Boatmonkey
Observer
Looks great! What material did you use? Thanks.
Post up your drawer/storage system
- Thread starter neliconcept
- Start date
Victory_Overland
Explorer
Thanks a million!
Custom welded aluminum frame; mostly 1" square and a few larger at the base. The frame is super light and came out pretty much the way I wanted it thanks to my buddy's fab skills.
The top is King Starboard; it's used in most marine applications and will outlast the vehicle by about 6000 years. The downfall is that Starboard is heavy, heavier than plywood for sure, but less maintenance and more durable IMO. Since I shaved so much weight on factory LR weight cutting, I could afford a few pounds in the rack and still come in nicely. Once the slider is complete, I'll take it all out and weigh the final product.
All of my projects, weights, specs, etc are on my build page!
Overlandtowater
Well-known member
Not done but almost there. 
Finally put the drawers and fold out bed extension in this evening.
Still got a couple of things to tidy up but really happy with how it has turned out considering it has been built on my kitchen floor.
I’ve got loads of photos of the build because I’ve not done anything this involved before and have been making loads of notes from the point of view of a newbie so when I get chance I’ll upload that and put a link to it.
Still got a couple of things to tidy up but really happy with how it has turned out considering it has been built on my kitchen floor.
I’ve got loads of photos of the build because I’ve not done anything this involved before and have been making loads of notes from the point of view of a newbie so when I get chance I’ll upload that and put a link to it.
Attachments
I’ve got some van lining carpet left and wondering whether I should use it to line the inside of the two drawers or maybe just cover the drawer bases.
Has anyone any thoughts on carpet lined drawers?
I know drifta like them and they’re pretty clued up on how best to build drawers.
I’m thinking it would help cushion the contents when it’s bouncing around while off roading but not sure if the carpet will be hard to clean if anything spills in there or whatever. I’m probably going to use some sort of packing cubes bags in the drawers to organise stuff though.
Has anyone any thoughts on carpet lined drawers?
I know drifta like them and they’re pretty clued up on how best to build drawers.
I’m thinking it would help cushion the contents when it’s bouncing around while off roading but not sure if the carpet will be hard to clean if anything spills in there or whatever. I’m probably going to use some sort of packing cubes bags in the drawers to organise stuff though.
s.e.charles
Well-known member
try it on the bottoms without adhesive
Victory_Overland
Explorer
yeah, completely agree with @s.e.charles; you wanna be able to pull those babies out to shake out like gold pads.......
moderndaynorseman
Active member
You could use velcro pads in the corners for the best of both worlds. Stays down during use but still removable for cleaning.
Victory_Overland
Explorer
Touche'
s.e.charles
Well-known member
just make sure it's "expedition grade" Velcro. we don't want any incidents out in the field.
I did take the suggestion on board but decided to go with stuck down carpet for three reasons.
I wasn’t sure that I’d always have enough stuff in the drawers for them to hold carpet in place that wasn’t firmly stuck in place.
Someone suggested that bags and things can be stuck in place by adding Velcro to the bottom of them to stick them to the carpet lining, and I thought this might work better if the carpet wasn’t firmly stuck in place.
With the carpet stuck in place, the drawers look really tidy and I like the look.
I’ll probably keep a couple of bags or something in the drawers so that if I do need to put anything dirty in the drawers that wouldn’t be able to go in a packing cube/bag then it can go in one of these bags instead to help keep the carpet looking reasonable.
I wasn’t sure that I’d always have enough stuff in the drawers for them to hold carpet in place that wasn’t firmly stuck in place.
Someone suggested that bags and things can be stuck in place by adding Velcro to the bottom of them to stick them to the carpet lining, and I thought this might work better if the carpet wasn’t firmly stuck in place.
With the carpet stuck in place, the drawers look really tidy and I like the look.
I’ll probably keep a couple of bags or something in the drawers so that if I do need to put anything dirty in the drawers that wouldn’t be able to go in a packing cube/bag then it can go in one of these bags instead to help keep the carpet looking reasonable.
Attachments
Overlandtowater
Well-known member
Maybe my tool roll and stuff 
wont kill me in a roll over now
wont kill me in a roll over nowGot my own storage build going on at the moment - still a WIP, but when finished it will accommodate 50l water, pump, fridge with tilt or drop slide, etc... having fun learning as i go!
www.expeditionportal.com
Specky's 2014 Isuzu Dmax - now with storage build
Progress has been slower than expected but the carcass is getting there. The heavy duty drawer slides arrived yesterday - man, those things are weighty! cut the top sheet of 15mm CD ply to size this afternoon, and two 15mm x 30mm ply rails for the wings to sit on top of.
www.expeditionportal.com
diy_overlanders
New member
A while back I started looking to better organize the cargo area of my 3rd Gen to make getting ready for camping trips a little easier. I spent a lot of time combing thru forums to get ideas, but having some cabinetry background I wasn't a total fan of an all wood build. After doing some research on different materials I landed on Aluminum Extrusions and set out to design a drawer system for my 3rd Gen 4Runner. I wanted it to be as light as possible, be able to hold several hundred pounds and be configurable (to a degree).
So I dusted off my CAD skills and went to work. But a funny thing happened as the months ticked by I realized I was designing something that took minimal tools to assemble, didn't require an advanced skillset to construct and was sort of modular with a lot of possibilities for adding additional features (ie, sleeping platform, anchor systems, etc). With the help of a buddy and his CNC Machine I came up with this DIY Kit for the 3rd Gen 4Runner.
So I dusted off my CAD skills and went to work. But a funny thing happened as the months ticked by I realized I was designing something that took minimal tools to assemble, didn't require an advanced skillset to construct and was sort of modular with a lot of possibilities for adding additional features (ie, sleeping platform, anchor systems, etc). With the help of a buddy and his CNC Machine I came up with this DIY Kit for the 3rd Gen 4Runner.