Truck Vaults

[Smoky Pistols]

How many people have them installed and what are some of your recommendations (manufacturers/models) along with any reasons, likes, or dislikes you may have.  I have a 2005 Ford Explorer with fold down third row seating and am thinking about putting one in.  I would love to hear from personal experience, especially those with SUVs.  Any personally built ones would be great to take a look at, as well, If you are willing to share.

[Chief Rick]

Truck Vault is a manufacturer. I don't know if they are the originator, but they are what most others try to imitate. 

 

I have one in an F-150 with a 6 1/2 ft bed with a topper. The vault portion fills the entire space between the wheel wells, from the front of the bed to the tailgate.  It's not weatherproof, therefore the need for a topper. With the vault installed properly, a casual observer will not notice it. When I pulled through a border patrol checkpoint the officer couldn't tell what was back there, only that my cart seemed to be sitting fairly high in the bed. When he asked if there was a false deck I told him it wasa Truck Vault and he told me to have a good night. 

 

A few cons:

It's heavy.  Mount it properly and be prepared to leave it. 

 

It takes up cargo space. I wish I'd have gone with a higher topper. My topper has the fold down clothes hanger and my clothes drag on the top of the vault. 

 

Pros:

PEACE OF MIND! I store my leather and ammo in it when traveling, be it a local monthly match or Bordertown last month. Stop at the hotel and roll suitcase in after I park the truck. 

 

I can't comment on any of the other manufacturers or models of "secure" storage for vehicles, but the Truck Vault is worth every penny. 

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

Remember that they will act like Humidors.

OLG

[Fingers McGee]

I've had a TruckVault in three Tahoes since 2005.  It has provided secure storage for all my cowboy guns and accessories when traveling to not only local matches; but, out of state matches as well.  With the Truck Vault, I don't worry about the safety and security of my guns.  I'm looking to downsizing and trade off my 2012 Tahoe and will need to sell my current TruckVault when I buy the Tahoes smaller replacement.

 

Fingers (Show Me MO smoke) McGee

[Pill Roller, SASS #77160]

Have one in the bed of my F 150 with top.  Love it, echo Chief Rick's comments

I don't leave anything in it for any length of time.

Had it  made with a narrow drawer and a wider one. 

[C. W. Knight # 47289L]

Had one in our small RV, bolted to the overhand where a bed was supposed to be.  Wonderful addition to the security situation.  C.W   

[Rowdy Ranger Rick]

I needed to get a new truck recently...gun and gear storage was a concern, but I didn't want to sacrifice my truck bed use. I ended up with a Honda Ridgeline. It has a trunk under the bed...half the bed raises to access the trunk. It automatically locks, and seals against water and dust. Open the tail gate and you wouldn't know it's there. My only complaint is not being able to lock the tailgate. There is an aftermarket lock kit, but I was concerned about it's reliability. I came up with a combo trailer hitch that almost rests against the tail gate preventing it from being opened if I wanted to store gear in the bed also...similar to a bike rack.

[Chief Rick]

1 hour ago, Smoky Pistols said:

How many people have them installed and what are some of your recommendations (manufacturers/models) along with any reasons, likes, or dislikes you may have.  I have a 2005 Ford Explorer with fold down third row seating and am thinking about putting one in.  I would love to hear from personal experience, especially those with SUVs.  Any personally built ones would be great to take a look at, as well, If you are willing to share.

Take a look at the measurements of the one Fingers McGee currently has for sale in the classifieds and see if it will fit in your Explorer.

 

Even with gas and a motel, it'll cost less than buying a new one.

 

Also want to add that I looked seriously at building one.  To make one from the same or better materials as Truck Vault, I would have to invest almost 3/4 what it cost to buy a Truck Vault.  As an example, a pair of drawer slides to support the weight required would have run at least $200.  The Simplex locks run ~$250 each.  Add to that the cost of quality 3/4 inch plywood.

[Randy Saint Eagle, SASS # 64903]

Tombstone John’s Tahoo got broken into at the banquet last Saturday at the Southeast Regional. We lost a lot of stuff but thanks to his Truck Vault we still have our Cowboy guns. 

 

Randy

[Yul Lose]

Here’s what I’ve built for SASS shooters, including myself in the past. If you’d like info on how I built them just shoot me a PM. The gray one is installed in a Tahoe, the double oak one is in a Chevy pickup, the black one is in my personal vehicle. The drawer guides are full extension ball bearing guides and are rated at 500 lbs. that’s what I use on all of the vaults that I build. The high security locks are Simplex.

 

Chief Rick is correct on the cost to build them. The last Simplex locks that I bought were $189.00 apiece, 48” drawer slides were $268.00 per pair and the 3/4” Baltic birch ply wood was about $50.00 x2 and then another sheet of 1/2” Baltic birch plywood for the drawer bottoms and 3/4” red oak lumber that I used for the sides, back, center divider and drawers. The handles were $11.00 x4 so before I did anything I had about $900.00 in materials. I used buttonhead Allen bolts and inset t-nuts to install the drawer runners to the main carcasses and then hexhead woodscrews to fasten the drawers to the guides. Keep in mind that if you do build a two drawer model the middle guides will have to be offset, I found that out the hard way. You can kind of see the offset on the bottom photo of the dual oak vault, one guide on the inside of the drawer is higher than the guide on the other drawer. The drawer guides that I used do not come apart like the full extension drawer guides on your kitchen cabinets so the drawers must be mounted when the drawer guides are extended.

 

I coated the one that I built for my truck with a rhino liner type coating that I ordered on amazon and it blends in real well with the sprayed on liner that came with my truck. When the topper is closed up the vault looks like it’s part of the bed. 

[Grey Beard]

I put one in a 2013 Toyota 4 runner when I bought it new.  I went with a base model 4 runner in order to keep the height of the truck vault as low as possible.  From the outside it looks just like the 4 runner model with the extra seats removed.  We've been quite happy with the truck vault and carry all of our guns plus backups in it.  When I replace the 4 runner I'll be moving the vault to the new one.  Mine is very well built and while I could have built something myself, as mentioned above it would have cost me at least 3/4 of the cost.  

[Boulder Canyon Bob# 32052L]

I looked at a lot of them and went with the Better Built SUV unit, mainly because I was afraid if I had one that went all across the bed of my truck I wouldn't be able to lift my guncart high enough to get it in. If I put them in gunsocks I can get 11 long guns in it. For matches with long range I get 7 long guns and 3 sets of handguns. Works for me. I didn't pay near this much for it. 3 years ago. Downside is no way to bolt it down, so I riveted some handles on one side and chained it to the tie down spots in my truck.

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[Yul Lose]

4 minutes ago, Boulder Canyon Bob# 32052L said:

I looked at a lot of them and went with the Better Built SUV unit, mainly because I was afraid if I had one that went all across the bed of my truck I wouldn't be able to lift my guncart high enough to get it in. If I put them in gunsocks I can get 11 long guns in it. For matches with long range I get 7 long guns and 3 sets of handguns. Works for me. I didn't pay near this much for it. 3 years ago. Downside is no way to bolt it down, so I riveted some handles on one side and chained it to the tie down spots in my truck.

• 

Roll over image to zoom in

 

 

Better Built 76217118 Drawer Box

by Better Built

3.0 out of 5 stars    1 customer review

 

| 4 answered questions

 

 

 

---

Price:

$793.04 & FREE Shipping

 

Get $70 off instantly: Pay $723.04 upon approval for the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Card.

Note: Not eligible for Amazon Prime.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• Heavy-duty aluminum construction
• Silver powder-coat finish

› See more product details

 

Compare with similar items

 

 

 

 

New (5) from $599.99 + $106.30 shipping

That’s why I built the narrow one for my truck also. My gun cart fits very nicely in the space beside it.

[Tully Mars]

I have no pictures of it, but when I had my Tahoe I did the same as Yul Loose with the exception of the slides. I found a waxed drawer worked well and saved a bunch of money. No doubt the slides are better, but mine worked just fine.

 

Currently I have a F150 with a 6.5' bed and a full Truck Vault with camper shell and couldn't be happier.  Nothing in this world is totally safe, but it makes me way more comfortable.

 

Tully

 

[Yul Lose]

Another thing to keep in mind if you build a vault like the one that I built with two drawers is it gets really heavy in a hurry. The drawer slides alone weigh about 60lbs per pair and then the weight of the plywood and lumber. I never weighed the two drawer full bed models that I’ve built but I would guess they weigh 350lbs plus. I don’t build them anymore they are just to heavy for my wife and I to move around while I’m building them.

[Null N. Void]

Here's what I built for about $2 -$300 in materials.  I have a lock on the tailgate.   When the cap is closed, you can't see anything in the below deck storage. 

 

I had trouble with downloading the photos and couldn't get them to rotate, so you may have to download and rotate.  The materials are 2x4, 2x10, 1/2 inch plywood and indoor/outdoor carpet.  The racks hold 4 long guns.  I can fit my long guns, 4 pistols, leather, ammo, tools, and my small breakdown gun cart in there.  The pistols, leather, ammo and tools go into bins.  Everything is screwed together with drywall screws and the carpet is down with adhesive.

 

NNV

[Smoky Pistols]

16 hours ago, Yul Lose said:

Here’s what I’ve built for SASS shooters, including myself in the past. If you’d like info on how I built them just shoot me a PM. The gray one is installed in a Tahoe, the double oak one is in a Chevy pickup, the black one is in my personal vehicle. The drawer guides are full extension ball bearing guides and are rated at 500 lbs. that’s what I use on all of the vaults that I build. The high security locks are Simplex.

 

Chief Rick is correct on the cost to build them. The last Simplex locks that I bought were $189.00 apiece, 48” drawer slides were $268.00 per pair and the 3/4” Baltic birch ply wood was about $50.00 x2 and then another sheet of 1/2” Baltic birch plywood for the drawer bottoms and 3/4” red oak lumber that I used for the sides, back, center divider and drawers. The handles were $11.00 x4 so before I did anything I had about $900.00 in materials. I used buttonhead Allen bolts and inset t-nuts to install the drawer runners to the main carcasses and then hexhead woodscrews to fasten the drawers to the guides. Keep in mind that if you do build a two drawer model the middle guides will have to be offset, I found that out the hard way. You can kind of see the offset on the bottom photo of the dual oak vault, one guide on the inside of the drawer is higher than the guide on the other drawer. The drawer guides that I used do not come apart like the full extension drawer guides on your kitchen cabinets so the drawers must be mounted when the drawer guides are extended.

 

I coated the one that I built for my truck with a rhino liner type coating that I ordered on amazon and it blends in real well with the sprayed on liner that came with my truck. When the topper is closed up the vault looks like it’s part of the bed. 

You know Yul, I'm just waiting for the day you post pics of an entire truck you built out of wood! You, sir, have a talent!

[Chuck Would, SASS # 53289]

The 1st one I ever saw was back in 2003 in the back of a White 2002 Toyota 4Runner.  It belonged to Bill Batty AKA Barrister Bill.  It was made by a company no longer in business called SUV Cabinets.  One look and I was in love.  But back then I couldn't afford one.

When Barrister Bill passed away a couple years back I bought that cabinet from Jan, His Widow.  Fits just fine in the back of my 2008 4Runner.  I'm still in love with it and I think of Bill every time I open it.

 

 

[Buffalo Bill Mathewson, 37826]

I put Weather Guard brand drawers with an added locking cross bar. They are mounted close to the tailgate so the tailgate has to open to open the drawer. With factory lock tailgate lock and my added locking cross bar there are three lock to open to open the drawer.

[Slick McClade]

I ordered two “Under the bed safes” by buffalo safe company. Walmart.com Has then for like $280 each(with shipping I have less than $700 in both), vault is very nice with carpet lining. I can fit about 6 Long guns per vault , I like putting my Ammo in the bottom vault and guns in the top. Each one has a digital keypad and a back up key system just Incase. These would work really well in a SUV, I have to climb up in the back of my truck to access them but it’s peaceful state of mind knowing they are locked up and secured.

 

Slick

[Smoky Pistols]

Thanks Slick!  That’s a good idea!

[Smoky Pistols]

3 hours ago, Chuck Would, SASS # 53289 said:

The 1st one I ever saw was back in 2003 in the back of a White 2002 Toyota 4Runner.  It belonged to Bill Batty AKA Barrister Bill.  It was made by a company no longer in business called SUV Cabinets.  One look and I was in love.  But back then I couldn't afford one.

When Barrister Bill passed away a couple years back I bought that cabinet from Jan, His Widow.  Fits just fine in the back of my 2008 4Runner.  I'm still in love with it and I think of Bill every time I open it.

 

 

I’d love to see pictures of it, but I think I got a lil sumptin in my eyes right now!  Dammit!

[Slick McClade]

3 hours ago, Smoky Pistols said:

Thanks Slick!  That’s a good idea!

It even comes predrilled in the bottom to secure it down.

[Tyrel Cody]

1 minute ago, Slick McClade said:

It even comes predrilled in the bottom to secure it down.

Thanks for the tip. Wal-Mart will even ship them to your door for free. $305 each after tax.

[Yul Lose]

Whichever kind you buy or build make sure your mounting bolt holes aren’t into gas tanks. 

[Smoky Pistols]

9 hours ago, Yul Lose said:

Whichever kind you buy or build make sure your mounting bolt holes aren’t into gas tanks. 

Important tip right there!

[Smoky Pistols]

Thanks you all for the advice and pictures of your vaults, it was good to see what everyone is doing.  I got lucky and managed to find a used Truck Vault for $150.  Police officer getting rid of a couple.  If there are any shooters looking for one in the Havasu AZ area, he has one left as of Friday.  Check Craigslist for info--he was a good guy to deal with--Even delivered mine to Las Vegas since he was coming up this weekend.  Now I just need to mount it in the truck.

[Yul Lose]

35 minutes ago, Smoky Pistols said:

Thanks you all for the advice and pictures of your vaults, it was good to see what everyone is doing.  I got lucky and managed to find a used Truck Vault for $150.  Police officer getting rid of a couple.  If there are any shooters looking for one in the Havasu AZ area, he has one left as of Friday.  Check Craigslist for info--he was a good guy to deal with--Even delivered mine to Las Vegas since he was coming up this weekend.  Now I just need to mount it in the truck.

You stole it from a cop even!!!

[Smoky Pistols]

Just now, Yul Lose said:

You stole it from a cop even!!!

I know, right!  It was one hell of a deal even if I'd have had to drive three hours to get it.. When he said that he'd actually bring it to me, I was ecstatic!