Im going to get a toolbox for my truck, Im thinking about a chrome slim UWS box. Anyways, I was thinking about designing something to seperate the box into 3 different sections, water proof and be able to remove the dividers whenever. I was thinking about making one part a cooler and thread in a valve at the bottom to empty the water out. What do you guys think? Any suggestions on how I could make the dividers?

 

Sounds like a lot of work to a simple problem, but would be really cool since you could use the whole thing as a cooler. I went the route of getting a small water jug that was big enough to hold a sixpack of longnecks and ice and i just throw it in the toolbox when i need it.

 

See, the only thing I want the toolbox for is for my jack, some tools, and some straps since underneath my seat Im going to put a box for some subs. I think it would be pretty cool, Im just trying to figure out how I could make it waterproof, worst case is that I just weld the piece in there.

 

Go to Wal Mart and buy a cooler that will fit in the toolbox. Less than $20 and less than 15 minutes, and it will work better than anything you can build for 3X the price. And it won't leak.

For dividers I use plywood. I have one piece to line the floor (sucks up oil drippings, etc off my chainsaws) and I have a couple blocks screwed in place so I can slide another piece in to make two separate sections. Use stainless screws (they won't rust) and screw from the outside through the aluminum into the wood blocks. Most people won't see the screws unless you point them out.

 

First I'd like to point out that you wouldn’t be able to tip the box to get the water to the hole. So you will never get all of the water out of it after using it for a cooler. You would have to leave the divider in, plus the door open for a few days to dry it out. Or you could sop it up with rags or something before you take the divider out and use it for anything else.

If you are dead set on putting in a built in cooler instead of just buying one.
You can do RJS's idea. Or this is how I made a live well in a toolbox except I added an aerator to keep the fish alive. But they would die from, the heat in the summer because it was not insulated. So I later bought a cooler and installed an aerator in it.

You will need;

1. ¼"x2" angle aluminum
2. Sheet aluminum
3. Aluminum pop rivets
4. Flexible rubber seal
5. 10 = ¼-20x¾" SS machine screws
6. 10 = ¼-20 SS wing nuts
7. 10 = Rubber washers

Pop rivet the angle along the inside of the tool box with the rubber seal in-between.
Then, cut the sheet to fit and seal with the flexible rubber seal.
You drill the holes thru the angel and the divider panel then you can fasten the 1/4-20 SS screws to the angle. Use 1/4-20 SS wing nuts and rubber washers to hold the divider in with a watertight seal.
Then get a small valve at any hardware store, drill the appropriate size hole in the bottom of the box. Wrap the threads of the valve with thread tape and screw it in. I would probably look at an all brass ball and **** valve myself. For the corrosion resistance and durability from vibrations.

Now the final thing to consider and weigh in your options, is that you will not have any insulation. So in the middle of summer, your ice will not last more than 2 hours as the sun beats thru the top of the metal box and melts it. Plus you just spent 2 + hours building it, the cost of materials is going to be atleast 1/2 again more than the cost of buying an Igloo cooler and it's not going to work as well.

 

With apologies to Steve Martin and his thermos song:

 

Mini Hi-Jack . . .

Matt -

LOVE. THE. RAT FINK. SIG.