SHW Ultralight Drawers?

[Rednexus]

Has anyone tried these?

GX470 Ultralite Drawer System | SHW Offroad

The ultimate overland drawer system for your Lexus GX470.

shwoffroad.com

They look to be a lighter (and cheaper) alternative than Dobinsons or other metal drawers. I was going to DIY a set of drawers out of birch plywood but this option would be marginally more expensive when the cost of buying some more woodworking tools is considered. I am not going to be using them for heavy overlanding; one side will be tools and recovery gear; the other side will hold gear for whatever trip I am going on. Right now this is contained in a plastic tote in the back of my GX. I am also wanting the drawers to function as a sleeping platform.

 

[Jstawgn]

It's a really good option. Wesley Harville makes good stuff. Made in Kentucky and shipped to nearest truck freight terminal to keep cost down.

I don't have drawer system as I need something that can be easily taken out. Sleeping platform works better for me.
For full time Overlander drawer system would be very handy to have.

 

[Rednexus]

I had asked them questions regarding the drawer dimensions and they let me know they are running a sale this weekend. Just pulled the trigger on a ultralight drawer set with the full sleeping platform. Got them in raw wood, and will stain and polyurethane the drawers to match my rear door table (similar color as the OEM Lexus wood trim) and then carpet the top of the drawers and platform to roughly match the OEM beige/tan carpet. Will update my build thread as I finish and install them.

 

[NMCamperLX470]

I had asked them questions regarding the drawer dimensions and they let me know they are running a sale this weekend. Just pulled the trigger on a ultralight drawer set with the full sleeping platform. Got them in raw wood, and will stain and polyurethane the drawers to match my rear door table (similar color as the OEM Lexus wood trim) and then carpet the top of the drawers and platform to roughly match the OEM beige/tan carpet. Will update my build thread as I finish and install them.

Just stumbled across SHW stuff myself, the ultralite seem like a good deal. Eyeing one for my LX.

 

[Rednexus]

I'll let you know when they are installed. Felt weird dropping almost $1k on something unknown, but maybe its a better bet thst trusting my questionable woodworking skills on DIYing a set

 

[Rednexus]

The drawers are in! I'll be finishing them over the next few weeks/month, and documeting the process in my build thread.

 

[efjayatee]

I have the ultralite in my Sequioa and I was a bit dissapointed. I feel they overlooked at the anchoring points. The drawers were so close to the side walls that it does not allow the straps winch to work. My top wings were also supposed to be screwed onto the drawers which restricted me to have access to the side cubbies.

 

[Rednexus]

After having mine for some time, the strap hold-downs to the OEM anchor points kind of suck. They are difficult to install (snaking under the drawers and then trying to tighten in some very contorted spaces), and made the drawers loose (no way to really get them fully cinched down). I built a lower platform for mine out of pine boards, brad nailed it to the drawers, and bolted the whole thing to the OEM anchor point bolt locations in my GX, which makes them much more solid and 5X easier to install/remove.

I also didn't install mine quite right initially, the bottom rear lip was unsupported on the right side due to the drawers being perched up on the factory tie-down points, and they started coming apart where the lip met the verticals. This was 100% my fault; I repaired it with some Gorilla Glue and a few more brads, and built the platform to support the entire lower lip.

Otherwise the quality of the drawers is pretty good, on par with high-end custom cabinets, and they added a lot of functionality to my GX. I am happy with them for the price and they meet my DD/tow rig/outdoor adventure/light overlanding vehicle needs just fine. Just don't expect them to be as robust/solid as metal drawers (which I'd recommend for heavy use; the 200# weight penalty and $2K price tag was just too much for me and my usage).

 

[efjayatee]

To their defense they are new to the game and there will be learning curbs. They rely on our feed backs rather than conducting their own R&D. In time they will figure it out. If I were to do it agsin, I'd go with KISS system (110lbs)

 

[Rednexus]

To their defense they are new to the game and there will be learning curbs. They rely on our feed backs rather than conducting their own R&D. In time they will figure it out. If I were to do it agsin, I'd go with KISS system (110lbs)

I'd definitely drop them an email if you have not. I gave them some feedback on the wood grain (some of mine was pointing different directions). My set is way nicer than I could have ever built with my woodworking skills and tools. Had I better woodworking stills I think it's possible to DIY a set of these for around $500.

 

[efjayatee]

Just to be clear to everyone that finds this thread. SHW's workmanship is not in question. When I started looking for a drawer system, SHW checked all my boxes....(light, price, free shipping, simplicity and eye candy). It was just that my expectation was not the same as my Big Country drawers from Rugged Bound that I have on my FZJ80.
SHW may work for others that does typical overlanding but it does not work for me because of the "anchoring" issue.

 

[WGHARV0]

Just to be clear to everyone that finds this thread. SHW's workmanship is not in question. When I started looking for a drawer system, SHW checked all my boxes....(light, price, free shipping, simplicity and eye candy). It was just that my expectation was not the same as my Big Country drawers from Rugged Bound that I have on my FZJ80.
SHW may work for others that does typical overlanding but it does not work for me because of the "anchoring" issue.

Don't know how I missed this thread, I am the owner of SHW Offroad. Glad to see some feedback. For anyone else that is reading this, this is for our ultralite system, it is for a more price conscience system, we also have our expedition series which has a lot more bells and whistles and is more comparable to other $2000 plus systems. @efjayatee I agree on the mounting points and the wings on the Sequoia. On the expedition we had a larger bottom to bolt to the floor using factory locations but in an effort to save weight on the ultralite we tried using the strap method we used on other systems and frankly it didn't work as well as I had hoped. It does on some vehicles but the sequoia and a few others just didn't work out as well. We have redesigned the sequoia baseplate to use a little more wood but to utilize factory bolts. The wings on a the sequoia are still an issue, we are actually considering a couple changes to the wings but it will raise the cost some. The wings are too small to use the hinges we use on other wings and there isn't enough room to add a support and still be able to have access to the storage. We are considering adding piano hinges on each side, They will still be very small and not leave much access to the pockets but at least its something. Do you have an opinion on this?

 

[WGHARV0]

After having mine for some time, the strap hold-downs to the OEM anchor points kind of suck. They are difficult to install (snaking under the drawers and then trying to tighten in some very contorted spaces), and made the drawers loose (no way to really get them fully cinched down). I built a lower platform for mine out of pine boards, brad nailed it to the drawers, and bolted the whole thing to the OEM anchor point bolt locations in my GX, which makes them much more solid and 5X easier to install/remove.

I also didn't install mine quite right initially, the bottom rear lip was unsupported on the right side due to the drawers being perched up on the factory tie-down points, and they started coming apart where the lip met the verticals. This was 100% my fault; I repaired it with some Gorilla Glue and a few more brads, and built the platform to support the entire lower lip.

Otherwise the quality of the drawers is pretty good, on par with high-end custom cabinets, and they added a lot of functionality to my GX. I am happy with them for the price and they meet my DD/tow rig/outdoor adventure/light overlanding vehicle needs just fine. Just don't expect them to be as robust/solid as metal drawers (which I'd recommend for heavy use; the 200# weight penalty and $2K price tag was just too much for me and my usage).

View attachment 3244391

We tried to save weight by removing as much wood as possible but in the end it ended up not working as well as we had hoped. We are currently redesigning all products where the straps go under the box. and adding a little more wood and will bolt in to the factory tie down points when possible. BTW, the stain looks awesome. any pics with the drawers in the box? I also love the tool storage below. We sell Kaizen foam to do that in the drawers but it never occured to me to put some under the drawers!

 

[Rednexus]

Here you go. The bottom platform didn't seem to add more than a couple of pounds, so weight is NBD. The height also worked out pretty good after I pulled out most of the OEM padding/carpet (it is sitting on a layer of sound deadening I had put on top of the metal body pan). I don't mind modifying my gear so this was NBD for me. The tie-down anchors on the top I added are also working really well to hold down the carpet and strap down coolers and other gear when off-roading.

Still loving the setup over all and have slept in the GX a couple of times. Right now we're using the GX to tow our camper and the drawers are used to store wheel chocks, wood feet for the camper jacks, and the teardrop for raising/lowering the camper. Saves a ton of room in the back.

 

[Patassa]

Pending a positive resolution, if not, I'll detail my experience.

 

[Rednexus]

Mine older version drawers (which are fully assembled - looks like the new ones go together with T-nuts) are still doing well at Year 2.5, and the rig has been wheeled pretty hard. I'd say they were a pretty decent budget set of drawers for the $1K I paid for them. I've also loaded the top of them up with heavy coolers, parts, and other stuff, and they are solid. The sleeping platform part could use some improvement, as it will pop off of the front edge of the drawers if the rig isn't parked perfectly level. I'm going to engineer something that actually attaches the platform to the rear drawers, as it really sucks to have the platform pop off in the middle of the night .