Undercover Swing Case Review

So I had an interesting dilemma. I utilize the rear drivers side under seat storage in my 4-door 3rd Gen Tacoma. I store things like a cargo net, jumper cables, bed rail accessories, etc... Kid number two is on the way which means a child seat goes on top. No more easy access to the storage. Wanted something in the bed that wasn't a full on cargo box as I still need to tote my MTB around (w/out removing the wheel). Wanted something like a side mounted storage box while still keeping the length of my short bed's cargo space intact. Enter the Undercover Swing Case. This case is pretty sweet and fits the bill for what I needed it for. It's a little pricey at $189 shipped but to me, functionality, engineering, and meeting my needs made the price worth it. Here's my reviews with lots of pics...

First off, the Swing Case comes in many different styles that are bed style specific. The company, Undercover, does a great job making a swing case specific to the bed that you have. This particular model (SC401) is made specifically for Toyota Tacoma 2nd and 3rd gen beds. The brackets are designed to still let you gain access to the bed cubby storage (pictures below). It also comes in both a drivers side version and a passenger side version. I mount my bike on the passenger side so I can see it easily through the rear view so I bought and installed the drivers side version.

The case slides off the mounted hinges very easily and w/out any tools. Huge bonus as it's very easy to remove the case on the fly to provide more bed space. The storage container also lays flat on the ground w/out tipping over (and it has cup holders!).


I needed a storage solution to fit all the things I usually store under the seat. This storage container gives me that plus tons more space (always a bonus):


It also has a tray that can be removed to store smaller things in tiers. I opted to not use the tray or under the tray as I didn't want things rattling around. A little rubber/carpet layering would deafen the sound for sure.


The brackets that come with the kit (2 total) use a combination of pre-existing holes around the cubby and requires drilling 4 holes to fully mount. The screws that come with the kit are self tapping and work quite well. The metal in the bed that it drills into is actually quite thick so it was nice that the company included the self drilling screws. Everything lines up perfectly with the existing holes so lining up the brackets is dummy proof (I'm sure there are exceptions... lol).


The coolest thing about the brackets is that they angled them to allow the lid on the cubby to open up letting you gain full access. Great way to design the brackets to minimize needing to drill any other holes AND to still use existing storage.



Once the brackets are installed (takes all of 5 minutes), you simply slide the swing case onto the hinges and you're ready to rock. It's really that quick. The case is fully assembled and ready for use straight out of the box. The reason they call it the "Swing Case" is because it does just that. It swings open giving you easier access to the storage box as well as makes the cup holders more accessible. The swing action is also key to allowing access to the built-in cubby storage in our beds. You simply use the yellow handle to release the latch and allow the case to swing open. Easy.


When the case is in the normal closed position, the latch grabs the front portion and holds it very securely.


You can see in the picture below that the case does sit out a little further than the wheel well so you do lose some storage width space. However, with how EXTREMELY easy it is to remove the case, it's not a big deal at all. The lost width is also marginal.


Now, you may be thinking, "if it's so easy to remove, won't someone walk away with it?" Well, the company has an answer for that too. Along with the lid of the case having a lock to secure the contents, the storage box itself also has a locking mechanism to keep it from swinging out by unauthorized hands AND to keep the storage box from being lifted off the hinges and walking away. The pad lock must be purchased separately. I bought a heavy duty master lock to keep mine safe. Keys stay in the car.




And, the last added bonus to the security features, by association, you now have a secure cubby storage as well now. A few of the bolts that hold the brackets in place are now also hidden/secure and hard to get to for any crafty thief. Pretty sweet.


I'm a big fan of this case as it fit my needs perfectly. It's been very handy and I'm so happy how much thought was involved in the engineering of this solution. I don't have a single complaint about it. I don't own a tonneau cover but the manufacture says it will fit underneath the cover. You can see in the pictures that this is probably true as the top of the case sits below the rails (also another great attention to detail... all slide rails are still 100% accessible/useable)

 

I have 2 car seats in the back of mine and can still access the under seat storage on the driver's side. You just need a Diono Radian XT to do it.

 

I actually have one of these (it's in my dad's Tacoma right now). However, I'm not sure how you access the under seat storage as the car seat is anchored over the back of the seat rest. Maybe you have a smaller kid and have yours rear facing? Regardless, we have a different seat in my my truck that's forward facing for my 3.5 year old and it's a huge hassle to have to remove the car seat any time I need quick access to the storage underneath. The newborn will go behind the passenger side and even though it's a little less hassle to remove the car seat base, it's still not as accessible as the Swing Case. I should also mention that I have a subwoofer on the floor behind the passenger seat so access to the passenger side storage is that much more inaccessible. With younger kids, the storage just didn't seem like an easy access option and I needed something for the long haul until they get much bigger (booster seats or even big enough to not need anything at all).

 

The seat bottom folds up/forward, seat back doesn't move. One rear, one forward facing.

 

Yeah, the car seat folds up and back into the seat back so it can be carried like a backpack right? The seat cushions in my truck fold forward so I'm not sure how I would be able to get the seat cushion up and out under the car seat to gain access to the storage. When I install car seats I put my entire weight on the car seat and cinch down the straps very tight. Maybe I'm missing something with how you achieve this. However, it's not an issue to me anymore with the Swing Case as my storage solution.

 

I have two car seats side by side, one passenger, one center. I can still fold the driver side seat up.

 

Great write up OP!

 

Thanks!

 

I was looking at one of these but wasn't sure, do you need to drill the bed?
The I don't really want to drill anything, was hoping to just bolt on to existing stuff.

Would be great for camping etc, can hold my beer while cooking, and then also good to hold small stuff, thinking maybe small spare parts and some tools. I have two different set ups, tools that are always in there and then I add stuff when wheeling.

 

You do have to drill 4 holes at the back part of the bed. The screws can be seen in the pictures above. They are the silver screws. I as well wasn't too keen on drilling the bed but the functionality and features of this box outweighed that decision for me. I guess I could always fill the holes at some point if I really needed to.

 

is it plastic or metal you're drilling?

 

Metal. The kit comes with 4 self-tapping screws. You use the existing screws for the other mount points.

 

Looks like OP is tapping into the metal bed frame in front of the tail gate, so metal for sure.

There should be some sort of box that hooks up to the bed rails and slides out of the way or can be removed easily ....

 

Yeah, I researched like crazy for a bed rail box but couldn't find anything. I could have fabricated something but then I thought it would be nice to still have access to the bed rails for tie-downs and what not. 4 holes drilled to still give me full access to the bed rails was worth it to me.

 

I know it's been a while, but still wanted to say "Thanks!" to the OP for the very nice write-up (with lots of pitchers'!).

I may be going this route.

 

No problem! It's still holding strong with no visible wear after about a year of use. Live in Colorado so it's seen plenty of cold and snow. I do keep my truck in the garage so it's been coddled a little. I'm all about "lots of pitcher's" by the way...

 

I had one on my GMC and loved it,and if you think the swing box is sweet try out their tonneau covers,best ones on the market by far.Awesome write up OP !!!!!!!!

 

Hey , nice write-up. I see it's been awhile but I'll ask anyway. Do u think this will work on a first gen? I looked and couldn't find any info on one for a first gen. Have u seen one for a first gen or you think one like your model would work? I was thinking it should since the first gen bed is a little longer but not looking at the side by side it's hard to say? What's ur thoughts?

 

Nice write up!

 

this one is very specific to the 3rd (and maybe 2nd) gen. I don’t think it would work with a 1st gen without some fabrication.