FJ Cruiser Storage Solution

[uphill]

M-Pac Rack (MOLLE style attachments)

One of the biggest problems the FJ Cruiser has is its lack of storage space behind the rear seat. It has a short wheel base for obvious reasons and that leads to less than desirable space to cram all sorts of things we like to bring on expeditions/long trips, whatever.

I installed my M-Pac Rack on the rear door before a Kokopelli Trail Expedition with the Toyota Trail Team (East Coast Team) last October. It holds all of my "ready gear" so that I don't have to un-cinch the straps and pull out and open the Pelicans to get at the "thing" I need at the moment.

It takes a little over an hour to install the rack on the rear door.

Fast forward to yesterday. www.Springtail.com the makers of the M-Pac came out with a new side rack. I put down a strip of non-skid and installed the rack. Now I have a good place to mount my PowerTank, fire extinguisher and another goodie bag.

Installed photo.

 

[teotwaki]

Nice writeup! The MPACs are cool racks.

I can't mount much of anything on my rear hatch. I took a scale to measure the pull of the struts and guesstimated that I could not hang much more than 5 pounds without slowing down the uplift of the hatch.

 

[uphill]

Could we fab a mount for the inside on either bulkhead? Just because the rear isn't available doesn't mean that we can't work out some sort of mounting rack.

Something like what Jared (4RnrJ)did?

 

[FlyNdrive]

Lookin good Larry. I was thinking of getting the M-Pac system, but I have a carpeted board (permanent) across the fender wells and don't think they would fit as easily.

It would be good for the upcoming expedition. Keep toiletries in there and use the back of the FJ for a shower and changing area.

-Ben

 

[Willman]

I love my Smittybilt G.E.A.R. Front Seat Covers

The covers have gave my Tacoma much more need storage.

 

[FlyNdrive]

I looked into these and they are not compatible with the FJ Cruisers side airbag system.

I was thinking about stitching Velcro directly into the seat to keep the side open for airbag deployment.

Whaddyathink?

-Ben

 

[Willman]

Sounds like a great idea!

Post up some pictures when ya gotta done!


:rally_guys:

 

[teotwaki]

Could we fab a mount for the inside on either bulkhead? Just because the rear isn't available doesn't mean that we can't work out some sort of mounting rack.

Something like what Jared (4RnrJ)did?

Great minds think alike..... I have looked at that and on the right side there is a storage box for things that you can just see in the photo.

The left side might be possible but I have to double check the dimensions of the FJ side MPAc and the Jeep MPAC.

 

[kai38]

I just picked up some small to medium sized Molle type used Military bags at the army surplus store. I got 4 bags + an insulated Camelback carrier w/ 100oz bag for under $25.00. They set their own prices on stuff, might be I caught them on a good day today. Prices will vary by areas but they sure were cheaper then the bags from Springtail Solutions. There were lots of different sizes shapes on the bags
I'm looking at a system for mounting them in the bed of my Tacoma

 

[FurthurOnTheFly]

We have had the rear rack for a while now. It works great, but after we got the fridge and re-configured the rear storage, I had to order new smaller packs from Maxpedition in order to fit back there. I've found the packs from Maxpedition to be a bit higher quality and a lot easier to attach to the rack...and they don't come off! We always had issues with the other packs coming undone since they just snapped.

As for the side mount, that was one of the first projects we did to the truck by making our own bracket.

 

[kcowyo]

Water, Co2, fridge, SPOT, fire extinguisher, handheld radio.... and a frisbee.

I'd say you've covered all of the essentials.

 

[FurthurOnTheFly]

...and we put that frisbee to good use while camping this weekend!! :sombrero:


We are actually looking a re-doing our rear setup...while it works really well for us right now, we'd really like to do an on-board water system in hopes of not having to carry any more scepter cans. The powertank mount will stay though....and the frisbee!

 

[uphill]

Mounting the 20 lbs CO2 tank requires a bit more thought than the 10 lbs tank because it's just a lot bigger and heavier. I bought the larger tank so that I can run air tools on the trail for those repairs requiring extra torque to remove & replace parts. I decided to go with the Quickfist mounts.

They bolted into the steel strapping of the Scorpion Rack

Installation was simple.

I'll be field testing it over the next couple of weeks to see how I like it.