Dobinson Drawers (Install)

[Rambler1]

I just received my Dobinsons Drawers (with Wings.) I know some of you have installed these. Any tricks or tips to think about would be helpful as a tackle the project this weekend. Thanks in advance for the advice!
Chad
San Antonio, Tx.

 

[Road Apple]

I’ve got a set of these waiting to be installed. Would like to hear installation tips too. How did your install go?

 

[Road Apple]

This is from another thread...

“I bought the Dobinson a few months ago. Install was typical, 4 times longer than I estimated or a pro would take (which is my "normal"). I liked that the Dobinson came assembled, as it gave me a mental picture of what the finished product needed to look like - you will take these apart somewhat to get the mounting bracket installed, and then put the drawers in.

A few mods I had to do which I felt like, with better planning on the OE's part, shouldn't have been necessary:

1) I had to drill extra holes in the mounting ribs. Not the biggest deal, but when you are 6 hours into a 2 hour project, just adds frustration
2) They weren't drop in, I had to "trim" the plastic wheel well covers on the inside of the vehicle - which involved laying the whole drawer kit inside at an angle (I tried to shove it down, just wouldn't work), using a pencil to trace out where I'd need to cut, then carefully, with a battery saws-all, cut plastic out while trying to save the insulation. It took 2 or 3 trims per side, as I wanted it to look as good as possible. After one side was done, I repeated this process on the other side. Not a one man job, but my 15 year old daughter is awesome. We probably took the assembled drawer kit in and out 10 times or more, trying to get it just right.
3) the side panels don't close well, and the right side (looking from the rear) doesn't close at all. If I had waited to the very end to torque everything, I may have been able to prevent this - however, I waited as long as I thought i could on several screws/bolts. I need to find a latching system that I can put on the outside of the lid, that attaches the vertical wall underneath it.

Having said all this, the drawers are great, super sturdy, and I'd buy them again. The side panels are big enough to put something significant in, so the left side is going to be LiPO4 battery system area, which is the side the slider is on and will be convenient to the fridge (that post is coming later).

In terms of what I wish the had - I wish there was a drop in kit for one drawer to be kitchen - i.e. popup stove, easy to clean panels, etc - but I'll eventually figure out something, I've got a couple relatively cheap ideas to make that work.”

Dobinson or ARB Drawers

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[ocLC200]

Had a set of Dobinson’s drawers installed yesterday. Impressed with how well made and how solid they are. One question the hook(s) that I have highlighted make it very tough to access the side/wing panels. Do you know how/if these come off?

 

[indycole]

Had a set of Dobinson’s drawers installed yesterday. Impressed with how well made and are very solid they are. One question the hook(s) that I have highlighted make it very tough to access the side/wing panels. Do you know how/if these come off?
View attachment 2678437

Yep, just twist and pull.

 

[ocLC200]

Yep, just twist and pull.

Perfect. Thanks!

 

[sdnative]

Yep, just twist and pull.

Perfect. Thanks!

Rotate 90 degrees first then pull.

Those drawers look like they sit a bit lower than the ARB drawers. The top of my ARB drawers are about in line with that clip.

And the ARB drawers sit about 3-4" further forward, or at least there is a 3-4" gap between the drawer and tailgate when closed. Curious how much space you will have between the drawer and seat back when installed.

 

[Rambler1]

My 2013 LC does not look like that in the rear. The hooks are further back. They do not come in contact.

CL

 

[bgriest]

Did anyone else have to trim the interior fender plastic to get their Dobinson drawer frame in? I have a 2013 LC and the drawer frame hits enough that I think I'll either have to force them down in or trim the plastic. I'm measuring 41.75" and the drawer frame is 42.1". It doesn't sound like much but it's preventing it from fitting. Dobinson says it's not a problem they know of. I found one post that mentions trimming, but I think it was a 570. I wanted to check with others that have done the install and see if it is a specific year or it's just a really tight fit. Thanks.

 

[jfz80]

Post #3 on this thread mentions the very same thing.

 

[bgriest]

This is from another thread...

“I bought the Dobinson a few months ago. Install was typical, 4 times longer than I estimated or a pro would take (which is my "normal"). I liked that the Dobinson came assembled, as it gave me a mental picture of what the finished product needed to look like - you will take these apart somewhat to get the mounting bracket installed, and then put the drawers in.

A few mods I had to do which I felt like, with better planning on the OE's part, shouldn't have been necessary:

1) I had to drill extra holes in the mounting ribs. Not the biggest deal, but when you are 6 hours into a 2 hour project, just adds frustration
2) They weren't drop in, I had to "trim" the plastic wheel well covers on the inside of the vehicle - which involved laying the whole drawer kit inside at an angle (I tried to shove it down, just wouldn't work), using a pencil to trace out where I'd need to cut, then carefully, with a battery saws-all, cut plastic out while trying to save the insulation. It took 2 or 3 trims per side, as I wanted it to look as good as possible. After one side was done, I repeated this process on the other side. Not a one man job, but my 15 year old daughter is awesome. We probably took the assembled drawer kit in and out 10 times or more, trying to get it just right.
3) the side panels don't close well, and the right side (looking from the rear) doesn't close at all. If I had waited to the very end to torque everything, I may have been able to prevent this - however, I waited as long as I thought i could on several screws/bolts. I need to find a latching system that I can put on the outside of the lid, that attaches the vertical wall underneath it.

Having said all this, the drawers are great, super sturdy, and I'd buy them again. The side panels are big enough to put something significant in, so the left side is going to be LiPO4 battery system area, which is the side the slider is on and will be convenient to the fridge (that post is coming later).

In terms of what I wish the had - I wish there was a drop in kit for one drawer to be kitchen - i.e. popup stove, easy to clean panels, etc - but I'll eventually figure out something, I've got a couple relatively cheap ideas to make that work.”

Dobinson or ARB Drawers

forum.ih8mud.com

I just moved my drawers over from my 100 series. I got the frame all set up and mounted per the instructions with the frame lip flush to the tailgate cap cover edge while I waited for the fit kit to arrive. To my dismay the contour of the wings did not match the frame mounting location. To make the wing contour match I had to start over and move the frame towards the tailgate about an inch and sitting up on the interior section of the tailgate gap cover. This put my corner supports right under the interior hooks pictured a couple posts above. Apparently, the back of the vehicle tapers slightly. I had significant friction from the drawers and top slide rubbing the corner supports. I trimmed each of them approximately 1/4" which helped. I predict the carpet will still wear in in this location. One benefit to the frame being up on the tailgate trim piece was it eliminated the latch from dragging on the plastic tailgate cover. Small win.

Since I started over, I also moved the rear mounting rib back towards the tailgate. This provided more separation between the ribs for a more solid mounting option. The ribs were just long enough to catch the inside third row seat mounting bolt. I did have to notch the end to get the little extra length needed. With a little more notch north/south I was able to catch one set of pre-drilled holes. Mounting the ribs per the instructions they were really close together. This seemed like a more stable option to me.

The last hurdle I overcame was the wing support at the back of the drawers. The drawer frame sits tight in the interior fender plastic. There is no way to add the bracket which is almost another 1/2" per side. This is where others have mentioned trimming plastic. I just couldn't cut into the car, so I trimmed the bracket instead. I cut the bracket edge off where it needed to squeeze between the frame and interior fender plastic. I also removed the rivnut since there were two upper bolts to attach it and keep it from rotating. I couldn't see where it would diminish the structural integrity of the part or carrying capacity of the shelf. After the trim I was able to force it into the non-existent gap and install the top two bolts.

Hopefully this will reduce some head scratching for others in the future. I'll add a couple photos.