Almost done with the cargo area...

[Dr. Marneaus]

I'm almost finished with the cargo area. I put on a tire cover which cleaned things up greatly (its almost the same color as my dash pad), then went ahead and consolidated all the junk I normally carry. I didn't part with much, but I rearranged everything and eliminated a few items to get everything to fit in the one toolbox, and behind the tire.




I also went ahead and repainted my toolbox. I last painted it when I got my TJ in 2006 and it was getting pretty rough.


I ordered a set of cargo tie downs from an XJ to mount in the back to secure the toolbox so it doesnt kill me in an accident. And i need to drill a hole in my ammpo can speakers to bolt them down for the same reason.

So here's what I carry in the jeep. Behind the tire there is:

-tire iron
-jumper cables
-a blanket
-a tarp
-and a cheap 130 piece tool set from harbor freight.

It all tucks beautifully behind.

In the toolbox is the following:

- 1qt. ATF
- 1qt 10w30
- 1qt power steering fluid, which I will likely swap for another quart of ATF since that seems to be the bane of my existance
- hand crank LED lantern
- work gloves
- hatchet
- recovery strap
- duct tape
- jerry can pour nozzle
- bag of various electrical bits
- bag of various vacuum bits and caps
- c-clamp (for u joints)
- zip ties
- black RTV
- "quick steel" putty
- rubber gloves
- d ring hitch thingy
- roll of TP (saved me more than once)
- 3 u joints (one of each type) and a set of u-joint u bolts or straps or whatever they are called
- bits of fuel hose
- spare belts
- spare starter solenoid
- a knife
- a little 4x4 trail repairs/get unstuck ideas book
- a hank of 550 paracord
- machete
- multi meter
- hack saw blade
- a few trash bags



Which all fits easily inside the box:


Aside from that, the only loose items in the truck are a fire extinguisher under the front seat which needs replaced and mounted, and then a spare jacket/pullover that I keep in the cooler months.

Much better solution than everything bouncing around under the cargo cover, and way more efficient use of space.

I also learned that I can lay down in the back of the jeep with the seat folded forward. There isnt MUCH room but there are a few inches above my head if I lay diagonal, so, thats good to know as well.

so, shes just about ready for camping season!

[memo43]

looks good Dr, I may have to do something similar
what did you use for you side panels, also the inverter placement I like.
do you have a write up for those as well.

[Charles Kline]

Nice write up on the storage/spare items!

[letank]

So here's what I carry in the jeep. Behind the tire there is:

-tire iron

What are the tire iron(s) for ? for the tire or for defense against wild animals... I need a tutorial on how to pop a tire on a Jeep! I have tire iron for the off road motorcycle... one day I decided to give it a try... I could barely pop the bead, but could not go forward...

Looks very nicely organized, I like the ammo box for speaker install... no dirt or dust to collect on the cone.

[Dr. Marneaus]

looks good Dr, I may have to do something similar
what did you use for you side panels, also the inverter placement I like.
do you have a write up for those as well.

the whole cargo area is bedlined, all the way up underneath the rear seat. For the side panels I used luan (plywood underlayment) cut to shape based on my old factory panels, then bedlined them to color match. I want to redo the bedliner one of these days because I put it on thin.

The inverter is simply mounted to it, with the wires running inside the panel, under the carpet, then through a hole in the passenger firewall. The ground is simply in the body inside the panel. For the power wire, I have a big alligator clip or jumper cable type clamp on the end that I connect to the battery when I want to use it, and it feeds through a big ole 75 or 100 amp fuse thats mounted to the inner fender well under the hood.

i cant find the post in my jeepforum thread, but here's some of it in my reno4x4 thread.

http://www.reno4x4.com/showthread.php/8 ... post787094

[Dr. Marneaus]

So here's what I carry in the jeep. Behind the tire there is:

-tire iron

What are the tire iron(s) for ? for the tire or for defense against wild animals... I need a tutorial on how to pop a tire on a Jeep! I have tire iron for the off road motorcycle... one day I decided to give it a try... I could barely pop the bead, but could not go forward...

Looks very nicely organized, I like the ammo box for speaker install... no dirt or dust to collect on the cone.

It is a tire iron/lug wrench. I use it for the lug wrench. I dont use it for the tire iron. I just refer to it as a tire iron.


I carry things that go bang for defense

[will e]

That's looking better! I carry a bit more stuff in the back of the Cherokee but I don't have rear seat. I did, however, have to get a 37" tire back there and it takes up a LOT of room. I have 5 totes, a refridgerator, two tool boxes, a cutting board, a recovery bag, a spill kit (loose), tow strap (loose) and jumper cables. Oh, and a camp oven, paper towels, wet ones, chlorine wipes and a tupperware with some utensiles in it.
Two small propane bottles which are tucked away but loose. I have an oil rack that is pretty darn handy here is a bad picture of it:



You can kind of see the oil rack off to the left and get an idea of how tight I have everything. (I have ditched the portable compressors in the two black bags for a permanently mounted one)



I actually figured out that the oven you see in the above picture fits perfectly in this little space:




It's a bit like a jigsaw puzzle but I keep all of the stuff I use by the tailgate. The big rubbermaid has my 'serious trail repair' stuff in it.

[Dr. Marneaus]

That's looking better! I carry a bit more stuff in the back of the Cherokee but I don't have rear seat. I did, however, have to get a 37" tire back there and it takes up a LOT of room. I have 5 totes, a refridgerator, two tool boxes, a cutting board, a recovery bag, a spill kit (loose), tow strap (loose) and jumper cables. Oh, and a camp oven, paper towels, wet ones, chlorine wipes and a tupperware with some utensiles in it.
Two small propane bottles which are tucked away but loose. I have an oil rack that is pretty darn handy here is a bad picture of it:



You can kind of see the oil rack off to the left and get an idea of how tight I have everything. (I have ditched the portable compressors in the two black bags for a permanently mounted one)



I actually figured out that the oven you see in the above picture fits perfectly in this little space:




It's a bit like a jigsaw puzzle but I keep all of the stuff I use by the tailgate. The big rubbermaid has my 'serious trail repair' stuff in it.

Dang. You carry all that stuff ALL the time? Thats nuts!

[letank]

not nuts, great, we had an impromptu bbq when we replaced Patrick's front wheel bearing in Ouray... the road had been washed out... so while waiting for the crews to clear the highway, BBQ and R&R

https://youtu.be/960LLTXi9Zo?list=UU0kt ... kxh4w&t=64

[Dr. Marneaus]

Well since you put it that way I retract my statement and shall say it's awesome!

But seriously is all that stuff in there every day or only when you are going on longer trips?

[will e]

Haha, yeah it's pretty much always in there. I do have an accessory tote I take for longer trips with a spare timing cover, trans pan and a few other do-dads...
In the Rubber maid I carry a spare starter (bench tested). I try to carry an extra of anything that might strand me. Solenoid, fuel pump, DR100 ignition module, coil, cap, rotor, wires, fuel filter, belts, u-joints, tire repair kit and such. I have a spread sheet to keep track of it all.

Before the axle upgrade I carried spare axle shafts. It's now unlikely I will break an axle but if I do I have a FF rear so I can just pull the shaft and continue on.

The best part is the prepardness has really paid off. I haven't done a trail repair in a couple of years!

[ghcoe]

I am not finished yet, but this is my storage system for the back of my Cherokee. I have a shelf above the storage boxes now, you can see the shelf support on the panel sides. It is just a shelf for now, but will have storage boxes similar to these with channels also. They will be a bit shorter to fit in the shorter area between the rear window and seat up higher. I got tired of things shifting around all the time and pushing into the back of the rear seat. With this system I have non of those worries.

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[will e]

Ghcoe, that looks sharp and well thought out!

[ghcoe]

Ghcoe, that looks sharp and well thought out!

Thanks.

[motcat]

Haha, yeah it's pretty much always in there....The best part is the prepardness has really paid off. I haven't done a trail repair in a couple of years!

Having been out in the desert camping with will e, he actually has a kitchen sink in there he's not telling you about. As long as he keeps making Quesadillas I'll let him keep his secret.

[az chip]

Quesadillas and pizza rolls!

[candymancan]

i actually thought about cutting the cargo floor board out and welding in a boxed compartment underneeth where the spare tire goes from factory. You know how a lot of vehicle have compartments you remove a panel to get to the spare inside or whatever. I was going to make one, cept large enough to carry a lot of tools in, make it out of 16GA steel, and brace it with 1/8th ga steel. Im not sure though havent attempted it yet.. But that large space between the frame rails under the Jeep is a huge waste

[prospector]

Why did you scrap the over / under storage shelf idea? I thought that was a great idea. I used a Delta bed box (30" x 14" x 12") but got really sick of having to unload it in order to find the thing I needed, which inevitably was always at the bottom.

[will e]

I used a Delta bed box (30" x 14" x 12") but got really sick of having to unload it in order to find the thing I needed, which inevitably was always at the bottom.

This is one of the reasons I went with 5 smaller totes. I put together a spread sheet of everything I carry and classified them in a range from 'always' to 'never have used'. Most of the 'never used' got put in the hardest to get to tote. The always totes are right where I can get to them each trip.

[prospector]

I plan on keeping all of my camping gear in the wag 24/7, but it's not my daily driver, it'll free up a bunch of floor space in my house. I'm still going to use marneus' idea of the rear floor shelf with the spare tire and all the repair stuff underneath, and the camp gear above. The difference is that I have no need for a rear seat, so that gives me almost 100cu. feet (Per Motorweek Illustrated) to play with.