Bender build gets some junk in the trunk! (1 Viewer)

[maxmileage]

I installed some Ironman drawers and my iceco fridge w slide. Fabbed up some fold down tables for the swing gate, deleted the second row seats and fabbed up a nice cargo area in its place. Installed a remove 100ah lifepo4 with a 40 amp dc to dc charger and the Egon hub.
Added the Bison shelf and Molle panels to which I attached my hub and charger on one side. Flashlight, first aid kit and fire extinguisher on the other side.
Next up is lighting the camp area and maybe some spotties on the front end. Looking at adding some flexible solar panels to the rtt also at some point.
Oh yeah, Also added a Hayden AT cooler to hopefully avoid any other traumatic events in that area.
This rig is ready to ROCK!

 

[r2m]

Wow!!
Nice work!
It's great to see someone actually do a drawer system out of aluminum instead of MDF/plywood, etc.
You're rig will be so much lighter just from the drawer system!
I assume the tank behind the front seats is your potable water supply? How may gallons?
Also, love my rear quarter MOLLE racks and rear shelf! Huge space savers!!

 

[xychromosome]

Nice. Can we see a pic of your fold down table? I'm still thinking of options since none of the commercially available tables fit with the drawers in place.
Also, are you experiencing any 'squeaking' from your drawers? Specifically from the front/latch area?

 

[maxmileage]

Wow!!
Nice work!
It's great to see someone actually do a drawer system out of aluminum instead of MDF/plywood, etc.
You're rig will be so much lighter just from the drawer system!
I assume the tank behind the front seats is your potable water supply? How may gallons?
Also, love my rear quarter MOLLE racks and rear shelf! Huge space savers!!

Yep, I am pretty pleased with the drawers. Fit is perfect with the wing kit. Quality rollers and stainless hardware. Only thing I wish they had was a mechanism to keep them open when on an incline, but I can find a solution to that. Overall they are great and am currently figuring out just how to stuff them full of gear.
The tank is front runner floorboard tank, 10 gallons. I made my second row cargo area level with it. A bonus is my old rear cargo tray actually fits pretty well in the new space for when I need to haul a messy item.
Molle is awesome for sure and made a perfect mount for the electrics.

 

[maxmileage]

Nice. Can we see a pic of your fold down table? I'm still thinking of options since none of the commercially available tables fit with the drawers in place.
Also, are you experiencing any 'squeaking' from your drawers? Specifically from the front/latch area?

Sure, I just took off the plastic covers for the two pockets in the swing gate and used those for templates. Plywood, piano hinges, some cable I had laying around from putting up some sail shades on my patio, and some random nuts and bolts from my giant box of bolts that have come off the rig. I think the only thing I actually purchased specifically for the project was the piano hinges.
The cable attaches to bolts that are backed by some very large diameter washers so not to pull through.
The latch is super simple. Just some aluminum angle, cut a notch out to slide over a bolt
I am still looking for the right material to surface it with. Thinking some kind of plastic. Gonna put some leftover black carpeting from my second row cargo area project on the bottom side.
No squeak that I have noticed so far. Haven’t taken it on much rough surface yet though. A spray of silicone

 

[xychromosome]

nice, thanks for the photos

 

[Washingtontaco]

Wow!!
Nice work!
It's great to see someone actually do a drawer system out of aluminum instead of MDF/plywood, etc.
You're rig will be so much lighter just from the drawer system!
I assume the tank behind the front seats is your potable water supply? How may gallons?
Also, love my rear quarter MOLLE racks and rear shelf! Huge space savers!!

That drawer system weighs 138 lbs not including the wing kit, so lighter? Not really.

 

[Washingtontaco]

I installed some Ironman drawers and my iceco fridge w slide. Fabbed up some fold down tables for the swing gate, deleted the second row seats and fabbed up a nice cargo area in its place. Installed a remove 100ah lifepo4 with a 40 amp dc to dc charger and the Egon hub.
Added the Bison shelf and Molle panels to which I attached my hub and charger on one side. Flashlight, first aid kit and fire extinguisher on the other side.
Next up is lighting the camp area and maybe some spotties on the front end. Looking at adding some flexible solar panels to the rtt also at some point.
Oh yeah, Also added a Hayden AT cooler to hopefully avoid any other traumatic events in that area.
This rig is ready to ROCK!View attachment 3180772View attachment 3180773View attachment 3180775View attachment 3180774View attachment 3180776

The Egon is interesting for sure!

 

[Washingtontaco]

What seat cover are you using? Could you please post some pictures?

 

[r2m]

What seat cover are you using? Could you please post some pictures?

Washingtontaco, if you're looking for seat covers, Wet Okole (Lexus Seat Covers - Wet Okole - https://www.wetokole.com/car-seat-covers/LEXUS/GX460 ) is the only thing I'd use.
We purchased a set for the entire cap of her '07 Taco. We've had them in for over 4 years now with pretty rough ussage, e.g. wet swimsuits, both ocean and pool, wet wetsuits, gritty off road dirt and dust, but not much mud (you know, the whole California thing and no rain...)
They are made both in Hawaii and here in So. Cal. and when you purchase, if you go to their brick and mortar, they'll install for free. It is not an easy install, but considering how well they fit, of course it'll take some time to install.
They also have a pretty extensive selection of colors and patterns so you can truly do something unique.
I have been extremely impressed with the quality and especially the fit of these seat covers! They fit like factory. Not one place does it sag or wrinkle, even after as long as we've had them! You can add rear seat pocket too, which we opted for.

Now the con's:

• The only downside is the smell. They are made with neoprene. If you've ever walked into a surf shop and gone to the wetsuit section, you'll know what I mean. The smell will last a long time, like a year or more. But we're surfers, so it doesn't bother us much.
• Expensive. But you get want you pay for.
• Don't think they'll work with seats with cooling. Considering the neoprene material they use, since the fan's in the seats need a perforated surface for air flow.

Still, by far the best custom set covers I've seen yet.
I'll try and post some pic's of my wife's interior later today if you'd like. Let me know.

 

[maxmileage]

That drawer system weighs 138 lbs not including the wing kit, so lighter? Not really.

That’s true. Wing kit is not much at all, maybe 5lbs?.
I did however pull 200 lbs of seats out in my situation, so after everything subtracted and added, it’s close to a wash.
how much an equally sized plywood or mdf kit weigh? 200+?

 

[maxmileage]

What seat cover are you using? Could you please post some pictures?

Here ya go. They are super cheapies from Dickie brand. $23 for both I think. I got them because they are cloth and they work very nicely with the ventilated seats, I think better actually. The cloth holds you away from the seat and allows air to go through a little easier. With no cover I feel like the seat vents are just sucking me to the seat and then no air can pass through. I don’t think they will last more than a couple years, but that’s fine, they will be disgusting by then anyway I’m sure.
I removed the plastics around the seats to install them so they wouldn’t come off at the bottom. They just have a strap and Velcro to hold them, but when I tucked them under the seat plastics they have held very well since.

 

[Washingtontaco]

Here ya go. They are super cheapies from Dickie brand. $23 for both I think. I got them because they are cloth and they work very nicely with the ventilated seats, I think better actually. The cloth holds you away from the seat and allows air to go through a little easier. With no cover I feel like the seat vents are just sucking me to the seat and then no air can pass through. I don’t think they will last more than a couple years, but that’s fine, they will be disgusting by then anyway I’m sure.
I removed the plastics around the seats to install them so they wouldn’t come off at the bottom. They just have a strap and Velcro to hold them, but when I tucked them under the seat plastics they have held very well since. View attachment 3181907View attachment 3181910

Thanks, outstanding value!

 

[Washingtontaco]

That’s true. Wing kit is not much at all, maybe 5lbs?.
I did however pull 200 lbs of seats out in my situation, so after everything subtracted and added, it’s close to a wash.
how much an equally sized plywood or mdf kit weigh? 200+?

No, my Truck Vault weighs 150 lbs per Truck Vault, but cost substantially more than Ironman. I removed both second row captain seats and third row as well, With trim, floor mats and seats it was around 260 lbs. But added easily 50 lbs of sound deadener and insulation.

 

[Washingtontaco]

Washingtontaco, if you're looking for seat covers, Wet Okole (Lexus Seat Covers - Wet Okole - https://www.wetokole.com/car-seat-covers/LEXUS/GX460 ) is the only thing I'd use.
We purchased a set for the entire cap of her '07 Taco. We've had them in for over 4 years now with pretty rough ussage, e.g. wet swimsuits, both ocean and pool, wet wetsuits, gritty off road dirt and dust, but not much mud (you know, the whole California thing and no rain...)
They are made both in Hawaii and here in So. Cal. and when you purchase, if you go to their brick and mortar, they'll install for free. It is not an easy install, but considering how well they fit, of course it'll take some time to install.
They also have a pretty extensive selection of colors and patterns so you can truly do something unique.
I have been extremely impressed with the quality and especially the fit of these seat covers! They fit like factory. Not one place does it sag or wrinkle, even after as long as we've had them! You can add rear seat pocket too, which we opted for.

Now the con's:

• The only downside is the smell. They are made with neoprene. If you've ever walked into a surf shop and gone to the wetsuit section, you'll know what I mean. The smell will last a long time, like a year or more. But we're surfers, so it doesn't bother us much.
• Expensive. But you get want you pay for.
• Don't think they'll work with seats with cooling. Considering the neoprene material they use, since the fan's in the seats need a perforated surface for air flow.

Still, by far the best custom set covers I've seen yet.
I'll try and post some pic's of my wife's interior later today if you'd like. Let me know.

No offense but I hate those seat covers! My business partner has them on his Taco and in October was subjected to those sweat inducing funky feeling things for 3 days drive to NM.

 

[r2m]

Yep, agreed, they don't breath very well and stink, but they do fit very good and wear very well, and for us (read: my wife) works great!
Anyone that knows anything about neoprene should already be aware before purchase of the downside.
Considering my wife and I have been surfing since a preteens, we've become accustomed to the smell.

 

[Rednexus]

That’s true. Wing kit is not much at all, maybe 5lbs?.
I did however pull 200 lbs of seats out in my situation, so after everything subtracted and added, it’s close to a wash.
how much an equally sized plywood or mdf kit weigh? 200+?

SHW Off-Road ultralight plywood drawers weigh around 70 lbs for the drawers themselves and 90 pounds with the sleeping platform (at least for my 470). I selected them to specifically avoid the heavy metal drawers. I didn't want to add 150 pounds of static weight to the back of my rig, especially when I use it already for towing our camper.

The SHW drawers they would not be my choice for a true overland-only build where you are regularly living out of and cooking out of your rig, but should fit my organizational needs well while limiting rear axle weight.

I'm still working on finishing my set and hope to have them in by the end of the year.

 

[r2m]

I'm really surprised there aren't more aluminum options out there for drawer kits.
Considering we pay for premium vehicles, paying a wee bit more for quality aluminum drawer system shouldn't be too much more of a stretch for most folks.
Perhaps the issue is having the equipment to weld aluminum?

 

[Rednexus]

Aluminum would be nice, but probably more expensive than steel due to the higher material costs and additional difficulty working with it (I don't think you can easily bend it in a sheetmetal brake like steel). There probably is a market for them for weight-conscious overlanders though, given just how much some of these drawer sets weigh.

 

[r2m]

...(I don't think you can easily bend it in a sheetmetal brake like steel)

Actually depending upon what grade aluminum you use like 6063 and loosen up a wee bit on the bend radius and it'll work just fine on a box and pan machine.
Yeah, it will be more expensive, but some will pay for it!