Custom Jeep Storage Platform
Our Jeep build has been a long complicated process. It didn’t happen all at once and has come together piece by piece over a number of years. All of the changes were made for a reason, whether for capability or function. One of our favorite changes was one that we build completely by ourselves, our custom Jeep Storage Platform.
For whatever reason, overlanders tend to bring a lot of gear. Often too much gear. Part of the reason is most likely inexperience and the belief that you need to bring everything including the kitchen sink. Overlanders also tend to be gear and gadget nerds. A lot of this is driven by social media, and if you read most of the posts on communities like Expedition Portal or Overland Bound, you will see that most of them are more gear or vehicle related than overland travel itself.
We are not much better but have continued to work over time to hone down our gear list. While we love our Jeep, you can run out of space quickly if you are not careful. We continue to cull through our gear and decide if we really need it or not, or if another item can do the job just as well. Items that serve multiple purposes are of much higher value to an overlander.
I am not a neat freak by nature, nor am I an overly messy person. But I have found that in a contained space like the Jeep I prefer to have an organized environment. It helps to protect your gear and makes it easier to find something when you need it.
Another component that also needs to be considered is safety. All gear in a vehicle should be safely stored and secured down so that if you stop quickly or god forbid flip on your side or flip completely over you aren’t dealing with flying projectiles.
Before we purchased the roof top tent we used to store the majority of our gear in Plano Cases strapped to our Gobi Rack. When we put the roof top tent on we needed another storage solution as not much space was left free up top. To be honest, I was also getting sick and tired of hefting the cases up and pulling them back down multiple times per trip. So I was looking for a better solution either way.
The roof top tent solved a portion of the issue, as we didn’t need to pack a tent and we specifically picked the Tuff Stuff Alpha as it allows us to store our bedding and pillows in the tent, and with the built-in mattress, we didn’t need to bring sleeping pads either. That left us with a need to store our tools, food, kitchen, and camping gear. Since we won’t be pulling a trailer, we would need to go to internal storage.
There are multiple different internal storage options for the Jeep JK, you can strap cases in the “trunk”, but in order to truly gain adequate space, you need to remove a portion or all of the rear seat. We decided to do the 60% seat delete and left the 40% in order to be able to fit a 3rd passenger when needed. In order to take advantage of that, you need to install some time of platform, whether bought on built. Goose Gear is a popular choice and they make fantastic products, and we were leaning that way initially. We actually used the Goose Gear Seat Delete bracket to support the 40% remaining seat once the other portion is removed.
But we have a somewhat unique situation with our dogs. Abbie and Bailey are two core members of our team and we don’t go out exploring without them:
They are good-sized girls. With the Goose Gear platform, once the fridge was installed we either wouldn’t have much storage or space for the dogs left. What we soon realized was that there was a lot of lost space up above that we wouldn’t be able to leverage. So I decided to build a custom platform to cover the trunk and the space left after we removed the passenger side portion of the rear seat. The key though was that we raised the floor roughly 8”. This allowed us to have two larger drawers in the rear and a large storage space behind the front passenger seat.
The full platform was built with 1/2-inch (veneer core) Russian birch. I added two hatches that are from the marine industry to allow access to the large space. The smaller hatch on the side allows easy access to frequently used gear while the dogs are in the vehicle. I keep my air hose and compressor tools there for easy access for airing back up.
One of the unexpected benefits of the platform is that it helps to keep the passenger securely in their seat and provides them with an armrest. Before we put it in when you would go around a corner you had to really force yourself to stay in your seat.
I am not a carpenter by any means, but I spent extensive time designing, learning from Google and Youtube, and eventually building the platform. I found the Pocket-Hole Jig from Kreg and used it extensively. It truly helped to make things easier and allowed me to create an extremely rigid structure.
For the drawers, I used 28” Orr & Orr Lock In Lock Out Drawer Slides. These are not cheap, but they are extremely high quality and support 500 lbs. They will support our drawers securely for quite a long time. Once I finished the structure I covered the entire external face in multiple coats of Black Spray-On Raptor Liner. Again it isn’t cheap and you need quite a few cans for full coverage, but again I wanted to do it right.
The platform is technically two separate parts, the drawer section, and the front storage box. The entire structure is secured tightly to the vehicle. The drawer section utilizes the stock mounting holes in the rear. You can access them with the drawers extended. There is a metal plate between the two sections with bolts on both sides to secure them together. I then used metal strapping screwed to the box and then to the floor to ensure the front box is fully secure.
I could not be happier. The entire platform is rock solid and gives us everything we hoped it would. Substantial storage while still providing plenty of secure space for the dogs to settle in. We are not easy on it either, and it is still in excellent condition.
One additional challenge we had to deal with due to the platform was the fridge. We initially planned to use the Dometic 55L, but since we kept the 40% rear seat and the platform was raised 8”, the fridge would not fit front to back. due to the angle of the seat. So it would need to go left to right. Since there wouldn’t be much usable space next to the fridge, we decided to go with the larger Dometic 75 which fits almost perfectly. We don’t necessarily need that much space for most trips but we now store most of our extra drinks and food in there even if not required to be refrigerated. We also have the option to use one side as a freezer and one as a fridge, or both fridge or freezer, etc. This flexibility will also come in handy when we start our full-time RV travels as it will act as an extra fridge and or freezer. The fridge is secured down with tie downs from Mac’s Tie Down Solutions and a Dometic Strap Kit.
In order to power the fridge and bring power to the rear of the Jeep, we installed a Blue Sea USB Accessory Panel. Along with the fridge, we also charge our extra camera and GoPro batteries with it, and it provides USB power for the rear seat passenger as well.
The platform has a huge amount of storage. The left rear drawer is used for food dry goods, the right holds all of our kitchen and camp gear. Along with the fridge and the EZOverland Tail GateTable and the fridge right there, it provides a convenient spot to make coffee, lunch, or a quick meal.
The front storage box holds all of our larger items including tools, extra fluids, jumper cables, go bag, tire repair kit, and additional first aid gear. As we mentioned above, we keep our air tools by the small access hatch for easy access for airing up tires.
This build was not done as a way to save money and took a sizeable investment to build. I estimate that overall it cost about $500 to build for lumber, drawer sliders, two hatches, Raptor Liner, drawer pulls, and other hardware. When not cheap, it is less extensive than the full Goose Gear platform, but again that is not why we did it. We build it to fit our specific needs, and we couldn’t be happier. Hopefully, it will continue to serve us well for many years to come.
