To Drawers or not to Drawers

[zimm]

Haha, good point.

I do need something, as I now have a fridge and space is getting tight. A platform is probably the smart move, since it will be pretty cheap.

A.

i have the original outback products drawers. exceptional quality steel, but, not worth the investment in retrospect. everything i keep in them i could have kept in an easily removable box platform system that weighed less. now theres a foot less headroom for tall objects, and not only do the drawers weigh a ton, but emptying out all the recovery gear and tools is a pain, compared to cartons, so that stays in too. waste of space and weight capacity for a non dedicated overlander... its looks nice, though.

 

[carbon60]

everything i keep in them i could have kept in an easily removable box platform system that weighed less

What do you mean by that? I raised platform with boxes underneath?

A.

 

[johanso]

I lived out of my Land Cruiser 1 month this summer and it would have been a major hassle without drawers. It's so much easier to keep things in order and have easy access. I built my drawers myself from 12 mm marine plywood and some heavy duty drawer slides. In the drawers I keep clear plastic boxes that are easy to take in and out. The drawers/platform takes away some headroom but in my opinion well worth it.

 

[johanso]

As you can sort of see in this pic there is still decent room to sit up even in a smaller truck like mine.

 

[zimm]

What do you mean by that? I raised platform with boxes underneath?

A.

yea. keep it modular. the nice drawer systems bolt in and arnt really removable to accommodate a tall box or something.

 

[zimm]

As you can sort of see in this pic there is still decent room to sit up even in a smaller truck like mine.
View attachment 250641

contact MOT on Ih8mud. hes in japan and was able to supply me with toyota window bug screens. (10 years ago) if youre interested in that.

 

[MarcFJ60]

I have not done anything with my truck's storage, after all this time.

A platform with bins is probably less efficient than drawers, no?

I liked my drawers in my FZJ80, but they have drawbacks. They actually aren't totally efficient:

There's a lot of wasted space that gets taken up by the thickness of the drawers, the space for the slides, and a little more at the top and bottom. The plus side is that you can build your drawers to maximize that space, whereas with plastic bins you need to be a little lucky that they fit efficiently. If I could have found containers that fit well, it would have been cheaper, lighter, and every bit as useful. Probably wouldn't have looked as cool though! The inability to use the 3rd row without taking out a drawer was a drawback. And even though my system was modular, it really would have been a PITA to unload the drawer and remove one or both sides.

The overall design has a lot to do with it too. On my LC, by building the drawers at the same level as my wheel wells, I ended up with more flat, useable space to load. The 10" or so underneath wasn't really missed since I had more floor space. Another example would be if you kept an Action Packer in the back with your tools, etc in it. It can be a pain to load around a container like that. But if you could put the contents of the Action Packer under a 2" raised floor, you could pretty much load like an empty truck and would never miss the 2" under the floor.

You really need to design a system to fit your vehicle. I plan to do some sort of storage system on my GX470, but it won't be drawers - more of a box where I can still use the 3rd row.

 

[estoddart]

Here's my homemade rear storage set up build thread.

http://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/my-rear-storage-drawer-build.535761/#post-7148623

I love it. Works great with my 2nd row folded down for a sleeping area for 2 people and a dog.

 

[BigSwede]

Drawers help organize and more importantly access your stuff. But I agree they are heavy and take up valuable space for stuff.

I have a minimalist platform without drawers. I can use the shorter Rubbermaid totes as "drawers" if desired, or cram all manner of items under there. Just on one side (where a drawer would be) I have stuffed a good size camp chair, Roll-a-table, a recovery gear bag, and a compressor. None of that would work well in a drawer.

 

[orangeex]

We never used drawers on our expeditions. I put in a flat floor (piece of plywood) between the wheel well of the Defender then underneath we had Zarges boxes that fit perfectly. It meant that I could pull out a box with all the cooking gear etc take out what I needed and use the box to sit on. It also meant that heavier items were low down and only soft light stuff was above the ply. Such as sleeping bags and tent. We took out one of the rear seats and made a platform for the fridge accessible from the side door or the front whilst on the move. Much better system than having it all the way in the back. Nothing like grabbing a cold water when its 120 degrees ouside without stopping!Under the fridge platform was room for a safe and other kit that was quick grab stuff. I could rearrange all the boxes as needed and slide things like a table behind or between them. I guess that means I'm more in the Tom Sheppard mode!

 

[fireball]

I made my own drawer setup that works great for our needs. Really really happy with how it works, the left side is for all the cooking gear. The right side holds tools, spares and some more gear. Very nice to have all this easily accessible. Right side has the heavy duty drawer slides and is 3/4" material. Left side is shorter and lighter loads and 1/2" material. Also rabbeted the sides to minimize the wasted space from the slides.

This assembly weighs 155#. The OEM 3rd row seats and associated HW was #90 so not too terrible, but yes it is a weight and space consideration. Best to build or use something that fits your personal needs. On solo trips I can fold the PS 2nd row seat down and have a flat sleeping platform.

 

[zimm]

I made my own drawer setup that works great for our needs. Really really happy with how it works, the left side is for all the cooking gear. The right side holds tools, spares and some more gear. Very nice to have all this easily accessible. Right side has the heavy duty drawer slid.....]

does having the cooking gear in there, keep your wife interested in opening your drawers?

 

[carbon60]

does having the cooking gear in there, keep your wife interested in opening your drawers?

http://instantrimshot.com/index.php?sound=rimshot&play=true

:sombrero:

 

[MINO]

We went with a platform from Noah on iH8Mud (makes and installs them local to SoCal). It lines up perfectly with the 2nd row seats folded. Fits 2 underderbed storage bins. We keep a full size foam mattress on top for sleeping. It's been perfect for our needs. I leave the mattress in the rig most of the time but am happy to have the mesh grating when I have large items that need to be strapped down. We even kept the hi-lift mounted to the rack - losing a few inches of space on the "bed". Don't mind the mess in the attached pics.

 

[carbon60]

We went with a platform from Noah on iH8Mud (makes and installs them local to SoCal). It lines up perfectly with the 2nd row seats folded. Fits 2 underderbed storage bins. We keep a full size foam mattress on top for sleeping. It's been perfect for our needs. I leave the mattress in the rig most of the time but am happy to have the mesh grating when I have large items that need to be strapped down. We even kept the hi-lift mounted to the rack - losing a few inches of space on the "bed". Don't mind the mess in the attached pics.

That's a pretty nice minimalist setup, mind sharing a photo of how the platform is secured to the truck?