Throwing out the trash! A weekend project for all

So recently, I read a post here about where people keptt heir garbage in their truck. I know i always end up having a stack of receipts and gum wrappers every where and hate when it interferes with my cupholders or when its all over the floor. Well it got me thinking about that and I decided that I was going to make some kind of glass FRP container for trash in my truck that would fit right in and be easy to reach and clean out.

I scoped out my truck and determined that the best location for this “garbage container” was right next to the center console by the glove box.



I cut some cardboard to the shape I wanted and taped it together. This required a few trips into the truck to make sure the angles were ok and that the container wouldn’t interfere with the glove box (very important). There were no real dimensions I took. I just winged it. I'm sure you could take dimensions but I was more exited about getting started.


I got ahold of some glass fabric and epoxy from work and began wrapping the cardboard in it. The stuff I used was something we had laying around, nothing special. (There are plenty of hobby shops and online stores that sell glass fabrics and epoxies for this type of thing. I think I saw some at Home Depot too). After laying down the first layer, I let that whole assembly cure so that the cardboard wouldn’t get soggy or deform. The next day I added a few more layers of chopped glass mat. I found it helpful to pull/ stretch them apart. This made it easier to work with especially when forming the corners and the sides. I let that cure another night. The next day, I sanded the edges down to get rid of any prickly glass fibers.


Then I went to Home depot and bought a small container of Bondo-Glass. I would recommend sticking to just Bondo without the glass because the glass made it more of a PITA than it should have been.


Then I sanded the heck out of it, recoated and sanded again!

The next step was mounting it into the truck. I used 1”corner braces (also Home Depot) and 8mm x ½” hex bolts. Make sure they’re hexbolts because the mounting is tight.



I chose two mounting locations: one on the underside nearthe back and one on the top inside near the front. I mounted it, made sure everything was nice and secure.






Finally it was off to the painting. I painted the whole thing with a textured black paint. Three coats followed by 2 coats of clear.







The thing took me a few days to build. I’ll probably end up slapping a big sticker on the outside wall since the texture isn’t perfect.

Hope this is helps!

This was my first project making anything like this. First time using Bondo too…

 

Looks...uh...sturdy? Seems like a lot of work man, but as long as you like it.

 

is there not a big open space in the top back of it?

 

Yup. Thats where taking dimensions would have helped but thia thing is like 8 inches long so the chances that i fill thw whole thing to the top with small trash are slim...

Itll do pig...itll do

 

Good job man.

 

it aint tha best but u just did something most people are too scared to do to their trucks, take a risk and build something from scratch thats useful to their everyday needs! i give it a ATA BOY!

 

You should get the Mods to move this to the build thread and make it a sticky for others.

Frank

 

why not make it removable so you can empty it?

 

No need to shit in this kids CornFlakes... this is an awesome idea!

Frank

 

Plastic grocery bag with one handle around the shifter...

Neat idea, just a lot of work and seems like a knee knocker for a taller passenger.

 

sorry, as long as you like it and it works ok. i just use the compartment on the bottom of the drivers door for trash and toss it when it gets full

 

Good idea and like the effort... not trying to rain on your parade, really!

However, I don't have any problem simply tossing my trash as I incur it. I'd hate to see that thing staring me and my passenger (especially the passenger as they're looking directly at it, not to mention giving them less leg room). My truck is generally clean and I don't have any issues with trash.

 

No one's shitting in his Corn Flakes, just trying to offer constructive criticism or suggest ways to make his idea even better...

 

Good for the OP finding a solution to his problem. I just wouldn't spend that much time and drill into the dash for something I see as a big eye-sore.

Props to you though.

 

Sorry.. I didn't think I would need a Smiley to convey any sarcasm. He took cardboard, covered it in fiberglass... then screwed it to the plastic in the cab of his truck. The only real constructive thing right now would be building a time machine and stopping him before he started.

Frank

 

good idea, but it looks rushed, and i think I would have used like velcro or something like that to hold it to the dash

 

Yah know they sell trash bags that hang off the closed glovebox... lol for like 3 bucks for like 50 of them haha. But i guess this looks better.