Home made cargo Organizer. My Idea. Your opinions?

[LaOutbackTrail]

Ok, so on any given day, the back of my Xterra looks like this.

And I would like to get things organized.

I was thinking a home made organizer, like the one below that I sketched in paint.

With a larger compartment on the left side, giving me ample room for gear.
And a recessed shelf on the right side to keep smaller things from rolling around.
I have two Pelican Cases that I think I can use to put recovery Equipment in.

I am Also considering building a shelf along just one side. I do have my dog that I take with me on some trips.

HOWEVER, Like everything, there is a catch. The access to the factory jack and tools. Which, although rarely used, I do not want to block access to these items.

When I am offroad, I bring along my HiLift. Hwy travel, the stock jack works just fine.


My only concerns are that the system be durable, secure, and not overly ugly!

What have you guys done or what might you recommend I do?

Thanks,
Scott

 

[chet]

you could build an open bottom platform that spans the whole width and is lower than what you show so your dog can still fit on top and put a drawer in it suspended from the sides. In the off chance you need the factory jack you pull the drawer off and get the jack out.

 

[jeffryscott]

My initial impression with your sketch is that would be too high - the dog would be cramped sitting on top, and if you want to haul anything of decent size, you'd have to remove them. Figure out just how much stuff you need/want to carry on any given day and go from there.

I built a set of drawers, 39x39x9 or 10, holds all my day to day stuff/off-road stuff and gives the dog room to sit. Just Herculined (which cost as much as the wood did) them this week. They've been great to keep things organized and to keep items from flopping around. I put padding on the one side for my camera equipment:

 

[LaOutbackTrail]

you could build an open bottom platform that spans the whole width and is lower than what you show so your dog can still fit on top and put a drawer in it suspended from the sides. In the off chance you need the factory jack you pull the drawer off and get the jack out.

Ok, yeah. I think a lower shelf would be better too.... nice U-Bolt mounted to the top of the shelf to put the doggy seatbealt through.

Something like this I suppose. That way I can put stuff like folding chairs, tent, hiking poles, etc under the edge, with the drawer for the stuff that is in the metal box in one of the pics above.

 

[LaOutbackTrail]

custom drawers, holds all my day to day stuff/off-road stuff and gives the dog room to sit. Just Herculined (which cost as much as the wood did) them this week:

Are the drawers on rollers or just sittin in there?

I have some left over auto interior fabric that I was going to use. Same color as the inside of my Xterra.

 

[jeffryscott]

Are the drawers on rollers or just sittin in there?

I have some left over auto interior fabric that I was going to use. Same color as the inside of my Xterra.

I made wood-on-wood drawer guides. Not the smoothest, but works pretty well and much cheaper than heavy-duty drawer slides. We shall see how they work when it gets humid out in July (hoping the herculining will minimize some of the swelling/contracting typical with wood).

I would have liked to color match, but there is no "oak" herculining. I would like to put something softer on top for the dog, but also wanted something that I could beat on as well. Figure I'll put a dog bed or blanket down when I take him.

 

[Clutch]

Ok, so on any given day, the back of my Xterra looks like this.

Um, it really doesn't look that messy...you need more stuff to qualify for "unorganized".

 

[LaOutbackTrail]

Um, it really doesn't look that messy...you need more stuff to qualify for "unorganized".

That's a good day.... and nothing was sliding and banging around in that pic:smiley_drive: