Milk Crate Table Top

I do a lot of Jeep camping and in doing so, I find that milk crates make a great way to store camping equipment in the cargo area of my Jeep. On a recent outing I noticed that I needed a table to cook on and play cards on when night came. I did not want to purchase an expensive collapsible table so I went out to build one from junk I found in my garage. Since i already carried milk crates I decided to use these as the base for my table. No extra gear was needed except the table top, which stores easily on my roof cargo basket.

I already had a piece of plywood in my garage cut at 22''x24'' so that is the size I am going to use. You can decide on what type of wood to use and to what measurements. The build will be the same regardless of size table top you want to run. I also had a scrap 1x2 in the garage (needs to be at least 4 feet long). I used drywall screws as the way to secure it all together, again these were readily had in my garage.

I measured the center of the table top in proportion to the crate so I could use the inner measurements of the milk crate in order to know where to place my 1x2 lip. After I measured to fit, I cut the 1x2s in line with the inner diameter of the milk crates opening. Two at 11 inches and two at 12 inches. I screwed them down after pre drilling with a bit to ensure the boards will not crack as the screw goes inside. I then sanded down the edges to make sure i don't get splinters ... if your are set up with a router you could bevel the edges,that would look good!

Using the lip you just built, insert it into the milk crate to help the table top from sliding off the crate. This lip will "lock in" the table top to the milk crate.

I plan to paint the wood top with some sort of waterproof paint to prolong its life being used outside. You can even upholster with fabric or paint a checkerboard on the top, the ideas are endless. Now the table top can be stored in my jeep easily and put to use the milk crates I already carry.