TFB Review: SnapSafe Below Bed Secure As An SUV Car Safe -The Firearm Weblog

Securing valuables and especially firearms is one thing I haven't given a lot thought to. While I don’t go away firearms in my automobile overnight, there are occasions I am driving to or from the vary and have to stop to get meals or gas. Or like again on Dec twenty seventh, my FJ Cruiser was broken into at an area gun range. I used to be one of two victims who had items stolen from our automobiles. Luckily for me, the suspect did not steal any guns. So I have been in search of a security drawer for my FJ Cruiser so I can lock up beneficial objects. Whereas there are quite a lot of choices, I went with a SnapSafe underneath bed safe for my FJ Cruiser. There are plenty of other options out there for security bins and drawers to your private vehicle. Nevertheless, if you have an FJ Cruiser like me, then your options are somewhat restricted. My good good friend Kythe has the identical year and mannequin of FJ Cruiser that I do. He went with Boss StrongBox. I believe he acquired their 7126-7611 drawer system. It retails for nearly $1,100. Someone advisable TruckVault but those drawer techniques are over $2,000. Another option for the FJ Cruiser is by Tuffy Products. While it only retails for telegra.ph $749, it takes up plenty of the rear cargo space. Additionally, the drawer is definitely not that huge but it is deeper than the Boss StrongBox and SnapSafe. For my functions, it doesn't seem nice for firearm storage. For some reason, they made the drawer slender and added non-secured storage on both aspect. SnapSafe Works For The FJ! I noticed someone publish the SnapSafe under bed protected in an FJ Cruiser forum and it's a near-excellent match. Greatest half? It's around $500 but you can find it for much less online. It locks and is product of steel. Its design is pry-resistant. This is what I'm looking for. It has similar dimensions to my friend’s Boss StrongBox. The SnapSafe underneath bed protected measures 40″x22″x6″. So it's shorter than the Boss StrongBox which is 10″ tall. The SnapSafe weighs 105 lbs. SnapSafe got here shipped with an outer cardboard sleeve. Open the second layer of cardboard and there's a layer of styrofoam surrounding another cardboard box. Open this third cardboard box and you reveal one other layer of styrofoam. With the SnapSafe large below mattress secure sitting within the rear cargo space of my FJ Cruiser, there is still an sufficient quantity of rear cargo space. I put the factory rubber rear cargo ground mat on prime of the SnapSafe so in case anybody looking through the windows will solely see the mat and not the secure. This is what the rear cargo area looks like if you happen to look in from the cabin. The SnapSafe comes with a steel cable which you can bolt to the suitable aspect of the underneath bed secure. However, there is no room for it in the FJ Cruiser rear cargo space. I wanted to mount the SnapSafe to the manufacturing facility tie-downs. The rear cargo area of the FJ Cruiser has 4 D-Ring cable tie-downs. I eliminated the two closest to the rear door. Every manufacturing unit tie-down was held in place with an M6 sized screw. Driver aspect entrance and rear tie-down locations. Passenger side entrance and rear tie-down areas. I measured the gap between the 2 rear tie-downs, the aspect closest to the rear hatch. That method I can bolt the SnapSafe directly to the flooring of my FJ Cruiser. Because the SnapSafe is barely 22″ long, it has to achieve the two tie-downs closer to the front of the FJ. Within the picture above you'll be able to see a entrance tie-down recessed into the slope within the flooring. The SnapeSafe has manufacturing unit drilled holes in the underside of the safe. Nonetheless, they aren't the proper position for the rear tie down factors in my FJ. So it was a easy matter of drilling new holes by means of the bottom of the SnapSafe. Factory holes. The shiny silver dots are rivets that hold the drawer sliders within the field. Right here is the new longer M6 bolt that holds the SnapSafe onto the FJ rear cargo floor. With the intention to take the drawer out, there are tabs on either aspect of the drawer. They're the identical so it's a must to lift one up and push the opposite one down. This can allow you to tug the drawer out of the field utterly. As talked about earlier, the safe is somewhat too short plus the ahead tie-downs are recessed into a slope. So to anchor the protected, I used wire rope clips and turnbuckles. Simply drill two holes into the back and bolt the wire rope clips in place with the turnbuckles hooked onto them. So as to tighten the nuts on the wire rope clips, I used an extension on my energy drill to succeed in the nuts from the inside of the safe. The wire rope clip protrudes slightly too far into the secure thus hitting the again of the drawer causing the drawer to not shut all the best way. So I had to drill holes into the drawer itself so it may shut and lock correctly. I drilled these two holes, you see below, so the wire rope clip won’t interfere with the drawer closing. The large hole is for getting access to the inside of the box to put in the included steel cable. But there isn't any room in the FJ for it. Turnbuckles put in and hooked to the entrance tie-downs. There were a couple extra things I needed to do with the SnapSafe. For the reason that protected doesn't reach all of the technique to the again of the rear seats, I could store objects between the safe and seat backs. Or if the seats are down I can store things between the protected and front seats. If that occurs, the objects I retailer may hit the turnbuckles. So I wrapped them in pipe insulation. One other minor modification was to repurpose the manufacturing unit tie-downs that I had removed to bolt the secure to the ground. I drilled holes into the highest of the secure and bolted the factory tie-downs. This helps to carry the manufacturing facility cargo mat in place. Another idea I had was to camouflage the drawer. The handles and keypad are reasonably apparent once i open the rear door. So I thought of overlaying the drawer with a piece of felt. I used to be going to make use of magnets but then realized I might just bolt the fabric with the manufacturing facility tie-downs and drape it down over the drawer. Now after i open the rear door, any passerby won't be capable to see the secure. Until I raise the curtain. To access the protected, I just lift the flap. The final piece for my FJ is a flat extension cord so I can nonetheless use the manufacturing unit inverter. I discovered this one as a three-pack off Amazon. Extra importantly, the plug can rotate so the extension cord can change its orientation. I have it coming out up and over the safe. The drawer measures 36.75″ broad. It's 21″ lengthy. The lock mechanism intrudes into the drawer and the 2 steel rods block a few of the drawer. So it is just 19″ lengthy. Despite the fact that the SnapSafe says it's 6″ tall, that is the outer field. The drawer only measures about 4.25″ tall. To arrange the secure, it's worthwhile to open the back of the lock mechanism and set up 4x AA batteries. On the aspect of the lock mechanism is a reset button. Press it and the safe will beep twice. You will have ten seconds to enter a passcode 3-8 digits lengthy. Then press the A or B button. You can program two codes associated with the A button and B button. So for instance, 12345678A and 87654321B. In the event you program these two numbers, both one will unlock the secure. I'm not sure why you want two codes because it doesn't log the person codes. So there isn't a report of which code was used. In case the battery dies or if you want to manually open the secure, the SnapSafe underneath mattress secure comes with two override keys. There is a hidden keyhole behind a plastic plate. Carry up and pull the plate out to reveal the keyhole. Once you enter the correct key code or use the override key, you want to show the knob on the left to really unlock the secure. If you wish to lock the secure, you simply turn the knob clockwise and the lock will have interaction. Because of the dimensions of the drawer, comparatively long guns will have to be positioned diagonally. I can barely match my Ruger Precision Rimfire inside. If I take away the muzzle machine it can be simpler to get in or I could shorten LOP with the inventory. Right now it is a extremely tight match and it's slightly wedged in the drawer. My 6.5 Creedmoor Ruger Precision Rifle matches simply positive because the stock can fold. And a 16″ barreled AR with adjustable inventory matches comfortably within the SnapSafe beneath mattress secure. Depending on the scale of the gun you possibly can match more. Like two pistol caliber carbines and two pistol sub guns. FYI, an AT4 simulator does not match in the SnapSafe. Of course, the SnapSafe does not have to solely fit firearms. You can use it to retailer other gadgets you need to maintain protected from theft. One thing to think about with safety drawers in your car or SUV is illumination. I used Olight Obulbs since they're magnetic and simple to activate. Under I have them set to a crimson LED for night time use. They help illuminate the darker corners that the primary white LED cannot attain. Whereas the OLight OBulb can produce white light, it's projected horizontally. It does not illuminate the contents of the safety drawer all that nicely. Taller objects will block the light and solid shadows. For the primary over the top white gentle, I used a goose necked Streamlight Stylus Professional Reach. It has a magnetic clip and the adjustable gooseneck permits me to purpose the light into the drawer. Below you'll be able to see it is attached to the inside window frame of the rear door. Then I simply simply flip the Stylus Pro Reach on and the sunshine shines down into the drawer. In order to maintain smaller gadgets from sliding around, I purchased some organizing trays. I will add adhesive hook velcro to the underside of them so the trays themselves won't be sliding round. I'm debating masking the inside walls of the drawer with felt or presumably loop velcro. This will help protect the walls from being scratched but also act as a slight cushion in case anything slides and hits the walls of the drawer. SnapSafe is owned by Hornady. So there's a stable company behind it. I like the protected for my FJ Cruiser. The scale is first rate. I want it was a bit taller however then I would sacrifice rear cargo capacity. Thus far it does what I want it to do. Safely safe guns and small costly gadgets in my FJ Cruiser. I like that it has a digital keypad but at the identical time, I dislike that it makes beeping sounds. It is vitally obnoxious listening to the beeping each time I enter a quantity. I wish there was a method to mute the beeping. Of course, I can all the time use the override key which makes no noise aside from the subtle movement of the key cylinder. Another characteristic I would add is a back lit keypad for use in low light situations with out the need of a flashlight. The price is hard to beat. I googled it and located it listed on Amazon for under $399.Ninety nine and eligible for PRIME delivery. That is basically arduous to beat in comparison with different safety drawers. My friend’s Boss StrongBox prices greater than double and can solely be opened with a key. I might have favored the SnapSafe massive underneath bed protected to be a bit longer. 40x22x6, it could possibly be 40x26x6. There's sufficient room in my FJ Cruiser that it could be not less than four inches longer. For more data go to SnapSafe’s web site.