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H3 Making the most of “trunk” space

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adventuredad

Well-Known Member
Messages
86
Location
Southwest WA
Hi everyone, I was wondering if anyone had thought of, or even seen where someone had, removed the plastic interior panels from the rear door and possibly the wheel wells to gain any added cargo space. My main thought is the door panel mainly. I really like the drop down tables being manufactured but I would think there’d be a way to utilize the space behind it. Since the jack and things are mounted inside the compartment, there is obviously plenty of room in there just wondering how best to use it. Thought it might be a good place for some rescue gear, survival gear, or even a little gun rack in there.
Right now I built a shelf in the back that comes up to the point the side trim panels angle out. It perfectly fits the mid sized mtm ammo crates underneath and then plenty of room on top for more gear. That’s what got me thinking about the plastic trim covering the wheel wells. Could be some more space, especially towards the top.
I do plan on a roof rack so that I have all that space to strap things down when needed.


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J

JPaul

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,401
Location
Way up north, UT
I thought about this when I had the panels out last month to run my power cables. Really, the engineers did a pretty good job utilizing the space available around the wheel wells, there isn't much being wasted with the panels. Sure, you can remove them and make something that fits a bit tighter, but it's going to be an awful lot of work for not very much in return in my opinion. Best bet if you really want to go that route is cutting out the existing cubbies and fabricating some storage boxes or shelves to go in their place, but good luck making it look good and not be a pain to install. If you really want to squeeze as much space as you can out of the back, then go for it, but it's going to be quite a bit of a slog and require a lot of fabrication to make it work well.

Also, removing the panels entirely will only net you maybe two extra inches in width total, if that. The biggest downfall to the current setup is the way the tops of the bottom trim pieces are angled towards the windows, I think if they had made them straight up and squared off it would have been better storage. Although with them angled like that you can still kind of get into them even with something in the rear.

The rear door on the other hand is a different matter, the access door is a bit small in comparison to how large the opening in the sheet metal is. I think that could be enlarged to make utilizing it a bit better for storage, or just ditching the bottom section entirely to gain a couple inches or so depth wise in the trunk area and make a flat aluminum (or even HDPE plastic) panel to clean up the looks that mounts flush to the sheetmetal. Something to think about with the rear door though is if your vent loses its flaps you will end up with a ton of dust in there. My red H3 was like that and it was extremely dusty in there, and that's without doing a lot of trails.

One way to increase useable storage in the rear that I've thought about is fabricating a thin and wide lightweight storage drawer that is bolted up to the ceiling. The rear door opening actually is a few inches or so lower than the roof and you could easily put something up there that wouldn't chew up too much useable space. Ideally it would not only drop down but also slide out. I think it'd be a great place to stow weaponry and other thin vitals that you need to be able to access no matter what you have in the rear of the vehicle. Hard to describe how I am picturing it. Kind of like a thin wide drawer that hinges at the rear and slides out and then when it's fully out it hinges all the way down so that it's perpendicular to the ground, more or less. With it being up in the ceiling it's out of sight, especially since no one is really going to be looking up for anything, and if they do see it they won't know what is in it. You'd want to keep the drawer itself and anything you store in it fairly light since it is pretty high up, but it would be doable I think. Plus it'd look pretty cool, and we all know that is one of the more important factors to consider. :) Biggest trick is figuring out how exactly to mount it securely. I have some rough ideas after building the brackets for my power panel, but I know I'd need more attachment points for a drawer up there.
 
A

adventuredad

Well-Known Member
Messages
86
Location
Southwest WA
JPaul said:
I thought about this when I had the panels out last month to run my power cables. Really, the engineers did a pretty good job utilizing the space available around the wheel wells, there isn't much being wasted with the panels. Sure, you can remove them and make something that fits a bit tighter, but it's going to be an awful lot of work for not very much in return in my opinion. Best bet if you really want to go that route is cutting out the existing cubbies and fabricating some storage boxes or shelves to go in their place, but good luck making it look good and not be a pain to install. If you really want to squeeze as much space as you can out of the back, then go for it, but it's going to be quite a bit of a slog and require a lot of fabrication to make it work well.

Also, removing the panels entirely will only net you maybe two extra inches in width total, if that. The biggest downfall to the current setup is the way the tops of the bottom trim pieces are angled towards the windows, I think if they had made them straight up and squared off it would have been better storage. Although with them angled like that you can still kind of get into them even with something in the rear.

The rear door on the other hand is a different matter, the access door is a bit small in comparison to how large the opening in the sheet metal is. I think that could be enlarged to make utilizing it a bit better for storage, or just ditching the bottom section entirely to gain a couple inches or so depth wise in the trunk area and make a flat aluminum (or even HDPE plastic) panel to clean up the looks that mounts flush to the sheetmetal. Something to think about with the rear door though is if your vent loses its flaps you will end up with a ton of dust in there. My red H3 was like that and it was extremely dusty in there, and that's without doing a lot of trails.

One way to increase useable storage in the rear that I've thought about is fabricating a thin and wide lightweight storage drawer that is bolted up to the ceiling. The rear door opening actually is a few inches or so lower than the roof and you could easily put something up there that wouldn't chew up too much useable space. Ideally it would not only drop down but also slide out. I think it'd be a great place to stow weaponry and other thin vitals that you need to be able to access no matter what you have in the rear of the vehicle. Hard to describe how I am picturing it. Kind of like a thin wide drawer that hinges at the rear and slides out and then when it's fully out it hinges all the way down so that it's perpendicular to the ground, more or less. With it being up in the ceiling it's out of sight, especially since no one is really going to be looking up for anything, and if they do see it they won't know what is in it. You'd want to keep the drawer itself and anything you store in it fairly light since it is pretty high up, but it would be doable I think. Plus it'd look pretty cool, and we all know that is one of the more important factors to consider. :) Biggest trick is figuring out how exactly to mount it securely. I have some rough ideas after building the brackets for my power panel, but I know I'd need more attachment points for a drawer up there.
Click to expand...

That is almost exactly what I was thinking before about the ceiling, but I was hoping to build a gun rack into it running over the back seats. The problem I found when I dug into it, the long guns extended well over the second row seats and would start to cause head room issues. I have 3 kids and the car seats alone are about to get in the way, if hate to take any room from adults;)

I do like your idea about extending all the way out and then dropping down, that could be an excellent to make the best use of the space behind the second row in the ceiling. I’ll have to look at that again.

I saw the build up of your power panel on another forum, I was intrigued about the possibilities in the window for storage as well. I was wondering about the possibility of a hinged plate that would allow storage towards the window. If it’s Molle then you could get away with storage on both sides. Or at least a plate to allow for mounting brackets and accessories.

As far as the rear door goes, it seems like there is a ton of space. A simple panel to be able to mount things would be a great start. For now, I don’t have a hi-lift jack so I need to keep those tools back there. Once I have the roof rack, I’ll have a place to mount a hi-lift and can think of removing the stock jack. Right now with a 24” shelf in the back I have about 4” gap to the rear door, if I remove the plastic I would think I could about double that. Seems like great space for storage and solid mounting for the flip down table.


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J

JPaul

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,401
Location
Way up north, UT
Even with a high lift you are going to want the stock jack. The H3 really doesn't have anything to put the high lift on for changing tires unless you have rock rails that are strong enough and stick out far enough, and it's dangerous to use one for that anyway. I need to do some checking to make sure the lift height is enough, but I think switching out the stock jack for a 8 ton bottle jack will not only save space, but the bottle jack doesn't run the risk of folding on you like the stock jack can. I only have my high lift for recoveries, general purpose, and to look cool. Plus I got the 60" HD Hi-Lift used for a steal, I think I only paid $30 for it. Only reason I don't have the factory jack in right now is I was trying to chase down the thumping noise in the rear (which turned out to be due to the hoop for the door latch being tweaked outward, keeping the door from being snugged up when closed).

Hopefully I can get some traction again with my power panel, I've had to hold off for a bit due to weather, vacation, and work. My current plan is to have the main panel be fairly close to the window itself, and then a second panel with a door in it that sits more or less flush with the face of the trim to create a compartment for the power center. That way everything will be not only out of sight but also protected from anything flying into it and possibly creating a short. And I can use the outer panel to mount a voltmeter and maybe even switches. We'll see how it works out. For the passenger window I think if I were to use that as storage I'd just do an elastic cargo net type deal and store soft items there. You could turn it into a storage compartment as well if you want, but you do have some semblance of visibility out of it unlike the driver side, so it seems a shame to lose visibility out of it. A good camera system would more than make up for it though. Side view cameras are still on my long term list of mods.

If you want some good ideas on mods I'd suggest checking out Ronny Dahl on YouTube. He does a Modified series where he showcases/reviews various people's rigs and goes over the mods they've done to them and such. He's been doing it for several years now and is on episode 40 something so there are quite a few to watch. Lots of great ideas, and it runs everywhere from super elaborate setups to rubbermaid containers in the back so you get all kinds of opinions and experiences. Plus he has a ton of other really good videos about offroading/overlanding/etc, and I've started just watching his trip videos where he's going off into the bush with his buddies, family, and/or tag along tour guests. You can pick up some good ideas from those videos as well. He's really down to earth and honest, and I think he's just plain fun to watch. But be warned, you're going to probably end up wishing you could get a diesel 70 series Land Cruiser. Really a shame we can't get them here in the states.
 
Bowser-II

Bowser-II

Well-Known Member
Messages
268
Location
Hagerstown, Maryland
I use the space in the rear door to store rope and jumper cables. Nothing fancy, just stuff them in there where they are immediately available and do not block the vents.



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S

scoreh3

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,024
Location
SoCal
I have a bunch of stuff stored in there along with the factory jack. If you just do a little planning and moving stuff around you will be surprised how much stuff you can cram in there.
 
alrock

alrock

El Diablo
Staff member
Messages
10,447
Location
Scottsdale
I carry a bottle jack (and hi-lift) instead of the factory jack. The back door is mostly used for storing fluids.

For the ceiling, I used a net from Safari Straps to create an area I can store light items, like blankets and jackets.

i-Z5zJZ6T-X2.jpg


i-VSH7H4f-X2.jpg
 
alrock

alrock

El Diablo
Staff member
Messages
10,447
Location
Scottsdale
The net really doesn't impact visibility when empty. It will a bit when loaded up and it's pushing the net down.
 
A

adventuredad

Well-Known Member
Messages
86
Location
Southwest WA
I really like the net too, especially this time of year as coats and sweatshirts are all over the place (3 kids, the wife and I so there are plenty of them), seems like a nice easy place to toss them. Do you like it being webbing or do you think a bungee net would work as well?


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F

FactoryOrdered2010AlphaT

Well-Known Member
Messages
87
Location
Canada
alrock said:
net from Safari Straps
Click to expand...

Like that. Bought a few net things as far back as 02 for an Avalanche to keep things from...flying about. The straps look way more secure.

Had a bungee-cord running between the rear roof handles of an H3T for...years, with various clips and bungees hanging down to clip things too. Surprisingly no one mentioned them being in the way the few times I let someone back there.

Won't that headliner will get dirty? Anyone ever spray that with Scotch Guard? My passenger headliner is dirty above the hand hold from...cheap hand cream. P.S.: Boys, Valentines is coming... buy her some nice hand cream...yes I meant her!

We need to hooks...everywhere! Or maybe I should get around to stitching in some Velcro pads to the seat sides to fix anchor points when they are folded down (90% of the time)
 
Happy Hummer

Happy Hummer

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,304
Location
Wisconsin
Best system I've seen our members come up with is the nice pull out drawer system. Very tasteful and a whole lot of storage to boot. Ha,ha get it? I made a funny!!! He said boot....
 
alrock

alrock

El Diablo
Staff member
Messages
10,447
Location
Scottsdale
I like the net because it doesn't stretch like a bungee. It may sag a bit, but not excessively.

The ceiling has not gotten dirty as I don't store dirty things up there. It's been for blankets, pillows, jackets, etc.

I added hooks in the D pillar, with a nut and bolt through metal. I also put hooks in the bases at the rear of the front seat if I wanted to compartmentalize the back from the front. I've also dropped it from the rear grab handles to behind the rear seat to act as a divider there.

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S

scoreh3

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,024
Location
SoCal
I used the Smittybilt G.E.A.R. Molle Jeep tailgate set up. I had snaps put in where the screw hole are so I can still access the jack storage area. I now think of swapping the cloth molle for the metal style and making it in to a fold down table.
 
A

adventuredad

Well-Known Member
Messages
86
Location
Southwest WA
I did see this browsing through older threads and was very interested. I really like the idea of external access for recovery gear and that would be perfect. I’ve driven service trucks before and having the external tool boxes was awesome like this. I’m trying to wrap my head around what it would actually take to pull this off. I wonder if we could come up with a box that could fit in with a flange that could seal against the window trim. Maybe even workout some clamping that could compress it from the inside.

The wheels are turning, wish I still had tools around but I’m building back up. I’ve never dealt with windows but seen plenty of videos, anyone had to replace the rear windows before?


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4speedfunk

4speedfunk

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Messages
4,212
Location
Tardville
I replaced the left rear quarter window a few years ago. Busted it out when I got up against a tree. No drama...installs with 3M tape. The biggest challenge with a side window storage idea, will be making it weather-right.
I run a full-length cargo platform. No back seats. Lots of storage underneath. I prefer the open space over any kind of drawers or slide-outs. The flat surface makes a good bed too.
 
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A

adventuredad

Well-Known Member
Messages
86
Location
Southwest WA
Hmmmmm, if it's just 3M tape then a simple flange against the outside will seal to the rig. So the real issue is a hatch cover that would be a reliable seal. There's gotta be some off the shelf hatch covers somewhere that we could utilize. The next question is whether it would be best to create that hatch on its own as access into the space and leave the rest up to personalization on the inside, or create it all as an enclosed box that would just slide in? I think it would also be nice to have access to it from the inside as well. In your scenario the tree might've pinned the door shut or worse mangled the handle or hinges so it wouldn't open.
 
Sennin

Sennin

Well-Known Member
Messages
453
Location
South Africa
4speedfunk said:
I replaced the left rear quarter window a few years ago. Busted it out when I got up against a tree. No drama...installs with 3M tape. The biggest challenge with a side window storage idea, will be making it weather-right.
I run a full-length cargo platform. No back seats. Lots of storage underneath. I prefer the open space over any kind of drawers or slide-outs. The flat surface makes a good bed too.
Click to expand...

mind showing us :wink:

i think I remember seeing you post it somewhere, just cant remember where exactly. Age is a terrible thing I tell ya :giggle:. My Idea is to replace both side windows with access hatches, driver side i want to then use for all crockery/cutlery when over landing. passenger side I want to use for recovery equipment for easy access

doing some more web wheeling, and it seems there should be enough meat around the window to properly mount a solution:
http://www.fourwheeler.com/how-to/0606or-2006-hummer-h3-race-truck/photo-27.html
 
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F

FactoryOrdered2010AlphaT

Well-Known Member
Messages
87
Location
Canada
That is cool storage. The H3T has four small boxes built into the wall beds...but unlike the way Avalanche did it...they're on the inside. They 'sort-of' fit recovery straps and booster cables but I wouldn't put anything heavy in them. They are 'sort-of' sealed...but even with a SlantBack dust manages to gets in them. Dust helps dry wet fabric right? Built in dryer! Unfortunately you have to climb up in there to access them...they fold down/in...you're probably put a knee out sooner or later cause the tail gate doesn't fold down like a Rivian... Whatever you put in there is not going to be the first tool you need.

If I were trying to fab a sealed window box like that on an H3...I might start with looking for an off-the-shelf Pelican-like case. Tough seal via pressure clamp...
 
Sennin

Sennin

Well-Known Member
Messages
453
Location
South Africa
FactoryOrdered2010AlphaT said:
That is cool storage. The H3T has four small boxes built into the wall beds...but unlike the way Avalanche did it...they're on the inside. They 'sort-of' fit recovery straps and booster cables but I wouldn't put anything heavy in them. They are 'sort-of' sealed...but even with a SlantBack dust manages to gets in them. Dust helps dry wet fabric right? Built in dryer! Unfortunately you have to climb up in there to access them...they fold down/in...you're probably put a knee out sooner or later cause the tail gate doesn't fold down like a Rivian... Whatever you put in there is not going to be the first tool you need.

If I were trying to fab a sealed window box like that on an H3...I might start with looking for an off-the-shelf Pelican-like case. Tough seal via pressure clamp...
Click to expand...

good idea, i was thinking to use the stock windows, and install internal hinges, and a strong magnet latch at the bottom, thus having the stock look from the outside. but the magnet setup might need o change to a electro magnet setup and interlock with the door locks :huh:

glass door hinge: https://www.hafele.com/us/en/produc...Size=12&Position=4&OrigPos=&ProductListSize=4

overkill electromagnet lock : https://www.dormakaba.com/us-en/sol...ata/electromagnetic-locks/8380-gatemag-603240
 
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