Drawers for the cruiser? Thoughts and Opinions wanted

[Woodsman]

When I purchased a fridge it felt like a reorganization was in order.

I built a basic drawer and left it unfinished for some time.



This was followed by my first fridge slide. Although very experienced in the use of slides, this version of a fridge slide helped me to verify that except in very light duty situations, you should never mount a slide flat. These slides, for example, are rated at 500 pounds when used in stationary cabinets, only 250 pounds when used for mobile products such as cruiser drawers and only 100 pounds when mounted flat. I am currently rebuilding my fridge slide to include a bottom drawer and cutting surface. The locking slides will be mounted vertically.



For several months I tested my drawer construction by hauling around 120 pounds of barbells and at this time the drawer was only mounted on a single pair of 100 pound slides (really only good for about 50 pounds in mobile use). When fully extended there was major sag so I fixed that by adding a second set of slides parallel to the first to double the capacity to a true 100 pounds. Problem solved. An FJ drawer maxes out about a foot shallower than a Land Cruiser drawer so likely would not have more than 30 or so pounds.



With that done, I revised the drawer front to include a proper pull/latch/lock and finally coated it with Monstaliner. Beefy little guy.

 

[Woodsman]

That's a good point. My deck is the same height as the rear of the folded (but not tumbled) 2nd row seat. It works great for sleeping. I just throw my sleeping pad down, lay out my sleeping bag, and throw a pillow on the back of the seat. I'm 5'8" and I can completely stretch out. It might not work if you're 6'4" though.

Here's another way I worked it out for an 80 series owner.

The sleeping platform (not completely visible in the pic) is made in two halves with a piano hinge and lays right over the folded seat backs. Panel fasteners are used where this assembly meets the drawer boxes. You just drop it in place when needed and when done you pull it up, fold it in half and it slips between the drawers and the upright seat backs.



Drawers on 250 pound non-locking slides with paddle latches and adjustable dividers. Drawers can also function as lodging for your kids. j/k

 

[Caribou Sandstorm]

Here is my set up.. James built the drawer for me and is now building me a fridge slide/with under drawer design to match.

 

[AxleIke]

Man, Woodsman, you do NICE work. Holy cow.

Thanks for posting!

 

[Ali FJ80]

this tread is great for ideas, am trying to design something with one shallow drawer and one tall one and then a divider so the dogs can have about 2/3 of the cargo area(shallow drawer will be under this section) while I can use the other 1/3 to essentially safely stack up to the roof without fear of things tumbling down on them. Also maybe a shelf above the dogs to hold some lighter gear. Something like this but the drawer on one side would be half as tall and maybe a middle shelf on the cargo side.

 

[Inukshuk]

My initial drawer design was also in large part to give the dogs space. Its worked great for them.

 

[OilHammer]

Even Costco is in on the 100 drawer game now. https://www.cargovault.com/costco/

Not cheap, but interesting options. http://www.truckvault.com/

 

[Inukshuk]

My replacement slides arrived today. "KV Economical Full Extension Drawer Slide 28" 100lb Load Rating (1 set)" $8.95. They are nearly identical to the slides I installed when I built the drawers in April 2003 - these things are older than I thought! 11 years, 150,000 miles, plenty of trails, lots of dust (have occasionally lubed them) and they still work , but not so smooth.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002FI6B2G/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (metric so 1/4 inch shorter then what I have now, but will work fine.)

 

[AimCOTaco]

Hauled a desk last weekend...

 

[Woodsman]

Even Costco is in on the 100 drawer game now. https://www.cargovault.com/costco/

Not cheap, but interesting options. http://www.truckvault.com/

My issue with the Truck Vault is that they appear to have no mechanical slide mechanism. Am I missing something ? While this "Drifta-like" setup is fine for some people it does not give easy access to the entire drawer space. Yes, you will lose some interior space with ball bearing slides but you also gain access to the space you have.

My replacement slides arrived today. "KV Economical Full Extension Drawer Slide 28" 100lb Load Rating (1 set)" $8.95. They are nearly identical to the slides I installed when I built the drawers in April 2003 - these things are older than I thought! 11 years, 150,000 miles, plenty of trails, lots of dust (have occasionally lubed them) and they still work , but not so smooth.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002FI6B2G/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (metric so 1/4 inch shorter then what I have now, but will work fine.)

You did get your money's worth out of those ! One thing to be aware of is that slides are normally rated at 50% for mobile use so a 100lb is only rated for 50lb due to the possibility of being opened on unlevel surfaces etc. I recommend you splurge for an extra set of slides and stack them one above the other to gain capacity and stability. I actually discussed this with an engineer at KV and he said as long as you can keep all the components running parrallel you can stack as many as you want for capacity . . . but it makes drawer removal more difficult. Some manufacturers of rolling tool chests now do this same thing for more capacity in the bigger drawers.

 

[rover67]

wow thats some seriously nice stuff James!!!!! It looks much more quality than anything i've seen before... and yo uguys and your drawer'd rigs.. sheesh... i'm still throwin crap in milk crates.

 

[Rezarf]

My issue with the Truck Vault is that they appear to have no mechanical slide mechanism. Am I missing something ? While this "Drifta-like" setup is fine for some people it does not give easy access to the entire drawer space. Yes, you will lose some interior space with ball bearing slides but you also gain access to the space you have.

Truck vault uses recessed wheels on their boxes. There are a few that are under the front of the drawer in the floor, and there is another set of recessed wheels that ride in the top rear section of the drawer not the cabinet. The fronts allow an easy start and the then the drawer "tips" once it breaks over the front set of wheels and engages the rear wheels on the top of the drawer and rides on the interior "roof" of the drawers. It's remarkably simple and I've heard it is VERY smooth. Someone on ExPo showed them in detail.

You did get your money's worth out of those ! One thing to be aware of is that slides are normally rated at 50% for mobile use so a 100lb is only rated for 50lb due to the possibility of being opened on unlevel surfaces etc. I recommend you splurge for an extra set of slides and stack them one above the other to gain capacity and stability. I actually discussed this with an engineer at KV and he said as long as you can keep all the components running parrallel you can stack as many as you want for capacity . . . but it makes drawer removal more difficult. Some manufacturers of rolling tool chests now do this same thing for more capacity in the bigger drawers.

My Snap-On Tool Chest stacks them in parallel on my taller drawers to gain the capacity you are talking about. Seems like one set high and one set low could really sure up the whole assembly. Great idea woodsman.