DIY Rear Cargo Platform with Fridge Slide For My 4-Door Bronco

[fifty55]

Here’s what I came up with for a rear platform and fridge slide for my 4 door. The base is 1/2 plywood, finished with Raptor Liner, rolled on with a foam roller:

I took design cues from the Goose Gear platform, which looks amazing, but I was able to save money with my own build.

For the fridge slide framing, I’m using extruded aluminum (3030). I have about 4” of storage space below the fridge platform, enough for my tool roll, first aid kit, and air hose kit. The panels for jack and storage under the base are removable, fastened with screws.

The fridge slide is from Ironman 4x4…so far I’m impressed with the quality, and the price was great compared to others.

With this layout, I can fit four Maxtrax behind the seat (in a soft case) and have room for my Jackery battery and two Dometic boxes for storage. It’s a snug fit, but worked great on a recent road trip to Moab.

Sponsored

 

[BroncoAZ]

Looks great! I hadn’t seen those Dometic storage boxes before, they look like a perfect fit.

 

[fifty55]

Looks great! I hadn’t seen those Dometic storage boxes before, they look like a perfect fit.

Thanks! Yeah, I’m really happy with those boxes - sturdy and light.

 

[da_jokker]

I did something similar, but ran extruded all the way across, primarily because my fold-up table needed to fit underneath so I can get that out quickly.

Did you get your stuff from TNutz? It worked out for me really well and half the price.

 

[B Miller]

Looks great! Well done indeed!

 

[cynicalrider]

Sub. You just use a jig saw and router to make the floor? I can fabricate and wrench but when it comes to wood work it might as well be astro physics to me. I just don't have the patience. How is the extruded aluminum mounted to the floor?

 

[fifty55]

I did something similar, but ran extruded all the way across, primarily because my fold-up table needed to fit underneath so I can get that out quickly.

Did you get your stuff from TNutz? It worked out for me really well and half the price.

Great idea running it all the way across, that definitely gives you more storage underneath. I only ran mine 1/2 way to make it easy to access to the storage area underneath the platform, but looks like with yours you would still be able to do that. The beauty of extruded aluminum is that it's easy to modify.

I wasn't aware of TNutz, I'll look at them the next time I need supplies. I bought from zyltech.com, with coupons the price seemed reasonable.

 

[fifty55]

Looks great! Well done indeed!

Thank you!

 

[ICUGAZN]

I think that is the best DIY platform I've seen. Maybe I should have used the roll on bed liner. That looks really good. I did my best. I also ended up going with the JCR drawer system.

 

[fifty55]

Sub. You just use a jig saw and router to make the floor? I can fabricate and wrench but when it comes to wood work it might as well be astro physics to me. I just don't have the patience. How is the extruded aluminum mounted to the floor?

I've been a lifelong woodworker and have all the tools. For this, you could build it with a jig saw, but patience may be a requirement .

The extruded aluminum is mounted to the plywood base using Tee Nuts - drill a hole in the plywood, then hammer them into the bottom.

Note, for the base, I built it with a tapered thickness from back to front. This made it parallel with the fenders...if you don't do that, it would angle slightly downward from seat to the rear door. This isn't necessary and requires more tools, but made it easier for me to have everything relatively square once the base was aligned. Pic below showing the bottom side of the platform:

 

[redone17]

Really nice work!

 

[fifty55]

I think that is the best DIY platform I've seen. Maybe I should have used the roll on bed liner. That looks really good. I did my best. I also ended up going with the JCR drawer system.

Thank you! Your setup looks great! And I like the top shelf...looks like that adds a fair amount of storage.

 

[fifty55]

Really nice work!

Thanks!

 

[cynicalrider]

I've been a lifelong woodworker and have all the tools. For this, you could build it with a jig saw, but patience may be a requirement .

The extruded aluminum is mounted to the plywood base using Tee Nuts - drill a hole in the plywood, then hammer them into the bottom.

Note, for the base, I built it with a tapered thickness from back to front. This made it parallel with the fenders...if you don't do that, it would angle slightly downward from seat to the rear door. This isn't necessary and requires more tools, but made it easier for me to have everything relatively square once the base was aligned. Pic below showing the bottom side of the platform:

It's little details like this that always makes DIY appreciated so much more. My current rig is 95% DIY which can also be super time consuming as well. The hope is to have the Bronco be less time consuming but a part of me has my stomach churn for stupid things like a hoop on the front modular bumper cost $300 when I can bend and weld my own for $40 in material. But of course it comes at the cost of my time.

 

[fifty55]

It's little details like this that always makes DIY appreciated so much more. My current rig is 95% DIY which can also be super time consuming as well. The hope is to have the Bronco be less time consuming but a part of me has my stomach churn for stupid things like a hoop on the front modular bumper cost $300 when I can bend and weld my own for $40 in material. But of course it comes at the cost of my time.

Fully agree - I enjoy DIY-ing, but more time building means less time on the trails. I seriously considered the Goose Gear products, but the money saved by building it myself gets to go to other mods.

Sponsored