DIY Big Rig Toy Box

Our dolls need a toy chest to help keep the nursery free of clutter! But a toy trunk doesn't need to be just an
 ordinary box shape; you can use your imagination to come up with something different. Our family dolls fill
 this truck chest with all kinds of plastic toys that have been collected over the past twenty years.

       Barbie's little boy loves cars and trucks, so I decided to replace a missing trailer from a small replica of a John Deere big rig with a toy chest. Now our doll can pretend to haul the toys away after an exhausting fun filled day!

Supply List:

• front end of a toy truck (big rig)
• foam sheet (any color)
• recycled plastic container 
• stiff wire
• masking tape
• hot glue gun and hot glue
• white school glue
• scrap fabric for lining interior
• snaps, button, small parts (for wheels)
• toothpick or wooden skewer (wheel axle)
• black tape (optional)
• light weight cardboard (to hold the wheel axle)

Step-by-Step Instructions:

       In order to make this playscale toy box, you will need to first acquire the front end of a semi-trailer truck. If you have small children this will not be difficult. If not, take a trip to your local Goodwill or resale and you will surely find one of these in no time at all.

       Next, you will need to recycle a bit of plastic trash or a small box for the back end of the big rig toy chest. Choose something that looks in the correct proportion to your truck parts.

       Fortunately my semi-trailer truck has a hole between it's wheels where I can easily fit a small wire to attach the toy chest. You can see this hole through the plastic recycled box above.

        After covering my toy chest with masking tape, I simply poked a small, stiff wire through the bottom of the box and bent it into place so that the chest would attach to the back end of the truck. The bent end of the wire is held in place with glue and tape. 

       Then I lined the inside of the toy box with scrap fabric and white school glue. The out side of the truck trailer is wrapped with blue foam attached with hot glue and the bottom with black tape.

       I made a set of back wheels for the trailer by hot gluing two buttons to the ends of a wooden skewer through a small cardboard tube. Then I hot glued a metal snap to the white buttons to mimic tiny hubcaps.