Pitchblack Motorsports - 2010 Sequoia rally support and light adventure rig

[irish44j]

Little project, in preparation for other things. I plan to get a couple roof boxes for certain gear, and I really don't like strapping things down, especially stuff I really don't need to take on an off. And the rack having the chicken coop flooing also makes U-bolts a bit difficult to get installed for things (the Thule box was a big pain). So let's get out some metal...

Drill drill and weld weld and we have some captive nuts

Then some cut cut and paint paint

Then cut some notches out of the flooring to get some accessible bar spots

Then weld them on, and I have bolt-downs.

So, that's not very exciting, but I try to document everything I do so....there you go lol. It will make more sense next week, hopefully.

 

[irish44j]

So I carry a lot of stuff, especially when doing race support/rally towing, where the whole truck is full of gear - to say nothing of if other people are riding with me. I also like the option of doing some camping, and my gear is true "car camping" stuff - bulky....not backpacking camping stuff haha. As noted before, I have the ARB Room, which takes up an entire foot locker, or I can camp inside the truck, but that means moving all the other crap outside.

This is a 6000lb truck. Just gonna put more crap on the roof, since it doesn't much affect ride/handling/MPGs anyhow at this point. Last post documented the rack mounts, now here's what's going on it. On the Raider I use the Monoprice "Pure Outdoor" boxes.

They're really good quality, strong as hell, and about half the price of Pelican stuff (though Pelican latches are way better). I had one of the smaller Monoprice boxes around and that one will be used for "wet" gear - my water tank hose and tarp, wet clothes, muddy stuff, and/or stinky trash in small amounts. Nothing in it needs to stay out of the weather, basically. But I want it to drain and have some airflow, so out with the drill...

drain holes in the corners

vent holes in the sides

Meanwhile, wanted a larger box. I have a future idea for something interesting to carry up there, but more on that if I actually build it. In the interim, will be a good place to stash recovery gear and other stuff I don't use often that doesn't need to be inside the truck. I looked around at the Monoprice boxes, but the big ones (like on the Raider) have low latches that would likely hit the side of the rack due to tight space. So after some searching, found a good deal on a Pelican Vault 730, which is the second-longest rifle box they sell, I think. Measurements are about what I want, so pulled the trigger on "more than I'd generally spend on storage."

Anyhow, it's just as nice as we all know Pelicans are, and the high-mounted latches have plenty of clearance for where I want to put it. Long story short, both got bolted to the roof (can be removed in about 20 seconds with my small impact, if I want to strap them on the Raider for a trip in that rig). So here's some pics, since this isn't all that exciting to write about lol

The "wet" box

all on

So that's the little project for "more storage." Should be useful, and wanted to spend a few bucks to reward myself for paying off my daily driver car haha.

 

[EpicPlanet]

Considered a Sequoia for my build, but one day going up a mountain trail in Utah with a bunch of tight switchbacks made me rethink it. Lol. Awesome job fabricating that roof rack and rear storage. Love the vehicle.