4WDrive

EXPAND YOUR UNDER-SEAT STORAGE

ESP Truck Accessorie­s’ Cab-Locking Storage is one tough solution to bring along all your gear.

- WORDS AND PHOTOS BY PETER STORCK

S traight from its website, ESP Truck Accessorie­s states “We are a family-owned business whose goal is to help provide various accessorie­s to enhance the look and storage of your vehicle and provide great quality products made in the USA.”

What it doesn’t mention is that Earl, the founder and owner of ESP, spent more than 20 years with Toyota. He was also involved with design/ developmen­t teams. This led him to creating a line of products that look and fit as though they were a factoryins­talled item.

Since I do the majority of my offroading solo, I carry a full assortment of recovery gear at all times. My Chevy Colorado has storage under the backseat but has a bulky steel frame with plastic trim and lots of unusable, dead space, as well as some inaccessib­le spots where objects can be hard to get to. This led me to ESP Truck Accessorie­s. The design and quality of the ESP products are great. Once installed, they look like they are original equipment and function flawlessly.

The storage unit I received was well packed and protected for shipping and included all of the hardware required for the install. I found the installati­on instructio­ns and video to be straight forward and helpful, though the video could be streamline­d just a little. The Colorado loses a fair amount of storage space under the seats as there are two open, outer trays and an oversized plastic cover for the steel frame.

The storage unit from ESP Truck Accessorie­s spans the entire width of the original plastic storage compartmen­t and is all internal storage. Since the unit is built from 12-gauge steel that has been formed and TIG welded, it doesn’t require the space-robbing original frame work. The doors on the unit also feature the same 60/40 split as the seats and can be opened individual­ly when the correspond­ing seat pad is raised.

The locking storage unit is suitable for all sorts of gear from valuables to firearms. It’s made from 12-gauge cold rolled steel, finished with a durable black powder-coat finish and features quality hardware. The steel hinges are fitted with a stainless-steel pin pressed in at two-tons of pressure, making it impossible to drive it out.

Plus, the heavy-duty cam locks are built with beefed up cams to increase security and the doors are assisted and held open with gas struts for convenient access to your stored belongings. If you experience a hard impact or roll over, the sturdy hinges and locks should keep the contents held safely inside the enclosure rather than having them fly through the cabin, potentiall­y injuring the occupants. A friend of mine, who was struck in the back of the head by a hammer during a roll over, would’ve certainly benefited from that feature! CHECK OUT ITS WEBSITE AT www.esptruck.com as they have an assortment of aftermarke­t products for Chevrolet, Dodge, Ford, and Toyota.

 ??  ?? It’s also lockable and keeps all gear secure.
It’s also lockable and keeps all gear secure.
 ??  ?? The storage unit spans the entire width of the original storage compartmen­t and offers all internal storage.
The storage unit spans the entire width of the original storage compartmen­t and offers all internal storage.
 ??  ?? The doors on the unit can be opened individual­ly when the correspond­ing seat pad is raised.
The doors on the unit can be opened individual­ly when the correspond­ing seat pad is raised.

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