Built in Drawers
Submitted: Friday, Feb 08, 2002 at 01:00
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Derek
I am currently looking at installing a drawer system in the back of our dual cab ute. Can anyone give me any advice as to the pros and cons of these drawers and the diffent options available. I know they are quite expensive so I am wondering if it is worth it?
Reply By: tim - Friday, Feb 08, 2002 at 01:00
Friday, Feb 08, 2002 at 01:00
Derek drawers are worth their weight in gold.the professional ones are great but heavy ard verry expensive.you can make your own for around $150 using ply,or a good carpenter would cost less than $500 complete,I had some made for my patrol by a carpenter for $300
AnswerID:
2017
Follow Up By: Derek - Friday, Feb 08, 2002 at 01:00
Friday, Feb 08, 2002 at 01:00
Thanks for the response. Do you have any problems with your drawers at all, ie. rattles, lack of strength,etc?? Do you have rollers on your drawers - how do they slide? How did you attach it to your vehicle?
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Reply By: Mike - Saturday, Feb 09, 2002 at 01:00
Saturday, Feb 09, 2002 at 01:00
Derek, I made my own drawers a couple of years ago. they are still working
well, and don't seem to be falling apart. For the fridge, I put in a pirhana fridge slide, but the drawers slide on meranti strips, srayed with silcone lubricant. they carry all the heavy recovery gear and
tools and slide beautifully. This setup was a hell of a lot cheaper than a bought unit and allowed me to custom build exactly what I wanted. Happy trails, Mike.
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Follow Up By: Grant Taylor - Saturday, Feb 09, 2002 at 01:00
Saturday, Feb 09, 2002 at 01:00
G'day Mike, I too am making my own drawer set-up and was going to use laminate for the slides, but now wondering...what is meranti? TIA Grant
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Follow Up By: Andrew - Monday, Feb 11, 2002 at 01:00
Monday, Feb 11, 2002 at 01:00
Hi Grant and Mike, am interested in the piranha fridge slide, cost, convenience, as I am constructing my own drawer system for a dual cab ute, using mainly ply and some pine board, any one use nylon or similar for drawer guides/slides?
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Follow Up By: Mike - Monday, Feb 11, 2002 at 01:00
Monday, Feb 11, 2002 at 01:00
Guys, what is called 'Meranti' here in SA, is similar to maple. Ash or oak is even better as it is harder. Both are cheaper than nylon (I think). The silicone spray works extremely
well and does'nt seem to attract dust at all. Happy trails,Mike.
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Follow Up By: Mike - Monday, Feb 11, 2002 at 01:00
Monday, Feb 11, 2002 at 01:00
Andrew, The Pirhana slide was over $200. There are other brands available, but I have been very happy with this one. Happy Trails, Mike.
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Follow Up By: Grant Taylor - Monday, Feb 11, 2002 at 01:00
Monday, Feb 11, 2002 at 01:00
Thanks Mike.
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Reply By: Alex - Monday, Feb 11, 2002 at 01:00
Monday, Feb 11, 2002 at 01:00
Hi,
I made my
cargo drawers completely out of pine, as it was lighter than ply, and I rubbed a candle on the sides of the drawer and the bottom edges that it slid on, and this made it slide very easily. Cheers, Alex.
AnswerID:
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Reply By: Brenton - Monday, Feb 11, 2002 at 01:00
Monday, Feb 11, 2002 at 01:00
hi,i made a set for our 720 d/cab out of plastic crates bolted to ply running in "uni-stut"channel a 2nd ply floor fixed under the top lip of the tray gave just enough clearance to stop things from jumping around the 40lt engle fridge was mounted in the same way used this set up for 10yrs and stayed firm even when we rolled
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Reply By: Tim - Monday, Feb 11, 2002 at 01:00
Monday, Feb 11, 2002 at 01:00
Derek:
It is marvellous to read how all these 'tweakers' have come up with something that is in their estimation as good as if not better than the makers of the 4wd Roller Drawer system made in
Cairns by Gary Plant. I searched for a long time to get something that even looked anything like what this little outfit can make and failed.. Having invested in them after some serious consideration I can say without hesitation that they were the best investment I have made, - the boss even agrees , !!
If you want something cheap, get a few plastic stacking boxes at Woollies and a couple of Bungy straps and you will do a trip and then your mind will be made up ....
Tim
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Follow Up By: Grant Taylor - Tuesday, Feb 12, 2002 at 01:00
Tuesday, Feb 12, 2002 at 01:00
Come on Tim, no-one said theirs was as good or better. In a world flowing with money we would all get these drawer systems. But they are expensive. Gary has to pay for all that advertising and travelling to 4WD shows.You didn't mention what they cost you. And fair enough if you don't want to tell us, but don't go to the other extreme suggesting placky boxes,etc it just cheapens your point of view. If someone can make something a whole lot cheaper for themselves, and are happy with it,then there is a real personal satisfaction as
well. It's a lot easier to save a dollar than make a dollar.
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Follow Up By: Michelle - Exploroz - Wednesday, Feb 13, 2002 at 01:00
Wednesday, Feb 13, 2002 at 01:00
The ExplorOz team agrees with Tim here - our motto in all things in life is "you get what you pay for". That's why we personally chose Gary Plants Roller Drawers for our vehicle which you can see featured here under Hot Topics - Vehicle Setup. We have previously used
home-made jobs (David makes our own furniture and can do it) but when we bought a 4WD that cost over $40K it was worth it to set it up with the very best. But you have to justify the expense to yourself. To our mind, you cannot afford for things to go wrong when 4WDing.It depends on how much value you place on a hassle-free trip and as with all things you buy, if you buy right the first time, you don't have to buy it again and so its money
well spent and will save you eventually.
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Follow Up By: Derek - Wednesday, Feb 13, 2002 at 01:00
Wednesday, Feb 13, 2002 at 01:00
Thanks for all of the advice. Can anyone please tell me if the bought drawer systems are transferrable to other vehicles if you later upgrade/change vehicles. Of course I realise there are different size drawer systems but assuming a similar vehicle is bought, are the drawers easily removable, or generally are they removable if we need the entire tray of our ute? Further, I have been speaking to a company in NSW - Pee Cee Storage - has anyone purchased drawers from this company - they sound similar to the likes of BlackWidow and the
Cairns company but appear more flexible and slightly cheaper. Further, if there is anyone around the
Melbourne area who has built their own storage system and would not mind us coming to have a look (as we don't really know
where to start), I would really appreciate it.
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Reply By: John Sullivan - Thursday, Feb 14, 2002 at 01:00
Thursday, Feb 14, 2002 at 01:00
Derek, I made my drawers out of 1" steel angle, running on Steel flat, with 1" steel tubing as top. This is to support frame for boxes, table etc. No bearings, just bees wax on the runners. I am in
Latrobe Valley and happy for you to
check them out, if that helps you.
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Reply By: Rob - Thursday, Feb 14, 2002 at 01:00
Thursday, Feb 14, 2002 at 01:00
Derek
If you don't want to make yourself but also don't want to spend 1500 to 2000 or whatever they are, try 02 4647 6322 and speak to Graham. He made ours and 3 others in our 4wd club and so far no dramas with any. Professionally made and professional appearance, all sheet metal, solid ply and marine carpet like the others but not built to hold someone sitting in the fully open drawer. For all that it still holds all our recovery gear and does not rattle and after a years worth of trips are still in excellent condition. For a $1000 (and I think that's fitted)they are great value if you don't want to make your own.
Rob
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