Why buy instead of build?
I've seen many drawer systems made from wood that look amazing and fit PERFECTLY with all kinds of cool features and honestly those are probably better. I am perfectly capable of building one and have all the necessary tools to do so, what I don't have is the free time to do it the way I would want to. With the time it would take me to build it plus the material cost I honestly think this unit is a great alternative. Now if someone doesn't have a full time job, wife, kids, dogs, house, etc. to take care of then building one would be the way to go. Buying something that is meant to be universal will always require some compromises but I honestly think there are only a couple with this option.
The drawer itself:
The drawer is made by Better Built and available from many online retailers but I got mine from
Northern Tool as they had the best price I could find plus they always seem to have an online coupon code available. I have one of their aluminum diamond plate tool boxes mounted on my utility trailer and it's very well built and has held up great to sitting outside in the Pacific Northwest for the last 2 years.
The drawer unit arrived in a heavy duty box inside another heavy duty box and in perfect condition. The entire package was right about 50 lbs but the drawer itself weighs only about 20 lbs, very well packaged. The handle/lock that comes on it seems to be somewhat inconsistent from posted pics and even from the different sites selling the drawer. I'm happy to report that mine arrived with yet another style of handle/latch but one that seems very well built. The lock cylinder is behind the handle when in the stowed position so you have to flip it up to access the lock then turn it 90° to open the drawer. When you rotate the latch into the closed position it holds the drawer closed and when you flip the handle down to the stowed position it pulls the rubber covered bolt forward for a tight fit (eliminating rattling of the latch when closed).
Total Outside dimensions are 37" wide x 26" deep x 10.5" tall for a total volume of 10101 cu. in.
Drawer inside dimensions are 32.75" wide x 25.5" deep x 6.375" tall for a total volume of 5324 cu. in.
This means that the you're able to use just over 50% of the total volume it takes up for actual cargo. I'm not sure how that compares to the other options out there, i'm sure if you were to DIY you could get that percentage up quite a bit.
To mount the drawer I did a modified take on what a couple others here have done, a goal was to mount it very solid but also somewhat easy to remove if/when necessary:
- Remove the rear most d-rings from the floor of the cargo area.
- Replace the bolts with a shouldered M6 x 1.0 bolt and washer.
- Use a 3/8" tall spacer and a washer on top to create the "shoulder", looks kinda like a tiny mushroom when bolted into the floor.
- Drill and bolt the removed D-rings to the rear of the drawer box, ring facing down with new nuts/bolts.
- With some cardboard make a template to transfer the location of the threaded holes in the floor where the cargo hooks were to the bottom of the unit.
- Using a step drill and a file drill/cut 2 keyhole slots in the bottom of the unit with the small side of the slot over the previously marked locations and facing the rear of the vehicle, the aluminum drills and files very easily.
- Set the unit in the cargo area, make sure the posts line up with the keyhole slots, then push it toward the front of the vehicle to set it into the slots of the keyhole. Adjust the slots with the file if necessary.
- If the unit still moves up/down at the keyholes the bolts shoulder is too tall, shorten the spacer until you get a tight fit.
- Using a 4" turnbuckle with hooks on both ends attach the newly mounted d-rings to the remaining ones in the floor.
- The turnbuckles pull the box toward the front of the FJ, locking the posts into the keyhole slot.
- To remove the box loosen the turnbuckles, slide the box back and lift it off the posts.
The fit is great, like it was built for the FJ. With the unit set onto the posts and the turnbuckles tight the drawer sits about 1/4 inch from the sloped trim behind the seat and about 1 inch from the door threshold. For the sides there is enough space on the right (passenger) to access the inverter plug and in my case also a 12v and USB setup I have above it. I have a 90° connector for my fridge cable so if needed I should be fine. On the left side (drivers) you can get to the jack compartment but the jack won't be able to be removed without removing the entire unit. If you have the Springtail Solutions door rack with MPAC bags mounted they sit high enough to clear the unit by about just about 1 inch. I had to re-position and tighten mine up to get the clearance, if hanging too low they actually hit the drawer and prevent the door from closing.
The price is currently $329.99 and shipping to here in WA was about $30. I found a coupon code that basically covered the shipping. When I checked out it said the item would ship in 23 - 25 days but it was at my door in about 7 days so perhaps they aren't made to order anymore.
I picked up a large sheet of 2 1/4" Kaizen foam for organizing the tools in a way that will hopefully keep them from making too much noise. The foam is fused together in 1/8" layers and once you trace and cut a shape out to a certain depth you can peel out the layers somewhat easily. Overall it took me a couple hours to finish and I'm happy with the way it all came out. I just put it back in the FJ so we'll see if it works the way I hoped. It leaves enough space to still fit straps, my tire plug kit and a few other things on top of the foam.
My friends think I'm way too OCD but I really just don't want to hear everything that's back there. I have a chunk of it left and I'm sure I'll find something cool to use it for. Hope this helps anyone out there that wanted a drawer setup but either can't build one or just would rather not.