Advice On Building Cargo Storage Drawers

Lexington

Lexington

Member
Hi All

I’m looking for advice on building storage drawers for the cargo area.

Most designs I see have two drawers and it looks like the most common wood used for the frame and top cover are 3/4 inch plywood.

My primary goal is to build a storage drawer for basic things such as battery starter, air pump, first aid kit, recover gear, road side emergency gear and so on. Over a year ago I had someone do a smash and grab and took most of my stuff. So I’m looking to keep it hidden. Secondary goal is to build a sleeping platform for camping.

Two things I’m considering to do is build the frame with 1x6 pine to make it a little lighter. I’m not making it for overlanding but I do camp from time to time. I think it should be strong enough.

The other thing I want to do is make a single large drawer instead of two small drawers. With two drawers you have a center support for weight. With one drawer you don’t. So I’m wonder if I use a high grade 3/4 inch plywood if that would be strong enough to support let’s say 300lb without causing sagging. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks
 
Register to hide this ad
Hmm. Well you’re right about more flexibility. But you are going to end up with an enormously heavy drawer. You will have to partition the drawer to keep the contents from sliding around and collecting on one side. The top will sag unless you go with massively thick plywood or something exotic like a honeycomb panel. But a sagging platform isn’t a deal breaker.
 
Yeah, what Cap said...problem with one large drawer will be top sagging. And doing that will add to the weight as you will need stronger/thicker material.
I built a storage box and did 2 drawers for that very reason. You are only loosing maybe 2 1/2". I also cut out a large piece in the bottom (below drawers) to reduce weight.
 
Last edited:
Captain Spalding said:
Hmm. Well you’re right about more flexibility. But you are going to end up with an enormously heavy drawer. You will have to partition the drawer to keep the contents from sliding around and collecting on one side. The top will sag unless you go with massively thick plywood or something exotic like a honeycomb panel. But a sagging platform isn’t a deal breaker.
Click to expand...

On the bottom of the drawer I was going to line the bottom with loop Velcro and then use 2” hook strips to secure things.

Yes sagging is my biggest concern. Ideally a honeycomb panel would be nice but I don’t know how expensive they are. If I go plywood I would probably need to go 3/4 inch to prevent any significant sagging.
 
tonymac* said:
Yeah, what Cap said...problem with one large drawer will be top sagging. And doing that will add to the weight as you will need stronger/thicker material.
I built a storage box and did 2 drawers for that very reason. You are only loosing maybe 2 1/2". I also cut out a large piece in the bottom (below drawers) to reduce weight.
Click to expand...

For the bottom I was thinking the same thing. Use a 1/4 plywood sheet for the bottom and cut a big hole in it. If I get adventurous I may cut out 4 triangle to give it a X pattern on the bottom for extra strength. The other option would be to use 1/4 thick steel strips
 
Yeah, there are hundreds of ways to construct a storage box with a drawer(s). I used 1/2" plywood for bottom and 3/4" for sides and top of box. As far as your drawer bottom, using steel or even aluminum to support the plywood will strengthen it. If you are going to be putting heavy objects, it will need that support. Something like this: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-1-1-4-in-x-36-in-Zinc-Plated-Slotted-Angle-800067/204225792
Add a couple strips to support the middle of the drawer length wise, horizontally.
 
Last edited:
Wood is a bit of a heavy material, most of the wood based storage platforms I have seen weigh quite a bit...

In the past I spoke with a fellow 4Runner owner who wanted to do one; we played around with the idea of using an aluminum square tube frame and building the slides around removable plastic containers. The idea being that you can remove the "drawers" to easily get in and out of things like some truck-bed tool storage systems. By also using off the shelf storage containers you can further reduce weight and make a more modular design. Top it with a sheet of aluminum and a rubberized coating/sheet and it'd be plenty strong enough for throwing weight on top while still being relatively light itself.

Granted this is a more labor/cost intensive project that using wood (though prices are high enough now that I wonder what the cost difference would actually be), also you'd probably want to find a buddy who can TIG weld for the strongest construction...
 
To save weight I built my drawer system with 3/4” plywood for top but used 1/2” for sides and the drawers. I do not have a bottom. Only a narrow brace below where the drawer fronts are.

9084737-C-E0-D8-4254-8-F62-5-BC3-BADA58-E6.jpg
 
I'm currently building a 2-drawer cargo box. I wanted to keep it as low profile as possible, but also have a 4" drawer height. I am using 1/8" thick aluminum for the top, and 1/16" thick aluminum for the bottom, and drawer bottoms. Total box height is only 4.3".

Just another option. FWIW
 
Bandit Runner said:
I'm currently building a 2-drawer cargo box. I wanted to keep it as low profile as possible, but also have a 4" drawer height. I am using 1/8" thick aluminum for the top, and 1/16" thick aluminum for the bottom, and drawer bottoms. Total box height is only 4.3".

Just another option. FWIW
Click to expand...

Very nice! Is this all aluminum or are you using wood for the side frame? Do you have pics?
 
Last edited:
matoolie said:
To save weight I built my drawer system with 3/4” plywood for top but used 1/2” for sides and the drawers. I do not have a bottom. Only a narrow brace below where the drawer fronts are.

9084737-C-E0-D8-4254-8-F62-5-BC3-BADA58-E6.jpg
Click to expand...

Yes I have considered option too. Thanks for the pic.
 
i built a T out of 2x6 and topped with 3/4" plywood, wrapped in outdoor carpet.

used rubbermaid containers, two deep, for 4 total.

by only going 1/2 the thickness of the top 2x6 i could rest the other half of the sleeping platform on there and rest the front on upturned seats.

worked great for 25,000 throughout south and central america.
 
Depending on how deep you wanted to make the drawer, there is a way to get around the sagging.

Instead of the center support coming all the way to the front of the box, stop it halfway, and make that one big drawer a u-shape to fit around it. It would make the build a little more complicated, but ultimately you would achieve your flexibility goal because half of the drawer would be full width and the other half would be 2 distinct compartments.

I would imagine this could work if the drawer was 4-6 inches deep, but if you wanted it to be 10-12 inches deep it's just too much material weight.
 
Lexington
If you go into my album page on this site I have a pictorial of how I build my storage drawers.
One thing If I was to do it again I would go eight inches high instead of seven inches. It would have added more depth to the drawers for some odd ball stuff.

What I didn't account for was the reduction in height due to routing the joints in the bottom
Plus, the large heavier drawer slide take up about and inch on both sides of the drawer'
If you are to only build one drawer the slides are going to be heavy duty and very expensive.
 
Lexington said:
Very nice! Is this all aluminum or are you using wood for the side frame? Do you have pics?
Click to expand...

Thanks. I used 3/4" thick pine boards for the sides, back and center, and also for the drawer sides/front/back.

I am currently in the process of covering it with carpeting, and unfortunately realized that I didn't take any pics of it beforehand. I'll get some pics up soon though.
 
There's always this product if you need just a bit of storage.
Stronghold FabTech

Product won't be available for another several months per email received earlier this week.

On Sun, Jun 19, 2022 at 1:38 PM Tom Morton <[email protected]> wrote:

Good Afternoon Everyone!

My name is Tom Morton and I am the owner and creator of Stronghold Fabtech and the 5th Gen 4Runner part dubbed “Saddlebags.”

I just want to start by saying thank you so much for your interest, support, and great feedback so far as I have worked through getting this from idea to market. You guys/gals have really kept my motivation and spirits high.

I wanted to take a chance to update you all on where I am in the process. I am currently finished with Version 3 (V3) of the prototype. This latest version continues to make tweaks to the fitment of the box to the truck and the panels to the box. The big change in this version (based on feedback from community and the production engineers) is now the box can accept two versions of the access panels. The original clip on panels still work, but I now have an additional magnetic based panel option with holes cut to remove the panel with your fingers and/or to run cables through the panel. In my testing so far, the panels do not rattle or come loose even in rough terrain thanks to the supplied earth magnets. See below:

<<image with magnetic panels>>

I am sure the question on everyone’s mind is, “When will the Saddlebags be available Tom?!” The short answer is roughly 2-3 months from now. I currently have a product engineer making the appropriate tweaks necessary so the part can be injection molded while retaining all of the durability and ascetics the prototypes offer and more! Once I get the green light from the engineers and manufacturers, I will know what the costs will be and officially open up preorders on the website (strongholdfabtech.com).


Thank you again for your patience and support! I will send out another email when preorders go live.

P.S. – The 5th Gen 4Runner is just the beginning……
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Members online

No members online now.
Total: 1,970 (members: 0, guests: 1,970)

Forum statistics

Threads
278,312
Messages
3,554,083
Members
248,016
Latest member
Advally Service

Share this page

Trending content

Back
Top