Another Home-Brew Drawer System Build (4 Viewers)

[AATLAS1X]

I missed this thread somehow, wow!

All of these are beautiful. I only wish I has the proper tools to make such a system as its one mod I need and would put to use.

I agree with the 1/4 turn handles facing up as its easier to open and lock, plus they're keyed and padlock able.

I have drawn this out several times and think steel is the way to go, but they all look the same covered.

There's some amazing hardware out there for wood and steel. SEM engendering offers some amazing products I use and will make assembly easier (flat shipping) and stronger.

Shane.

 

[bamabrock]

Im not normally up that way! And yes, I would definitely change at least one thing. Overall, I have less than $275 in it though.

Seriously this was a pretty easy build. If enough people are interested, I'll post up measurement and templates.

 

[ntsaint]

Ha. I'm back in town this weekend. Send me a pm and ill send u rough measurements.

Sent from my iPhone using IH8MUD, and hopefully approved by the NSA.

 

[sonk76]

Ha. I'm back in town this weekend. Send me a pm and ill send u rough measurements.

Sent from my iPhone using IH8MUD, and hopefully approved by the NSA.

I too would love to get access to some of the measurements! This is a very inspiring project.

Happy to pm too if that's easier.

Thanks!

 

[bamabrock]

Thanks for putting the measurements up in the other thread. They'll be of help.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/100-series-cruisers/741010-drawer-system-questions.html

OK, sorry for the quick/dirty on this, but we are moving this weekend and this is the ONLY time I'm going to have to do this.


See below pics.

First illustrates the base. I used 3/4" cabinet grade ply for everything, including the base. 2 x 7" strips for the front two pieces, one 12.5" strip in the rear (also serves as the floor for the behind-drawer storage). They line up perfectly over the existing 3rd row seat mounts, which I used u-bolts to attach to. The entire truck shakes when you try and move the box. it's going nowhere...

Vertical sides/center were then attached to the base pieces, all identical sizes. I used two boards glued and screwed together for the center piece, so as to accommodate my design for the top and drawers. Verticals were at the outer edge of the base pieces, and the center vertical was dead center between the two.

Once the sides and base were set, I finished up the back side (facing the 2nd row seats) and the dividers between the drawer cavities and the behind-drawer storage.

This pic is pretty self explanatory. it's MISSING the center vertical and the base pieces in this picture for ease of drawing (ie. I can't draw).

Once you get this assembled you have a very sturdy frame that you can then mount in the truck. You'll want to do this since everything from here on out will need to be measured and fit using installed measurements.

FYI I used a temp strip of wood to hold the front of the frame square during mounting.

Finally below the measurements for the two equally-sized tops I made to cover the drawer cavities, and then the drawers themselves.

ALL of this is MUCH MUCH more detailed in my build thread, referenced above. However, these are the first measurements I've posted.

ALL of these measurements should be considered ROUGH. But this will get you to a point where you have a solid frame with operable drawers installed in the truck.

From there on out it's all 'custom' cuts. You'll need a wood guide, pencil, and cardboard to trace and shape the front and wings. It's NOT hard...because I did it and it looks custom. Remember that you'll be covering it in some sort of carpet, which will hide a LOT of small mistakes!

Good luck!

 

[DanInDenver]

Tie Downs

Has anyone considered tie downs on the top of the drawer system? Something like a pan fitting that will sit flush when not in use.

http://www.cargoequipmentcorp.com/Tie-Down-Hardware-Pan-Fittings-p/32204.htm

 

[TrekboxX]

Yeah, but I think rattle when I see those. I think a low profile footman's loop or a airline track tie down would be quieter, at least...

 

[fireball]

Ntsaint - would the fridge fit on top of your drawer system? Can you explain your reasoning for removing the drawer to install the fridge? I would think on long trips you'd want both the storage drawer and the fridge.

Great build by the way, very inspiring!

I've been looking for tan/ivory speaker box carpet but apparently it doesn't exist... or I can't find it! Lots of tan auto carpet available, but it's about twice the thickness/plushness of the speakerbox stuff.

 

[ntsaint]

Ntsaint - would the fridge fit on top of your drawer system? Can you explain your reasoning for removing the drawer to install the fridge? I would think on long trips you'd want both the storage drawer and the fridge. Great build by the way, very inspiring! I've been looking for tan/ivory speaker box carpet but apparently it doesn't exist... or I can't find it! Lots of tan auto carpet available, but it's about twice the thickness/plushness of the speakerbox stuff.

Thanks. My thinking in removing the drawer was increased usability for the fridge. With the drawer out, you can pull the fridge out and access everything in it with ease.

If the fridge slide were to be located on top of the drawers, I would have to hop up on the tailgate to get inside the fridge. It's too tall that way.

The solution to all of this is a tembo tusk fridge slide, which gives you the best of both worlds. I just didn't want to spend the $$.

Speaker carpet is holding up great for me...

 

[fireball]

Holy cow, a $925 drawer/fridge slide!!! That is pretty slick and all but wow that's a crazy price. The good news is that once you decide to spend almost a grand on the slide, the cutting board seems like a steal at $270!

It would be pretty slick if ARB or someone built a fridge that had a front sliding opening. Sort of like a standard bottom freezer pull out in your home fridge:

If they made the fridge more square/modular, you could then set it directly on the floor and have a flat surface to stack and load gear on top of.

 

[hoser]

There are several drawer fridges available like that but none of 50 liter plus size ones are portable. If you could be okay with a 30 Liter fridge, then this one by Dometic would fit your sub woofer plans perfectly.

http://www.dometic.com/enus/Americas/USA/Marine/Refrigerators/Refrigeration/?productdataid=74580

 

[RobRed]

Yeah, but I think rattle when I see those. I think a low profile footman's loop or a airline track tie down would be quieter, at least...

L-Track Singles. I use 8 of them on my OS drawers. Not a burden when not in use as they are very low profile.

 

[Get outside]

Would you mind share your source for sliders and handles? I'm building mine and looking around for parts!
Thanks

 

[fireball]

I just today ordered the latches and drawer slides directly from Allegis. They make the latches, and they sell the Accuride slides that folks have had good luck with. The latches are $36 each, keyed alike.

http://www.allegiscorp.com/sales-rep.aspx

The slides vary in price. I am building a subwoofer enclosure into the back of one side, so I ordered a set of 9301/9308 in 36" length (one locking and one non-locking) and a 3307 in 24" length. The 3307 was a good bit cheaper, is only 1/2" width instead of the 3/4" width of the 930x and has a lock-out feature. So once the drawer is fully opened, you can lock/secure it. Rated for 120-150#. If I squeeze more than 150# into a 21"Wx24"Dx11"H drawer then I'm likely carrying around gold bars and can then afford to upgrade to the 9301!

 

[gearguywb]

Resurrecting an older thread….would love to see how you guys propped up the "wings" on the sides. Thanks!

 

[madmaskbass]

No pics atm...sorry,

But for strength I notched in 3 cross bearers on the top underneath the top sheet actually using hardwood.(very front of drawers, middle and rear)..was 2x3...i just extended these three sections out to near the width of the cabin and the side wings sit on this. they also benefit from the strength of the full structure. Very quick, cheap and easy and adds a HUGE amount more strength to the overall drawers..

I also mounted the little front fill in peices of these supports as well to make them look pretty...

 

[gearguywb]

Getting ready to order slides and latches to get started on the build.

If you don't mind me asking, where did you find the latches? I looked on Allegis but did not see them there.

 

[fireball]

The link I posted above to Allegis corp is what you need for the latches. You need to email the guy in your region and he'll help you out. I ordered the latches and slides from them, got a prompt reply and email receipt, etc.

@gearguywb - re: the side wing supports, I cut a triangular piece of plywood at the front middle and rear of each side. Next time I take the box out I'm going to change it up so that the front and rear are at the very very front and rear of the box and the middle support will probably change to piece of L-shaped bar stock. This will make those cubbies much more usable. I spaced mine evenly for maximum support, but it makes it a PITA to use those cubbies for storing things.

Check this out: https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/seeking-your-thoughts-on-new-drawer-system.760747/page-10 Post #186 and 187 shows some good photos. Might want to keep in mind how you'll do your wiring, that might change things on the driver side if you want to have switches.

 

[gearguywb]

Thanks! started on mine this week.

Really like how your drawer fronts look with the front piece. How did you cut the fronts out?

 

[TJsTACOMA]

Thanks for the post and ideas ntsaint. Almost completed with mine. I still need to do the top side pieces, but good enough for now