Utility Box for the inside of an SUV ?

[Spimothy Leary]

okie dokie,,,
so I finally sold my 4Dr Lexus Sedan and purchased a real tow vehicle, a Dodge Durango, i'm looking forward to getting to know the attendant at the gas station on a first name basis now that i'll be lucky to get about 12 mpg around town

Anyways, I was thinking of building some kind of utility box for the rear compartment of the vehicle which is huge, to hold my two gas can's, the tall race cans that hold 6 gallons. (I stupidly purchased these when I had my car before I realized that they are too tall to stand up in my trunk) but now that I have adequate height.. I want to start using these dam cans.

Has anybody ever thought about building some kind of utility shelf/box for the rear of their SUV to hold gas can's and maybe a drawer for tools and such, or even just an open slot where I can put a dedicated tool box and just pop it in.

I didn't see much online but i'll quickly admit I dedicated all of about 2 minutes on google for this idea, and all I found were canvas type things, but I want something solid,but removable.

Option 1. Basically i'm thinking maybe an 18" by 30" box about 10 inches tall with two slots that will hold the gas cans so they won't tip over when driving, and maybe some tie down spot if I think they are necessary

Option 2 is some kind of platform for my single place trailer (my 2 place is easy, but its not that simple for a single trailer..., i'd have to put a can on either side of the winch and i'm just not that confident that it would work right or not look silly.

Option 3 maybe just use a solid piece of wood to place in the back and mount two gas racks that are designed for this purpose, complete with the ability to tie them down with small straps.

Thoughts ?

 

[Spimothy Leary]

ok well I spent an extra 3 minutes on google.. maybe i'm over complicating this eh ?

elaborating on option 3....

maybe it be just as easy to just mount something like this somehow inside ? or on a big piece of plywood so it won't tip ?


or this

or this

or ,, well you get the idea...

so .. maybe what i need to ask,, is what do you suv guys do with your fuel jugs....

 

[racerxxx]

I know when I put jugs in ym Yukon it smells like gas for week. I don't care about the smell, with almost 200K on the clock it's more of a truck then an SUV. So keep that in mind with you nice hot days down there, I've had some cans really expand and pop the vent cap and shoot gas on the headliner. Sounds like it's time for a two place trailer and a nice diamond plate work box on the front. Like this, it would probably work for a single, just put some support under it. On all my doubles I have had a big work box with dividers for fuel, oil, jackets, etc... Not a cheap option but possibly a safer option. I'm sure you could find a work box on CL used for cheap. What year Durango did you pick up?


For a single.

Like my old set-up

 

[Seadoobuddy]

Tim,
Congrats on the new truck...what year
All these fancy boxes are great but what i use in my trailblazer for smaller items I put them into my cargo net that I kept from a mini van i once had. For my 5 & 6 gallon gas cans I put them into a cardboard box.....about the size of a beer bottle box but with higher sides. As long as you set the boxes right so they don't tip on your "2 wheel" turns" you'll be all set. I use the same boxes every time. The last pic you posted will work just fine...holds 2 cans, maybe even run a bungee cord around them to hold in place better. CHEAPER TOO!!

With any of the ones you showed and are mounted to the truck itself then you"ll have a hard time hauling other stuff (4x8 plywood) because it will be in the way.

 

[Spimothy Leary]

thanks guys, i'll continue to tinker with the idea before I get started.
its a 99, i am very very abusive to vehicles so I buy old ones and make them older..... but I got it dirt cheap so even if I am hard on it, I really can't lose much...i only buy car's to get from A to B, nothing more or less, but honestly this is a pretty clean SUV, by looking at it you wouldn't know its a 99
i already have a 2 place trailer, but 9 out of 10 times i only take one ski... and I store the single trailer in the garage most of the time, where as the double trailer won't fit next to my wifes car.. and that is not an option !

however, I could in theory, always use the 2 place, and just crank the ski from the single to the double on ride days... i'll consider that.... or just sell the single and use my stand...

its easy to mod the double for a can rack, but not so easy for the single, i'll have to tinker,,, and i've never had a real gas smell from the car,, but of course the can's were in the trunk.... i have two vp can's so they really don't/won't leak...

 

[speedster98]

I've got the same problem with my ski trailer. Its a TowGo and has a very short tongue and not much space for a spare tire and the 2 gas jugs. I'm considering rigging some sort of holder that puts a can on either side of the tongue. Another option i have been toying with is a sort of saddle bag setup with a gas can on either side of the ski's seat during transport. I am against transporting gas cans in my tow vehicle due to the danger and smell that lingers.

 

[racerxxx]

Spim,

Can you weld? I just brewed up/found up the most awesome idea EVER for you and your fuel transport issue. I was thinking about a double hitch I saw at Horror Freight. This idea is bad azz.

Ok, so you'll need to fab up the carrier but you would use a receiver that has another receiver right on top of it like this Click here

Then, copy this cats idea--I was thinking you could make something like this so I googled for "gas can storage on the side of trailer tongue"
and a few links down was a youtube link that some one made that I had thought of. This is so friggin' awesome.


[video=youtube;GLT3aCxESgI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=GLT3aCxESgI[/video]

 

[Seadoobuddy]

Nice video but it reminded of a carrier that you can buy. Steel mesh floor with a receiver for the trailer tongue. you may have to weld or use steel cable for a lock down on the can, but it would be a lot less work than bed frames.

Lots of place carry them for about $100....minus 20% at Harbor "fright"

http://compare.ebay.com/like/150860597361?_lwgsi=y&ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar

 

[racerxxx]

Nice video but it reminded of a carrier that you can buy. Steel mesh floor with a receiver for the trailer tongue. you may have to weld or use steel cable for a lock down on the can, but it would be a lot less work than bed frames.

Lots of place carry them for about $100....minus 20% at Harbor "fright"

http://compare.ebay.com/like/150860597361?_lwgsi=y<yp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar

I have one of those(similar) and I NEVER leave anything on it in a parking lot--it's easy pickings. Now add 2 gas cans with $20 of gas and your out the $40 of gas, plus the two cans--Which is probably close to the cost of that rack. That's an easy project, heck you could even make it bolt together. SDB, I'll let you in on a secret--I'M CHEAP and resourceful--I'd make it before I'd buy it, I love making my own goods. The only reason I have one is one of those traveling tool shows came through and they had it for $29 and the expanded metal was gonna cost me more than that.

But one of the tube ones from Harbor is a great idea for the non-welder. They go on sale all the time, I've even seen the aluminum on as low as $69.

http://www.harborfreight.com/automo...rcycle////Cargo&RequestData=CA_CategoryExpand

 

[Spimothy Leary]

wowzer...racer.. i LIKE that idea.... and i have a HF walking distance from work... and I can get a bed frame either at goodwill or similar for dirt cheap.... I don't weld, but I know someone that does and frankly it looks like a reasonably simple project. (well of course it looks simple to me,,, since I don't have to weld it lol) even if I just use the dual hitch idea this will put me in the right direction here.. THANKS SO MUCH !!!

looks like i might be returning the receiver I just bought at home depot lol..... i was hesitating on that receiver until I had a chance to put it on and test the height with the trailer, I bought the 3 1/2 drop for starters.

Of course now I have to learn how to back down the ramp all over again since with a low sedan, i could always just look right out the back window and see the end of the bunks, and back down like a pro, now i'm going to have to get used to using the side mirrors, and I prefer not looking like an idiot at the ramp so I might do some practice runs with an empty trailer at the local ramp when its not busy this afternoon, see how I do... its generally not a big deal with short shallow ramps but a couple of our local ramps are quite steep and narrow, those will be the ones i'm worried about. I have one at the lock thats about 40 feet long, very very steep and narrow, so your pretty much backing down blind for the first 15 feet before the trailer comes back into view.

this is a very ingenious idea.. and i'm going to like it..

 

[Seadoobuddy]

Tim, to get around the "No sight" lines just open up the back hatch, then you can see everything.

 

[Spimothy Leary]

Tim, to get around the "No sight" lines just open up the back hatch, then you can see everything.

that's an option as soon as I replace the rear hatch shocks,,, lol,, already ordered them

but in the long run, i need to learn how to do it right

 

[Hghgrad]

Bed frame, weld it into a rectangle, gusset to the tongue, get a locking box to store the cans on the trailer.

I hate leaving cans in the vehicle. Just smells so bad...not to mention the dangers of gas fumes blowing uP

 

[Spimothy Leary]

Bed frame, weld it into a rectangle, gusset to the tongue, get a locking box to store the cans on the trailer.

I hate leaving cans in the vehicle. Just smells so bad...not to mention the dangers of gas fumes blowing uP

ya, i'm running with that idea, have my mom (retired) shopping for a bed frame for me at the thrift stores

then i'll drop the hammer on my welding buddy with my "project idea"

the dual hitch idea i'm must flat out in love with...