My Own Rear Storage/Drawers

[VCCruzr]

After reading so many rear storage/drawer/sleeper threads, I finally decided to do my own. I was tired of the loading and unloading the recovery box and straping it down, plus I wanted a sleeping platform. I don't really have it all planned out, but I am using ideas from what others have posted (gotta love this forum and the wealth of information it provides).I am basing my storage set-up mostly on 619TOY's thread: https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/136736-another-perspective-rear-storage.html Once I read his thread, I knew I had to do my own. I am going to rely on my wood working skills I acquired in my 4 years of wood working from 7th - 10th grade. It has been awhile so heaven help me, . Anyway, here is the progress I made today.

Started with the bottom:

 

[VCCruzr]

More Pictures

I got lucky and was able to purchase the bolts and the custom made pressed washers that Steve (619TOY) made. Bluetribal posted them in the classifiieds recently.

 

[VCCruzr]

More progress

Continued with the main box. I am making this with the top removable. I am putting blind nuts ( tee nuts ) on the underside of strips of plywood on top of the sides and center divider. That way, the top will be screwed down and can be removed for easy access to the 4 bolts that hold the whole box down:

 

[VCCruzr]

Moving forward

So I have the main box complete and have all the drawer pieces cut. I am waiting for the drawer slides (36" 500lbs) and my southco paddle latches to be delivered before I proceed with the assembly of the drawers. More to come......

 

[hawkeye]

Looking really good!

 

[greentruck]

I'd say you retained your wood-working chops well. Looks great.

 

[80BajaBound]

looks great Derrick.

 

[justbecause]

-subscribing-

 

[VCCruzr]

Thanks for the comments. I am thinking of finishing this off with a coat of Al's Liner. I have seen good results on cruiser's, rims, etc. Does anyone have any experience with using it on wood? I would think I could put a good coat of primer on and spray away. Any opinions would be appreciated.

EDIT: I did a little research and found that AL's can be directly applied to wood without any primer.

Derrick

 

[hawkeye]

What kind of slides are you using?

 

[VCCruzr]

What kind of slides are you using?

Amazon.com: Drawer Slide, Full Extension, 36 in., Heavy Duty, 500 lb. Capacity, Zinc: Home Improvement


These were the only kind I could find in stock. Anything I could find 36" long and in the 200-300lb range are out of stock and not expected until the end of April. I didn't want to wait that long and these might be overkill but I like the motto "you can never overbuild anything". I don't think I'll have to worry about longevity with these 500lb'ers.

 

[VCCruzr]

Hardware arrived!!!

My Southco latches arrived midweek and the FedEx guy showed up with my drawer slides an hour before quitting time on Friday. I was pretty stoked because I wasn't expecting them until Monday. Anyway this just means more progress this weekend. So, as of today, this is the progress I have made. First, was cutting in & mounting the latches on the drawers. I found a pdf online but didn't have any mounting directions. It shows a max door panel thickness of 3/8" and I have 3/4" ply so more router work. Also figured out how these mount up. Always figured they scewed from the inside but these are held on by a bracket which pulls the latch tight against the drawer face. I had to router out ears on either side of the inside of the latch opening to make this work. Here are more pics:

 

[VCCruzr]

More Pictures

Latch installed. Take note, that the ears for the mounting bracket and the notch for the strike and are routered to a depth of 3/8".

 

[VCCruzr]

Drawers & Top Complete

I assembled the drawers using wood glue and a brad nailer then checked for square. I then followed up with wood screws and checked for square again.....nailed it! (no pun intended). When I made the drawers, I slotted the sides for drawer dividers, an idea I got from other designs. I did mine out of 1/2" ply and drilled & routered a finger pull in each one for easy removal.

I also got the top of the box cut but not mounted. What a major PITA that was. I made cardboard templates of the curves on the inside of the cargo area and then transferred and made my cuts. When I went to place the top in, I couldn't get it to fit . I wanted a tight fit for this top (1/8" less than actual width: 59-1/2"). I tried through the back hatch at a diagonal-not even close. I tried through the middle row with the seats down, a little closer but still a no go. I thought I was going to have to do a 2 piece top when I realized that if I removed the bolted down drawer box, that I'd have more room to angle the top in. Unbolted and removed the box only to find out it was still an inch too long
One last idea, trim a half inch off the side of the top and remove the upper corner plastic molding.......voila, mission accomplished..finally! This gets the top in first, then I have to raise it and slide the bottom in underneath. This leaves about a 1/4" to 3/8" gap on both sides but at least I got to keep it in one piece.

Hopefully tomorrow I will mount the slides on the drawers. To be cont...Now its time for a !!!

 

[gtfour43]

Awesome work! Got any pics with the seat down?

 

[Bluetribal]

You might find that you don't need the dividers full height. This way you don't have to open the drawer all the way to access stuff from behind them. But this is an easy fix you can do after you use it a few times out on the trail.

OH and DON'T forget to notch the top piece for the latch strikes before you mount it to the box. I did and I was lucky my flex arm dremel fit and held out just long enough to make a crude but effective notch.

 

[Dave 2000]

Real nice, I get all fired up to go out and have a go myself and then remember my school effort at woodwork, it was a small fish on a stand.....mother was very impressed. I may have a go but I am not so sure of my capabilities, your set up is real cool though.

regards

Dave

 

[car-car]

Derrick, those are coming along nicely! Excellent work.

 

[retrofive]

Awesome craftsmanship, look forward the final product

 

[VCCruzr]

Close to the finish

Today's progess took most of the day but it was all the little tedious things - bondo screw holes, cut in & mount the cargo tie-downs, mount the drawer slides, add the filler blocks on each side of the drawer fronts, router all edges with 1/8th" round-over bit, and of course sanding. All I have left is to cut in an access hatch on both sides behind the wheelwell and then it's time for the paint & a coat of AL's Liner. I will still have to complete my structural support for the cargo tie-downs and I have a design in mind but will post that later when complete.

Awesome work! Got any pics with the seat down?

Thanks! I will get some pictures when I reinstall the drawers after paint.

You might find that you don't need the dividers full height. This way you don't have to open the drawer all the way to access stuff from behind them. But this is an easy fix you can do after you use it a few times out on the trail.

OH and DON'T forget to notch the top piece for the latch strikes before you mount it to the box.

Mark,
That's funny you mentioned the drawer dividers, I had cut them down about 1-1/4" today to make room for longer narrow objects (like my spare CB antenna). Also I have strike plates that I will be scewing into the top of the box, plus I have designed this storage system with a removable top so I can remove easily.

Real nice, I get all fired up to go out and have a go myself and then remember my school effort at woodwork, it was a small fish on a stand.....mother was very impressed. I may have a go but I am not so sure of my capabilities, your set up is real cool though.

regards

Dave

Thanks Dave! It is threads like this one I am doing that got me motivated to do this. I have not done any woodworking since 10th grade almost 30 years ago but I decided to just dive in. Just remember, "measure twice cut once". I re-read alot of these drawer/storage threads to gain a little confidence, and like I posted early on, this design is pretty much a copy of 619TOY's. I just wanted to post what I am doing to help others in any way possible. Pictures speak a thousand words, so I post as many as I can.

Derrick, those are coming along nicely! Excellent work.

Thanks Adam!

Awesome craftsmanship, look forward the final product

Thanks retrofive! I too am looking forward to finishing.


Here are a few pictures for the day, but it was getting dark.