Buyers Guide
Load -N-Lock; optimize storage and bed space with side-mount toolboxes
By Steve Campbell
Bed space in pickups is always at a premium for professional contractors.
Tools, material and other equipment all have to make it to the job site, and if they’re well organized and easily accessible, any task can be performed more efficiently.
Added lockable storage can also provide greater security for valuable gear.
While many pickup owners have equipped their trucks with lockable crossover boxes that fit between the bedrails just behind the cab, but that design takes up valuable bed space and offers limited storage for longer objects.
Better alternatives for those who need full bed access are the variety of side boxes that sit beside or atop the bedrails or around and over the wheelwells. Some designs also allow storage of longer items.
The rail-top side storage option allows users to maintain full access to a 4Ă—8-foot bed while adding carrying capacity.
Boxes designed to fit below the rails allow toppers or caps to still be fitted. And some wheelwell boxes (also called porkchop boxes due to their shape) are equipped with pullout shelves with bins for smaller fasteners, fittings and tools. READ MORE