Truck Bed Tool Box Recommendation for 2005 Dodge Ram 1500 With Rails on Bed Sides

Question:

My boyfriend has a 2005 Dodge Ram 1500 with side bed railings. He doesnt know wether to get a chest or tool box because he is unsure what would fit. All he knows is that he wants the storage to look exactly like the one in the picture for this model. Hes taken measurements but is afraid to buy something that isnt going to fit.

asked by: Angelica

Helpful Expert Reply:

Because the bed sides have the rails on them, he'd need to go with a chest style toolbox, because the side rails would prevent a crossover style toolbox from resting on the bed sides. The bed of a 2005 Dodge Ram is 65-1/2 inches wide at the rear of the cab, so your BF can choose any chest style tool box he likes, as long as its less than 65-1/2 inches wide.

The largest chest style tool box we offer would be the DeeZee Red Label, with an 8.9 cubic foot capacity. The tool box is available in silver as part # DZ8556. This box is 56 inches wide, so it'll fit fine.

In order to use a crossover style toolbox, the rails on the top of the bed sides would need to be removed. DeeZee offers a crossover style tool box with a huge 12 cubic foot capacity in black powder coat as part # DZ8170DB or in a silver aluminum finish as # DZ8170D. The base of these boxes is 60-3/4 inches wide, so it'll fit perfectly.

A retractable bed step like # B7540715 might also come in handy. The step can be installed on either the driver or passenger side, and would make accessing the tool box easier.

I did get a photo of the truck bed, but not a photo of a toolbox. If you'd care to resubmit the photo, you can send it to the email address this came from.