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Rod storage in the Truck

2K views 5 replies 5 participants last post by  TimSmith 
#1 ·
Was thinking about trying to make things a little more secure under
the topper on a truck. Back window door locks on some truck canopies
are not the most secure. Neither are the windows. I usually just try and keep the few rods I carry out of sight under the canopy in the back using a blanket. Reels inside the cab. Would be interested if some of the talented wood working speycasters might offer up some suggestions. I was thinking of cabinet out of wood that might cradle the spey rods in the top portion with a pull out drawer underneath to hold reels, lines, leaders etc. Could be secured to the side of the top inside rail of the truck box. Structure would be lockable. Like to leave some full length/width of the truck box open so you could throw a sleeping bag or foamy down in case of an emergency...you never know. Hanging rods from the inside of the canopy does not appeal to me from a stealth point of view. Rear wheel well humps usually limit floor space in a truck so something over the top of one of them might be practical.
Going to be a winter project.

Any thoughts or comments greatly appreciated. Thks.
 
#3 ·
i lived out of my truck for a couple summers. i had a frame setup with two removable plywood boards fitted loose on top...stored all my gear not locked but out of site under it...fairly difficult to get to under without opening the tailgate too. then slept on top of the boards... was a great home actually:)
 
#5 ·
In the back of my old Toyota T100 I made custom drawers out of cherry that pull out and only go back 3/4 of the way to the cab of the truck. The other quarter was made into two hatches that would lift open, using to store a come-along, first aid kit, gloves, warm jacket, extra clothing, anything that I felt I could possibly need in a "sticky situation". I also made hatches for the drawers so that I could access them when the tailgate was closed as well as open, since I like to cook on my tailgate or sometimes tie flies on it and it isn't convenient to pull the drawers out. I used piano hinges to make the hatches lift open. I carpeted the whole top except for where the front hatches are, those are made out of maple, with finger pulls drilled into them. I made it so that the framing was just at the top of the wheel wells to still give me enough room to sleep in or store action packers, or totes in. I have built two of these, one for me and then another one for a Toyota Tacoma. I never put locks on my drawers but one could easily make that happen. I was actually looking at marketing and selling these but nothing ever evolved. I had alot of friends copy my design but they just did a super simple frame with plywood all the way back so that they could take it out easily for hauling larger loads, which was the only downside to my design. If you have any questions I would be more than happy to help you out. I did see at one time that Orvis was selling a unit that was used for storing shotguns that locked, but was more for the back of an SUV.
 
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