Working on some storage solutions... (1 Viewer)

[FullyLitLED]

My hundy is unorganized to say the least. I decided to make a roof rack for hauling my dirtbike/camping gear and a drawer unit with hidden subwoofers. Obviously the dual 12" JL's were thrown out the window because there is no way to hide those Downgraded to dual 8" subs in a ported box. I bought a box on craigslist which was just about 9" in height. Perfect! Roof rack is done, its at the powdercoaters...still Tonight had some reasonable progress on the drawer unit. Materials for roof rack and drawers have added to about $320. Not bad?

For those interested, here are the links to the materials for the drawer build:
1. Tongue and groove wood sheet
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

2. Tan/beige felt
http://www.joann.com/joann/catalog/productdetail.jsp?pageName=search&flag=true&PRODID=prd10007

3. 2" wood screws...built an entire patio deck with these so I thought they would be pretty strong
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

4. 8x10in L-bracket and 5x6in L bracket. Use two different kinds so the drawers wings can support a lot of weight and fit through the rear tailgate
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

I measured how much wood I needed to buy at home depot! Decided to get the 1.25" thick 4' by 8' tongue and groove sheet. Make sure to get rid of the tongue and groove. Drew up some diagrams and got the pieces that I needed cut up to minimize the work that I need to do at home. That being said, I guess my numerous drafting classes have paid off No issues so far and here are some progress pics! Criticize and advise me on how to continue. I have ordered some subwoofer carpet that matches the interior of my hundy and I am going to finish the main frame for the drawers so that I can meaure how big I need the top cover to be!



On to the pictures

1: Pieces of plywood in "kit" form
2: Base sheet laid out
3: Mocked up frame

Constructive criticism and advice pls!

 

[FullyLitLED]

Use some wood glue(liquid nails) to keep the frame in place. Then drill the holes. I decided to go with one wood 2" wood screw every 5". Use a drill bit to pre-drill the hole for the wood screw. You want to use a drill bit that is two sizes smaller than the screw that you are using

 

[FullyLitLED]

Saving this spot as well!

 

[FullyLitLED]

Saving this spot for future additions

 

[Kigiin]

I built some last summer and made the small mistake of having my drawer fronts flush with the bottom of the cargo area... so when I pull them out they rub the tailgate a bit. It's no big deal, but had I to do it over again, I would not had the drawer fronts flush with the bottom.

 

[jgray]

LJ_24 - Any reason you are putting a thick plywood bottom on your storage? Most aftermarket drawers just have sides and a top with drawers and rails attached to the sides of the platform.

 

[davegonz]

Wow, those are going to be sturdy as hell. I guess the good thing about using a thick bottom is to have a solid place to anchor the box to the truck. I used u-bolts to grab the third row seat anchors on mine.

 

[FullyLitLED]

LJ_24 - Any reason you are putting a thick plywood bottom on your storage? Most aftermarket drawers just have sides and a top with drawers and rails attached to the sides of the platform.

Jgray, no reason at all. Its my first time building a drawer unit. I just decided to use thick plywood all the way around for the unit to be rigid

 

[WoodyCreature]

Subscribed. Keep the pics coming. Really interested in how you will do the drawer slides/rollers or what ever you decide. Also, have you seen this guys build? Very nice stuff. Im thinking to do something that I can incoprerate a 10" woofer and amp and maybe a shotgun

https://forum.ih8mud.com/100-series-cruisers/245995-100-series-rear-drawer-system-build-w-picks.html

 

[FullyLitLED]

Subscribed. Keep the pics coming. Really interested in how you will do the drawer slides/rollers or what ever you decide. Also, have you seen this guys build? Very nice stuff. Im thinking to do something that I can incoprerate a 10" woofer and amp and maybe a shotgun

https://forum.ih8mud.com/100-series-cruisers/245995-100-series-rear-drawer-system-build-w-picks.html

I think a 10 inch woofer is more than possible! But if I was going to do a single ten inch, I would make two drawers identical in size but then make the other drawer longer. The sub could be hidden behind the shorter drawer. I have a plan for the amp. A 12 inch sub could work as long as it's a ported box which lays the sub flat. Lots of design kinks but awesome learning experience lol

 

[jgray]

Check out this video to give you an idea of the initial frame and design of some aftermarket drawers:
YouTube - Ironman 4x4 - Drawer System Car Installation

I was also looking at the design of the Warfield system as its fairly similar... Check page 6 of 02 Beast's build thread:
https://forum.ih8mud.com/100-series-cruisers/295791-02-beasts-100-build-6.html

 

[FullyLitLED]

Wow, those are going to be sturdy as hell. I guess the good thing about using a thick bottom is to have a solid place to anchor the box to the truck. I used u-bolts to grab the third row seat anchors on mine.

Can I see what you mean about this?

Check out this video to give you an idea of the initial frame and design of some aftermarket drawers:
YouTube - Ironman 4x4 - Drawer System Car Installation

I was also looking at the design of the Warfield system as its fairly similar... Check page 6 of 02 Beast's build thread:
https://forum.ih8mud.com/100-series-cruisers/295791-02-beasts-100-build-6.html

I like the warfield system. I think I will go with tracks and wheels instead of the normal drawer slides. The reason is because I want to be able to make drawers that can be swapped(based on content needed) depending on what kind of trip I will be making. Having wheels on the drawers also allows me to use them as movable storage containers in my garage

back to

I will be using these. Two wheels that swivel and two that are not. Should be fairly simple and at 125lb capacity each, should be durable
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

 

[davegonz]

Those casters are going to suck up value space. Why do you need swiveling casters? Why not go with some ultra slick UHMW polyethylene on the floor and just slide the drawers on it?

Edit:
Here are some pics of the Kauffman drawers with UHMW runners. I had some in my 60 and they were easy to slide.

 

[davegonz]

Can I see what you mean about this?

I don't have any pictures of my setup, but basically, the u-bolts grab onto the third row seat anchors. You'd need to drill two holes through the plywood for the two legs of the u-bolt to go through and then tighten up the two nuts.

 

[jgray]

If you have access to computer rackmount server rails they also make nice slides for drawers...

 

[pfran42]

If you have access to computer rackmount server rails they also make nice slides for drawers...

That is a great idea...I have tons of those. I wonder if I could easily re-purpose them and sell as a kit.

 

[davegonz]

The ones that are used for battery UPS backup in servers are the ones to get. They usually are beefier. The only downside is that they might not be long enough.

 

[jgray]

I have piles of old rackmount server rails and UPS rackmount rails as well... I haven't built my rear storage yet but that's what i'm planning to use... Heck i've considered trying to canibalize older server cabinets and use the old server parts to build a storage system... Can't you see it now - my custom Dell server storage cabinets for the 100... If you look at the server cabinets they are very similar to the materials others are using for aftermarket drawer systems... Maybe this idea is a little ambitious and not worth the time and effort but i'm looking into it at least...

 

[FullyLitLED]

So the drawer system's frame is almost completely done! Just need to cover it in the subwoofer carpet and add a piece of 3/4" plywood to the base of the subwoofer enclosure's surrounding area.

Going to wingstop for lunch while the 3m adhesive dries and sticks to the carpet to the wood

 

[FullyLitLED]

Almost done! Just need to cover up the sides, got templates traced out from cardboard and drew them onto the wood. Also made templates for the main drawer face so it follows the countours of the 100 series' bottom tailgate panels.The blade on my jigsaw is dull so I can't finish them tonight. Drawer is covered up in the subwoofer carpet, what do you guys think so far? I did not feel the need to cover the entire drawer setup with carpet...only the parts that are going to be exposed

What stores sell polythylene? I'd rather not order online and play the waiting game!

More suggestions welcome and needed

Future location for two 8" JL audio W3's. I could have had a triple box made, but I want to see how good two 8's are first.

I thought this was a good spot for the amplifier

Tight tolerances and proper planning led to a snug fit. The plastic trim helps keep the subwoofer box surround in place.