What is the extra area in the jack holder (engine compartment) for? Am I missing something, I just have the bottle jack under there… big area in front of that.

That said, I thought it would be a good place to store my jumper cables (all good Canadians must carry jumper cables at all times).

Is there any reason I shouldn't? I wouldn't be too worried about it, but as I'm not sure why it's there I thought I'd ask.

Thanks!

 

Its for your tool bag

 

I just tried putting my jumper cables there and they fit esquisitely. So that's their new home.
Thanks for the idea!

 

I'm afraid the tool bag I carry for this truck barely fits in the trunk! Maybe by "tool bag" you meant spare cell phone battery to phone a friend?

 

Small black land rover bag with Lug wrench, jack handle & wheel stops! And where the hell do you consider a trunk??? Lol

 

I use the space between the jack and the battery for my tree strap (for recovery use with the winch). There's even room for a D-shackle underneath the tree strap. My tool bag is in the rear door pocket.

I also used to keep my ****** block standing up next to the battery with a 1/4" piece of wood in between them to prevent any possible abrasion.

Before I replaced the headgaskets I stored a gallon of coolant bungied against the firewall on the passenger side. In fact I once kept a log chain there too. I've eyed that space several times thinking about how to configure more and better storage there. (No SAI in the '99.)

I'm focused on underhood storage largely because my truck is a seven-passenger, without the storage bins on the sides in the rear.

 

I do hate that the nice door pocket gets eaten up by the tool bag. But I think the jumpers are appropriate. Might look for somewhere else for the tool bag.
mln01:
Be careful! There is heat to consider in the engine compartment: there is a reason why they call it a firewall.
Still, I applaud you ingenuity.

 

rip that plastic crap out put some metal in and you get fit 2 batteries