Adding OEM foldable under-seat storage, after the fact on 2021+ F-150s.

[Nightshade]

So I did a fun little project this evening to one of my F-150s, this one is worked on a 2021 Ford F-150. I see tons of threads and postings everywhere of people asking if you can add the OEM Ford foldable storage after the fact. In short, YES you can!

The OEM under-seat foldable storage can be added to the 2021+ if you don't have it or forgot to add it to your order. Now there is 2 ways you can do it, this is the way I did it; see below. **Pictured is my OEM foldable storage was pulled out of my old 2020 F-350 SuperDuty before selling it last year (does show a bit of use but is installed on my work truck than my personal so it doesn't bother me).

**All OEM lockable/foldable under seat storage will fit the F-150, the ones from a SuperDuty will fit as well.



If you are like me and want a quick mount to secure it or don't want holes in the floor of your truck, you can do it this way and it holds in very very well. Using the holes on the sides of the seat brackets, if you don't have the OEM storage plate but have the long power box in place of it, this will still work for you. Remove the OEM storage plate if you have it, they're just held on by screws; if you do not have this, you'll see 2 holes on both sides of the seats by both rear doors (x4 holes total). Make sure you have 2x long bolts, 2x washers and 2x nuts available on hand, that fits the same size as the holes. Use the bolts to thread these holes with a socket or wrench, so it coutures with the bolt; you may feel a little resistance, that is okay. When you're done this part, remove the bolts and align the foldable storage towards the hole. Use a drill and bit to drill a hole through the foldable storage so it aligns with the bracket; do this to both left and right ends of this. The hole on the foldable storage will look like this:

When this part is done, align the foldable storage to the holes on the seat brackets, feed the bolt through with the washer and nut on the inside of that seat bracket; but do not tighten just yet. When both is aligned the way you want it to, put your seat down and make sure it's within the shape of your seat. When that's done, put the seats up, tighten and secure it. It should look aligned and secured like this when done (picture below doesn't show it bolted up yet but you can see the hole on the foldable storage as I forgot to take a picture of after-the-fact but will look exactly in that position when all aligned.

Do not worry about the bottom part flipping up as when the lockable under seat storage is open, I'm sure 99% of the truck owners will have items in this storage, and the seat is down most of the time. When everything is all bolted up and storage seat is open, fold the seat down and step back to admire it!

-Cheers and enjoy!

For those wanting to do the other way you can go under your truck and bolt from the bottom, you can. Make sure to have a drill bit handy to drill a hole through the existing hole under the truck made for this (I am however NOT SURE if there is an existing hole available under the truck, so don't quote me on this), feed the bolt while the other person is aligning the storage part over the bolt and tightening it. Keep in mind, there will be parts under the truck that will need to be remove as they're in the way. I am almost sure the gas tank is also in the way, will need to partially be removed out of the way so you can access the said holes.

*I am aware its on top of the mat, waiting for the new mat to come in that fits for F-150s with these storage option and replace it. In the meantime, I need it there for now since it's a work XLT (302A).


*DISCLAIMER: Do at own risk, please make sure everything is all secured and good to go.

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[RedStang]

Checking in to see how this has held up after a year. How did the new floor mats work out? Looking at doing the same.

 

[Swiffer 1776]

Has anyone discovered a way to implement the locking seat after installing the OEM storage?

 

[2024lariatbap]

Just to follow up on this thread because I used it to add the under seat storage to my F150. I got one from a super duty f250 because it has an additional cubby that goes behind the seat. Anyways I got the nuts with the underseat storage when I bought it but I had to get the bolts. I went to home depot and got 2 M8 x 30mm and 2 M8 x 20mm bolts. I first went under the truck and found the threaded holes for the storage to secure to. I then used the smallest drill bit I have to poke a hole through the rug from under the truck to see where the bolts lined up. Once I drilled through both holes on the passenger side I cut small slits in the rug and fed the bolts through. For the drivers side you cannot easily reach under to feed the bolts because the gas tank is there. I was able to carefully line up the holes using the bolts i fed through on the passenger side and marked where the threaded holes would be on the drivers side. Once I marked them I cut slits through the rug and cut out the adhesive tape covering them. I used the 20mm M8 bolts to secure the storage down from the top and verified that they don't stick out to damage the gas tank. It was a pretty easy install overall but if you have the full floor mats you'll have to get the smaller ones to fit. Great way to add extra storage in the back.

 

[Twnbrother]

Just to follow up on this thread because I used it to add the under seat storage to my F150. I got one from a super duty f250 because it has an additional cubby that goes behind the seat. Anyways I got the nuts with the underseat storage when I bought it but I had to get the bolts. I went to home depot and got 2 M8 x 30mm and 2 M8 x 20mm bolts. I first went under the truck and found the threaded holes for the storage to secure to. I then used the smallest drill bit I have to poke a hole through the rug from under the truck to see where the bolts lined up. Once I drilled through both holes on the passenger side I cut small slits in the rug and fed the bolts through. For the drivers side you cannot easily reach under to feed the bolts because the gas tank is there. I was able to carefully line up the holes using the bolts i fed through on the passenger side and marked where the threaded holes would be on the drivers side. Once I marked them I cut slits through the rug and cut out the adhesive tape covering them. I used the 20mm M8 bolts to secure the storage down from the top and verified that they don't stick out to damage the gas tank. It was a pretty easy install overall but if you have the full floor mats you'll have to get the smaller ones to fit. Great way to add extra storage in the back.

I am getting ready to install the storage box in the 2025 F150. Can you verify if the threaded nut is already mounted on the truck? All I have to do is locate the holes, make small X cut cut and then bolt down?

thanks

 

[Underwhere]

I am getting ready to install the storage box in the 2025 F150. Can you verify if the threaded nut is already mounted on the truck? All I have to do is locate the holes, make small X cut cut and then bolt down?

thanks

Just so there is a response:

I removed my factory storage box.
There were 4 screws sticking out of the floor. There were welded bosses already in place and the screws came from under the truck, passing through the welded bosses.

My assumption is that the bosses should be in every truck.

Note - on the drivers side the gas tank blocks access to these screws. if you are drilling downwards be super careful not to puncture your gas tank with a long drill bit.

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