Let There Be Drawers

Hi All.

My recently purchased 2015 GU has now been nicely accessorised by TJM (pics soon I promise). But there's no way known I'm gonna drop $3k on a set of drawers. I looked at the Titans and I think they are just too heavy for the space they offer. I'm also vertically challenged (my wife even more so) so I need my fridge at floor level. Especially now floor level is nearly 3" higher than last week. I also want to be able to open at least 1 drawer with only the small door open. And I want a flat surface on top of it all.

So I set about designing a set of drawers from scratch. I have read every thread here going back to the stone-age. And I have borrowed ideas and tried to make it work for how I want my truck set up. My design has 3 drawers. 2 narrow ones (300mm less hardware so around 270mm internal) and 1 larger 600mm drawer. The bottom ones are shallow at around 150mm and the bigger drawer is deeper at 260mm. Above the top drawer is a space for my table and solar panel. I'll be putting a water tank between this and the rear seats so the unit is 900mm deep.

I'm also lucky to have a mate who has his own CNC Laser cutter and software - so he is going to cut this lot up for me. I did the design and he is turning it into something that can be built. At this stage I expect the all up cost to be under $500. Once I have the final cut list and plans I'd consider making them available if there's interest.

I intend to add to this thread as this project progresses. Sharing my experiences and f*#k-ups as I proceed. As a woodworker I make a very good computer programmer and photographer. So it'll be interesting for sure.

Here's the design so far. I'd be happy for any advise or input on this. It's designed to fit a CFX40 size fridge on a slide. I will be adding wings etc. But haven't designed those yet.

Attachment 65391

I share your pain. My wife and I are in the same position.
Keep us informed could be interested.
Looks good at this stage.

You could buy a $$$MSA drop down fridge slide, but not convinced they are worth the money they want for them
Handy as they are, there are cheaper tilt slide available,
Make sure you have plenty of space around the fridge

The design refined ...

Plenty of double checking measurements. Plenty of weight reduction (and fridge breathing) holes. Plenty of bracing for strength. This is now ready for the CNC machine.
Everything will be cut, routed and drilled by computer. Even the screw holes for the runners.
All I have to do is screw it together - Ikea style. And stick the carpet on.

Attachment 65424

You mean allen key don't you lol, that's a handy looking design.
have you got a pull out table under the fridge area??

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Originally Posted by threedogs

You mean allen key don't you lol, that's a handy looking design.
have you got a pull out table under the fridge area??

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Hahaha. Yeah - Allen Key. My bad! :-)

No - the top shelf will house my fold-up table. It's big enough to fit one of the Bunnings small tables. For road-side stops I'll probably put a fold-down on the big barn door.
I wanted to keep the height down - and the sliders and fridge shelf eat up 28mm already!

Yeah great some have a hinged table that folds up against the fridge.
Gee you might even sway me into getting a drawer system might that is

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Originally Posted by threedogs

Yeah great some have a hinged table that folds up against the fridge.
Gee you might even sway me into getting a drawer system might that is

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Go on John. It's the only thing your missing in your troll. I'll "might" grab a set too, we can have a drawer install day.:Yahoo!:

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Originally Posted by jay see

Go on John. It's the only thing your missing in your troll. I'll "might" grab a set too, we can have a drawer install day.:Yahoo!:

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Very funny we only have the Patrol and a drawer system just wont work,
I had them in my 75s troopy but found its a lot of weight even 50kg thats
just sitting there, stuff just sits there and forgotten over time. I could sleep
in the back of the troopy, was a bit disappointed to find I couldnt do that in
in the Patrol. I travel as light as possible but thats just me, A bed extension
might tickle my fancy with a rear awning tent

Looking at that design again I think Id only fit the drawer side and cage in the fridge side
Thats just me cause I work with steel. OOI what material are you using, MDF,, marine ply?

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Originally Posted by Boinzo

Hahaha. Yeah - Allen Key. My bad! :-)

No - the top shelf will house my fold-up table. It's big enough to fit one of the Bunnings small tables. For road-side stops I'll probably put a fold-down on the big barn door.
I wanted to keep the height down - and the sliders and fridge shelf eat up 28mm already!

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With a big door drop down table you won't be able to access your fridge when its in use.
Looking good though. If it all works out make a few kits for$

You are correct. Damnit... :-)

Not sure I need one anyway - I may even have enough clearance under the two small drawers for a small "make a sanga" sized slide-out. Will see.

I have just ordered the draw and fridge runners and catches etc. All up $400. But they are good quality stuff from IRS. Could probably have saved a few $ on eBay...

If it works out and people like the result I might make the cut-list and CNC DXF files available for a small fee (to buy beer for my mate that draw them!). That way peeps can DIY their own set!

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Originally Posted by megatexture

With a big door drop down table you won't be able to access your fridge when its in use.
Looking good though. If it all works out make a few kits for$

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In my gq system I had a pull out table which took up 50mm of height..
I had my recovery gear above that and pantry on the other side..
Fridge was ontop..
The beauty was you could have everything on the table and if you forgot something you didn't have to clear the table to get it..
One way to get around your table on large door issue is to flip the draws..

Then he can't open 1 draw through the small door with big one shut

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Originally Posted by megatexture

Then he can't open 1 draw through the small door with big one shut

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You'll always want the thing outta the other draw though lol

Put it in the right draw then lol

Haha. You guys! :-)

I did originally have it the other way around. But I do like the idea of only opening the small barn door to get my stuff.

Anyone know a good plywood supply and laser cut place in Brisbane?

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Originally Posted by Boinzo

Haha. You guys! :-)

I did originally have it the other way around. But I do like the idea of only opening the small barn door to get my stuff.

Anyone know a good plywood supply and laser cut place in Brisbane?

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Don't know a supplier but 12mm regular ply is enough..

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Originally Posted by Boinzo

Haha. You guys! :-)

I did originally have it the other way around. But I do like the idea of only opening the small barn door to get my stuff.

Anyone know a good plywood supply and laser cut place in Brisbane?

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Get creative mate, buy a table saw and go nuts

I always confuse measure twice - cut once with measure once - cut twice.
If I got a table saw I reckon I'd lose 2 fingers by sundown! :)

A screw driver I can work fine...

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Originally Posted by megatexture

Get creative mate, buy a table saw and go nuts

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Ok - so I thought it was about time I did an update on this project!

The original plan of having the ply CNC routed fell through. Some of the quotes were just totally shocking. Best quote was $500, worst was $1600. Just for the ply - cut up. So I went to plan B and busted out the trusty jigsaw... as a carpenter I make an awesome photographer...

Anyway - so I just went and picked up 3 sheets of 12mm ply from Bunnings for $120... and got stuck in.

Here's the first step! Trying to get this stuff square was pretty tricky. And very important if you want your drawers to run nicely.

Attachment 66887

I joined stuff with some dowels for extra strength and just glued and screwed.

Starting to take shape.

Attachment 66888

Once I had the cabinet together I cut out loads of 100mm circles to reduce the weight without making too much impact on the overall strength. I also painted the bits that would end up with no carpet over them.

Attachment 66889

Then I got stuck into making the drawers. I can't stress again how important it is that everything is square. In every dimension. As I say I'm a crap carpenter, but I managed to get close enough. Making the cabinet took only a few hours. But fecking around with my messed up, not quite square drawers to get the runners working was a mission. A better woodworker would have this sorted easily!

Here's a test fit to make sure they held what I wanted them too!

Attachment 66890

I also managed to fashion a slide out table between the sets of drawers. This is re-inforced with ally strips for strength and just slides in the gap. Fine for making a cup of tea and a sarny on. I'm still sealing and estapolling that...

The fridge is a tight fit but ok. The circular cutouts help with ventilation so I'm not concerned about that ...

Attachment 66891

So then it was time to cover them up. I used a product called Vertiface. It's the same stuff that is used to cover speaker cabinets etc. It's a little more expensive than marine carpet - but it's easier to work with, lighter, less rough and doesn't pile. It took 5m at $29 per metre to get the job done. I just glued and stapled it.

Attachment 66892

Now - into the truck! I got a bunch of old sharp speaker spikes that co-incidently had M6 threads on them and screwed them into multiple holes in floor - after removing the tie-down points etc. Then I put some cardboard in there that I had cut to the same size as the base of the drawers. The spikes made holes in the cardboard and gave me a sweet template to make holes in the actual base. Then I threw the cabinet in the back and bolted it down with high-tensile bolts. I also fashioned some L brackets that went into the 3rd row seat mount holes and onto the sides of the drawers.

Then I set to work on making the wings. I used some corflute and cut it down until it fitted the gaps perfectly. Then I cut out holes for the electrics etc and whacked the carpet on. The tops are attached with 600mm piano hinges.

The left wing has my ARB compressor and an air outlet. A Waeco 300w inverter (for charging my cameras/laptop). Rocker switches for lights and to the side is a host of ciggie and USB plugs and a voltmeter. I used the Baintech GU panel but repositioned everything onto the original factory panel.

Inside that wing is also a fuse block. And plenty of space for spare parts etc.

The right wing has a 240v inlet to my charger. And a water pump and a tap.

Attachment 66896

All up I'm pretty happy with the result. the drawers weigh around 45-50kg empty I reckon.

A custom cargo barrier from Autosafe has gone in above the cabinet and I've just installed a custom made water tank from Award Tanks in Caboolture. A big shout out to Mick up there. He's a great guy. If you want a tank - he's your man.

Attachment 66897

I'm amazed I managed to do all this myself! In 3 weeks I leave to take it all over the Simmo.... hopefully it all holds together!

Nice work mate, looks good indeed

Very nice. How many liters does the tank hold?

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What a great job mate. Thanks for sharing. The tank looks smick. How many liters does it hold.

I'm not sure how many litres yet. I had it installed and had to go away for work the next day!
But, we think it'll be between 50 and 60l. When I'm back I'm going to fill it up and then start filling buckets to find out!

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Originally Posted by bigguwesty

Very nice. How many liters does the tank hold?

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The Boab equivalent is about 45 litres

With those rear seat belts all I did was un-bolt the bottom
then just pushed them back through that top slot.
Just saying

Looks smick as mate! What did the tank set you back if you don't mind me asking?

Cheers!


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Originally Posted by Punderhead

Looks smick as mate! What did the tank set you back if you don't mind me asking?

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Cheers mate. The tank is not cheap. I paid $360 for it. The advantage over the off-the-shelf stuff like Boab was that it could be made to totally fill the the space available. Mick at Award Tanks is a good guy - very easy to deal with. Although I had to make a few trips up to Caboolture to make sure it would fit as planned.

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Originally Posted by threedogs

The Boab equivalent is about 45 litres
With those rear seat belts all I did was un-bolt the bottom
then just pushed them back through that top slot.
Just saying

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Cheers mate- yeah the seat belt thing is a pain. I was under the impression I wasn't allowed to unbolt them in Qld or the vehicle would no longer be a 7 seater....

@Punderhead,,,, Roofy also had a water tank custom made to his specs
may have been the same mob.?
Must admit you cant beat on board water lol

Looking good mate, I am in the process of making some of a similar design but reversed for mine.