# Wooden Truck Toolbox



## Shoester

Let me start off by saying, this idea has caused a lot of laughing in my direction by my family and friends. But, I think this is do-able.

Think Weatherguard.

I want to build a truck toolbox out of wood. The frame would be constructed of Pressure Treated 2x4's, and the case would be constructed of 

A) Marine grade 3/8" ply

or

B) 3/8" ply sealed with a Thompsons Water Seal product (or similiar)

The whole box would then be coated with a couple coats of a Bed Liner product. (Line-X, Rhino Liner, ect..)

Now, I've got it down to the finer details, but I will save them for a different post down the road. I have her drawn up in AutoCad as well.

I took 4 years of cabinetry in Highshool, so I have a bit of experience with woodworking.

Can anyone give me the good, bad, and the ugly on this idea?

Thanks!

-Adam


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## bofa

It sounds like something that would look really neat in the back of one of those ol' 65ish C10 pick-ups. Good luck!


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## chunky

Adam,
Not crazy at all - I built a truck box for Chevy S-10 about 20 years ago and it worked great. Used 2x2 for framework and 1/2" exterior plywood. Made the lid with an inch hangover on three sides and mounted it with three hinges at a little angle so the water would run off into the truck box. Used weatherstripping on the inside of the lid to keep the water from blowing in. Exterior paint, about 3 coats, to match the truck color and it worked great. The box was as wide as the truck box, high as the truck box and about 2 1/2 feet deep. Used to mainly to carry groceries, etc. back and forth from the store. Put a regular hasp on it so you can lock it if you want.
Was in Seattle then and used it for three years there - truck was parked in driveway all the time and the wet never bothered. Still have it in the shed and use it for storage - still looks good.
Don


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## Shoester

Encouragement- Just what I needed!

Sounds like you had a lot of success with yours Don, thats good to hear. Looks like I'll be pressing on with this project.


Thanks guys!


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## Shoester

Any other words of wisdom/pointers you guys can throw my way?


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## Masterofnone

I have a 1965 Chevy C-10, and although I put in an aluminum treadplate bed when I did the frame-off, maybe one day I will go back to the original wood bed using stained oak.


I'd put some weatherstripping around the lid to keep everything nice and dry. Heck go to a place that sells truck boxes with a tape measure and steal the dimensions. The fact that its going to be covered with rinolining will really make it weather proof, so you can go with any design you want! (over-the-bedrails, chest style, etc.)


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## BassBlaster

I think its a neat idea. I think if you seal the wood with Thompsons you are really gonna have a hard time getting the bedliner to stick. I would go with a few coats of spar urethane and then you can rough up the urethane finish with sandpaper and I would think the bedliner would stick to that no problem. In the long run, the spar urethane is gonna be a better weather proofer than the Thompsons anyhow. You could also go the route of glassing the whole thing insted of the bedliner. It would last forever then but thats pretty pricey compared to the other options.


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## Tennessee Tim

Reminds me of my younger teen days in woodworking....Built oak grill for my '69 chevy truck.... along with all steel tilt front-end, aluminum Cobra shaped gear shifter, sleeper with wood interior, dual exhaust stacks up each side behind sleeper.... on one cold day a couple of the area drinkers got behind me in town and one asked the other...."I'm I just seeing or has THAT BOY gotta stove in the back of that TRUCK??? :blink::blink::huh::huh:". Didn't say it was all high quality,BUT I TRIED IT !!!!

The answer is if it's what you want and willing to try.... then go for it. I gained alot of knowledge and tough skin from my experiments. Knowledge on what worked and what doesn't....tough skin because some people think you're crazy :thumbdown:for doing anything different BUT they NEVER like change anyway !!!!! Nothing tried , nothing gained.:boat: :thumbsup:

Have a Blessed day,
Tim


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## Shoester

Alrighty guys, well I went ahead and made the toolbox. It's currently in my garage with the bed-liner drying, I've got a few more coats to put on it.

Here are some pics all the way up to right before the bedliner was sprayed on:











































The drawer you see here is for my shotguns/rifles. I'm going to line it with that high density gun-case foam, in the drawer and on the lid so that it creates a tight and secure area for my firearms to ride.


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## bofa

Man that is looking pretty cool and I like the drawer.


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## no1hustler

Nice. Clever gun case.


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## thehunter

how much did it cost you to build? im just wondering because you can get an aluminum truck box for a couple hundred bucks these days


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## Kenbo

Wow!  I never posted on this one originally because I wasn't sure where it was going and I didn't feel that I had any valuable input to your questions. Lets just say that I never, in a million years, saw this coming. An absolutely fantastic job. Looks great, well designed and well built. I think you mentioned getting it Rhino coated or something like that. Is that still the plan? 
Great job good sir. Great job. :yes:
Ken


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## Shoester

thehunter said:


> how much did it cost you to build? im just wondering because you can get an aluminum truck box for a couple hundred bucks these days


I knew going into it that I could pick up a decent quality toolbox at Home Cheapo for about $250, but I wanted to make one myself. It has bigger dimensions than the cheap ones, and I could completely customize it. An aluminum toolbox with the firearm drawer (where I got the idea) sells for around $800. 

After the DIY bed-liner, I have estimated that this project was in the neighbor hood of $180- $200.

Just the hardware alone was $50, and the bed-liner another $50 all up.

It also gave me something constructive (literally) to do while home from college on Winter Break...and I enjoyed the heck outta building it. So, while I could have gotten the real thing for not too much more, I certainly don't regret spending similar dollars on building this.


And Kenbo- Thanks! I am currently using some DIY Bed-liner on it...which I am not 100% sold on yet. It's not going on near as thick as I would have like it too. I may, in the future, scrape this off and have it professionally done.


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## thehunter

i think it looks great. i was just wondering


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## jack warner

wood is not trust-worthy against a thief, and way too much maintenence in the long haul.
i use a knack job box for my tools.

ps thompsons water seal is crap, i wouldnt use it,.

with all that said, nice job on contruction.


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## Texas Sawduster

*Nice !!!!*

Very nice job there on the box.
Keep up the great work.
Now you can make boxes for your hand tools to ride in style.


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## Microtus

That came out looking sweet, nice job. I like the self rising gun shelf, nice automatic access to the lower section. It seems with most truck tool boxes that everything just gets thrown on top of each other which really sucks when you need something for the bottom of the pile. 

I need to make something similar for my Jeep and summer use on the trail with no top.


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## GeorgeC

I think you are doing a great job of the tool box. 

I was somewhat concerned about security until you mentioned the firearm drawer. That made me very concerned about security.

Will this box be inside of a locked and secured cover? If not it seems to me that you are taking a big risk with any tools and especially a firearm.

That is the big advantage of the "store bought" metal tool boxes. They can be secured relatively well.\

George


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## <*(((><

The security of this toolbox isn't much different from the store bought boxes. Give me a screwdriver and a hammer and I'm into any of the store bought ones. These boxes will only stop an "honest thief" as my dad always said. I would never leave a firearm in an unoccupied vehicle overnight or out of sight for more than a few hours (locked up) at most, and especially in bad areas of town, it just isn't a good idea.

Box looks good, I think I would prefer metal due to weather, but it looks like you had fun and got some good experience building it. That is often what I look for in my projects as well, not necessarily whether it makes complete financial sense.


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## matertoo

Fanastic Job!! I built one for my 1971 Ford F-100 4X4 30 Plus years ago. Your's makes mine look very amateurish at best. Keep up the good work.

Paul


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## jack warner

<*(((>< said:


> The security of this toolbox isn't much different from the store bought boxes. Give me a screwdriver and a hammer and I'm into any of the store bought ones. These boxes will only stop an "honest thief" as my dad always said. I would never leave a firearm in an unoccupied vehicle overnight or out of sight for more than a few hours at most, and especially in bad areas of town, it just isn't a good idea.
> 
> Box looks good, I think I would prefer metal due to weather, but it looks like you had fun and got some good experience building it. That is often what I look for in my projects as well, not necessarily whether it makes complete financial sense.


you wont break into a knock job box with a screwdriver!!!!


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## ironhat

One other thing besides the security of your firearms is the use of foam for a liner. My son-in-law has a .40 cal semi-auto (unknown maker) handgun that he kept in the factory case which was lined with egg-carton foam. After not looking at if for a year and a half he opened the case only to find the finish was ruined. It looked like it had small pox. The foam holds moisture and isn't made for long-term storage. You might say that you keep well oiled but petroleum products degrades it. JAT


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## <*(((><

jack warner said:


> you wont break into a knock job box with a screwdriver!!!!


True story!! Wasn't thinking of the big job boxes.


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## beerdog

Any update pics?


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