IIKTWIKN: Goose Gear configuration thoughts after living with it

[Liquidmantis]

I'm looking for feedback from Goose Gear owners on what they like and dislike about the layout they have, specifically wanting to pick [MENTION=124732]LawnDart[/MENTION]'s brain.

Originally I was planning on going with probably the same exact layout, which means I need to jump on a LoadSpotter fast while stock is still out there, but I'm starting to wonder how well it would work for me. I really like the full-length low-profile drawers as they give the most capacity and are the least "IMA OVERLANDER!" dedicated cargo area commitment. Paired with the quick release for the LoadSpotter would mean that I could easily remove the fridge and slide if I wanted to switch back to general purpose cargo area while still keeping my every-day-carry stuff loaded in the drawers.

The concerns I'm starting to have with that build is that the LoadSpotter will take up half the cargo area at 22" wide, and I would have to be careful not to smother the vents on the fridge when overpacking. Plus you lose the cargo area above the fridge unless you give up easy access. I'd also have to get the 1/3-2/3 drawer split as the LS would block access to both drawers while dropped. Even still it would block access to the majority of the drawer storage.

Based on those thoughts I'm starting to seriously consider the GG 22" high mid-sized fridge "box" with built in slides. That's only 19 3/16" wide and would sit tighter to the side as well as provide a top to stack gear on while still providing access to the fridge. I would then get the 22 3/16" wide 22" high double drawer to get the drawer storage. The downside is that these are only 27" deep compared to the 36" of the low-profile drawers, but it also creates a nook behind the boxes for various gear stashing. This is starting to dedicate my storage area but in a pinch it should be a 10 minute job to strip the fridge and drawers out when they're married to the base plate.

Has anyone one else done the latter? If so, I'd love to see pictures and get any thoughts on how it's working for you. If I go that route I'd use the lower drawer for tools, recovery gear, jumper cables, air down/up bits, etc. and the upper would be mostly on-demand storage. Especially once I get my Gobi so that my Plano camping boxes can just go up top.

 

[Doc_Fry]

I'm looking for feedback from Goose Gear owners on what they like and dislike about the layout they have, specifically wanting to pick [MENTION=124732]LawnDart[/MENTION]'s brain.

Originally I was planning on going with probably the same exact layout, which means I need to jump on a LoadSpotter fast while stock is still out there, but I'm starting to wonder how well it would work for me. I really like the full-length low-profile drawers as they give the most capacity and are the least "IMA OVERLANDER!" dedicated cargo area commitment. Paired with the quick release for the LoadSpotter would mean that I could easily remove the fridge and slide if I wanted to switch back to general purpose cargo area while still keeping my every-day-carry stuff loaded in the drawers.

The concerns I'm starting to have with that build is that the LoadSpotter will take up half the cargo area at 22" wide, and I would have to be careful not to smother the vents on the fridge when overpacking. Plus you lose the cargo area above the fridge unless you give up easy access. I'd also have to get the 1/3-2/3 drawer split as the LS would block access to both drawers while dropped. Even still it would block access to the majority of the drawer storage.

Based on those thoughts I'm starting to seriously consider the GG 22" high mid-sized fridge "box" with built in slides. That's only 19 3/16" wide and would sit tighter to the side as well as provide a top to stack gear on while still providing access to the fridge. I would then get the 22 3/16" wide 22" high double drawer to get the drawer storage. The downside is that these are only 27" deep compared to the 36" of the low-profile drawers, but it also creates a nook behind the boxes for various gear stashing. This is starting to dedicate my storage area but in a pinch it should be a 10 minute job to strip the fridge and drawers out when they're married to the base plate.

Has anyone one else done the latter? If so, I'd love to see pictures and get any thoughts on how it's working for you. If I go that route I'd use the lower drawer for tools, recovery gear, jumper cables, air down/up bits, etc. and the upper would be mostly on-demand storage. Especially once I get my Gobi so that my Plano camping boxes can just go up top.

A couple of points of having an engel myself. You dont need much soace between the fridge and the container. Maybe 1/2 inch and still get enough airflow. If it is a large issue this can be fixed one option would be to ventilate the box. Second would be to add a 12v computer type fan to push or pull air through the box. Third would be to combine the two.

Notes: fan noise can be extremely low just depends on the fan that you choose. Can set it up to have the fridge in its own independent circuit as well as a switch. Similar to what I have done. That way the fan could be put on the circuit as well to be an on demand fan when the fridge is switched on as well as off when switch off. I highly recommend getting insulation for whichever fridge you decide. Also a quick note if you are gonna be running the fridge for extended periods when the vehicle is off then figure out your tun tine before battery issues. You could do a a secondary battery on its own circuit. About $300 + battery to get the parts to install. I havent done a secondary battery ended up getting the XP1 li-ion jumper kit just in case I run into issues. I hope this helps at least on part of it. For the drawer systems I have looked just havent been able to pull the trigger. Made my own on the fj. Biggest issue I have woth them is the security with firearms I would need an aluminum at minimum to secure my nfa stuff when keeping in the vehicle and aluminum equals money I could put somewhere else. So I resort to having yn fridge hard mounted on the vehicle slide out tray and using difderent pelican cases for all my gear. Alowing me to even put some on the Gobi as well as being able to use my thule roof top
Box.

 

[Liquidmantis]

Thanks! I wasn't worried about the fridge in the cabinet box as it's ventilated and prevents any soft goods from pressing up against the fridge vents. I was worried about the fridge without the box to prevent bags or anything getting pressed over the vents.

For context, here's the load from my last trip with the entire family plus dog (in my defense this was also a trip to hand my kids over to my parents for an extended summer visit so there was extra clothes and things. Plus my kids added last minute airsoft rifles and equipment after I thought I was done loading gear.)

 

[Titanpat57]

Thanks! I wasn't worried about the fridge in the cabinet box as it's ventilated and prevents any soft goods from pressing up against the fridge vents. I was worried about the fridge without the box to prevent bags or anything getting pressed over the vents.

For context, here's the load from my last trip with the entire family plus dog (in my defense this was also a trip to hand my kids over to my parents for an extended summer visit so there was extra clothes and things. Plus my kids added last minute airsoft rifles and equipment after I thought I was done loading gear.)

Why in the hell wouldn't you get a trailer??

 

[AZrunner11]

Why in the hell wouldn't you get a trailer??

It all fits- he doesn't need a trailer.

 

[LawnDart]

Since we talked about this offline, but I'll repeat it for anyone else who's interested:

Since the setup in question was designed specifically around my needs, and was very much a collaboration, I'll say that it's the lowest profile drawer system that's actually usable.

If you make it any shorter the drawers basically don't hold anything, and right now I'd say they're about 5.75" deep of functional storage. With the plate, and frame for the drawer system you're looking at 8" high, which sounds like a lot, but isn't.

The loadspotter is epic, but as I said Jerry won't be making many more of them due to complexity and it being a fairly boutique piece of gear. It's totally worth it if you're trying to solve the issue of making the fridge more accessible to people who aren't taller than 6'.

The fans on the ARB don't push much air, and as long as you're not blocking them completely they don't need much ventilation.

But as I said on the phone, despite the tembo dusk dock allowing for easier removal of the fridge slide, it isn't really quick disconnect, and I'd say it'd probably take 10-15 minutes to remove the fridge assembly completely. Just something to keep in mind.

I'm having Goose Gear (likely this week it'll finally ship) build me a line-x'd top that bolts in on the exposed left 17.5"x 36" of cabinet, so that I can throw pelican cases on top of the GG setup without worry of tearing up the top of the cabinet.

Also for reference here's how the back of my vehicle looks in it's every day setup:

I'm looking for feedback from Goose Gear owners on what they like and dislike about the layout they have, specifically wanting to pick [MENTION=124732]LawnDart[/MENTION]'s brain.

Originally I was planning on going with probably the same exact layout, which means I need to jump on a LoadSpotter fast while stock is still out there, but I'm starting to wonder how well it would work for me. I really like the full-length low-profile drawers as they give the most capacity and are the least "IMA OVERLANDER!" dedicated cargo area commitment. Paired with the quick release for the LoadSpotter would mean that I could easily remove the fridge and slide if I wanted to switch back to general purpose cargo area while still keeping my every-day-carry stuff loaded in the drawers.

The concerns I'm starting to have with that build is that the LoadSpotter will take up half the cargo area at 22" wide, and I would have to be careful not to smother the vents on the fridge when overpacking. Plus you lose the cargo area above the fridge unless you give up easy access. I'd also have to get the 1/3-2/3 drawer split as the LS would block access to both drawers while dropped. Even still it would block access to the majority of the drawer storage.

Based on those thoughts I'm starting to seriously consider the GG 22" high mid-sized fridge "box" with built in slides. That's only 19 3/16" wide and would sit tighter to the side as well as provide a top to stack gear on while still providing access to the fridge. I would then get the 22 3/16" wide 22" high double drawer to get the drawer storage. The downside is that these are only 27" deep compared to the 36" of the low-profile drawers, but it also creates a nook behind the boxes for various gear stashing. This is starting to dedicate my storage area but in a pinch it should be a 10 minute job to strip the fridge and drawers out when they're married to the base plate.

Has anyone one else done the latter? If so, I'd love to see pictures and get any thoughts on how it's working for you. If I go that route I'd use the lower drawer for tools, recovery gear, jumper cables, air down/up bits, etc. and the upper would be mostly on-demand storage. Especially once I get my Gobi so that my Plano camping boxes can just go up top.

 

[wbpolk]

"lawnDart" what size fridge are you running? also are you saying your drawers are 8" from the floor to the top where the loadspotter is mounted to?
thank you

also sending PM about your bumper

 

[LawnDart]

"lawnDart" what size fridge are you running? also are you saying your drawers are 8" from the floor to the top where the loadspotter is mounted to?
thank you

also sending PM about your bumper

No I'm saying from the bottom edge of the aluminum frame to the top edge of the aluminum frame. That's 8" tall. Add another half inch for the goose gear plate system it's mounted to underneath.

I'm running the ARB 47QT fridge.

 

[Liquidmantis]

Why in the hell wouldn't you get a trailer??

Because I still had space.

 

[Titanpat57]

Because I still had space.

handy, especially if you need to store credit cards...:boom:

 

[Orbital Debris]

Thanks! I wasn't worried about the fridge in the cabinet box as it's ventilated and prevents any soft goods from pressing up against the fridge vents. I was worried about the fridge without the box to prevent bags or anything getting pressed over the vents.

For context, here's the load from my last trip with the entire family plus dog (in my defense this was also a trip to hand my kids over to my parents for an extended summer visit so there was extra clothes and things. Plus my kids added last minute airsoft rifles and equipment after I thought I was done loading gear.)

What do you think of the plano boxes? Are those the smalls? I was considering those to ride on top in a loadwarrior.

 

[jrandom]

I have been considering a set of drawers for a few years.

You won't get that much stuff in there if you have drawers. Drawers themselves physically take up far more space than what you used to pack the stuff with. You can take advantage of every nook and cranny when packing soft sided bags and plastic crates. Drawer sets are kinda of heavy too depending on which ones you get.

I personally really like TrekBoxx's configuration and build quility but he only has sets for LC100 and JK's. There are expensive, quite possibly too steep for my budget else I would consider asking him about a 4runner specific application.

Of course a trailer...

 

[LawnDart]

What do you think of the plano boxes? Are those the smalls? I was considering those to ride on top in a loadwarrior.

I love the Planos, I have 2 and they're the best bang for the buck.

 

[Liquidmantis]

What do you think of the plano boxes? Are those the smalls? I was considering those to ride on top in a loadwarrior.

Yep! I don't know about "small" but they're the Plano 1719 68 qt. You can fit six perfectly in the hatch whereas the larger 1819 you can't. If you're going straight to the roof though I'd get the 1819, just make sure they aren't too long for your basket. However, one thing to consider is that, while I haven't actually done it yet, the 1719 looks to be able to seal up. There is a groove in the lid that mates to the rim of the box and you should be able to either get some rubber tubular weather stripping or run a bead of caulk in there to completely seal it up. The 1819 has a different style lid but with more latches for the larger size.

 

[Liquidmantis]

You won't get that much stuff in there if you have drawers. Drawers themselves physically take up far more space than what you used to pack the stuff with. You can take advantage of every nook and cranny when packing soft sided bags and plastic crates.

Yeah, the drawers are about accommodating the fridge which already throws a kink into my packing optimization. I already know that drawers will go best with a good roof rack -- because spending $3000 on something needs another $1600 to make it useful... :doh: If I could still stack the Planos in a 2x2 with the fridge I most likely wouldn't go with drawers. Unfortunately the fridge, especially with a slide, is too wide to do that so the drawers are to replace what I use two of the Planos for now. The others can go on the future roof rack.

 

[Liquidmantis]

Okay, I knocked out a quick install today in preparation for my trip tomorrow. I surprised myself by still managing to get two of my bins side-by-side with the fridge mounted. If I can deal with the fridge not being on a slide this postpone the need for drawers for now, plus this configuration is great for a daily driver as I can strip everything out in a couple of minutes.

I posted more details and installation pictures in my build thread (linked in sig) but when I get back from my trip I'll tweak the tie-down locations as I see fit and spray it with bedliner.

Here's the final result though: