Project JKURV

[Boat.man]

Project JKURV Is underway!
Going to replace my old drawer system and remove the back seat along with anything else that I can do to shed weight. Then build a custom storage system using birch plywood and then fiberglass the whole thing. If all goes well I may make molds then build the entire project out of fiberglass... no wood! But that’s down the road.
Here is the start!

The old system started with a file cabinet and some plywood. It served me well but it is time for something more custom!

Time to gut the interior!



All cleaned up and ready to get to work!



Trying a couple ideas out



My first thought was to have a drawer full with that used the angle of the opening



It did not work like I hoped, The angle makes it very difficult to access behind it

 

[Boat.man]

Now time for the main box for the fridge and drawers.



There is going to be 2-3 drawers on the right side, then I am going to build a pullout shelf across the top!










So I decided to redo the front box and made it square. My thinking is like a basement in an RV, I am planning on making a full length drawer that can be accessed from either side push-pull


Now I think I will add this shelf with a hinge to give access below


Pretty good start for the 1st day! still a ton to do. once it is all built I am going to blow it all apart and cut/ drill holes in it to loose weight.
Then a couple coats of fiberglass resin and couple layers of mat.

My hope is that the storage system empty will weigh about the same or less than the back seat and hardware I removed!

 

[Dan Grec]

Nice, that's going to be awesome! After over 2.5 years full-time, I'm still extremely happy with mine.

-Dan

 

[rustypayne]

Following along, I like the idea of the push-pull "basement" drawer you're doing for the back seat area.

 

[Boat.man]

Got a chance to get some work done today!
mostly on the "basement drawer"



I decided to open the bottom and front to have access to more storage!



Thats it for today!

 

[Yuke]

Looks great. My only concern is all the weight.

 

[Boat.man]

I made a lot of progress on the rear compartment yesterday!
I went with 24” roller bearing slides and made 3 drawers. 8”,6” and a 3” the fridge slide is 31” so I put a shelf and a couple openings behind the drawers.

 

[Boat.man]

Now for my favorite idea! The whole top is going to be a sliding shelf! I hate having to dig threw piles of gear to get the one thing you need and of course it’s always on the bottom!

 

[Boat.man]

I am looking for some aluminum or plastic mesh to go around the shelf to keep stuff from falling out. Any ideas would be great!

 

[Boat.man]

Still a lot of fine tuning to do. Then I am planning on going crazy with a hole saw and cut out as much weight as possible.

So far I am very happy with how it is turning out. Very low profile and the weight was not to bad for what it is. Still have a couple more tricks I want to try, stay tuned!

 

[GB_Willys_2014]

Fantastic work. Very impressive.

 

[Boat.man]

Fabrication is done!

Been cutting and drilling like crazy!



I decided to drill holes in the sides instead of completely opening then up so I can pile gear along the outside



Mid shelf will have a hing along the front to gain access below






Top shelf complete went with 3 slides to carry the load

 

[Boat.man]

Very low profile.

So much more to do! But there is light at the end of the tunnel!

 

[Boat.man]

access to the in floor storage area

 

[X-plorenow]

Looking really nice.