Dobinson Drawer Install

[J.Tomasello]

Hello everyone!

I've received my Drawer system from Dobinson, and I was wondering if anyone had experience installing this system. I removed the Foam and carpet from the back cargo area but not sure if I need to make my own holes to mount the actual brackets to the body? I definitely don't see any holes that i can bolt to under here?

Any input would be great!

Thanks

 

[mrblah]

Hello everyone!

I've received my Drawer system from Dobinson, and I was wondering if anyone had experience installing this system. I removed the Foam and carpet from the back cargo area but not sure if I need to make my own holes to mount the actual brackets to the body? I definitely don't see any holes that i can bolt to under here?

Any input would be great!

Thanks

I installed my drawers on a goose gear plate system. You should do something similar (DIY or purchased).

FYI, there are hidden bolt holes in the cargo area that toyota uses to mount the optional slide out tray. You just need to find it (search this forum) and drill it out. I used those same holes to mount my plate system.

 

[J.Tomasello]

Are sure I’ll need a plate system? Any pictures of yours installed?

Thanks for the fast response

 

[blksubykid]

For DIY, you could use 3/4 ply wood. Paint it or wrap it with carpet. You should have 2 pretapped holes towards the hatch and depending if you had a sliding cargo tray, two more near the rear D-Rings. If not, you MAY need to drill two holes. Then you can use T-Nuts where needed to secure the drawers to the plywood

 

[mrblah]

Are sure I’ll need a plate system? Any pictures of yours installed?

Thanks for the fast response

DIY or premade plate system

OOORRRRR>>>>


drill some holes into the rear of the drawers and install an eyelet/turnbuckle setup.

I actually did that first, before I moved on to the plate system.

I have no pics of the plate system because once drawers are installed you can't actually see it. Search goose gear plate system to get an idea of what u have to build and where the predrilled/covered holes are.

 

[badger_206]

DIY or premade plate system

OOORRRRR>>>>


drill some holes into the rear of the drawers and install an eyelet/turnbuckle setup.

I actually did that first, before I moved on to the plate system.

I have no pics of the plate system because once drawers are installed you can't actually see it. Search goose gear plate system to get an idea of what u have to build and where the predrilled/covered holes are.

My drawers are on the way. I am interested in your turnbuckle setup. Why did you switch to the plate system from turnbuckle?

 

[mrblah]

My drawers are on the way. I am interested in your turnbuckle setup. Why did you switch to the plate system from turnbuckle?

the plate system offered a cleaner install. It doesn't offer any advantage over the turnbuckle system other than lightening your wallet.

 

[badger_206]

the plate system offered a cleaner install. It doesn't offer any advantage over the turnbuckle system other than lightening your wallet.

I tried the turnbuckle method Didn't seem sturdy enough and ended up drilling holes instead.

For anyone interested....

I was able to use the 2 threaded existing holes that are meant for the slide-out tray (once I found them from underneath). I drilled the top of them out since they are covered with sheet metal. These holes helped a lot and allowed me to figure out where to put the other 2 holes I had to drill. Until I found these I was struggling on getting everything in alignment. I had to use 3 of the supplied spacers on each bolt to get the drawers high enough to clear the plastic over the rear wheels. This required me getting longer bolts from the hardware store which were 100mm in length. I cut square holes in the styrofoam liner and carpet where the bolts were coming through and put it back in. I added some 2x3 pieces to fill the empty space between the carpet and the drawers.

 

[KWSRStorm]

Do they ratlle alot when you drive around on a day to day basis?

The 3 big complaints ive read about (and its hard finding reviews) is that it rattles, needs some spacing to get level to the rear plastic, and that the fridge latch is weak.

Seems like you just used a few pieces of wood on the under braces which i think is easier and much lighter than doing a whole plate system.

Any other thoughts on the drawer since youve installed them?

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[badger_206]

Do they ratlle alot when you drive around on a day to day basis?

The 3 big complaints ive read about (and its hard finding reviews) is that it rattles, needs some spacing to get level to the rear plastic, and that the fridge latch is weak.

Seems like you just used a few pieces of wood on the under braces which i think is easier and much lighter than doing a whole plate system.

Any other thoughts on the drawer since youve installed them?

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

I haven't noticed any noise from them at all. The drawers get wedged in pretty good with the provided door stops. The wood I put between the bottom of the drawer frame and carpet/floor adds tension between the drawer frame and the carpet/floor which I think takes any noise/vibration away. Basically, the 4 bolts are pulling down while the wood is pushing up. It helps support from any sagging as well.

As for other complaints: I would say the directions are lackluster. The drawers are universal (the side covers are 4runner specific) so you have to do a bit of trial, error, and testing. I had several misses before I figured out how to best do it for my situation. I needed longer bolts which required a trip to the store. Which is why I wanted to update this thread....was my way perfect? No, but it worked and will work for others and they can avoid my failed attempts. For example, it came with spacers but how many do you need to use to clear the side plastic? For me, it took 3 on each bolt because with only 2 it still hit the plastic. Also, all 4runners are going to have the threads from the slide-out tray even if covered up so why not leverage them and provide directions to use them.

Another issue I had was some of the screws stripped on the top panel (not really sure why).

I did also think about mounting the 2x3's to the car then using lag bolts to the drawer frame to the 2x3's.

Dobinsons themselves were fast with shipping and communicated well. The drawer frame is solid. I like them, but next time I would pay someone to install them. lol. Although, now I could do it again much faster.

 

[kseis]

Ok, I followed your process almost to the letter this weekend and it worked perfectly. Thank you for that!!! I do have a question about how you reinstalled the plastic rear carpet threshold? I can’t get mine to fit with the carpeted bar that is used back there.

Otherwise, finding those initial bolt holes and using 2X4 worked like a champ. I have to say, it was a PIA to do the install based on the instructions from Dobbinsons. They were probably as helpful as Ikea instructions. Glad I found this thread..

 

[obxbird]

I would love to buy one if it was 1/2 the height from the posted pic. Looks to be pretty good quality though.

 

[avo1789]

Anyone having problems with slide out tray? Heard from a few people that it is a bit flimsy as far as the way it latches and unlatches on its own while driving? Just wondering if that could be due to defect or install error...

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[kseis]

I would be really curious as to how the slide out tray is coming unlatched. I couldn’t see that happening based on how mine latches in there.

Maybe there is an issue with the latch loosening over time? I guess we’ll see, but at least for now it’s very secure.

 

[sn_85]

I would love to buy one if it was 1/2 the height from the posted pic. Looks to be pretty good quality though.

Check out the ARB Outback drawers. They have 3 different height models. They have the roller drawer which is 11", roller floor which is 5.5" and recently released a mid height option which is 7.5". I think that one is good medium between the two since 11" is quite tall and 5.5 is too short to store anything inside.

The model of the mid height drawer is RFH945 if you're curious.

 

[gainman]

I tried the turnbuckle method Didn't seem sturdy enough and ended up drilling holes instead.



For anyone interested....



I was able to use the 2 threaded existing holes that are meant for the slide-out tray (once I found them from underneath). I drilled the top of them out since they are covered with sheet metal. These holes helped a lot and allowed me to figure out where to put the other 2 holes I had to drill. Until I found these I was struggling on getting everything in alignment. I had to use 3 of the supplied spacers on each bolt to get the drawers high enough to clear the plastic over the rear wheels. This required me getting longer bolts from the hardware store which were 100mm in length. I cut square holes in the styrofoam liner and carpet where the bolts were coming through and put it back in. I added some 2x3 pieces to fill the empty space between the carpet and the drawers.

Hi. I am installing dobinson drawers and was following your example. I found the 2 rear holes and drilled out the sheet metal to access them. What did you use to mount the forward side (towards the seats?). I don't see any other inserts to drill out. Did you just drill into the floor?

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[KWSRStorm]

Theres a few different options. Looks like he bolted through the floor and used wood as a spacer. I endeded up doing an arb system and used the front (towards the engine) crossmember and some rivnuts.

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[kaitlyn2004]

That looks like a nice clean drawer system! How much did the whole system weigh?

 

[gainman]

Theres a few different options. Looks like he bolted through the floor and used wood as a spacer. I endeded up doing an arb system and used the front (towards the engine) crossmember and some rivnuts.

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Did you insulate around the rivnuts? Caulking or something?

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[KWSRStorm]

Did you insulate around the rivnuts? Caulking or something?

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Nope. Theyre not exposed to any elements. Thats just a cossmeber on top of the floor. And the way the attach they dont move so theres no worry about rattles.

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