AO Drawers veses Truck Vault

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

F

Filmpros

10 Year 15 Year
Joined
Jan 21, 2007
Threads
78
Messages
865
Location
New York & California
Website
www.rbfilms.com
Has anyone here compared the African Outback Drawer System to the Truck Vault System? Any differences in quality, design, materials, fit, and finish worth noting?

Also, I need to mount electronics such as a power inverter, radio amplifier, cell phone amplifier, Extreme Air Compressor, etc. in my truck.

Truck Vault will build anything I want custom and I was thinking about using the back section of the drawer system for this purpose. Truck Vault would make the drawers 11" shorter and enclose the back section with an access panel. I would mount my gear in this area behind the drawers ... and yes ... I would install ventilation.

African Outback does not customize their drawer systems, but someone mentioned that there is room in the wheel well areas for mounting electronics. I assume this would have to be ventilated as well.

Anyone have experience with either or both of these drawer systems and/or mounting heat generating electronics in these enclosed areas?
 
Hey Rich,
I deal with TruckVault on a daily basis. I wouldn't buy one. Their quality is pretty low by my standards. I don't have first hand experience with African Outback but their stuff seems to look alot better. TruckVaults are made from some form of particle board, not even MDF. We always have to tweak and shim them just to work in the vehicles they were designed for. I would vote for a local cabinet maker or the African Outback if you're not doing them yourself.
 
Send a message to Christo about the AO drawers. I don't know what's under the wings on each side of the drawers, but Slee will fill you in. Try searching the FAQ section on storage drawers as well and you might find more info there too.
 
tseewell said:
Have you looked at the drawers from Man-a-fre? I've been eyeing those and the cargo barrier. Could anyone chime in on those?

MAF Roller Drawer Storage Systems
Click to expand...

Those pictures show Australian Outback drawers, which I believe the AO drawers are modeled after.

I don't have a set for my 100, and built my own when I had the 80, but I did manage to snag a set of AO drawers for my G-Wagen when Christo was blowing it out on sale, and the quality and features are fantastic. I have never personally seen a better drawer system (but I also haven't seen the Australian Outback drawers in person).
 
Last edited:
Do the truck vault drawers have sliders? We have a rear drawer system for our vehicles at work and I suspect they may be truck vault products or something similiar. Very heavy partical board construction. No sliders. The drawers are garbage and harder than heck to pull out and close.

My 80 has a AO drawer set up and in my opinion are absolute beautiful construction, quality and fit and finish. I love the design and they open and close effortlessly, even with the several hunded pounds worth of gear that I store in them all the time.
 
Called MAF to check this out. At least Seven (7) Months to get them and the price is higher than it is on the website. I did not ask as I am not willing to wait 7 months.

tseewell said:
Have you looked at the drawers from Man-a-fre? I've been eyeing those and the cargo barrier. Could anyone chime in on those?

MAF Roller Drawer Storage Systems
Click to expand...
 
The Truck Vault systems have casters ... rather than slides. They are made of MDO ... whatever that is.

I have opted to go with the AO Drawer System from Slee based on the reviews and comments I have heard.

Brian894X4 said:
Do the truck vault drawers have sliders? We have a rear drawer system for our vehicles at work and I suspect they may be truck vault products or something similiar. Very heavy partical board construction. No sliders. The drawers are garbage and harder than heck to pull out and close.

My 80 has a AO drawer set up and in my opinion are absolute beautiful construction, quality and fit and finish. I love the design and they open and close effortlessly, even with the several hunded pounds worth of gear that I store in them all the time.
Click to expand...
 
Filmpros said:
The Truck Vault systems have casters ... rather than slides. They are made of MDO ... whatever that is.

I have opted to go with the AO Drawer System from Slee based on the reviews and comments I have heard.
Click to expand...



Good call. I have Truckvault in my work Suburban. They have casters (2 small wheels) on the end. I don't find them difficult to pull out or push in, but they are cetainly harder than those on slides.

Also, for security, the Truckvault are fairly easy to break into.
 
Boys,

Contrary to the other comments on this site, I am a huge fan of truck vault products. The African Outback vaults are made of metal, so not only do they vibrate, but they are horrible for condensation and loud when driving (rattling of tools & guns in vault). Truck vault's are made of MDO plywood, and for many reasons it is a much better material to build from then metal. I have been a proud owner of truck vault products for years, as well as many of my friends. They are very easy to use and nearly impossible to break into. I would (and always do) reccomend truck vault's to anyone who wants a Strong, durable, secure and long lasting storage unit for there vehicle.
 
Last edited:
Britts1016 said:
Boys,

Contrary to the other comments on this site, I am a huge fan of truck vault products. The African Outback vaults are made of metal, so not only do they vibrate, but they are horrible for condensation and loud when driving (rattling of tools & guns in vault). Truck vault's are made of MDO plywood, and for many reasons it is a much better material to build from then metal. I have been a proud owner of truck vault products for years, as well as many of my friends. They are very easy to use and nearly impossible to break into. I would (and always do) reccomend truck vault's to anyone who wants a Strong, durable, secure and long lasting storage unit for there vehicle.
Click to expand...

so you joined this forum just to post this! What's your stake in the company?
 
Britts1016 said:
Boys,

Contrary to the other comments on this site, I am a huge fan of truck vault products. The African Outback vaults are made of metal, so not only do they vibrate, but they are horrible for condensation and loud when driving (rattling of tools & guns in vault). Truck vault's are made of MDO plywood, and for many reasons it is a much better material to build from then metal. I have been a proud owner of truck vault products for years, as well as many of my friends. They are very easy to use and nearly impossible to break into. I would (and always do) reccomend truck vault's to anyone who wants a Strong, durable, secure and long lasting storage unit for there vehicle.
Click to expand...


You should be their spokesperson...unless you already work for them...:hhmm:.

I'm just kidding. Either one of them wouldn't work for me (read: broke) so I'm going to build my own. I plan on stealing...uh...I mean borrow Romey's idea. :D

https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/231014-yet-another-rear-storage-box-idea.html

It's a simple design, but I plan on modifying for my needs.
 
TruckVault Products

Are most of you smoking crack here...TruckVault a poor product? Hmmm...

I personally have owned a TruckVault since 1989 so I go way back with the product. First of all I'll disspell a few myths I see here.

1) they are not made of particle board. There are many products out there however that are made of inferior materials and because TruckVault has set the industry standard for over 13 years on secure in-vehicle storage systems many competing products get confused with them. Case in point most people refer to secure storage as a TruckVault and there is only "one" TruckVault company.

2) TruckVault products are made out of a combination of MDO (7-layer multi-density overlay plywood) and high density comp (drawer faces) not particle board. These are for SUV's, sedans, vans and covered pick-ups. They also make products that are completely water tight i.e. armor coated (Extreme All Weather Series) for the backs of uncovered pick-ups. These units also will hold over 2,000 lbs of weight on top of them which is more than enough to handle motorcycles, ATV's or snowmobiles.

3) TruckVault services over 600 law enforcement departments, government agencies (FBI, CIA, ICE) as well as the military. Secure? Sure, people can get into anything including your metal boxes given enough time and proper tools but do you seriously think that law enforcement officials will simply trust their firearms and other sensitive equipment to just any old box? Let's get real. Besides, wood has inherent characteristics to it that make it a better fit than metal or plastic including fireproofing, weight, condenstation issues, noise, dust, the list goes on.

4) Older units did slide a bit tough at times but was primarily due to the overloading of the drawers and tight manufacturing specs. In recent years they have corrected this problem by using cantelever wheels at the end of longer pull outs to elimate pinching as well as building in recessed rollers in the bottom of the unit to ease sliding. Other oprions are accuride hinges that really are the cats meow but of course cost much more as an option.

All in all TruckVault has more than withstood the test of time for me and I give them the highest marks out there for customer service, product quality, ease of installation, serviceability and innovation. Their products are virtually custom made for any make and model of vehilce on the road today. I even heard they are no an officially licensed product for Hummer and Smith & Wesson which if I had to guess was not granted easily. TruckVault is my recommended choice if for nothing else...they are made right here in the good old USA.

Drake
 
Britts1016 said:
Boys,

Contrary to the other comments on this site, I am a huge fan of truck vault products. The African Outback vaults are made of metal, so not only do they vibrate, but they are horrible for condensation and loud when driving (rattling of tools & guns in vault). Truck vault's are made of MDO plywood, and for many reasons it is a much better material to build from then metal. I have been a proud owner of truck vault products for years, as well as many of my friends. They are very easy to use and nearly impossible to break into. I would (and always do) reccomend truck vault's to anyone who wants a Strong, durable, secure and long lasting storage unit for there vehicle.
Click to expand...

So have you ever used a set of AO drawers, or are your comments based on what you read or heard?

AO drawers does not vibrate, neither do they rattle. Guaranteed. If they did, the install was done wrong. As for items inside, the drawers are lined with carpet, but if you throw stuff loose in there, they are going to roll around and ratlle. That is the same for any drawer system. Wood might muffle the noise a little more.

Why is MDO better than metal ?

I have seen a number of truck vault products and all the ones I have seen does not slide as easy as the AO drawers. However I have not seen their latest offerings.

I also do not understand the condensation issue.
 
drake 22 that a great way to represent your business ask us if were all smoking crack:rolleyes:
 
Rick - I did join just to post the blog, I have been on the website before but never felt the need to blog until now. I just wanted to share my opinion as you all did yours.

Christo - Why is MDO better then metal, say your vehicle caught on fire and you had thousands of dollars worth of equipment in your vault, the metal vault is going to turn into an oven and roast everything inside of it. The MDO box will not. Metal box's can't stand up to water/humidity as well, they create and Attract moisture(condensation) and cause rust. The MDO box's once again WILL NOT.

Once again, these are just my opinions (along with some bare facts), as you all posted yours.
 
Last edited:
TruckVault

I don't work for the company FYI, I was just cruising this site looking for some info on my FJ and found it funny that people are so willing to spout out stuff they knew nothing about is all. I happen to know something about the TruckVault product and figured I'd toss my two cents in on what I knew to help someone make a more informed decision. Sorry for what turned out to be a bad attempt at a small amount of humor on my part.

Condensation - metal boxes transfer heat and cold more readily, as does plastic, way more so than wood does. Wood has inherent insulating characteristics that make it a beneficial choice in this instance especially when it comes to storing and securing sensitive equipment or firearms. I am sure AO carpets the floor of their drawers which helps to some degree but I'd rather not have my guns leaning metal on metal on the sides of the drawers.

Fire - metal boxes heat up rapidly virtually ruining anything stored in them (unless they are insulated and my guess is the AO System is not) not to mention the concern over ammo discharges due to the heat. What people don't realize is that in a car fire it isn't the burning you are concerned with it is the build up of heat inside the box. Plywood burns a certain way (slowly) when large surface areas are exposed and at the same time does not transfer as much of the heat to the inside of the box. This was a big concern for us when purchasing for our department.

I know there are lots of great choices out there and I am sure the AO product is a fine one. Again this is just one person's opinion.

Drake:bang:
 
As far as the hinge options, we have ordered the accuride (spelling?) hinges on a few TruckVault products and they slide like butter to be honest. However due to the weight they support they provide, and depending on the length or depth of your drawers, they can be expensive.
 
By the way I managed to make my annual pilgrimage to SEMA down in Las Vegas this year and while TruckVault was not displaying I did see their products in the ARB booth, the Ford booth and in the GM booth. You may check with any of those folks as well to get their take on the product...especially ARB as they had outfitted both a Jeep JK and a 2003 Hummer Alpha SUV and I believe even had built special pull-outs for Freezer Fridges as well. They were pretty trick looking and highly functional
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Back
Top Bottom