[Graidian]

Alright, so I am in the process of cleaning up and organizing. Just some simple projects for the winter along with beefing up my supplies. In the cab I have strategically placed items in nooks and crannies including a med kit, an emergency supply kit, an entire assortment of fuses...and, thanks to @Sean, The Other Sean and his informative post I think I finally have a place to tuck my fire extinguisher...although, my seat may not tuck as nicely...but I will figure it out...

Anyway...on to the exterior stuff, the majority of my truck supplies are going to go in the custom storage box I am making, tool set, supplies and recovery equipment. I am going to make the box as compact as possible to reduce wasted space and try to prevent too much lost space from the bed, so everything is going to have it's own spot and be as condensed as possible. I want to throw my Come-Along in the bed as well as it seems the majority of the time when I use it, my vehicle is involved. Since it is so large and awkward, making a place for it in the box would waste a lot of room in my opinion, so I want to create some kind of mount for it so that it is out of the way but accessible...and doesn't just roll around in the bed. I thought about mounting a couple of oversized eye bolts, hooking up the two hooks, cranking it together and letting the Come-Along hold itself in place, but I am not sure about it being tight enough to hold, and still loose enough it won't bend any metal in the bed.

Has anyone created a mount? Or have any thoughts on what they would do? I have tried searching here and just google in general, and aside from a very basic mount on a tractor, I have come up with squat. Thoughts?

 

[swags]

Nice write up! Gave me some good ideas!

 

[whistler]

Did your come along come in a box?

 

[Graidian]

For as long as I've had this thing I honestly can't recall. I'm fairly certain it was just in a cardboard box with basic packaging which I would've tossed shortly after getting it. I'm not much for keeping boxes, even "set" ones. Things like my router bits, sockets etc I usually end up making custom holders for so they can hang on my shop walls so the boxes just end up being clutter.

 

[whistler]

Some came in plastic boxes. It would be easier to mount the box.
Come alongs are odd shape and no real good mounting surfaces.
I was thinking about mounting it like I did my driveshaft but like I said it would’ve easier in a container of some sort.

 

[Graidian]

Hmmm, that actually does give me a couple ideas. I may have to do some sizing up in the morning. It's such an odd shape and with the hooks and cables hanging off of it, keeping it from rattling around may be next to impossible.

 

[drobs]

I have a cap on my truck + cheap plastic foot locker tied with bailing wire to the front of the bed that I keep all my recovery gear in - to include come along, chains, tire chains, straps, shackles, E-Tool shovel, etc.

 

[whistler]

Your hook idea might work if it is supported in some way and possible strapped down just to keep it from rattling.. Also the hooks should be mounted with doublers or large area washers to keep the sheet metal from tearing.

 

[Graidian]

Yeah, that's my main concern about mounting it using tension, not much the weight, but the force of the winching action.

 

[The other Sean]

Not sure how your wood working skills are, but have you considered building a wooden crate specific to the come along? I'm considering doing this for my Spare CV axle I bring on off road trips. Tossing it in the bed in it's cardboard box seems sketchy at best.

 

[Nissan4Life]

What kind of come-a-long do you have? I don't always carry one, but threw mine in when I went wheeling a couple of months ago and it has been living in my truck since. I have a truck box and my hi hlift strapped down to the bed. Just threw my Come-a-long ontop of the pile. 4 ton dual hook.

 

[Graidian]

Not sure how your wood working skills are, but have you considered building a wooden crate specific to the come along? I'm considering doing this for my Spare CV axle I bring on off road trips. Tossing it in the bed in it's cardboard box seems sketchy at best.

Fair to moderate. I'm planning on building/customizing the tool box out of wood as well, so I may have to tinker with a custom holder for the come along.

What kind of come-a-long do you have? I don't always carry one, but threw mine in when I went wheeling a couple of months ago and it has been living in my truck since. I have a truck box and my hi hlift strapped down to the bed. Just threw my Come-a-long ontop of the pile. 4 ton dual hook.

Same. 4 ton etc. I just hate having things loose and shifting around. I'm very much a "place for everything and everything in is place" kind of guy, just some cases it takes me a while to figure out that place.

 

[Nissan4Life]

Fair to moderate. I'm planning on building/customizing the tool box out of wood as well, so I may have to tinker with a custom holder for the come along.



Same. 4 ton etc. I just hate having things loose and shifting around. I'm very much a "place for everything and everything in is place" kind of guy, just some cases it takes me a while to figure out that place.

Seems like some kind of truck box would serve you much better. IMO the come-a-along is not big enough of an item to warrant its own case. You probably carry a bunch of other gear that needs to be stored. Tow strap, air compressor, flat repair, tools, spares, hooks and shackles. A good truck box can store all of it and not have things slide around, A place for EVERYTHING.

I am still using this old tupperware trunk that I bought for my first truck. 20+ years now and still going strong.

 

[Graidian]

True. Right now everything I keep in the bed it's in an oversized tool bag but I'd like to have things sorted properly. For example my tool set (sockets, wrenches etc) are in baggies based on imperial, metric, deep socket etc. I want to get some kaizen foam and organize them in a way they won't roll about but take up as little room as possible. Maybe in the base of my box I build I can leave it open for random large objects. A come along, for example, heh.

I might just pad it a bit so if they do shift it won't rattle and scratch everything up.

 

[Nissan4Life]

I friend of mine built an open box incorporating the wheel well bump. From the bed side it was flat and the wheel well was hidden. He had a camper shell with an opening side window, so he could easily access the goods from the box. Since you have an open bed you can put a hinged cover on it with a barrel lock.

 

[Graidian]

I've been debating something over the wheel well(s). I know whatever I end up doing I want to still be able to use the tonneau cover when I'm camping (we usually load up the bed fairly full), I want to still be able to load kayaks up top and when we bring the bikes I don't want to have to move the box to mount them... So a short, wide box up front or the sides of the bed would work best for storage in my case.