# Lock-Box for the Back of my Jeep



## PILL (Dec 25, 2008)

Hey, new here and needing help with building a lockbox for the back of my Jeep Wrangler. 

My plans are to make a box out of plywood that sits behind the backseat up against the tailgate. I figure I can just use the tailgate itself as the lock by putting the door hinges on the bottom of the box and opening it like a pickup truck bed. After building the box I want to cover the top and inside with carpet. 

My Dad has all the tools I will need for cutting wood and enough nails and glue for a lifetime. Since I'm a bit of a newb to this I would like some help. I mainly just need a bit of direction with how to do the corners and sides. I've done some searching, but a guide is eluding me at the moment. 

Any help is appreciated :thumbsup:


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## vsheetz (Sep 28, 2008)

I have a commercial-made Tuffy full length box that creates a drawer under the back seat of my 05' Jeep TJ Rubicon.

The space behind the rear seat is not very deep - and is deeper at the bottom than the top. Off-hand 3/4" ply cut in the triangle shape for the sides/ends, with 1/4" ply for the botton, top, back, and drop down front (I think your idea here is excellent). The 3/4" ply would provide the beef to nail the 1/4" pieces to it.

Various folks have made many different storage solutions for their Jeeps. I might suggest you search some of the Jeep forums such as http://www.jeepsunlimited.com/forums/ and/or post requests for pictures - lots of good ideas available I would think.

Good luck!


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## Jeeper1970 (Nov 11, 2008)

Jeeps Unlimited is a good one, also try 4 Wheel Parts (I think www.4wheelparts.com but that could be wrong) and 4 Wheel Drive (www.4wd.com). 4WP bought out 4WD, not sure if they carry the same products now or not, I have't done any comparisons myself.

Like mentioned above, they all have forums if you really want to build your own, maybe somebody else on there has done it.


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## PILL (Dec 25, 2008)

I was thinking http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/showpost.php?p=5114485&postcount=1, http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/showpost.php?p=3492731&postcount=73, or http://www.stu-offroad.com/body/rearstor/storage1.htm.

With any of those I would probably put eye-bolts through the top so I can bungee stuff down. I'm kind of favoring the tonneau cover thing in the third link, but how to lock that kind of troubles me. It doesn't go along with my original plans, but i like the idea.

If you are familiar with Jeeps you will know about the holes in the rear on the top edges of the tubs for securing the hardtop, and I think I can use those to secure the tonneau cover while making it secure from the inside. 

The problem with that though, is removing it to put the back seat in when I need to carry extra people. Using the rear seat brackets i could secure a box in much the same way as the tonneau cover idea, and make it so that it can only be unbolted or unpinned from inside the box. 

It seems, to me, like the box would be easier and more practical, but less cool than a tonneau cover :thumbup: 

If I went with a box, like Stu on his site, I think I would adapt it to my uses and use the rear door as the locking mechanism, make it taller, and add drawers.

Would 3/4" ply for the sides and bottom then 1/4" on the top, front, and rear work with woodscrews holding them together, or could I find some brackets that would hold everything together? Corner and 90*side brackets wouldn't be too hard to find I assume, and could hold very well with minimal chance of me screwing it up. Then, I would put some 2x4's long ways on the bottom of the box to raise it up a few inches to clear the seatbelt brackets, the stock tie down points, and allow drainage of water (It's in a Jeep remember!). Finally, I could install a few drawers with dividers in the box. 

And yes, this post is unnecessarily long, but it has helped me organize my thoughts. 

:thumbsup:


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## vsheetz (Sep 28, 2008)

To run with or without the rear seat in is the basic thing to decide. I have done it both ways. Coverting back and forth, removing the box and all the stuff you will have itn it, putting the rear seat back in - is an ordeal. Not something you will readily do, IMHO. If you leave the seat in, there just is not a whole of lot of room for stuff...

I currently run with the seat in and the Tuffy underseat drawer as I mentioned. The drawer is shallow, but holds quite a bit of small items and equipment. Other larger stuff that only goes along on trail rides goes behind and around the seat - CO2 air tank, folding chairs, small drink cooler, extra parts and trail tools, etc. Think about what you need for everyday use vs. trail use and make the trail use items easy to load/unload.

Security is of course another issue. If soft top and/or running without a top is of course more problematic than if a hard top. I like a hard top myself, which lessens the security considersations. Bad folks can't just reach in and help themselves.

As for the actual construction, what kind of off-roading do you do? This may have an impact on how strong the unit you build needs to be. I thnk 3/4" with 1/4" screwed to it would be good, especially if made to snugly fit between the wheel wells for further support. Rather than building the drawers you might consider plastic bins to hold your items. This also offers a layer of water-proofness for your stuff.

I have run with a piece of plywood cut to fit and extended across the tops of the wheel wells - then used plastic bins as drawers and slid them in from the rear, using the tailgate as you are thinking to keep the bins in place. This worked well - was simple to build - and was relatively easy to remove if needed.


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## PILL (Dec 25, 2008)

I prefer to run without the backseat, and do that for most of the summer. I can get the seat in and out in about 5 minutes if I need to, so going back between seat and no seat is not a problem. 

Offroad I do just about everything, rock, mud, hills, some sand even. Water wise everything in the box will be fine if it gets wet, but a good paint and possibly some caulk on the inside will take care of most of the water I think.

It looks, to me, like a box that is about as high as the wheel wells, and carpeted is my best bet. The rear seat brackets should be enough to secure the box IMO. They can secure two people, so a box shouldn't be a problem if I use pins that fasten on the inside of the box. A solid bottom and drawers, are also desirable. Just figuring out how to get the drawers still is a bit of a problem.

On the other hand, if I opened the box from the top and abandoned the pickup truck opening I could just use dividers, not drawers, but then a lock would need to be used and stacking stuff on top and getting to what's under would suck.

Seems like an opening at the top would be easier for me to build, even if I have to use a pad lock to secure it.


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## Jeeper1970 (Nov 11, 2008)

Cool ideas, but I like running a back seat. I don't understand the purpose of attaching 1/4" plywood over top of 3/4", the 3/4" is plenty strong enough. I'd probably use exterior grade plywood, like you said, it is a Jeep.


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## PILL (Dec 25, 2008)

Jeeper1970 said:


> Cool ideas, but I like running a back seat. I don't understand the purpose of attaching 1/4" plywood over top of 3/4", the 3/4" is plenty strong enough. I'd probably use exterior grade plywood, like you said, it is a Jeep.


I was talking 3/4" for the sides and top. I may actually have some sitting in my garage, I'm just not sure on the size of it. Also, are there any metal pieces I could by that would protect the corners and strengthen them too?


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