This is sweet. The one thing I’d note is to tint the shit outa those rear windows if you haven’t already, and throw a blanket over the box at night.
Additionally you might consider one of those little 140db personal alarms with a tether attached to the car. They’re like $10 for a pack of them, tape the alarm to the box, and tether the other end to the car. That way if someone picks up your toolbox without knowing, it pulls the pin and sounds the alarm.
Build ya a cheap plywood shell for the cargo area, best thing i ever learned working at a service station back in the 80's (Hobson's Amoco, to be exact lol...hey Jimmy and Wayne!).
This one guy use to pull in with his conversion van - captains chairs and tables, you know the kind of road trip monster. For his work he'd pull out all the captain's chair's and tables and stuff in this 1/2" plywood "shell" he made that fit the van perfectly. Maybe 1/4" clearance all around. That way he could toss in whatever he wanted, throw it right on in, and if is scarred up the plywood it was a solid wgaf.
When it came time for a road trip, him and his son would lift it out, do a quick vacuum, slap the chair-n-shit back in and boom, road warrior again.
I've never gone to that extent but i do have a big OSB box strapped down in the back to keep grocerioes-n-shit from rolling around and scratching up the interior. Makes a huge difference when it comes time to sell
I so wish I could claim the idea as mine, but i can't. Some dude 40 years ago in Largo, Florida gets to claim it lol.
Lemme tell ya, just having a shit box in the cargo area is a wonderful thing. My current one is designedto fit a row of typical 1 gallon milk jugs 2 by..I think 6, maybe 8. Not that I'll ever buy that much of anything in gallon jugs, I just used their size as a 'standard'.
Another thing is how they're held down, that's super important in there's a crash. I have bungees hooding mine down, as well as some chains in case things end up fulfilling the voice of my old man's ghost lol.
Some adjustable air shocks might gain you some suspension travel. I put a set in my FS '85 Bronco back in the day - it was the tool wagon for the entire framing crew ('cause you could lock it easily before a 3 hour "lunch" at the local sub shop/watering hole).
Another thing to take into consideration is tire load too. Some tires might not handle the extra weight well. Next time you need a set of tires look into maximum weight. Some Saturn S series wagon owners sometimes put truck tires on them.
I think that's a totally fine setup. Maybe you lack some space to carry large parts, but outside that, it's fully functional and you're saving a lot on fuel driving this instead of a big truck
It works but I'd find yourself and old beater suv and black out the rear windows. I'm taking my old cj7 and making it pickup and building a utility bed for it
This is sweet. The one thing I’d note is to tint the shit outa those rear windows if you haven’t already, and throw a blanket over the box at night. Additionally you might consider one of those little 140db personal alarms with a tether attached to the car. They’re like $10 for a pack of them, tape the alarm to the box, and tether the other end to the car. That way if someone picks up your toolbox without knowing, it pulls the pin and sounds the alarm.
thrown in an Apple tag stuck on large drawer bottom just in case
Build ya a cheap plywood shell for the cargo area, best thing i ever learned working at a service station back in the 80's (Hobson's Amoco, to be exact lol...hey Jimmy and Wayne!). This one guy use to pull in with his conversion van - captains chairs and tables, you know the kind of road trip monster. For his work he'd pull out all the captain's chair's and tables and stuff in this 1/2" plywood "shell" he made that fit the van perfectly. Maybe 1/4" clearance all around. That way he could toss in whatever he wanted, throw it right on in, and if is scarred up the plywood it was a solid wgaf. When it came time for a road trip, him and his son would lift it out, do a quick vacuum, slap the chair-n-shit back in and boom, road warrior again. I've never gone to that extent but i do have a big OSB box strapped down in the back to keep grocerioes-n-shit from rolling around and scratching up the interior. Makes a huge difference when it comes time to sell
Thats a pretty good idea. Idk how good it would come out but 50-100 dollars worth of plywood and a jig saw would be a good day of fiddle farting.
I so wish I could claim the idea as mine, but i can't. Some dude 40 years ago in Largo, Florida gets to claim it lol. Lemme tell ya, just having a shit box in the cargo area is a wonderful thing. My current one is designedto fit a row of typical 1 gallon milk jugs 2 by..I think 6, maybe 8. Not that I'll ever buy that much of anything in gallon jugs, I just used their size as a 'standard'. Another thing is how they're held down, that's super important in there's a crash. I have bungees hooding mine down, as well as some chains in case things end up fulfilling the voice of my old man's ghost lol.
$50 in marine carpet will go a long way. Spray paint, makes me the welder I aint.
How does your suspension handle the weight?
You can feel it for sure and at a glance, its very obviously sagging some. I foresee rear shocks and suspension bushings in my future.
Some adjustable air shocks might gain you some suspension travel. I put a set in my FS '85 Bronco back in the day - it was the tool wagon for the entire framing crew ('cause you could lock it easily before a 3 hour "lunch" at the local sub shop/watering hole).
At least upgrade to heavy duty shocks and springs to handle the extra weight.
Ill steal a set of hendrickson air bags and shocks off a vocational truck tomorrow.
Another thing to take into consideration is tire load too. Some tires might not handle the extra weight well. Next time you need a set of tires look into maximum weight. Some Saturn S series wagon owners sometimes put truck tires on them.
I think that's a totally fine setup. Maybe you lack some space to carry large parts, but outside that, it's fully functional and you're saving a lot on fuel driving this instead of a big truck
love them bowlegged boots!
It works but I'd find yourself and old beater suv and black out the rear windows. I'm taking my old cj7 and making it pickup and building a utility bed for it