early era's. In your era the only tonneau (in my humble opinion) that looks right is the naughahyde snap-on ones. But I'd NEVER drill holes in a truck like yours for that, no way.

My suggestion would be to shop Craigslist for a small old wood steamer trunk. Then refinish it in a complimentary color to your bed wood. I'd use spray adhesive to install carpet (nap side down) on the bottom of it so you can't bugger up your beautiful bed. But then you have to figure out how to keep it from moving around? Maybe those brown rubber furniture feet things?

I'd really like to see what you come up with. Can we ge more pix of your truck? I want to save them for future reference.

[mikey531]

I have the same problem, I have been kind of kicking around using this old trunk I bought. It still has an old REA shipping label on it.

Hey Dan great minds think alike !!

[slomotion]

No matter what you decide to do, the storage unit should be bolted/screwed to the bed. A quick swerve could set the box adrift which may beat up the sides of your box. Any hardware store has furniture insets which are a brass or steel fitting with a wood screw thread on the outside that gets turned into a hole drilled in the deck. This fitting has a machine screw thread in the ID that you use to fasten the storage unit to the truck bed.

[72BlckButy]

Depending on how much storage you need, what about a vintage cooler?

Here's a shot of tcb-1's truck with his vintage coca-cola cooler in the bed. I have a similar cooler (no logo) in the bed of my truck and use it to store cleaning supplies and beverages when empty.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Hi Mikey,
I've kicked around this same idea for my truck which is REALLY small. Its a '46 which makes a '67 look like a sedan. (I'm kidding of course, but 3 people cant get in the cab.

I think that trunk would look great stripped and stained. The metal bands could be painted, antiqued, or you could use gold, copper or silver leaf - personally I'd put a glaze to tone down the bling of that, but you get the idea. It's only limited by your imagination.

I agree with Slomo it would be best to bolt it down to keep from b!tching up paint, but I wouldn't drill a beautiful bed like the ones above. I think I'd find a way to use one of the stainless strip carriage bolt locations. Maybe weld a nut below and use a bolt & flat plate affair inside the trunk that would make it removable when you wanted to.

[russj67]

Thanks for the ideas. I like the the thought of the trunk if I could make it either a good match or contrast. I had thought of the cooler idea after seeing tcb-1's truck yesterday when he was showing his "new" vintage cooler (very cool). I don't think it would have quite enough space. I've also thought about a big rig saddle fuel tank, polished and converted into a trunk, but those tanks aren't cheap. Right now my budget is close to nil. If I spend much more on this truck this year, my wife will flip.

Dan in Pasadena, here are a few more shots of the truck. Thanks all for the compliments! Keep the ideas coming..

[Tom Vogel]

THAT is one of the nicest steppers Ive seen.
Id just put in a plastic box cooler and put it on a towel or something and remove it at shows... thats what I used to do.

[68gmsee]

My opinion for what it's worth.

Don't ruin a beautiflly restored truck by permanently mounting a storage box. A rubber pad and a small temporary one that you can pick up and put inside the truck would be okay. Do not leave a nicely crafted wooden one or even an antique trunk in it unless you're at a show. They would be too easy to steal.

The one I prefer is the small vintage cooler that can be removed and placed on the seat and locked up when you leave the truck parked.

[special-K]

Do you have any truck body laces in your area?They can fab a box for you.I`d make a box that came about even with the bedsides,18-20" deep,and painted to match the truck.Maybe find an old steel saddle box with rounded lids for donors.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Hi Russ,
I love your truck, man!
I went and searched Craigslist the other night after reading your post and found a couple nice trunks. I search under "Antiques" and entered "small, trunk" and came up with a few. I found one I would buy for myself that looked nice for only about $60. Of course I'd spend a bit more sanding it, staining it, etc. I'd either rattle can the metal straps in place or having them powder coated (black or chrome finish, depending) if they could be removed/replaced easily.

Another thought just occurred to me reading the recommendations above. How about buying (yeah, my budget is nil too, but I'm spending YOUR money with this recomemdnation! ha ha!) two of the sheet metal reproduction coolers, get someone to bandsaw the left and right end pieces off and then weld them together to make a double wide "vintage" cooler? Sure, it wouldn't work as a cooler anymore but it would LOOK like one and you could store stuff in it. Another option is to look for a metal box about the right size and paint or pwder coat it to look like a vintage cooler. You can get all sorts of old graphics off the internet and then have a decal made of them to apply after you paint the box some vintage color scheme.

Easy to come up with ideas for other guy's money. I just can't do it when it's MY money.

Please post pix of what you do.

[fatboys69]

I have a vintage RC Cola Cooler like TCB-1's that acually keeps drinks cold, and a plastic tool box that sits below the top of the bed sides, but mine is a shop truck.

[Baby John]

I was just thinking about this myself. Wondered what a stainless steel beer keg modified with a hinged lid would look like back there. There's not much I'd put in a truck that nice. Perhaps you could strap the keg to the sidewalls without much damage to the bed. The stainless wouldn't stain the paint any either.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Another thought: I once saw a street rod (admittedly with lots of under seat room) that had its fuse board mounted on a set of small drawer slides. You could pull it out when you wanted to change the fues, relays, etc.

I always thought about that after and wonderd if I could use it with an upholstered board that would mount my Maglite flashlight, fuses, some bungees cords or rathcet straps, maybe a small box for misc items. Just a thought.

[screamin_c10]

Russ, How much storage are you looking for? I have a Tahoe 2nd row seat I bought for just that purpose....The bottom flips up to provide additional storage....

[Shane]

That's too nice of a truck to be hauling anything other than ... well ... you know.

[70cst]

WOW That is one very nice stepper. I have a Vernors pop cooler that I will be using.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Russ,
Here's a link to a group of photos of some very nice wood toolboxes that may provide some ideas for your storage solution.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/2601242...7604939283219/

[russj67]

Thanks for the ideas. I like the keg idea, but I would have trouble cutting it to make it into storage. I would want to fill it with beer instead! I also like the idea of joining two vintage coolers, interesting thought. A wooden trunk would be nice, but if I did one, I would want it to match the bed (oak with polished stainless strips somehow) and that would probably be tough to do (with my lack of wood working skills).

I agree with some of you that I shouldn't put anything back there, but I know there will be times I need to take things with me and I wouldn't want them floppin around in the back. I guess I could do the towel and plastic cooler idea for now until I find the perfect thing. I'm going to keep thinking about it. Keep the ideas coming! Thanks!

[mikey531]

I put mine in to see how it would look and it looks ok as my truck is nowhere near as nice as yours ! But when I do get to it I planned on putting some rubber mats on the bottom of the trunk to hold it. I won't have it in all the time just when I need to carry more than I can put under the seat. I bought this on craigslist for $20.00

[russj67]

Originally Posted by mikey531

I put mine in to see how it would look and it looks ok as my truck is nowhere near as nice as yours ! But when I do get to it I planned on putting some rubber mats on the bottom of the trunk to hold it. I won't have it in all the time just when I need to carry more than I can put under the seat. I bought this on craigslist for $20.00

Thanks for the pictures! It helps to see these in perspective. One a little shorter and maybe longer would probably work pretty good for temporary use like you are suggesting.

I'm starting to get the feeling that anything I choose is not going to look totally at home in the bed. I need to find something though, because my wife won't be happy if I've got a case of beer and the lawn chairs on her lap! I'm getting chills just thinking about the look she would give me...

[gcburdic]

Originally Posted by russj67

I need to find something though, because my wife won't be happy if I've got a case of beer and the lawn chairs on her lap! I'm getting chills just thinking about the look she would give me...

I've seen you post this truck before....that thing looks fantastic!!! Is that Sunburst Orange Metallic?? I'm kinda partial to this color my personal self!!!

My idea:
Scoot the little lady over next to ya, that leaves a little room for the chairs, beer, and dog(least that's the rule in my truck....all this of course is if you have a bench seat!)....