Flatbed side box idea
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Senior User
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 189
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From: Moorhead, MN
Flatbed side box idea
So my overactive and cheap mind came up with and idea for a side toolbox that just might work / hold up.
Upcycled or recycle a file cabinet. Now I'm not talking about a cheap cabinet from wall-mart but a HON or similar professional cabinet that you might find in an office.
- Remover the drawers
-reinforce the structure
-fabricate new doors, possibly from the drawer sides themselves
-attach to brackets / supports
-cover with bed-liner
Upcycled or recycle a file cabinet. Now I'm not talking about a cheap cabinet from wall-mart but a HON or similar professional cabinet that you might find in an office.
- Remover the drawers
-reinforce the structure
-fabricate new doors, possibly from the drawer sides themselves
-attach to brackets / supports
-cover with bed-liner
Fleet Owner
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 20,375
Likes: 841
From: Mi'kma'ki
by the time you get done with all that,you could have just bought a second hand steel underbody toolbox.
how much do you value your tools?
a good used underbody box would be worthy of the bed liner cost.
i fear by the time you reinforce everything good enough,you won't have any of that thin cabinet left.know what im saying.she'd rot right out on ya in no time anyway,even if you could rig up the drawers so they didn't slide open and spread your goods all over the road.
imho.........move onto the next idea.
next idea;
you would be much further ahead if you simply just made some boxes out of wood.now that would work.
i suppose you could set one these cabinets inside a larger,enclosed wooden structure if you wanted.but you can make a nice hinged door on the wooden box and everything,and even be able to paddle lock it,so no one could run off with your tools quickly at least.
how much do you value your tools?
a good used underbody box would be worthy of the bed liner cost.
i fear by the time you reinforce everything good enough,you won't have any of that thin cabinet left.know what im saying.she'd rot right out on ya in no time anyway,even if you could rig up the drawers so they didn't slide open and spread your goods all over the road.
imho.........move onto the next idea.
next idea;
you would be much further ahead if you simply just made some boxes out of wood.now that would work.
i suppose you could set one these cabinets inside a larger,enclosed wooden structure if you wanted.but you can make a nice hinged door on the wooden box and everything,and even be able to paddle lock it,so no one could run off with your tools quickly at least.
Posting Guru
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 1,528
Likes: 0
From: Peterborough, Ontario
Yea, I think what I would be tempted to do is make a frame/bracket for boxes the size you want to have (and are available in steel/aluminum) and make wood boxes for short term use if funds are tight.
Postmaster
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 2,500
Likes: 2
From: Michigan
A nice metal framed wood box would work pretty nicely I would think. Not 100% theft proof, but then nothing is. Made out of some good thick oak or something, they would be pretty indestructible too. I am planning on some underbody boxes, since they make use of unused space and I have never really liked the space a regular in bed toolbox takes up.....
Posting Guru
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 1,389
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From: Massachusetts
Are you talking about a vertical type filing cabinet?
HON 214CPL 210 Series Locking Vertical Filing Cabinet HON 214CPL
Like that?
It's very deep, so if you laid it down on its side, it would take up a good chunk of bed space.
But, if you found a horizontal file cabinet for cheap you may be in good shape.
https://www.boltz.com/HON-lateral-fi...-fcab-lat.html
I'd say leave the drawers in there, and use some butt hinges with the removable pin as a way to secure them shut. Or you could use some of those metal latches at the hardware store with a padlock.
HON 214CPL 210 Series Locking Vertical Filing Cabinet HON 214CPL
Like that?
It's very deep, so if you laid it down on its side, it would take up a good chunk of bed space.
But, if you found a horizontal file cabinet for cheap you may be in good shape.
https://www.boltz.com/HON-lateral-fi...-fcab-lat.html
I'd say leave the drawers in there, and use some butt hinges with the removable pin as a way to secure them shut. Or you could use some of those metal latches at the hardware store with a padlock.
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