Make a Mobile Garage Storage Unit With a Pallet

In this project, we are going to show you how we utilized parts from previous projects, wood from the scrap pile and a few purchased materials to create a mobile storage unit.

Steph has a growing collection of outdoor gear for hiking, camping, and kayaking. She had been using a variety of totes and an old plastic shelving unit to store these things in the garage.

​This old stuff was not working so she designed a unit that would hold all her stuff and would be movable. When not in use, it can be pushed up against a wall and when things on the wall need to be accessed it can be easily moved out of the way.

This is a "use what we have" project, but we did purchase three 2x4s for the projects as well as Simpson Strong-tie fence brackets.

1. (3) 2x4-104 5/8” (Home Depot)
2. (12) 2x4 fence bracket (Home Depot)
3. Simpson Strong-Tie #8 x 1-1/4 in. #2 Phillips, Wafer-Head Wood Screw (Home Depot)
4. Sterilite 160 Qt. Wheeled Storage Box (Home Depot)
5. Everbilt 5 in. Red Polyurethane and Steel Swivel Plate Caster with Locking Brake and 330 lbs. Load Rating (Home Depot)
6. Kreg Multi-Mark Tool (Amazon)
7. Makita XDT18ZB 18V LXT Lithium-Ion Sub-Compact Brushless Cordless Impact Driver, Tool Only (Amazon)

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We are reusing this LEGO pallet table we made back in 2015. It had a nice run in the LEGO room, but was relegated to the garage when we overhauled the LEGO room where it languished without a real purpose! The castors were still attached to in and still in great condition so we didn't need to buy more.

We sourced a variety of partial sheets goods from our scrap pile. There's plywood, MDF, and melamine. Quite the mishmash of materials! Cut your materials to size. The size of our unit was based on the measurements of the existing pallet.

We are reusing a pallet, but if we were looking for a new one, we would be on the lookout for one with the HT mark on it. HT for heat treated which is safer than the ones without this designation. We found that old, dirty pallets could be quickly cleaned using a pressure washer.

We cut the 2x4 to a length to accommodate the size totes we are using. All the measurements for the storage unit are based on the size of our pallet and the dimensions of the totes we are using.

We turned the totes we are using upside down as they are wider at top than the bottom to be sure we got our spacing for the brackets correct.

After screwing the brackets in place, we added the first level of 2x4s and screwed them into the brackets using a speed square to be sure everything stayed square.

Next we added the middle shelf and secured the brackets into place. As the brackets on the second level are screwed into place, they secure the shelf to the previously placed 2x4s.

We added another layer of fence brackets and 2x4s and finished this with the top shelf which was screwed in through the shelf into the 2x4 below.

Here it is finished and all filled up. There are three large rolling totes that we got from Home Depot. The fourth cubby holds an inflatable paddle board. The top shelf holds overflow garage stuff. The unit rolls easily and the castors lock.

It's nice to have all the stuff that was formally all over the garage in random totes and boxes all nice and neat in one easy to access storage unit.

Please visit Mother Daughter Projects website for written tutorials for this and other projects!