FJ40 Storage solutions? Post up your pics

[Rezarf <><]

We all know the upsides of the FJ40 platform. For those of us who use one daily or on the trail, we also know the delima of creating storage solutions. Thus, this thread

I just spent a few days out on the White Rim Trail in Canyonlands Nat'l Park, and it was fantastic. I carried a lot of the gear for some friends who were mountain biking the trail. I was pretty loaded to the gills... I pulled the rear jump seats and gained a good bit of room for this trip. I have a trailer that carries my stuff when I am heading out for camping and RR. However, when I want to be fast and mobile with a lot of wheeling each day, I prefer to not haul the trailer. At least until that LS2 hops into the engine bay

I am now on a quest for maximizing my cargo space and staying organized. I'd like to develop a drawer system/fridge slide out for the rear of a 40.

I usually carry:
45qt Fridge (may get moved to the rear carrier).
Recovery bag
Fluids
Tools
Parts (a select few).
Food/water
Camping equipment
Small kitchen setup
Warm clothes for a hike out

I am considering searching for a few large pelican cases as I run the 40 with the top off for about 7 months out of the year. Or a couple of "stacked" drawers next to the fridge with the ability to lash a box or two on top.

So, what does the back of your 40 look like when loaded up to hit the trail? Or any storage tricks... tuffy consoles, dash boxes, dry bags, racks... etc.

Here is how I looked last weekend...

 

[Box Rocket]

These probably aren't the best pics but it's all I really have to show for storage in my old FJ40. First things first was the tire carrier. Pretty standard setup with hi lift, shovel and cooler rack. The cooler rack would hold a fridge.

Secondly I used a Tuffy center console and Tuffy rear speaker storage. It gave me a place for speakers but also gave me lockable storage. I kept my trail tool kit in one side and my recovery gear in the other.

I had a ConFerr rear bench seat with a little space behind the seat. I had a CO2 tank hard mounted there.

Here's the rear bench. It had a storage compartment under the bottom cushion and I kept additional gear and fluids etc in there. Cheapo solution for spare axles is the ABS plastic tube with a pair of rear shafts strapped to the front of the rear seat. Still allowed enough space for leg room for rear passengers.

If I didn't have rear passengers and could load the back like in this photo from the Rubicon with my wife back in 2001, the rear seat back would fold down and create kind of a platform to load more gear. Or I would leave the seat back up and one of my extra large coolers would fit perfectly on the seat between the wheel wells and I could load gear on top and around it. I used a few single bolt tie downs in the factory hard top bolt holes for anchor points. Nothing elaborate for sure but it did the job.

I thought I'd share this photo of a friend of mine that also had a cage mounted rack for lightweight stuff that he carried in waterproof bags.

i wish I had a photo of Paul May's setup in his FJ40. He has a rack that attaches to the rear portion of his cage just above the height of the tub giving him two layer storage. It works out really well for him. He will load a couple action packers in the rack and all kinds of stuff underneath. He does not have rear seats.

 

[Rezarf <><]

Thanks Adam, I have more pics of the "money pit" on my computer than nearly any other 40... (well, mine of course )

Those are great ideas. I might make up a Con-ferr style seat this winter, that can swap in and out quickly.

 

[esh]

Recent development with Metal Tech-

 

[esh]

One note, I have a 40L Waeco fridge that will fit underneath the rack and centered behind the front seats. I need to move the rack up a few inches to make things fit better, but I have a 2nd set of threaded nubs ready to weld in just for that possibility.

 

[Box Rocket]

That rack that Esh posted is similar to what Paul May has in his 40. Works great.

Side note. Sorry Ken about that driverside quarter panel. That was all me. :embarrassed:

 

[dirty Bakers]

I am intersted in this thread as I have a cj5 as it also lacks in this area but my delema is I would like to preserve the rear seating.

 

[1911]

I've got the same problem, but no storage box solution yet. I took out my jump seats, which gave me a little more room in the back, and I have the MAF rear bumper with spare tire and gerry can/cooler storage, but two people's camping stuff for a week + recovery equipment and tools fills up the back pretty well. I use some plastic tubs w/ lids that are about the same height as the fender wells, then an Action Packer or two for kitchen, food, first-aid, etc. and duffels for clothes. I do have a permanent mounted tool box behind the seats for tools, spares, and fluids, but would like to have a storage box that would fit between the wheel wells that I could keep stuff in and mount my 37 Qt ARB fridge on too.

My Con-Ferr locking tool box:

 

[Rezarf <><]

Thanks for the stuff so far fellas. I am running a few soft tool bags behind the seats in the "depression." One holds fluids and the other recovery stuff. I have a tuffy center consol that has a good bit of stuff in it as well.

I just scored a Pelican 1700 for cheap, so I am going to see if I can bolt it to the rear tailgate for the summer season and throw the regular junk in there. I will post up pics of my progress, when I get around to it.

Think this concept but much mo' unrefined

 

[Rezarf <><]

Yeah, Con-ferr made some nice stuff back in they day, now it fetches a premium!

I'd love one of the boxes you have. maybe even a few of those side boxes that mounted under the jump seats.

Keep it coming.

 

[Jonathan Hanson]

The best, and easiest, modification I made to my FJ40 was a secondary cargo platform at the height of the rear wheel wells. It resulted in a huge, square main cargo area with storage underneath for tents, chairs, and such. I used ten-ply birch plywood and had a section of carpeting trimmed to fit the top. Don't know how I lived without it for 20 years.

 

[Rezarf <><]

Thats cool Jonathan- Did you anchor it down somehow? I thought the roll cage captured nuts would work well. Got a pic?

I am thinking that style "platform" with a few drawers underneath might be the ticket.

 

[Jonathan Hanson]

At wheel-well height it really doesn't leave room for drawers underneath. But the expanse of flat space on top is really impressive. It's supported and located (well-bolted-down) by aluminum angle iron so the top is flush with the wheel wells. Just behind the seats, where you see the carpet flipped up, is a crosswise box where my auxiliary battery and bottle jack, etc. are stored. An Engel normally goes where the Bundu Boxes are here; it tucks nicely out of the way there and is partially supported by the platform. 15-gallon water tank on the other side, in front of that is an aluminum Worthington propane cylinder in a Power Tank bracket bolted to the roll cage. With the fold-down tailgate I installed to replace the stock little split bottom doors, I have a nice fast kitchen counter.

FJ40s actually have a lot of volume back there; it's just mostly unusable. The platform helps immensely. A wire rack up close to the roof, anchored to the roll cage (like some described here), would help too, for sleeping bags and other light items. It could be kept above the line of sight from the rear-view mirror and still hold a lot of stuff. A future project . . .

 

[1911]

I like your idea a lot Jonathan, but my 40 does not have a folding tail gate when the top is off, just a bolt-in plate - so I would have to make mine a box with hinged lids so that I could get to the space underneath when my top is off. When the top is on it wouldn't be a problem; the ambulance doors will open all the way for access. But I would like for my box or whatever to be flush with the top of the wheel wells like yours. Thanks for posting the photo.

 

[esh]

My under jump-seat Con-Ferr locking boxes will be coming out at some point this winter. Because of drivetrain changes (H42/Toybox/split), I pulled the oem tank and use the conferr aux as a main. Have to still push the rear axle back further to get angles reasonable and that will take out the conferr aux tank, so I will probably end up with a fuel cell under the rear seat setup.

Can't run locking conferr boxes as a result, and I don't see them going into my '64 FJ40 restoration project.