I received the Tuffy box yesterday and have been thinking about ways to secure it without bolting through the floor. Right now I'm considering using the tie downs and ratchet cargo straps to hold a wood floor that the storage box is bolted to. I also have plans to make a wood floor on top of the box to protect the finish and cover the whole area. With the dividers the box is about 100lbs. empty. Are the tie downs strong enough to keep this from jumping and moving around?

 

I would say the cargo tie downs would cope no probelm at all. When I head out to the desert, all my stuff will be secured in a "similar" way, but still using the factory cargo tie downs for the initial base, just like you described.

 

Do you think it's easier to use ratchet straps or remove the tie downs and use bolts instead? I don't know about getting the nuts underneath to secure it though.

 

I have two guard dogs of sorts that are always with me and they are both well over 100lbs and can easly pull a full grown man down the street with no problem. the things hold the dogs when they are switched on so i am sure in will hold whatever you need. sorry thats the only thing i really put back there.

 

I wouldn't want to be in your truck with the box loaded and all that wood flooring.
If you need to secure the box, don't use the tie downs, drill and mount the box through the floor, thruough at least a 3/16" plate for each bolt that will cover at least a 3"X4" area.

 

Mike, do I need to remove the gas tank to do the floor mounting? I'd like to have something on top of the box for things like bikes, and surfing gear. What would you suggest?

 

100lbs of weight in my opinion, inthe rear is nothing.....its not even the weight of an average teenager, The cargo tie downs with ratchet straps would probably hold more weight than you could possibly even load into the rear area. cant see a problem tbh...I recently carried a washing machine home in mine, strapped to the cargo tie downswith 2 500lbs ratedratchet straps, it never moved a mm........no way I would drill through the floor when theres a perfect solution already there, but just my opinion.

 

The storage bin is wider than the gas tank, however the floor is not flat under the truck. Instead of using 4 3"x4" mounting plates would it be better to use 2 pieces of steel that run the length of the drawer front to back? I think there might be issues getting enough flat area for the smaller mounting plates secure to. Here's a couple pics of the box and the underside of the truck.

Edit: BTW, where can I find a place to make these steel mounting pieces?

[IMG]local://upfiles/7793/F4842ACB74084C5D90F86AF9B3719E1A.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]local://upfiles/7793/50C9F86C184F400BBFBBC4065B59CC68.jpg[/IMG]