My trunk setup I've been working on perfecting for years (Pics).

[thecomputerguy]

I've always carried equipment with me since I've been doing this (12 Years). I hate not having a cable then having to run tot Best Buy and buy an HDMI cable for $40 when I can buy it online for $5 and resell it for $30, win win for everyone.

Up until my most recent SUV purchase I have always had cars. Starting with the Honda civic, I had a really crude way of storing stuff, I just had a giant tub I'd put stuff in, then I'd run out, have no idea I was out then got really frustrated because I had no idea what I had.

Then I got a Chevy Cruze and decided to really try and make it a little easier on myself so I bought about 12 of these.

These worked OK when labeled, but you couldn't see into them, so if you ran out and didn't make note then you ran out. They also couldn't store anything large so larger items like routers/keyboard were just flopping around in my trunk all day which got pretty annoying.

Now that I am 30 I wanted a car with the following criteria:

1.) More vertical space
2.) More comfortable than a super compact secdan
3.) More power than my 110HP Honda Civic, and more than my 150HP Chevy Cruze
4.) Passenger seat had to fold 100% completely flat

So I bought this

MUCH more comfortable, much more power 260HP, still semi economic, and plenty of vertical height.

Then I got to figuring out a way to store everything I needed, I found that sterilite made modular storage containers, so after many runs to the store piecing it together exactly how I wanted I came up with this.

You can see the middle section is about half the size of the top section, so I can still use my rear view mirror 100%.

But how do I prevent the drawers from opening constantly while driving?

Cabinet magnets on the back of the drawer.

I still have plenty of storage for things like computers / printers because my passenger seats fold completely flat.

My rear windows are black out tint so no one can see inside, and in 12 years of doing this I have never (knock on wood) had anything stolen from a vehicle, so I am not worried about that. I only carry about $350 in stock anyways.

Hopefully this gives people some other ideas as to how they can setup their trunk.

 

[Moltuae]

I use similar plastic drawers and tubs, though my vehicle (Audi S8) is much less vertical or spacious!

I like the magnetic catches. Great idea!

 

[AndyM]

I'm starting to invest in a modular system, and am going to go with the DeWalt TStak system. For me, it looked like the best value for money.

Andy

 

[cypress]

I like the setup, easy to find everything. I have a couple of small boxes like that that I just store cables and such in.

 

[AndyM]

Cabinet magnets on the back of the drawer

I forgot to mention - excellent out of the box (pun intended) thinking on those magnets. Is it a Ford Kuga that you have?

I have a Ford Mondeo, and so the boot whilst big, is not as big as yours, but I mainly carry tools. I've been doing a decent amount of WiFi installations recently, so am carrying all my networking kit as well as the products. What I like about modular, is that I can store certain things in certain boxes, and then when I need to do that job, just grab the relevant box.

Andy

 

[pceinc]

I gave up keeping my hatch cleared out years ago. I swap stuff around so much it never worked out.
How do you like the Escape? I bought a Focus back in '12 and wish I'd gone a bit larger in the Escape. Maybe next time. Although I love driving the Focus.

 

[thecomputerguy]

Yeah it's a ford escape ...

So far I love it. When I bought my Cruze I got it brand new and had it fully loaded because I thought that it was going to be the car I drove for the next 5-7 years. Full Leather, Upgraded Sound, Sun Roof, Nav, Keyless Entry, Fully Body Kit. Well 3 Years and 25lbs later, I feel too snug in the Cruze. Power has always been a problem in the Cruze especially on a hot day, which happens frequently in SoCal. Prior to the Cruze I had a 2009 Mercedes C300 which had plenty of power coming out of a 2.5 V6, I had this car while being employed prior to self employment.

When I was shopping for a small SUV the Escape seemed to blow everyone out of the water in terms of value and quality. It's a smaller small SUV so it drives more like a car rather than an SUV (something a CR-V would probably feel like.)

I got all the things I cared about after learning from the Cruze, and none of the things I didn't. I upgraded the engine to the 2.0 Turbo which puts out 260HP/280TQ. Leather seats suck when you are constantly loading and unloading computer equipment (they just get damaged from abrasions), The sun roof that I thought was awesome has been used probably less then 10 times in 3 years. The sound didn't matter because I listen to talk radio on XM radio anyways. The Nav in every car I've been in isn't up to par with the Nav you get on an android phone. I just pop the address into maps on my phone and stick my phone in the touchscreen display area covering up the touchscreen.

The only things I don't like were issues I was aware of when I bought the car like, the car is AWD which is useless to me, and just hurts the MPG. The model I have doesn't have keyless entry/keyless start which I do miss a lot more than I thought I would.

Overall I was getting about 26MPG average in the Cruze and I get about 21-22MPG average in this AWD Escape. I'd say the benefits far outweigh the loss in MPG though. I probably got less MPG on the Cruze than most people do because after getting frustrated with the lack of power I got into the habit of either flooring the pedal or being off it completely. In the escape I can just accelerate casually.

Edit: The Kuga is the same car as the American version the Escape.

 

[TechLady]

Genius! I just have tubs of stuff thrown together in the back, which I've never been thrilled with. But the thing that always concerned me a little has been the constant heat from sitting in the car...hope that doesn't compromise anything, because I seriously do not have the time or energy to take them in and out of the car all the time.

(It is this laziness that saved me when my Acura got stolen, though; I had the tubs in the garage and hadn't moved them back to the car yet).

 

[mikeylikesit5805]

That looks great. I wish I had a car with a back like that for storage.

 

[Steve202]

I'm like you when you first started, random box full of cables, with no idea on what's in there. Really annoying when you have to pop to a local shop to pick up a cable. Unfortunately, my car isn't big enough to store a lot of stuff in there.

 

[Altster]

I like to be able to see who is coming up behind me when I'm driving. How well can you see out the back window when viewing thru your rear view mirror?