Rear Cargo Box

This is a little photo journal of a cargo box I made to sit in the rear spare tire well area of the Suburban. The pictures are in order, and somewhat incomplete (I forgot to take pictures when I was doing the carpet...) but should give an idea of what I did.

Here's a couple BEFORE pictures. The box is gonna go on the left of the pictures. The plan is to sleep in the back and have a spot to charge phones, run laptops, store toiletries, etc.

4x8 sheet of 12 mm plywood. To be frank, I wasn't sure how I was gonna make the box, and there isn't a right angle anywhere near that truck... So I went a little stronger than I might have needed, and I wanted extra, so I bought a whole sheet of plywood to work with. Next time, I'll probably use craps a little more. Plus, I like how the carpet came out, which was an afterthought...

Here's some in progress shots. I kind of experimented here. At first the plan was to leave the back open, and make a "frame" to hang stuff on. I didn't like that, so I basically starting building it and fitting it as I went. Not high tech or even very precise, but I don't really care. It is strong and I like it. :)

This next series shows how I rotozipped out the slots for a 3 gang box (4 outlets and a couple switches) as well as a dual covered 12v outlet I got at the marine store)

Here's the lids I made. I decided to make two different ones, one for cargo (the long one) and one to access the electrical stuff in case I want to change that around later.

A lot went on in between the last pictures and this one. I bought a 6x8 sheet of outdoor carpet and cut it up and stapled it on with 3/8 inch staples. I didn't use glue because I was afraid I'd screw it up, but the staples worked great!

And here's the finished product!