Yet another FJ60 rear drawer build...

[lostworldexpedition]

Thanks for all the comments. I finished the drawer system in a rush and we moved into our truck last week... Sorry, I have had no internet connection other than my iPhone. I will post up the final pics later this week or early next.

The folding legs are from Metalkraft (link). I must say I am not 100% happy with them, but they will do fine. I will explain in more detail on my final post.

The sliding drawer for the fridge is just a bottom mount Accuride heavy duty drawer slide and a piece of plywood.

Thanks.
BTW we are on Facebook as "Lost World Expedition"

 

[lostworldexpedition]

Well, here are the latest pics on our drawer/bed/kitchen system. I can already see things I should have done differently and as the trip progresses I am sure I will come up with other ideas and what not, but I am pretty happy with the end result.

As you may notice I got rid of the box that was on the right side... more trouble than it was worth.

The left drawer has no dividers so we will store items in it with containers...

The right side of the set up flips-up with a piano hinge and allows for storage of these sweet "Tupperware" style containers. I made a 1/4" plywood cutout of the RQpanel I have not attached to the truck yet, I am thinking nutcerts... (sorry for the sunny pic)

The right drawer is the Kitchen:chef:. I can partially pull it out and flip the legs down before I remove it from the truck.

The drawer houses a stove and a small drawer for utensils under the stove. The flip up lid to the left doubles as a worksurface (with cutting boards).

The sides and back have holes for air movement (stove requirement) and for access to propane connection.

 

[lostworldexpedition]

Here is the little "can" box and the fridge drawer without the fridge...

Our RTT is our primary home, but under certain circumstances we will have to sleep in the truck so we set up a very small sleeping area in the back by flipping the seat and propping a piece of plywood over the void... (thanks to Kevin Rowland for that idea).

And the "bed" set up.... we use Therm-a-rest mats.

Any ideas for further development are greatly appreciated, but keep in mind we are on the road and have no more access to tools (woodworking tools that is :ylsmoke

 

[bucketosudz]

Very Nice!!! Thanks for sharing. :wings:

 

[Ryanmb21]

This is fantastic.

 

[lostworldexpedition]

Well, I wish the finish of the plywood still looked that good. After 3 years of use, it still works like a charm, but there are definite signs of wear. It took us nearly 3 years to the day to drive to Chile and we are currently in the US working for a few months (the LandCruiser is in a barn in Chile). Then we fly back to Chile and will drive back to the US.

Maybe I'll take pics when we get back and post up an update.

 

[lostworldexpedition]

Well the Landcruiser has been back in the U.S. for 10 months now. After over 4 years and over 70k miles around the Americas it is back in California and has been my daily driver since. In 3 weeks it is going in storage for about 7 months while we do another leg of our world travels without it.

Our friend Mitch who is prepping his 60 for a long trip around the Americas so he asked for a look at our setup to see if he could get some ideas from it. Lacey and I made this video with her iPhone, it is unrehearsed and unedited so please bear with us.

 

[Sloan]

Are the legs recessed under the kitchen box and did you use wood screws or biscuits for the joinery? Nice work BTW.

 

[lostworldexpedition]

Thanks Sloan. The legs are recessed under the "kitchen" drawer.

 

[cruiserpilot]

Hey Lost - Thanks for the video. I've got 12H-T 60 I'm getting ready for 6 weeks to Yukon this coming autumn. Really like your layout. I'm solo, so I have less but different needs.
Well designed drawers, and have given me a great idea for finishing mine up. Now I have to backtrack all your travels, as after this trip, which is a pre-run for plans to go all the way to south America. J
Curious as to how much repair parts and tools you carry. do you carry smaller jack aside from high lift? Just an after thought; why didn't you just remove the rear seat altogether?

 

[Sloan]

Thanks Sloan. The legs are recessed under the "kitchen" drawer.

Prepping for either an 8 week lap of the East Coast or an 8 week lap of Alaska from Los Angeles with an 8 and 5 year old.

 

[lostworldexpedition]

Curious as to how much repair parts and tools you carry. do you carry smaller jack aside from high lift? Just an after thought; why didn't you just remove the rear seat altogether?

Hey Pilot enjoy the pre trip and the planning!

I got sort of lucky cause I replaced my gas engine with a newly rebuilt 12HT and I therefore had a pretty much brand new engine. Other than that I did all necessary maintenance typically needed by Landcruisers. Knuckles, all oils replaced, new brakes (rotors and discs), make sure all U joints are good, I replaced all suspension with new stuff, check all lines, etc.

In our four and halve year drive around the Americas we didn't "break" anything predictable. We needed new brake pads which were readily available. We had some issues with our alternator, which are easily fixed anywhere in latin america. We needed to replace our brake booster and we could not find the factory replacement so we used a HiLux booster and it worked, it is still working just fine.

Make sure that if you choose to have a secondary battery and a 12v fridge you have that system set up in a bulletproof way. I had to re design and re do it a few times do to poor design on my part. Once you leave the country certain things get harder to find, the simplest things we take for granted from Home Depot or Ace are hard to find in Latin America.

Make sure you you carry a tire patch kit and know how to use it we had a total of 8 to 10 flats on our trip.

We didn't remove the rear seat until we arrived in Colombia, mostly because we had people visit us so we needed the seat to accommodate them. In retrospect we should have gotten rid of it from the get go and built a better platform.

I carry a full yet simple arsenal of tools for most things I need for the Landcruiser:

10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 19, 21 I prefer 6 point
3/8 ratchet with sockets and 1/2 ratchet for larger sizes-
combination wrenches
extra extensions for the ratchet
Torque wrench
8" or 10" adjustable jaw wrench
channel lock plier
standard plier
needle nose plier
angle cut (side cut) wire cutter pliers
vise grip pliers
assortment of flat and Phillips screw drivers
wire stripper
wire crimp tool
hammer
small chisel
small punch
snap ring pliers (for removing the front hubs to get to the bearings unless you dismantle
the transfer case or transmission)


Hope that helps

 

[MANUCHAO]

oiii Luis. What brand or type locks did you replace the originals with?
I couldn't find that info in you blog.

Safe travels eh...!!

Frank

 

[cruiserpilot]

Luis-thanks for the extended reply. I've got 2 batteries, 2 alternators separate hot buss for elec add on's. 2 winches on an isolator switch. I really want a National Luna 50 weekender, but can't get one here. Need a friend in S Africa to send me one, need a friend there first of course! Your tool kit is pretty complete, not much missing. I don't scrimp on tires, Toyo MT's, one day one of them might go flat and no one will be more surprised than me! I've got some planning to do about fridge location, and fuel cans. I also am going to have a roof rack, so I can carry a canoe. Gotta have a canoe in the Yukon! J

 

[lostworldexpedition]

Manu! Sorry Frank I haven't been hanging out here in the Portal as much as I once was. We replaced the locks with Yale home locks... There is a thread here in expo somewhere about it if I recall correctly. Hope everything is cool wherever you are. I'm sweating my ***** off in Bulgarian heat right now

Cruiserpilot you should be able to buy the National Luna fridge from Paul over at Equipt!