Not a Chuck Box, but Truck Boxes

Your idea is one that I've had on my mind for a while. This weekend, we took it just one step further. Instead of relying solely on gravity alone, a tiny bit of router work with some keyhole hangars, and you'd have something to keep it from falling forward as well as backward.

$6 Premium Quality Key Hole Hanger 10 Pack With 3/8" x 4 Gauge Flat Head Phillips Screws

Keyhole hangars on Amazon

 

Genius. With keyhole hangers on the main box, you could probably make the supports a lot smaller too; maybe use some thin metal (thinking back to those hurricane ties) to make the hook at the top and not obstruct the table top at all. Whatever you do, keep us posted. I'm looking forward to seeing where you end up going with it.

 

I think we have a winner. And if I can't find a metal hook that fits, I'll either make them or cut the plywood to hook over as the metal hook would do.

Yes! It adds storage space for sure. And, it makes packing a heck of a lot easier too. With the exception of clothes and food, all my gear right there, packed and ready to go. I literally back my truck up into the garage bay and start stuffing it all into the truck. It takes a about 10 minutes.

 

Yeah, I'm sold. I didn't even consider how much packing time it would save.

I'd love to see any drawings you may be able to share as a starting off point. I'm sure they'll have to be altered and tweeked for my '14. I'd want to get as close to what you've built as possible though.

 

Oh yeah. There are some key measurements you need to make it all fit right. Let me work on that, probably this weekend. And, for your 2014, they may not be right for your truck. But it'll be good to know what they're based off so you can make the adjustments.

 

As any engineer does, I let my drawings lag behind the actual build. I spent a bit of time this morning updating them to make sure they match the real thing.

A couple of notes
1) The key height to get everything to lay flat in the truck is from the bottom of the box to the bottom of the top piece. (8 7/8") That's the height of the wheel well.
2) I have the OEM bed mat. That 8 7/8" will have to be adjusted to compensate for that if you don't have one.
3) The box is made of 3/4" ply. The drawers and dividers are made of 1/2".
4) Of course, in this wacky world, plywood isn't actually 3/4" and 1/2", it's a stupid 23/32" and 15/32". I kept the drawings at the former to keep the math easy.
5) I left a 1/8" gap between the drawers' sides/top and the box. This allows the wood to expand with humidity.
6) Those drawers are snug and create a vacuum when you pull them out. (Like a cylinder piston.) I need to drill a few 1" holes in the backs of the drawers for airflow.
7) The magic angle for everything related to the legs is 15*. If you set your mitre saw to cut the legs and guides at 15*, everything is super easy.
8) The long drawer was made long specifically to hold the legs when the boxes are packed.
9) I picked the leg length to make the box countertops the same height as my real kitchen. Of course, you're free to cut them to a height that's comfortable for you.
10) Always observe the golden rule! Measure twice, cut once. (I usually measure 3 or 4 times because I'm getting old and forget what I'm doing.)

 

Awesome. Appreciate the additional notes/lessons learned too. Thanks for sharing!

 

You should consider a patent on this design, if possible. I see some commercial company copying this with ligher materials and selling for thousands.

 

Great idea (and implementation) Tom!

Thanks for sharing.

 

Thank you guys both! @LizellaFella, I'll take a look into it. I hadn't considered that.

 

@mtbparker I'm thinking through this and wanting to primarily minimize weight but also cost; plywood prices are insane.

What are your thoughts on only using 3/4" material for the table tops and sides (where the handles mount)? My thought is that because the bottom would mostly be under a tensile load, it wouldn't need to be as thick as the top and some weight could be saved here. I figure as long as I glue all the joints, it should still be plenty strong.

Do you foresee any issues using 1/2" material everywhere but the top and sides? The only thing I can see being a problem or weak point is the drawer divider butt joints. It looks like you may have used dado joints here in your pics. Or would you recommend just dealing with the weight and spending the extra dough?

Now that you've built this thing and have used it a little, do you have any other ideas on how to reduce the weight and/or cost?

 

Dang, awesome design and execution! What kind of engineering work do you do? Looks like AutoCAD?

 

I think you got it right. The 1/2" ply on the bottom and "insides" of the leg boxes would probably work. I would agree that you want 3/4" for the handles and top. Those handles do get a good tug when you pull the boxes out of the truck. When they're out of the truck, you need to keep in mind the contents of the drawers. That's the only time the bottom sheet comes into play. However, the truth is that the bottom sheet is entirely suspended from above at the ends and the drawer dividers -- kinda like a suspension bridge. Assuming you're not carrying bars of gold or lead, a 1/2" bottom sheet should be fine.

Also keep in mind what you put on top of those boxes when you pack the truck. I brought a two cast-iron dutch ovens, a cold-rolled steel DO table, all the necessary accessories, two tents, etc. That cooler is no joke either. Those drawer dividers are doing more than it may appear in that scenario. That's also why I made sure the backsplashes rest on those ridges that run the entire length of the bed -- not just the wheel wells.

My other tricks for weight savings (and simplicity) were to keep the drawers simple: no drawer slides or handles. But, that's only a small amount. Other than that, outside the material itself, I dunno. Helium bags maybe?

Thank you! I drew those up in Mastercam. I'm a computer programmer for ... Mastercam.

 

Cool, thanks for the input. I think I'm going to go that route with the 1/2". I'll be sure to share the results when I get around to building it.

Definately going to carry over the simplicity and try to match your design as closely as possible.

Again, thanks for sharing this. I'm sure a lot of effort went into the design and build. Much appreciated.

 

One thought I had... To be prepared for the possibility that the 1/2" bottom doesn't work out and you need to switch to 3/4" after the fact, make the drawers short enough to work in both scenarios. That way, you won't need to shorten them after the fact. You limit the changes to the box only. It'll cut down significantly on the rework.

 

@TexasTacoLT, please do. I'm excited to see how it comes out.

 

The side handles you say are under stress when pulled can be reinforced without adding much weight. An extra 1/4 to 1/2 in bar across the side of the case that just covers the handle will make a strong handle with stress distribution. Glued together the two pieces will be as strong as if it was always 1 piece.

If you want to be sure the side panels do not pull off over time, use small (.5 thick, .5 wide) glued into the corners for reinforcement with minimal weight added.

Trust me ... I am an engineer and manuals are just a myth in my world ...

 

I know we've said all there needs to be said about these truck boxes. Clearly, I'm just beating a dead horse now. But, I took them out camping this past weekend. This time we had a lean-to at our disposal. I packed both of them, but only used one of them. I thought the arrangement was pretty cool and wanted to share.

 

Beat that horse all you want. Cool to see them in action. I still plan on building these once I get my workshop back; wife is using it as storage at the moment. Thanks for sharing.