Easy DIY “Poor Man’s” drawer system (1 Viewer)

[TimCFJ40]

After 20+ days this summer traveling and camping with my DIY drawer system, I wanted to share it in more depth with the group as it has been a game changer for our family road trips. We’re not quite to “a place for everything and everything in it’s place”, but we can quickly access everything we need without barfing half of the contents of the back of the truck out in the parking lot. A view of the finished system here:

It’s based around three Orbis FP32 totes. These are just the right size to fill the back of the truck, and I like the lids so the totes can be closed when removed around camp. Shop around the various industrial suppliers for the best price as there is a wide variance.
Orbis FP32
The best price I found was through MSC industrial supply.
I put the structure together out of 1/2” Sande wood plywood, glued and screwed together. I chose the Sande due to its relative light weight, good strength, and good moisture resistance. Here are a few shots showing the design from various angles.

I made the system just barely wide enough to slide in/out of the gate and it makes no additional noise that I have heard, even on very rough roads.

 

[TimCFJ40]

After the first trip our only beef was that the leading edge of the rear rubber mat was catching on the bins sliding them in and out so I added a piece of aluminum carpet trim to protect the edge of the mat. This took care of the issue entirely.

Let me know if you have any questions. I think this is a great option for easily removable storage if you like the idea of drawers, but don’t like the price. I honestly prefer the removable bins as we use one for food and one for the “kitchen” so we can remove the bins and take them to a picinic table in camp.

 

[TimCFJ40]

A few notes:
-I covered the top with industrial carpet squares. These have thick rubber backing and have worked great.
-I trimmed the top edge with 3/4” aluminum angle to protect the carpet edge and plywood when loading. This just covers the thickness of the carpet and the wood.
-With our 1up bike rack fully tilted back, we have to tilt the bins slightly up to clear the closest bike. This is a mild hassle, without the rack it’s a breeze.
-It took just over 1 full 4x8 sheet of plywood. I bought 1 full sheet and 1 2x4 sheet and only had a little left over.
-With a Table saw, jig saw, and a drill, it took me about 3 hours to complete taking my time. I'm by no means a cabinet maker, but pretty handy overall.
I was asked on Facebook for a pic with the tailgate up. It sits just above the top of the hatch for reference.

For access we just slide a bin onto the gate and access sideways.

We end up using the side spots for small things that we want to have accessible like rain jackets, head lamps, straps, etc.

 

[lx200inAR]

Do you have the wood divider part strapped down in any way?

 

[TimCFJ40]

Do you have the wood divider part strapped down in any way?

I don’t. It wouldn’t be hard to make a bracket to tie into the forward third row bolts, but I didn’t have any movement whatsoever even on fairly tough trails. In the unfortunate event of a crash or rollover I’d be more worried about the stuff on top of the platform moving than the divider itself. It really doesn’t have far to move easily.

 

[zoned]

Great job, what do you think your total cost was?

 

[TomEf]

Conveniently, that height is pretty much perfect if you wanted to fold down the second row and throw a sleeping pad in there.

 

[TimCFJ40]

Great job, what do you think your total cost was?

Total cost was around $300. 3 totes at $70 and about $100 in hardware and wood. The carpet was in the attic of my house from a previous owner.

 

[TimCFJ40]

Conveniently, that height is pretty much perfect if you wanted to fold down the second row and throw a sleeping pad in there.

I had the same thought, although 99% of our trips are with 2 kids, 2 dogs and a bunch of stuff. I'll keep that in mind if the wife and I can ever sneak away...

 

[TomEf]

I had the same thought, although 99% of our trips are with 2 kids, 2 dogs and a bunch of stuff. I'll keep that in mind if the wife and I can ever sneak away...

I only sleep in the back while solo these days, but it’s not half bad with two people.