Looking for a new radical drawer system for my Discovery 2

TRIARII

Adventurer
I own a Discovery 2 and recently removed the second row seat assembly in order to maximize cargo/camper space in the rear. Next line of business is a lightweight yet strong half drawer system that stretches from behind the front passenger seat all to way back to the cargo door. I have a bed setup that utlizes the driver side stretching from behind front driver seat to the cargo door. I want to be able to open the drawers from inside the rig without having to open the cargo door and the top of the drawer system needs to second as a strong counter top. Drawers need a locking mechanism.

Least this is my vision for a drawer system. Wondering if anything like it exists or could be made and purchased here in the states.

PS: I tried this plastic sterilite drawer set x2 from walmart but the lids and fram cracked in first week of use.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Sterilite-3-Drawer-Wide-Cart-White/8282897
 

rayra

Expedition Leader
what do you mean when you use the phrase "half drawer system"


As to the rest I submit my own project for your consideration.

http://forum.expeditionportal.com/threads/161631-Storage-Drawers-Platform-for-my-GMT800-Suburban-WIP

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MLu

Adventurer
Well now... to clarify; you only have the two front seats left, a permanently mounted sleeping platform of some sort behind the driver, and are looking for a piece of furniture with drawers that would be mounted along the passenger (right) side of the vehicle, with the drawers opening inwards towards the middle of the vehicle?

Want a radical idea? Take a few of these, some expo-rated paint and a few screws and a simple latch to keep the drawers from opening when driving. A thin sheet of painted ply on top as a counter.
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90286649/
 

TRIARII

Adventurer
Thanks and that is correct. A drawer system mounted on the passenger side extending from behind the front passenger seat, all the way to the cargo door with drawers that open inwards. The point behind this design is to be able to open the drawers from inside the truck without the need to open the rear cargo door. This system is better suited for the colder climates I live in. Wondering if anyone makes affordable custom drawer systems or if any exist that are what Im looking for.
 

rayra

Expedition Leader
Dont think you'll find one pre-made that way, easy to build one though. Lots of useful ideas for such a build in this subforum. You might also consider top hatches as well as drawers, for ease of use when various things are loaded in the vehicle. That way you get access either way. I built a hatch in my own for access to essential / recovery tools, when I might be unable to open my Liftgate. The same sort of thing would work for what you desire.
You might advertise or look locally for someone to build you what you want, if you are unwilling or incapable of building it yourself. I could build it, but shipping costs would be greater than the material costs.

Check with member boll_rig, he's already working on an idea much as you describe, to add to his Pop-top Suburban.
 

TRIARII

Adventurer
Rayra: I dont have the time or access to the shop space and specialty tools required to manufacture said drawer system. If the price was reasonable I would consider paying cash for a custom design. Im very interested in the aluminum extrusion t slot as a lightweight yet strong building material. The drawer system could be manufactured in such a way that it can be partially disassembled for shipment then easily reassembled in my truck with basic tools. The counter top surface of the drawer system should be very strong and flat. The drawers should have a stupid simple locking mechanism so to prevent drawers opening while the rig is trekking over uneven terrain.

If you have the capabilities to construct the system for me then Id be happy to talk more in detail about the design and see what we can arrange. Free free to send me a PM.
 

MLu

Adventurer
There are companies that outfit service trucks, ambulances and all kinds of work vans. I tried to find something on your side of the pond - something like this: http://rangerdesign.com/

I've looked at the kind of solutions offered around here, and some of them are pretty neat... although usually really expensive, and mostly built to a specific van. The shelving and drawer systems companies like that sell are not, however, all custom made, but they often sell products from a number of different manufacturers. Looking into those could perhaps be one idea?
 

454

Exploder
Wow.

sterilite-3-drawer-wide-cart-white_1958.jpg


You're going from this to a drawer with several competing requirements. Strong and light. Ability to access the drawer without opening the cargo door or the top of the drawer. And you want it done, I can only guess, on the cheap. There is no such thing as an affordable custom drawer system.

I would suggest that you invest in some Action Packers and some ratchet straps.
 
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Lono

Adventurer
Wondering if anyone makes affordable custom drawer systems or if any exist that are what Im looking for.

The term "affordable custom drawer systems" is an oxymoron of biblical proportions. Multiply the $17.00 cost of those plastic bins you bought by a factor of 100 and you'll be in the neighborhood of what you'll pay for a "radical" custom drawer system. A local carpenter or cabinetmaker will be your best bet.
 

MLu

Adventurer
Just out of general principle, I'm going to disagree and say that there most definitely IS something that can be called an "affordable custom drawer system". The caveat is you need to do a hell of a lot of real-world and cyberspace leg work, and a lot of figuring out, planning and innovating. And probably quite a bit of DIY and hours of sitting in your car with a tape measure scratching your head. I'd say this very forum is proof that people with too much time on their hands and their head screwed on just a little crooked can make incredible things.

But yeah, having someone else make custom stuff on the cheap probably isn't gonna happen.
 

Lono

Adventurer
Just out of general principle, I'm going to disagree and say that there most definitely IS something that can be called an "affordable custom drawer system". The caveat is you need to do a hell of a lot of real-world and cyberspace leg work, and a lot of figuring out, planning and innovating. And probably quite a bit of DIY and hours of sitting in your car with a tape measure scratching your head. I'd say this very forum is proof that people with too much time on their hands and their head screwed on just a little crooked can make incredible things.

But yeah, having someone else make custom stuff on the cheap probably isn't gonna happen.

He wasn't asking about DIY options, ("Wondering if anyone makes affordable custom drawer systems.") and specifically said he had neither the time nor the resources to make his own, and went on to ask Rayra about building something for him. That's what I was addressing.

That being said, given that his baseline attempt at a solution was a $17.00 piece of plastic from Walmart, I'm guessing even the cost of materials for a quality DIY build might be an issue here.
 

rayra

Expedition Leader
It could be done as a design meant to be flat-packed and shipped, a la various products from places like IKEA. But the weight would make it costly. The shipping costs would easily exceed the material costs. And eats up much room for profit for the builder. I'd happily help design something for you, I've always got plenty of ideas. The trick is making it fit well without access to the vehicle. Parts could be made with a 'trim to fit' excess, but if the end-customer has the skill and basic hand tools to do that, they already have what they need to make the thing in the first place.

It could be built as a 'flat pack' design using the same sort of 'barrel nut' hardware used by IKEA and other flat-pack office furniture brands.

th


And done in 1/2" plywood / birch equivalent. And with your pattern of drawers there could be vertical dividers which would make the top deck more than sturdy enough to serve as a bench or sleeping platform, using all 1/2" material. Then the question is securing it to the vehicle. In my own design I used existing tie-down bolt locations and removable seat attachment brackets. How do I do that remotely?

I could get close enough in the overall design if you were to trace a floor pattern using some craft paper or leftover roll ow wrapping paper. Lay out your centerline - or whatever line you want your drawer faces on - tape one edge of the paper to that, then flatten out the paper to the sidewall of the space, working it into the edge where floor meets vertical surface and putting pen or marker to that line. The just fold up that pattern and mail it to me, and take a bunch of photographs of the interior location in the vehicle from a bunch of angles I'd ask for, so I can ensure a closer fitment. Then I could build the box / platform / drawers in a manner that could be broken down flat again. And take a series of assembly instruction sequence photographs. I've done it before on other projects. It's a lot of work but it isn't technically difficult. My last such effort was a pair of redwood picnic tables that folded up into benches, which I shipped to Texas.

picnicbench21_zpsuiifp7ky.jpg
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Not the first time I've done such a thing.
There's a link in my sig for a bunch of other woodworking stuff I've done, besides my several 'building stuff from scratch' topics around here.

I can build what you want. Question is will it seem like an affordable value to you? My labor rates are cheap, I'm semi-retired and like working with wood. But like I've said, by the time it adds up you might think it's too costly. And there are certainly some better full-time cabinetry craftsman who have shown their work here who might do a better job for you. Albeit a more expensive one.

I'm willing to do the work if you want to try it. We can work some arrangement out. I'll sketch up a couple design ideas tonight. And my 'building' time is booked up for the next several weeks, I've got some more tiling work out of town and a neighbor's bathroom remodel to do. But can be available to build this for you around the end of May. ish. Won't take long once it actually begins.

So think about what you want it to look like, what sort of surface finishes you want it to have, what sort of functionality you want out of it. Figure out the total height and width.
I'm already picturing a series of drawers, a box body that is like a series of cubbyholes, a deck that is hinged in two halves, so you can access the drawer contents from above, if the floor is full of gear and the drawers can't be opened, and putting the drawers on runners you could even have a pull out table at the rear, similar to my own design. It would be nestled under the drawers and the drawer dividers would bridge over the pull-out.
 
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rayra

Expedition Leader
Looks like your cargo area is roughly 53"x44" with the 2nd row stowed, no idea how much more is gained by removing them or how such a drawer module would bridge over the gap where the seat used to be? Would you want the piece to extend all the way forward to the back side of the front seat? In its rearmost and reclined position?

And with a 44" width and your sleeping on the floor next to the drawers, can't really split it down the middle, 22" doesn't seem like much room for sleeping. Nor does the bedding leave much room for opening the drawers. So do you make the drawer section narrower for sleeping next to it, or do you make it wider and sleep on top of it? Turn the whole thing into a sort of bench that you can sit on. Depends on your height / comfort and how deep/tall you want the drawers to me. You've got 40"? of factory height, less the height of the drawers, I guess scratch the sitting upright on it idea.

4 drawers would be about 13" wide. Or 3 drawers roughly 17". Or 3 with a 60/20/20 split maybe. Call it a 30" drawer and (2) at 12".

231_LR_Discovery_2_Quilted_seats_down_large.jpg



Given the protruding wheel well, it might be a better idea to make a wide drawer that matches the wheel well layout, wide and shallow depth (from drawer face to wheel well) and then make the other drawers deeper, in the areas fore and aft of the wheel well.

OR consider making the rearmost drawer open out the rear. While the others open towards the centerline.

Lots of possibilities.
 

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