It's been about 3 years since I bought my runner and in those 3 years this is my 3rd and hopefully my last set of storage drawers.
I don't have any pics left from my first attempt but it wasn't a set of drawers, just a short platform that allowed me to stow away things like recovery gear, some tools, etc. it was nothing fancy at all.
Last year I finished my first set of storage drawers that included a fridge slide for my at the time recently acquired ARB fridge. This is what it looked like before I removed it for iteration 3:
I had made it rather shallow so that my two dogs still had enough room to roam around and stand in the back, but also it worked out great when i made an extension for it and used it as a sleeping platform for my trip to the Yukon.
I made a couple mistakes that I wanted to rectify on my next try:
1)I'm not sure why I decided that covering it in black carpet was a good idea since I have 2 white dogs that like to shed, I could never keep it clean.
2)I added the pull out table and an empty slot for the coleman camp table as last minute ideas, which at the time sounded good. I used the pull out table a grand total of 4 times in that year, it was really handy when i did use it but it was kind of a waste. By adding the pullout table i took away space that I could have used instead for the drawers themselves.
3)this goes hand in hand with mistake number 2, the drawers themselves were too shallow, they were about 3.5 inches deep. I couldn't store alot in them hence why I made the storage cubbies over the wheel wells.
4)I couldn't really see inside the fridge when it was pulled out, my wife had an even harder time than I did.
So earlier this year I decided to make yet another set of drawers, this time I would keep it simple, 1 main drawer for all my stuff with an insert tray to hold all the smaller stuff and the other section would be a sliding platform for the fridge but with a removable top so that it would function as a drawer when i don't have the fridge with me. The removable top would also still let the dogs have room to lay down. The biggest change would be NO CARPET, I would just paint it and be done. So I started the build this time using 5/8 baltic birch compared to the 3/4 inch whatever plywood was on sale that I used last time:
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I had decided to make it about 12 inches tall that way it could fit all my stuff I wanted like my ARB portable compressor, maybe my camp stove, some dry food. I did a test fit and it fit fine, but then i saw that I took about 1/3 of the vertical space away from my dogs, there's no way they'd lay down on it there just wasn't enough space. So i decided to tear apart version 3 and start V3.01
I also made a couple other changes to my plan, since now the drawers would be shorter than I planned putting in an insert tray would take away space inside the drawer, so I decided to make a small drawer beneath the fridge tray which was now about 3 inches from the bottom of the system. Also since the fridge would be in kind of an enclosed space I decided to cut some holes in the back of the carcass to help with ventilation.
anyway here are a couple pics of the newest and hopefully last iteration(third time's a charm?)
I still have to build the drawer faces, and the top pieces and side wings, I have also decided not to paint them instead I will apply a couple coats of clear polyurethane for extra protection. I have also decided to remove the compressor from the carry case and will mount it to the side of the drawers under the side wings.
I'm hoping to finish it by the end of the month
I don't have any pics left from my first attempt but it wasn't a set of drawers, just a short platform that allowed me to stow away things like recovery gear, some tools, etc. it was nothing fancy at all.
Last year I finished my first set of storage drawers that included a fridge slide for my at the time recently acquired ARB fridge. This is what it looked like before I removed it for iteration 3:
I had made it rather shallow so that my two dogs still had enough room to roam around and stand in the back, but also it worked out great when i made an extension for it and used it as a sleeping platform for my trip to the Yukon.
I made a couple mistakes that I wanted to rectify on my next try:
1)I'm not sure why I decided that covering it in black carpet was a good idea since I have 2 white dogs that like to shed, I could never keep it clean.
2)I added the pull out table and an empty slot for the coleman camp table as last minute ideas, which at the time sounded good. I used the pull out table a grand total of 4 times in that year, it was really handy when i did use it but it was kind of a waste. By adding the pullout table i took away space that I could have used instead for the drawers themselves.
3)this goes hand in hand with mistake number 2, the drawers themselves were too shallow, they were about 3.5 inches deep. I couldn't store alot in them hence why I made the storage cubbies over the wheel wells.
4)I couldn't really see inside the fridge when it was pulled out, my wife had an even harder time than I did.
So earlier this year I decided to make yet another set of drawers, this time I would keep it simple, 1 main drawer for all my stuff with an insert tray to hold all the smaller stuff and the other section would be a sliding platform for the fridge but with a removable top so that it would function as a drawer when i don't have the fridge with me. The removable top would also still let the dogs have room to lay down. The biggest change would be NO CARPET, I would just paint it and be done. So I started the build this time using 5/8 baltic birch compared to the 3/4 inch whatever plywood was on sale that I used last time:
I had decided to make it about 12 inches tall that way it could fit all my stuff I wanted like my ARB portable compressor, maybe my camp stove, some dry food. I did a test fit and it fit fine, but then i saw that I took about 1/3 of the vertical space away from my dogs, there's no way they'd lay down on it there just wasn't enough space. So i decided to tear apart version 3 and start V3.01
I also made a couple other changes to my plan, since now the drawers would be shorter than I planned putting in an insert tray would take away space inside the drawer, so I decided to make a small drawer beneath the fridge tray which was now about 3 inches from the bottom of the system. Also since the fridge would be in kind of an enclosed space I decided to cut some holes in the back of the carcass to help with ventilation.
anyway here are a couple pics of the newest and hopefully last iteration(third time's a charm?)
I still have to build the drawer faces, and the top pieces and side wings, I have also decided not to paint them instead I will apply a couple coats of clear polyurethane for extra protection. I have also decided to remove the compressor from the carry case and will mount it to the side of the drawers under the side wings.
I'm hoping to finish it by the end of the month
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