U.S.A. –-(Ammoland.com)- It was about this time last year that I began searching for a new vehicle. I blew up the engine in my truck and even though I had it rebuilt, I knew it was on borrowed time. Sure enough, 5 months later it crapped out on me again. What made it worse was that the engine company would not honor the warranty on the engine they supplied.
The truck in question had a trunk under the bed which kept me from having a Truck Vault installed. With that albatross gone from around my neck I purchased a 2018 Chevy Colorado after confirming that Truck Vault offered a safe for this make and model.
What’s a Truck Vault?
You may have seen these used on the popular TV series 24, but they are not just for secret agents going after terrorists, although they are a favorite of tactical units and officers worldwide. Hunters and sportsmen use them as well when they want to safeguard their gear.
Essentially it is a safe that is installed in the cargo area of your vehicle. Drawers that run the length of the bed or cargo area are lockable, slide out and can store a large number of firearms and other gear.
These customizable vehicle vaults can be ordered for nearly any truck, SUV or car. Truck Vaults are built from medium density overlay (MDO), the same product used to make highway signboard. The composition of these units makes them extremely difficult for burglars to break into.
Having an open-bed pickup truck forced us into the All-Weather version that is resistant to snow and ice. This is the most expensive version due to this coating.
The drawers are designed to maximize space, and with a six-foot bed, we have plenty of room in the double drawers to store our firearms safely and securely. The folding T-handle locks are backed up by anti-pry security brackets that deploy when an attempt to pry the drawers open is made.
Installation was a snap. We had the unit drop shipped to a trucking depot to save on freight costs and to have the forklift operator load it into our bed. When we got it home we centered the 450-pound vault, locked it down and installed the cover plates.
As for storage space, the drawers are highly configurable, and dividers can be added or removed with ease. Truck Vault offers foam inserts, but we passed on these as we test close to 100 firearms a year and our range load out is almost never the same twice.
However, if you are a more dedicated shooter or hunter who transports the same number and type of guns consistently, this makes for a nice option.
We configured one drawer to hold long guns with two dividers that run the entire length and the magnum height we can load three scoped and pistol gripped rifles on that side. The only one that would not fit standing up was our Savage 110BA in 338 Lapua.
On the other side, we installed the dividers laterally.
The first compartment can hold up to a dozen handguns in their factory boxes.
The second one can hold more pistols or some of our favorite NFA items like short barreled shotguns, our Uzi, short barreled rifles or a Mossberg Shockwave. In the rearmost section, we can store our range bag, targets, first aid kit or anything else.
Cover-up
At first we drove around with the uncovered bed, but one night while walking back to the truck I spotted the top of the Truck Vault right away and thought, “I know that I know what it is, but even someone who is unfamiliar with Truck Vault, would know that it looks like something expensive is in there.”
I ordered a Tonneu cover to keep it hidden from casual view.
Not for everyone
A few of our friends didn’t get it as the magnum height drawers went nearly to the top of our bed. “What’s the sense of having a truck?” one asked.
I didn’t buy it to get out of helping friends move, etc. I bought this because when it comes to firearms, I am a “super user” who routinely makes multiple trips to the range for T&E, classes and other shooting activities. If I need to haul furniture and the like I can hook up my ATV trailer or use an engine hoist to pull the vault to use the pickup bed.
However, do not be mistaken into thinking the Truck Vault is suitable for long-term storage. It may prevent someone for looting your vehicle while it’s parked and you’re a mile away on your ATV hunting or inside some secure facility that prohibits the firearms for a day; but your vehicle can be stolen while sitting in your driveway and once the thieves have it, they have all the time in the world to break into it.
Think of it as safeguarding your firearms or other valuables while you are transporting them but remember to take them inside for more permanent storage when not in use.
As a professional shooter and firearms author, I think it’s the best investment I made aside from buying my first reloading press.
About Mike Searson:
Mike Searson’s career as a shooter began as a Marine Rifleman at age 17. He has worked in the firearms industry his entire adult life as a Gunsmith, Ballistician, Consultant, Salesman, Author and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1989.
Mike has written over 2000 articles for a number of magazines, websites and newsletters including Blade, RECOIL, OFF-GRID, Tactical Officer, SWAT, Tactical World, Gun Digest, Examiner.com and the US Concealed Carry Association as well as AmmoLand Shooting Sports News.
That Truckvault looks cool. I recently bought a tonneau cover, along with the mud terrain tires for my truck. Will it work well even with the truck bed cover? I think it’s a nice way to organize stuff on the truck bed, aside from a gun storage.
Not no but HELL NO! As a police officer for 33+ years in a major metropolitan police department I took DOZENS of car prowl reports in which firearms were stolen from vehicles. These ‘vaults’ are a JOKE and can be EASILY defeated with a large crowbar or pry tool. NEVER, EVER leave your firearms in an unattended vehicle FOR ANY REASON, PERIOD, END OF STORY, NO DISCUSSION! P.S. ‘Out of sight’ when all it takes is to drop the tailgate? TOTAL CRAPOLA!
@"MCCLOUD!" Kent, I completely understand your point of view, however, not all products are the same, not all are easily defeated with a crowbar. The last thing a criminal wants to do is spend a lot of time trying to break into a safe after breaking into a vehicle. The best made products costs more and are the ones that do not get reported to LEO’s for successful vehicle burglary attempt.
How nice for you Clark. As a police officer, you have the luxury of carrying just about anywhere in your jurisdiction. Many citizens do not have that privilege and there are times where going home to drop their firearm is not an option. Having a secure vault inside one’s vehicle for those times where you have to disarm out of the home is responsible gun ownership. I would suggest that if one purchases a truck vault, they also purchase a good vehicle alarm system. I thief with a crowbar does not want to spend a lot of time trying to… Read more »
Carrying a personal weapon is not a “privilege “ it is a right. A right that has been stripped away from us in some cases, but a right nonetheless.
Amen Hoverman! Not an insult to the officer contributing to this conversation … but I would ask him to consider this … Only an individual who isn’t thinking clearly or speaking out of emotion … or of course an individual who just DOESN’T GET IT, and maybe never will, would even have the term “privilege” enter their thought process … when discussing OUR Constitutional (and in fact God-Given … before our Nation or our Constitution was even an obscure thought to our founders) … Constitutional Right to Keep and Bear Arms … If you have ever read the Constitution and… Read more »
My next purchase! Great product reviews like this are one reason I’m an AMMOLAND reader.
Saw a special edition F-150 at a car show a few years ago. I think it was a “Cabelas’s” edition…maybe a one off? Anyhow, it had the gun safe under the back seat…just perfect…weight is centered, and it is out of sight from two legged varmints. That particular safe was configured for 6 long guns, but I’m sure you could configure it any way you wanted.
A SeatVault that we also make. http://Www.truckvault.com
Company URL? Price range?
Here’s the link: https://www.truckvault.com/
Prices vary depending on vehicle model.
You can Google TruckVault or search Vehicle gun safes to find various types of safes for different vehicles. These are very worth the investment if you are a CHL carrier when you need to enter an establishment that does not allow firearms on their premises.It provides security for your weapon so you don’t have to worry about some criminal running off with it, plus it is good for securing other valuables too.
Great article.. now we need one on vehicle security to prevent vehicle theft.