Not a Chuck Box, but Truck Boxes

Back in September, I ordered my truck from the dealer. During the wait, I joined and started lurking TacomaWorld. I found this camping group and a bunch of "show me" threads about camping gear, bed builds, and sleep setups. I saw the fantastic things that y'all are doing and building and I started getting ideas.

From what I've seen, my needs wants and desires are a bit different than most of you. I'm not an overlander. I don't typically sleep in the back of my truck. I'm a family camper, a hiker, a backpacker and a scout leader. When I family camp, I setup a base camp and stay there for days in a tent. When I'm with the scouts, I bring a bunch of crap to teach kids outdoor skills. And as a backpacker, none of my gear can serve only one purpose.

So, with some tweaks, adaptations, and blending of ideas, I came up with my "Not a chuck box, but Truck Boxes". The build is done. I just need to wait for Spring to put on some stain and polyurethane. So, for now, they rest and wait. I hope you enjoy the pix.

 

Awesome job

 

Nice!

 

Do you have any plans or drawings to build these? I would be very interested.

 

Good stuff!!

 

I do... sortof.

I drew this up in Mastercam and referred back to that on the fly as I was building them. You might also see that the drawings vary a little from the finished product. But, give me a little time to see what I can do to pull the info out of Mastercam and into some sort of doc that I can share.

 

This absolutely awesome!!!
Great build.

 

Thank you.

 

Awesome stuff!

 

This is a really cool idea and very inspiring as I've been kicking around ideas in my head for a camping chuck-box setup. Maybe I'll have to convert my thinking to Truck-boxes like this!
Can you set them up by yourself or is it a 2 person job?
How did you stack them in that last pic, is that just a shorter set of legs?
In your renderings you had an angle piece supporting the backsplash, but I don't see that in the final product. What is supporting the backsplash?

 

Thanks for the interest!

When filled with gear, they're heavy enough that they're a 2-person lift if you need to move them around. (I put handles on each end of the box.) If you're able to place them where you want them right out of the back of the truck, then you can slide them out, put them on the ground, then insert the legs on each end by yourself. If you take the drawers out, they're manageable by one person. It's more the size of them than the weight. In their defense, other chuck boxes I've had to lift in my life have always been two-person lift. So, to me, this isn't that much worse than the alternative.

Yes, those are just a separate set of shorter legs. In fact, they're just the left over scrap. The real legs are just under 3' each. With a 2x4x8', I was able to get two full legs and 2' of scrap out of each board.

I haven't quite solved the backsplash problem yet, but I have a few months to ponder it. I think it will be similar in that it'll be a slotted solution like you see there. But, instead of having them come forward onto the counter top as you see, I'm going to have them go over the back and rest against the back side of the box. (If that makes sense.) The reason for the change is because I had to cut that notch out of one end to get them to lay flat. Whatever the solution is: (1) it can't stick out the ends of the box past the handles, (2) it can't be complicated; moving parts aren't desirable, and (3) it needs to allow the backsplash a full 180* of motion.

Hope this helps,
Tom

 

Those drawers look really great Tom...nice job!

How much do each of the drawers weigh? Is it easy to slide the drawers out? How do you keep them in place so they do not slide around? What are your plans for protecting them from the elements...stain and varnish, or paint?

 

Agreed about the quality of the workmanship but they do look heavy for their intended use, although I suppose that'll keep the kids from tearing them up.

 

Thanks! I'm glad you like them.

I took a bit of time to respond because I honestly didn't know how much they weighed. I just knew they were heavy. So, I weighed them and I'm almost embarrassed to say. Each box, with the drawers is 98lbs. So, I totally get why that would be a show stopper. The sliding drawers are a pretty close fit. Side-to-side, there's only 1/4" of space between the drawers and the walls and they're designed to just rest on the bottom. They don't go anywhere forward-to-back. Because the two boxes go from wheel to wheel well, and the drawers are touching face to face, they don't slide side-to-side either.

Originally, I was just planning on stain and polyurethane. But a friend of mine has convinced me to try epoxy -- especially for the tops. They're going to take a lot of abuse. I like the wood grain, so I'll stay away from paint. I'll do all that in the Spring once it's warmer.

So back to the weight. I totally get that they're heavy. But I can at least explain how I got to where I did. First, the boxes needed to match the dimensions of the truck bed. If there's even the slightest chance that'll I'll be sleeping on them, they'll need to be the full length of the bed. I'm 6'3"! They also needed to be tall enough that the tops lay flat across the wheel wells and make use of the support built into the bed. Sooo, in my mind, even if they were made of carbon fiber, moving them around would be a 2-person job just due to their size and shape. Once I accepted that, the weight became a secondary issue. Strength was also a concern because I plan on packing heavy gear on top of them: filled coolers, tents, dutch ovens, etc. And I'm 200lbs if I sleep on them. 3/4" ply may have been a bit much. 5/8" maybe. 1/2", definitely no. And I have either two teen age boys or scouts to help me move them. It'll be character building for them.

My wife calls them the coffins.

 

Thanks for the reply Tom. LOL on the 'coffins'.

 

I got a chance to take the Truck Boxes out into the wild for the first time this weekend. Basically, I built myself a portable galley kitchen. They turned out to be a huge success. I still have a few things to finish up before they're done. I had focused this Spring on paint, stain, and coatings to get them ready for this weekend. I'll work on the legs and backsplash clamps in the next few weeks.

 

Suggestion to support the backsplash ... https://www.lowes.com/pd/Simpson-Strong-Tie-Hurricane-Tie-Z-MAX/3047195

Attach with slot horizontal not vertical to the inside of the support legs (or just front leg). Make 2x4 L-shape to slide into the slots and press against the back of the backsplash. No additional mass for the box, just 4 L-shapes and brackets on the separately stored legs.

Just a suggestion, hoping you do not find this stupid ...

If nothing else, it leaves the boxes unmodified to find another solution later.

 

No! I don't find this stupid. You should have heard the hundred ideas that my buddy and I came up with this weekend as we sat there and drank our beer. One involved a helicopter. Your idea is far more practical and a LOT cheaper.

 

If your idea involved a helicopter AND an M1 Tank it would have been more practical ...

 

I am seriously considering building something like this. I absolutely love the multi-use capability. I'm always flirting with the idea of making a bed box but don't want all that extra weight in my bed all the time and I don't have storage space in the garage to keep one when it's not in use for camping. In a way, this ADDS storage space in the garage. LOVE IT! Awesome design.

Another option for the backsplash support: Short pieces cut into almost P-shaped supports that can slide onto the ends. I imagine you could use pieces of 2x4, but you could probably just use plywood too. Here's a quick sketch to show what I'm talking about, would something like this work (the piece in red)? I think just the weight of the piece hanging off the backsplash would keep it upright and extending the front portion all the way down to the tabletop would also keep it from tipping forward.