FEELER: New Drawers for Your Truck

Hey TW!

I have designed, developed and built my own drawer system twice now. After my most recent iteration of the system I got a lot positive feedback and questions asking if this is something that I would ever consider designing and selling for other owners. I want to get feedback from YOU!

First, a little bit about myself. My name is Drew and I currently live in Littleton, Colorado. I first purchased my truck in February of 2017 and it was my first Toyota and first truck. I quickly got the mod bug which quickly turned into building my own set of custom truck drawers! The motivation behind the construction of this system was two-fold. One, have something that looked nice and provided functional, easy to access storage for gear, groceries or whatever else I could throw at or in it. Two, provide myself and my girlfriend a place to sleep when we drive to the trailhead of a 14er on Friday night in order to get an early start on Saturday morning without the fuss of packing up a tent. Here was Version 1.0 that I complete in May of 2017...









The reason I built this set is because as much as I drooled over Goose Gear, Truck Vault, ARB and the Deck'd System, they were either too expensive 3-5k for most or in my opinion not efficiently designed. I wanted something that was high quality and ultimately would help to keep all of my gear, both big and small organized. The main feature I wanted was a half-bedslide that I could use to support my RTIC 65 and 12 gallons of fresh water that could easily slide in and out of the truck.

My first set of drawers was incredibly functional and durable. It served myself and my girlfriend very well for the better part of a year on multiple camping trips and winter excursions. While there was nothing wrong with V1, I knew I could do better.

This spring I rebuilt the system and in turn created V2. I did a full build thread HERE but I'll just show you guys the end result.





















I spent a lot of time building this system because I was not able to do it without struggle. I had a lot of R&D and problem solving to do, amongst time constraints and other miscellaneous problems to solve as well. Also my massive OCD and attention to detail does not allow me to do anything that is less than PERFECT. With all of that being said I feel that I was able to build a superior product and something that I would be proud to offer to you.

The ultimate goal is to be able to adapt this system to offer you guys multiple configurations. My current wants/ideas that I would like to be able to offer are as follows.

Drawer Configuration Options:

• Shortbed Drawers and Longbed Drawers
• Driver Side System and Passenger Side System (OR combine the two to make a full system)
• Multiple deck heights (9" (what I have and what clears the wheel wells), 12" and 15")
• Multiple length drawers (24", 36", 48" (what I have), 59" and 71")
• Multiple drawer configurations
  • Blank Drawer
  • Drawer with custom dividers
  • Kitchen Drawer with designated area for stove, pots, pans and more
• Multiple slide options
  • Heavy Duty Full Extension Slides - rated for 500 lbs. and provide the smoothest and sturdiest construction
  • Waxed Wood - using high grit sandpaper for an ultra smooth finish and furniture wax allows the drawers to slide with ease even with 75+ lbs of gear. This is a great alternative to HD slides as it weigh significantly less and will also be less expensive!
• Cubbys with Doors on Stainless Piano Hinges
• AND MORE!

Design Feature Include:

• 1/2" and 3/4" Birch construction with waterproof wood glue and brass screws for ultimate weather resistance
• Stainless and/or Aluminum hardware for ultimate weather resistance
• 500 lb. rated drawer slides available in both locking and non-locking configurations
• Marine Grade latches for UV resistance and superior durability
• Custom cut and milled 1/2" base for enhanced rigidity and weight savings
• Custom cut top deck with removable wings allowing for snug fit when in the bed but easy removal when necessary
• Thoughtful designs that allow for user customization in addition to utilizing the most space for maximum efficiency

Why is this system different?

• What makes my system unique is it is Semi-DIY. Ultimately I would ship you guys an un-assembled system with all materials and instructions for assembly and installation included. The idea behind this is I can ship everything in a large flat box that will be heavy but dense and significantly cheaper than shipping an assembled system. Think IKEA.
• Additionally, the product would be shipped BARE WOOD allowing you to finish how you choose. You could easily paint, spray paint, polyurethane, spar, varnish, Herculine, Line-X or do anything else that would support your needs and desired finish.

FAQs

• How is the system installed?

A full system is installed by drilling 6 1/4" holes in the bed. There are two bolts on each side of the system and two bolts at the front of the system. I will provide Grade 8 hardware for installation, all you must do is drill 6 small holes and insert the bolt.

On a side not if you have tools to insert rivnuts you could always install rivnuts to avoid crawling under the truck to secure the nuts to the bolts. Regardless installation/removal of the system can be done in less then 1 hour with one person​

• Are you planning on offering any coating add-ons (carpet, Line-X, spar/urethane) Pre-Shipment or is that entirely up to the customer?

Coatings can absolutely be offered Pre-Shipment however it will come at an increased cost as applying a coating is the most time consuming portion of the process. Materials like Line-X also add weight to the system and could impact shipping costs.​

• On the drawer height options...for the 12" and 15" height drawers, does that design just leave some 'dead' space above the wheel wells? Any way you could make that space usable if a customer went with that option?

For the 12" and 15" options I can definitely incorporate small cubbys above the wheel wells however they would only be approximately 3" and 6" deep respectively.​

• In the design, I don't see any access to the wheel well dead spaces like in the decked system (the four corner cubbys)...as the system is currently, does it allow access to the bed outlet and/or stock bed compartments? Any way that would be possible or useful here to have access to the four corner dead spaces?

The system does allow access to the the 4 corners however at the end of the bed you currently must reach into the space. I have not currently worked out a way to incorporate top access doors for the rear of the bed however it's coming!

For long bed owners, top access cubbys will standard on all systems to allow use of space for the void at the front of the wheel wells.​

THIS POST IS GOING TO CHANGE AND EVOLVE AS TIME GOES ON. I AM LEANING ON ALL OF YOU GUYS FOR QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, CONCERNS, ADVICE AND RECOMMENDATIONS TO HELP ME DEVELOP A PRODUCT THAT YOU WANT.

IF THIS IS SOMETHING THAT YOU WOULD BE INTERESTED IN PLEASE PARTICIPATE IN THE POLL AT THE TOP OF THIS THREAD!

THANK YOU!

 

Some pictures from V2s build process

I wanted give you guys a little more in depth look of what went into this process so you can further see the design and quality of this system. Please feel free to let me know what features you do and don't like.

1/2" Birch Base:



2 - 48" long drawers with 3 - 13" cubbys:



Custom cuts to account for bed bolts and bed stiffeners:



Milling out the base for weight reduction:



Custom cut top deck for seamless integration with bed walls:



Finished with Spar/Urethane, Carpeted and L-Track bolted down:



Aluminum trim on edges:



Threaded inserts added for removable deck:



500 lb slides to support bedslide and kitchen drawer:



Aluminum angle to allow maximum depth of kitchen drawer:



And that's about that! As I have already said this was a long but enjoyable process for me. Please let me know what you think and what you'd like to see different.

My next steps are drawing up a few models and CAD for all of your view pleasure and then begin to assemble a pricing list so we can move closer to an initial run of 5-7 systems!

 

mine

 

also mine, thanks everyone

 

Subbed. Finally someone producing what looks to be an upscale system within a reasonable budget. Looking good op

 

Thank you, I still have A LOT to work through but my main goal is to bring a high quality product to all of you at a reasonable cost. I am currently working in CAD to get a few designs hammered down to allow for customization on a used end as well!

 

Customization would be key in this case. But having a basic budjet model would be ideal. As you said competition in the drawer market is way over priced. There needs to be a low level budjet option out there. Looks like you are determined to make that an option. I would say if you could keep a basic set below $1000 then you would stay coverd up.

 

As a woodworking myself, I approve. Nice work buddy.

 

Understood. For something like my most recent system with the dual slide setup, it would not be realistic however the drawers that are just waxed and slide wood on wood that could easily be doable. Obviously both a short bed and long bed option would be offered and I think from both a shipping and customization standpoint I would be able to offer half systems as well i.e. passenger side or driver side drawers.

 

Thank you sir! If you have anything that you like or think could be done better please let me know. Right now I am using all of you to understand what the market wants most!

 

Half drawers or meaning just one drawer is definitely something i would lean towards over even a double setup. For my personal uses. Definitely have my attention there.

 

Looks good. I really want drawers but I don’t want a shell so sadly this option would be out. Just trying to justify dropping over 1k on a Decked.

 

Half/One, I think we are on the same page. Something like this...



This is an example of a Passenger Side Kitchen Drawer.

 

What have you been quoted for Decked? I think they make a nice product but there is a lot of lost space between and on the sides of the drawers. For you to use my system you would need full Herculiner or Line-X coverage and the drawers are designed in a way that they would stay relatively dry inside with a bulb seal. That's not something I have tackled yet because I have not had to personally worry about it.

 

They’re right around $1100 depending on if there’s a sale.

 

Pulling these quotes from another thread....

A long bed version will absolutely be an option! As I have said in a few previous posts it is more than likely that this system would be sold in 'halves' by doing this it will allow for the best customization possible.

A top deck could also be put on a continuous hinge to have a deck for a sleeping platform where the drawers are not. For example, you could have drawers on the passenger side and a removable or foldable deck on the driver side to allow a spot for sleeping two or loading more gear possibly!

 

Make sure it fits in a correct size box to optimize shipping costs or it will kill you. if you are planing to ship them unembarrassed. To ship them all put together is going to cost a ton.

 

Shipping will be the biggest headache. I hope to do it unembarrassed....and also unassembled. Luckily I'm good at Tetris so they will ship as small as they can!

 

At OEW there was a company doing some interesting barebones drawer systems. Their concept was more about quality and strength at a lower price point, which they accomplish by making everything optional, and some clever cost-saving techniques (using plastic sliders instead of drawer rails, etc.). They'd ship it unassembled, and assembly was very much in the Ikea mold (simple directions, no hammers/saws/drilling).

...Lots of videos showing how strong they are (driving over it, standing on it extended, etc.)...

It was interesting to me because I'm not very handy and I'm still on the fence about whether a semi-permanent drawer system would be massively useful, or constantly in the way.

I'm blanking out on the name of the company. I think it was AVC (Adventure Vehicle Concepts)...

 

I saw them but when looking at their site it looks to be very much 1 off customs. Something I am capable of but I also have a vision in mind where you can pick a base system, add options, pay and be done. Like I said, early concept here but I wanted to reach out to all of you guys as dedicated Tacoma owner to see what you want. I really appreciate the insight, do you know or recall their pricing? You can PM me if you want.