FEELER: New Drawers for Your Truck

I need more criticism...if my idea sucks, just tell me. All I ask for is the truth!

 

Doesn’t suck it’s a good idea. I’m working on my v2 set myself and was planning on selling custom builds locally too. I won’t ship cause these things are just too damn heavy and I like the option of having 500lbs drawer slides.

Your price point is great.

 

Thanks man! The slides are really the best but heavy and expensive. Thats why I want to be able to offer multiple tiers of this system that way everyone can get exactly what they want at an affordable price

 

What’s the total weight of this system? Honestly, no one really talks about weight much in the overland community, and weight = bad gas mileage, more heavy duty suspension, etc.

That’s the one of the biggest hurdles for these midsize trucks is WEIGHT!

It’s part of the reason I’ve kept my truck stock (minus wheels and new k02s)and just tent camp, using light/ultralight camp gear.

It shows when driving over long trips and getting 25mpg + Highway.

Anyways, that’s my thought on all this.

 

Valid concern. The total weight of V2 is exactly 152 lbs. It does weigh a lot, however with that being said, I have a cap, prinsu toprac, awning, rear bumper with swingout, sliders, lift, 33s, and obviously the drawers and still get 17-18 mpg from Denver to Moab and back. Is that great? NO, but the point is these trucks don't lose all their MPGs with weight as much as they do with driving style. With the drawers IN vs OUT I don't see a difference in drivability nor MPGs

With all of that being said, a half system with no slides could be as light as 50 lbs, a full system with no slides, 100 lbs, fully loaded like me, 150-180 lbs max.

I am also still looking at ways to get this weight down another 10-15%.

 

That’s why I’m on a V2 I made my first system with 3/4 ply oops

There’s a bunch of ways to save on the weight the problem is that could jack up the price of materials also

 

It's definitely a fine line. a combination of 3/4" and 1/2" has worked well for me with creative material removal to help shave pounds. Personally, I would not want to use 1/2" ply for the top deck at the risk of it bowing beyond repair but reinforcement ribs could also alleviate the issue.

 

Lovely workmanship...you will go broke though, selling that gear for less than 1500 toadskins....and knowing what workmanship is worth, it's probably closer to 2K. (I'm quoting CDN toadskins though). Great stuff for a contractor / specialty user of the truck.
Well done, Cheers, Jeff

 

Thanks Jeff, as far as price, I know my quality is top-notch. I will do what I can to keep costs down but I assure you and every other member I will not market or sell this to make $1 profit. For a fully decked out system like mine it would be at or above $2k + shipping

 

Morning Bump!

 

This looks awesome! And honestly, 150 lbs isnt too too bad. Though every bit helps. Seems one way to get some weight savings would be making all the inner partitions out of something thinner like 1/4" ply instead of 1/2". Though I do agree that you would want the top deck to be 3/4.

How easy is it to take out of the truck when the need to actually haul shit arises?

 

I have my system through bolted with 6 bolts and the hardest part is crawling under the bed to take those off. With that being said, I can have the entire system out in 20-30 minutes.

In regards to lightening it up I'm looking at what else I can do but I don't think making the base out of 1/4" is the answer. The weight difference between 1/4" and 1/2" is negligible and the structural difference is substantial. I don't want these systems crapping out on you guys.

 

I like this a lot. I have something similar - but nowhere near as nice. Other than the 'lost space' in a Decked - which is really annoying. I'm not sure how you could compete with them. 1200 bucks for a plug and play plastic system is hard to beat. Just my dos centavos

 

Yes sir! This is awesome. Would rather have this then then two side by side.

 

Understood, you're right, they are hard to beat. Thing is, my drawers are larger volume wise than that of Decked and my overall system is only 10" tall as opposed to decked being nearly 16" tall.

I know I will not earn everyone's business, but those I do earn will not be disappointed.

 

Let's make it happen!

 

• Decked is actually only 12 inches high. https://decked.com/products/decked-toyota-tacoma?variant=47245293587
• I think the decked systems biggest selling point is that it is weather proof. I don't have a topper and a lot of the guys on here have bed racks so they cant use something not weather proof either. You did mention that we could just bedline the wood but it is something we would have to apply ourselves which is kind of too hands on for something we didn't want to be hands on about since we would be buying it from you.
• I would have bought a decked but not trying to shell out 1200+ for it. i would say price is the most important factor to me. If i was your customer i would be happy with a basic double draw system with divider inserts.

 

The purpose of this system is to be Semi-DIY so people don't have to be full DIY. If you want to just assemble and go then buy Decked. This clearly isn't the product for you and it also won't work for everyone, I get that. But for those that want a custom finish and customization within the system itself, they have the ability to do so with my offering. Decked is almost an entirely different system then what I am trying to offer. It will work for some and not for others, that's just the nature of the beast.

 

Also, thank you for the input. It's greatly valued and has given me things to consider!

 

Will you be shipping to Canada?