[Greg B]

I started building the drawers for my 100 yesterday. So far, I have built the outer part, added the center section and added the turnbuckles and their mounts to hold it down. I have the top done too, but it's not showing in the pics as I removed it to add the u-bolts.

I added u-bolts to all four corners and hooked turnbuckles to them. I have spaced them so they can hook onto each of the four tie-down rings in the rear cargo area. This way, the drawer system is easily removable but loosening the four turnbuckles.

I bought some 100 lb slides for the drawers. They are thicker than the nuts that hold down the u-bolts as shown in picture 3. This way, the drawer will not contact any of the u-bolt nuts sticking out.

Next step is build the drawers and get them mounted to the slides. Then I'm going to cover the outer box with matching carpet and build a nice wooden face for the drawer fronts. I'll add pics as I get more done this week.

[ATLcrusher]

Is that 5/8 plywood? That thing's going to weigh a ton, isn't it?

[calamaridog]

Sweet!

I'm thinking about doing the same thing but I was still thinking of ideas for tieing the box down. I like your idea

I was planning on using these slides. The link was in the "Outfitting" section...

http://www.leevalley.com/hardware/pa...614,43616&ap=1

[hoser]

Here's another cool method instead of using slides. Allows for more interior room. http://forum.ih8mud.com/showpost.php...9&postcount=49

[Greg B]

Originally Posted by ATLcrusher

Is that 5/8 plywood? That thing's going to weigh a ton, isn't it?

Actually it's 3/4" plywood. In the big picture, an extra 50 lbs. of plywood doesn't really amount to much compared to 1/2". I like to over-engineer things up front so that they don't fail later. I want to be able to fill this thing with a couple hundred pounds of gear, tools, recovery equipment, etc. and then still be able to throw a lot of stuff on top of it with no worries about it caving in.

[Greg B]

Originally Posted by calamaridog

Sweet!

I'm thinking about doing the same thing but I was still thinking of ideas for tieing the box down. I like your idea

I was planning on using these slides. The link was in the "Outfitting" section...

http://www.leevalley.com/hardware/pa...614,43616&ap=1

I'm glad you liked my method of securing the outer box to the tie-downs; hope it helps when you build your set.

I like those Lee valley slides a lot too. I bought some 100 lb slides yesterday at Home Depot, but after looking at them a little more today at lunch, I don't know if they're strong enough. Plus they are only 28" long and I would prefer the 36" ones, since my drawers are 38" deep. I may go with those from Lee Valley. I have had good success from their site on some other hardware I have purchased in the past.

[ShottsUZJ100]

Something tells me you're REALLY glad you have your 2001?

[Greg B]

Originally Posted by ShottsUZJ100

Something tells me you're REALLY glad you have your 2001?

Yeah, I was ready to start building one. Once i decided that I was keeping this one, I was ready to go. Hopefully I'll get these drawers done this week since my ARB bumper will be here either this weekend or the beginning of next week. I can't wait to get it painted and mounted up.

[macneill]

Looks great. Sure beats a couple of old ammo boxes.

[ShottsUZJ100]

Originally Posted by macneill

Looks great. Sure beats a couple of old ammo boxes.

My mechanic explained his plans for my Lexus drawers. He said he's framing it in steel and using aluminum diamond-plate rather than wood. I don't have clue about what that even is.

It'll hold my spare and hi-lift in the rear of the LX450. I'd like drawers but the spare needs to go there instead.

Keep up the pics Greg!

[Greg B]

I would have like to have done mine in steel, but I'm no welder. I have moderate skills in woodworking and I enjoy it so that's what I went with. The cool thing about using steel is how you can bend it and shape it and still keep its strength. Shotts, it sounds pretty cool. One word of caution though, new rubber stinks bad. You may want to throw the spare in the back for a day or two to see if it's tolerable.

[ShottsUZJ100]

Originally Posted by Greg B

I would have like to have done mine in steel, but I'm no welder. I have moderate skills in woodworking and I enjoy it so that's what I went with. The cool thing about using steel is how you can bend it and shape it and still keep its strength. Shotts, it sounds pretty cool. One word of caution though, new rubber stinks bad. You may want to throw the spare in the back for a day or two to see if it's tolerable.

It's not tolerable...to me! I hate the tire inside the '93. That's why this time it will be in a box and siliconed sealed. And the access door rubber-sealed. P-U gone!

[Greg B]

Originally Posted by ShottsUZJ100

It's not tolerable...to me! I hate the tire inside the '93. That's why this time it will be in a box and siliconed sealed. And the access door rubber-sealed. P-U gone!

Ah, gotcha! That would also work well for dirty diapers too. sorry, I have a 4 month old baby girl.

[ShottsUZJ100]

Originally Posted by Greg B

Ah, gotcha! That would also work well for dirty diapers too. sorry, I have a 4 month old baby girl.

You would make a wise-crack like that (get it?). I also know you Pamper your Cruiser (get it?). Bad....I know.

[Greg B]

Last night I went home and changed the design around a little bit. I have several long bulky things that don't fit in a drawer very well. (Axe, shovel, hi-lift jack handle, pry bar, branch loppers, camp chairs, etc.)

Also, I decided to go with the heavier drawer slides. These slides take up 3/4" on each side of the drawer. If you have two drawers you're losing 3" of space due to the width of the slides. So, I decided to off-set the divider.

This did two things, one it gave me an area to store long items without using a drawer. And two, it made the other side larger to hold one big drawer instead of two smaller ones. Plus, by only using one set of slides, I gain 1.5" of space and save $40.

Here's a couple of new pics to demonstrate the change in design. Pic 1 shows the divider with right side full of stuff. Pic 2 shows what stuff was in the right hand side in Pic 1. I'm going to build the drawer tonight although I'm going to have to wait a few days for the 36" slides to be shipped from Lee Valley before I can install the drawer.

[Greg B]

Originally Posted by ShottsUZJ100

You would make a wise-crack like that (get it?). I also know you Pamper your Cruiser (get it?). Bad....I know.

Your jokes stink (get it?) Just make sure you keep your rear-end clean when lifting that tire into the box.

[ShottsUZJ100]

Originally Posted by Greg B

Your jokes stink (get it?) Just make sure you keep your rear-end clean when lifting that tire into the box.

[100 TD]

Originally Posted by ATLcrusher

Is that 5/8 plywood? That thing's going to weigh a ton, isn't it?

Originally Posted by Greg B

Actually it's 3/4" plywood. In the big picture, an extra 50 lbs. of plywood doesn't really amount to much compared to 1/2". I like to over-engineer things up front so that they don't fail later. I want to be able to fill this thing with a couple hundred pounds of gear, tools, recovery equipment, etc. and then still be able to throw a lot of stuff on top of it with no worries about it caving in.

The weight of my steel drawers is 188 lbs (similar to Outback drawers, or the south african ones) so the ply ones will probably be lighter than them! Nice to make them strong and reliable and easy to use, if they are light and fail or warp and scrape or jam they become a real PITA. I like the option of building them to suit ones own purpose to fit everything as you like for yourself, but mine were extremely cheap and I couldn't pass them up.

[Greg B]

Originally Posted by 100 TD

The weight of my steel drawers is 188 lbs (similar to Outback drawers, or the south african ones) so the ply ones will probably be lighter than them! Nice to make them strong and reliable and easy to use, if they are light and fail or warp and scrape or jam they become a real PITA. I like the option of building them to suit ones own purpose to fit everything as you like for yourself, but mine were extremely cheap and I couldn't pass them up.

Thanks for your feedback, I agree. I haven't weighed them yet, but I would guess that the outer box weighs in at about 75 lbs. With the drawer and slides it'll probably weigh in around 125 lbs. At +/- 6000 lbs. I doubt that a set of drawers is going to slow down the 100 much.

100TD, if you get a chance, post up a pic of your drawers. I'm always curious to see different designs to pull ideas from.

I didn't get around to building the drawer last night. I painted the outer box instead. Hopefully, I'll get the drawer built tonight.

[Greg B]

I went home at lunch and re-installed the hardware after painting it last night. Then I threw it in the 100 to test fit it. The turnbuckles worked out really nice.

[98LXand99LC]

Is the hight of the box the same as the middle seats when folded? That looks bigger than I had imagined based on the pics when not installed.

[Greg B]

The box is 3/4" taller than the seats when folded down so that when an additional sheet of plywood is added over the seats, it will be level from front to back. I'm not sure if I'll ever use this option. But, I figured I better build it in now just in case I want it later.

[ShottsUZJ100]

Originally Posted by Greg B

The box is 3/4" taller than the seats when folded down so that when an additional sheet of plywood is added over the seats, it will be level from front to back. I'm not sure if I'll ever use this option. But, I figured I better build it in now just in case I want it later.

YouDaMan

[UltraFJ]

Hey Greg, Nice work. I would like to do pretty much the same thing, but would like to add smaller flip top areas near the sides in front or behind the wheel wells.

Do you think thats possible?

A: Is there enough room
B: could something be designed to "slide mount into place?

Mostly for small crap that may roll around.

Thanks, and again nice work!

Doug

[100 TD]

Originally Posted by Greg B

Thanks for your feedback, I agree. I haven't weighed them yet, but I would guess that the outer box weighs in at about 75 lbs. With the drawer and slides it'll probably weigh in around 125 lbs. At +/- 6000 lbs. I doubt that a set of drawers is going to slow down the 100 much.

100TD, if you get a chance, post up a pic of your drawers. I'm always curious to see different designs to pull ideas from.

I didn't get around to building the drawer last night. I painted the outer box instead. Hopefully, I'll get the drawer built tonight.

Picture of similar drawers here, http://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.p...ghlight=drawer
mine are nearly an exact copy of these without the fridge slide, as I said, I would have liked to build some to suit my needs, but I got mine for $330 so couldn't knock them back. I was only really commenting on the weight so you could see how much a standard set of steelies weigh, as others were saying the ply would weigh to much.

[Greg B]

Originally Posted by UltraFJ

Hey Greg, Nice work. I would like to do pretty much the same thing, but would like to add smaller flip top areas near the sides in front or behind the wheel wells.

Do you think thats possible?

A: Is there enough room
B: could something be designed to "slide mount into place?

Mostly for small crap that may roll around.

Thanks, and again nice work!

Doug

UltraFJ,
Thanks for the compliments. Yes, I do plan on adding wings to the sides too. I'm going to use cardboard to come up with a template for each side and then trace and cut out of plywood. I'm going to use piano hinge to mount them to the box so that they flip up to gain access to them.

[Greg B]

Originally Posted by 100 TD

I would have liked to build some to suit my needs, but I got mine for $330 so couldn't knock them back.

WOW! That's an awesome deal; aren't they like $1200 bucks for a set of the A.O. drawers? For that price, there's no way I would have built my own. I would have jumped on that deal in an instant.

[Greg B]

OK, I finally got around to working on these drawers some more over the week end. I built the drawer itself and got it mounted to the drawer slides. Then I test fitted it with the drawer installed.

This turned out to be very important as the bottom of the box was too low to let the drawer slide all the way out past the edge of the tail gate. To fix this, I added another strip of plywood to the front and back edges of the box to lift it up another 3/4 inch. This allowed the drawer to clear the tailgate when fully extended.

Then I primed and painted everything. I still have to add wings to the sides so that stuff doesn't fall down between the box and the sides of the 100. I'm also going to add a panel to the front of the drawer that covers the entire face of the drawer system including the open area to the right.

Of course I have pics:

[Greg B]

Remaining pics:

[hoser]

Nice job, Greg. I think I'd prefer one drawer over two as well. How's the strength on the top horizontal surface? Are you using 3/4" plywood? What is the oval hole in the back passenger side compartment? What are you going to do about a latch to fasten the drawer closed.