Hmmm...ok. There will be three of the SuperStrut runs that will have all but one of the pre-drilled holes (something like 1.5" x 5/8"), and the front and rear most ones will have about 90% of the holes exposed.

If I cut a few holes in the side of the box (the outer box, not the drawer), that should be enough ventilation not to tax the rear fan, right?

I'm also thinking about cutting a 3.5" x 3.5" square in the front of the box and put a fan to pull air from the 2nd row in to the box. I figure the air in the 2nd row will be cooler than the air in the back, so why not pull that air in to that box.

When I cut the hole in that side by the jack compartment, how big do you all think it should be? I want to make sure keep the strength, so I'm thinking maybe two of those 3.5" x 3.5" holes?

With the extra SuperStrut I have, I'm thinking I'll get a few 90 degree brackets and mount another piece of the plywood to it. In the photo you can see the FireBox light on the side, I'd like to get that out of the sun, so I'm thinking mount that on the side. I'll have to recess the rear end maybe 3" from the back to allow access to the power port. ...or maybe cut a 2" hole there and keep it solid.

Another advantage of having that passenger side bulkhead is if I run a piece of strut horizontal (front to back) on it, I'll be able to use it to keep stuff from sliding left to right as I drive. Mounting it with the angle brackets should make it easy to remove if I need to pull the box out.

...the more I think of this the more things I think to add! Before you know it this will look like one of those command boxes.

One thing I DID see that I want are those 'in drawer lights'...led strips. Does anyone know how they control the wires to keep them from getting bound up? I'm thinking a plunger switch at the back of the box (so they only turn on when the drawer is open)...but how should I run the wires so they don't get tweaked when the drawer opens?

 

Didn't get a lot done today...had to go get the 1/2" bolts to fasten the SuperStrut together (didn't want to go with a bunch of washers and thinner bolts, but now I don't know how I'm going to get them tightened - a socket won't fit into the SuperStrut).

I answered my own question on wiring...I think I'm going to mount LED strips along the center struts to keep the wiring well away from the drawer, eliminating the need for wiring management inside.

I glued and screwed the sides and back on, cut the notches for the center supports:


...you can see the holes I mentioned that will give the box some ventilation...look at the SuperStrut and you'll see them.

Front strut:


Back of the center support and the rear lateral supports:


Better shot with flash:


Decided to inset the driver side of the box about 4.5" to let the spare tilt enough to get out easy. I think I'll store my maps there...fishing rod on those rare occasions I can get out and fish!


Also drilled out 10 angle brackets to keep the lateral supports in place. Those will mount to the insides of the left and right sides and to the bottom of each cross member (should make it easy to keep it square with tiny adjustments in and out). Will bolt those on tomorrow, cut the top plates that will fit between the struts, drill out the 9 roller bearing holes and mount those and start (and hopefully finish) the drawer itself. Gonna be a pain to get the slides on...they are for machining so they have very tight tolerances. I've only done framing - any cabinet guys out there have any tips?

 

1/2"-13 x 1" Zinc Finish Alloy Steel Socket Cap Screw | Fastenal



You might be able to find these locally. They would allow you to tighten the bolts with an allen wrench.

 

That might just work. I'd still have the issue with the bottom, but I could just anchor the bottom nut with an open ended wrench.

 

Again, didn't get as much done as I'd like, had to run all over the city with purchase orders.

Used a 1 3/4" hole saw to drill out the bottom bearing mounts. Those two squares are the cutouts for the rear seat mounts:


Bottom of the bearings. Recycled from the old box from my Expy (you can find these at Harbor Freight Tools for under $2 per):

I purchased some of those metal covers for electrical boxes (4" x 4" I think) to cover these, but now that I'm looking at them they are going to stick out a bit. Might glue two thin "runners" to the bottom of the entire assembly so I can slide it in and out without catching that back trim piece at the bottom of the barn doors.

You can see how low the bearings now sit...lets the drawer be "taller":

The more I look at these, the more I think I'm going to return those covers and just get bolts that will go through the bottom plate. The small brass screws are not going to hold the weight I want them to if the drawer bottom flexes down.

From the top...the fit looks loose from the top, but the bearings are tapered, so they sit tight in the hole:


Angle brackets keep the top SuperStrut cross members from moving. NOTE: flipped the 1/2" bolts upside down to let the dearwe fot...this poc shows them right side up and that was not enough room to let the drawer in.

Tomorrow I'll cut the excess off and I'll add the 2nd sets of bolts later this week:


Top panels in place...need to find a way to make sure these don't rattle when driving or when I put the speakers and amp in. I'm wondering if the type of magnets you use on cabinet doors would be enough to keep these down tight:

I may trim another 3/8" off of the driver side so I can set a bulkhead on the passenger side. Shouldn't affect the amount I can put on the left very much - its more about the height on that side than the width. Nah, not may, will. I want another run of strut from front to back along the passenger side rear vent window to keep things tight to the side.

Tie downs in place:


I may get some metal tape and cover those holes in the struts...I like the idea of being able to keep them in place when not in use...if I cut the springs I'll have to remove them every time I'm not using them.

 

Today I built the bottom, sides and back of the drawer (leaving the front off so I can access the slides) and mounted the slides to the box. I also put the 'runners' on the bottom to protect the roller bearings and help support them.

The slides I found off of eBay and are made of hardened steel. I bought 4 (each 22" long) and each came with three 'trucks' that fit into grooves on the slides. Each truck has 4 mounts for metric machine screws. It was difficult to find any store that had the right size, let alone enough (4 screws per truck, 3 trucks per track, 4 tracks = 48 screws)...I had to buy some that are too long (I'll cut them back tomorrow). They are a metric 4, .7 thread - not something they carry in bulk at Home Depot or Lowes. For giggles I thought of drilling them out one size larger and use standard bolts (much easier to find)...but I quickly discovered I have no drill bits that were any kind of match for the hardened steel - I ruined one and tried a different one only to melt it.

These are kind of a pain to work with since everything is so small, but they were a) cheap and b) have a high load rating c) cheap d) rated for vibration and did I mention cheap?

Rather than try to mount 48 screws directly to the wood, I purchased a section of aluminum to mount the trucks to, then mount the aluminum to the outer drawer:


To get the aluminum to mount flat to the side, I had to create a space for the bolt heads to recess into the side panel. You can't see them here since the aluminum plate covers it. They are only deep enough for the bolt heads, and no hole is visible from the outside.

Here are the bolts I need to cut down tomorrow:


Right now each slide mount (the aluminum strip) is only held on by 4 machine bolts...I'll probably add 8 more per slide - not sure what the shear strength is of a metric "4" machine bolt - it's pretty small.

Tomorrow I mount the slides to the drawer, put the drawer face and pull handles on, mount the passenger side bulkhead and SuperStrut, and get the behemoth into the truck. I will eventually cover it with carpet or similar, but in the mean time I may just rattle can it black. Friday and Saturday will be off limits for work and Sgt. Major Wifee gets Sunday, so after tomorrow I won't do any work on it till Monday.

 

Just about wrapped up. Didn't feel like running to Lowes one more time for bolts, so the passenger side strut will have to wait.

Trimmed the driver side and removed the forward bulkhead on the driver side 'recessed' section so I could get it in (it was hitting the spare and I couldn't get it in).

I recycled the front from my last box (hence what looks like dozens of holes).

Drawer loaded:


Slide on the passenger side:


Passenger side bulkhead:


I still have work to do to "pretty it up" (I'll run aluminum along the edges, cover it in carpet or similar, add lights inside the drawer compartment, etc.) but it's in and functioning, so I'm happy.

 

Very nice, I need one of these... How long would you say it took, and was the cost right at what you said to begin with? Oh and when can you come to my house and do this for me? I'll provide the adult beverages.

 

Great job Robert!

 

Looks good, nice work Robert.

 

WOW, well done Robert, great stuff there & lots of ideas too, G

 

Very nice ! Can you share the total material cost ??

 

I'd say the cost came in at about $250 considering I bought the wrong screws for this and that. Next time I'm in the Lone Star State I'll swing by! You could do this in a day if you plan it out and already have all of the tiny bits (nuts and bolts). Easily 50% of my time was driving to get this and that.

 

Is it anchored to the cargo hooks ?

 

Right now it's mounted to the rear third row mounts, but once I source the longer bolts, I will change the mounting to the 4 cargo tie down points.