3rd gen 4Runner drawer build

ferg101

New member
Hello all,

I believe this is my first contributing post to the forum so I thought I would share my drawer build


I wanted to build a drawer system that looked quality, fit my vehicle needs, and was in budget
Criteria
-looks professional (as my skills allow)
-fits the back cargo area and allows normal use of backseats
-lightweight

I wanted to originally use a syn sheet material that would be a lightweight and strong substitute for plywood. Most option I looked into were almost $300 for a 4x8' sheet which would put me way over budget.

I ended up building the box out of 3/4" birch plywood. I started to build out of 1/2" plywood but the panel flex was too much for my liking. To save what little weight I could, I used 4, 1x2s across the uprights as bottom supports instead of an entire panel. The middle upright is 1 piece of 3/4 that both slides attach. The drawer bottoms are 1/2" plywood.
Parts list
4x8 sheet of 3/4" birch plywood
4x4 sheet of 3/4" birch plywood
4x4 sheet of 1/2" birch plywood
4, kv 150lb ball bearing 30" slides
2, 3x5" satin black locking paddle latches
8, corner braces
2, ring mounts
2, turnbuckles
2 cans rustoleum bedliner
1qt behr ext satin black paint &a primer

The drawer assembly measures 39" wide and 38.5" deep.
It is wedged between the wheel tubs and has about 1/2" to spare to the rear hatch.
The body of the drawer assembly is painted with the behr and the drawers is painted with spray bedliner. The contrast between the two is a nice touch in my opinion.
The hardest part of the build for me was building this on my crooked, warped, and generally un-level back fire escape. The fit and finish is nice but the precision of some of the cuts and angles could be improved if i had a proper workshop to use.

The mat on top is temporary for now.
An 1/8" black diamond tread mat is going on the top along with stainless edge trim to protect the deck from loading and unloading cargo.
The turnbuckles are getting changed out for brackets that bolt to the floor. I wish I would've followed others and skipped the turnbuckles. They make that space basically unusable.

I can make a video over it in more detail once it is completely finished if people are interested.
I met most of my goals.
I built a box that fit my needs and that I am proud of the quality.
I was close but over budget slightly. I planned on $250 but spent $300 (over half the cost was the paddle latches and slides). I do have lots of parts, random brackets and a spare sheet of plywood I could return and probably make my goal.
It is heavy. Probably 75lbs to be honest and the 3/4" top deck is the main contributor.
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9ca57fc45ed15210bba9e144f928d56a.jpg
4c4f0c4e3900b8160f55686132538434.jpg
8166722653a3b62084eb9b54572a08e9.jpg


Overall I like it compared to a similarly sized goose or outback drawer for 20% of their price.
Hope this helps someone and any comments are welcome


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

jb10

New member
good work. what is the height?
also you said "1x2s across the uprights as bottom supports instead of an entire panel." have any pics of this frame before the drawers were put in?
i've been planning my drawer build for awhile and i'm finally going to get started on it this weekend.
 

ferg101

New member
good work. what is the height?
also you said "1x2s across the uprights as bottom supports instead of an entire panel." have any pics of this frame before the drawers were put in?
i've been planning my drawer build for awhile and i'm finally going to get started on it this weekend.

It's almost 11" tall.
I don't have any pictures of the bottom but there is no need for a full sheet on the bottom. As far as 1x2s, I put one at the front, one at the back, and two spaces in the middle.

On a side note, I have to rebuild it already. The slides were half my cost but there are coming apart already.
200# rated slides....


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

explorer87

New member
Great job on the build.

I’m curious what you used for a catch for the paddle latch? From what I’ve seen online there appears to be two different approaches for this that most people use: (1.) using a 90-degree mending brace that hangs down from the top and catches the paddle latch, or (2.) cutting a notch into the top board where the paddle latch can live when it's not engaged (similar to the way a door lock fits into a door jam). Which approach did you take? Can you share some photos?

I decided to go with the second approach - cutting a notch into the top board where the paddle latch can live when the drawer is shut. For this, I bought latch striker plates [1]. However, when I used Southco Paddle Latch that others have used, it didn't align - the area where the latch lives is too far to the front of the striker plate so that the curved area of the striker plate would interfere with my top board and I'd have to account for the curved area by having a gap in between the top board and the drawer front [2][3]. To solve for this, I had a piece of metal welded to the front of where the striker plate's hole is so that it would fit better [4][5][6].

[1] striker plate
fL4x6ZJIE6nGMptZ-3QCE5jR6zX25EE6YE2bXIjvA1k2BiNgNu2s_-ODEpuifTPqtUB37LZ9A0i3gymA8LOVmFWjmnYkpuS0B7Q8raVpxJK0AWBt4lesjh1U2UrBOCy3NR5fCeu1JeY7m56q_xnxCg4


[2] pre-weld
4NEcyVuLSo0dtfG4OhCpCnTyoHsupHdRcBy9JrA7otMNY0Iak6PblLu0We4OEVl_eaSixdyM2179XiP3H9GAXMMwhsy1Gc3TOpBVfUe0D4rh1zzw4_ttXioA8WcHmc2J6CfsOocrTPbHeA99pNRF_ew


[3] pre-weld
xhhrAtdG6m8vP9Rnmvgz4V0uV9G1ESjJIPeFQ1KrJLkHTOocf5_1MGjxT7H_2UslUwaFzaJ8AszDE413qDQM7cXKKoLW-bTcSrlRxCoPTxRqTwhr8IVGkRMQSq9RcfLcmdamzOsbGX235qVhfBts4FE


[4] before/after weld
nphXXzC_inzQfsS_AqSsk4ywBCylMHKFXYEj5HpYSy2t02v4Ht5rmcF6BAQrTEum9nbuUOsqZg0UpXSDSvV7vkdf8jujyN0n81PsNerMTPfbdNjJjqtOqnxaepIwAts6VpFzxe2dxrf1HkrCm0eTrXA


[5] after weld
lLrzoktp98t5e9qvXIuw3VfFSNpcOq7KMcurXrPg1zZ6h2mhlK1zZy4PGxPDxpzGh2ksPeUP0xyQmddD4ByaRHtQbF3iEBRVqgs2BUYf1pF_Vpv-QJOMoJ8Vk_cvHnj1jPmvFq9o9CKFBiJO8ro6l-M


[6] after weld
c0tX3wXX97rVw4gzcLVhKgyC7IaCgjTjJkGGIjf9ya1KFH28MKuhJTJ_EXVBeULfqEGm7u9YexIBd5wPKQ7QZIlvI2zZR7wQZNXynIIRk6RwR1jmEQS4N3oQIaUN6rk_L8U66Bb4njwM-tWK2VMTCvA


I'll add another post showing the final result.

Curious to learn what approach you took and how it's working.
 

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