Southern California Club Xterra
Southern California Club Xterra => SCCX General Discussion => Topic started by: JeffBett on March 24, 2016, 09:12:26 PM
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Like many, I needed to organize and secure the cargo space for off road trips but I wanted to have space for a 3rd person if needed, and have full height sleeping capabilities inside the X. I like drawers but that did not work for what I wanted to I went with a half shelf. I used 1" PVC and bought "furniture grade" connectors from Amazon. A 2 foot wide piece of 3/8" plywood finished it off. I chose to pre drill and screw it together at each joint to allow for flexibility. I have used it on a couple of trips through Death Valley and Paniment Mountains and everything stayed silent and solid even in the roughest times. I use several of the black rubber "trucker" tie down straps to hold each item in place. I put my cooler and soft goods (bedding) in the open half of the back and if I wanted to sleep inside I would just put the cooler outside and have plenty of room.
(http://i614.photobucket.com/albums/tt224/blackoout35/Xterra-Shelf1.jpg) (http://s614.photobucket.com/user/blackoout35/media/Xterra-Shelf1.jpg.html)
(http://i614.photobucket.com/albums/tt224/blackoout35/Xterra-Shelf2.jpg) (http://s614.photobucket.com/user/blackoout35/media/Xterra-Shelf2.jpg.html)
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Pretty slick! At first glace, it doesn't look like it'd be that strong, but it sure seems to be working great for you. Nice garage engineering right there. :)
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Very nice, my kind of Mod, cheap & effective
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That's a great idea. 1st time I've ever seen anything like this.
My only suggestion would be to add a divider in front (facing the front of the rig).
You might end up with all that gear on your dash.
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During actual usage I have a strap from the roof hook right above the rear side window and one from the grab handle above the 2nd row seats connected to the top pipe that helps stop it from shifting sideways. One middle leg is put through the rear seat latch loop that helps hold it in place. Lastly, the drivers seat is tight against the rack holding it tight in place. The top of the drivers seat and head rest, work fine to stop anything from moving into my body space plus the heavy rubber straps I use to hold the tubs in place. I thought about shifting items in an accident and decided to put my lightest item directly behind me on the second shelf and then live with the flow similar to what would happen if items were just setting/stacked without organizing. Across the whole rack I always put the heavy stuff on the bottom (water, recovery gear, etc) and the lighter stuff on top (clothes, food, pillow, etc.)
The whole thing cost ~$50 and the only "adjustment" I had to make in actual off road usage was to put a little pea sized clear rubber "foot" on the 2nd row window where the PVC was just close enough that it could tap on the window now and then. I hate extra noise so I shut that down in a hurry.
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I like it. I make my cargo shelf out of PVC and closet organizer. I used conduit clamps to tie it down to the track in the floor, works great. Gets a little bouncy in the hard stuff but that's no big deal, I use a bungie tarp to hold everything down.
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Ingenious. The pillow on the top is a nice touch.