Cargo drawer for the KJ

[froop]

So I wanted a cargo drawer, but didn't want to spend hundred of dollars on an off the shelf one, let alone get a custom made one to suit my needs. Time to pull out the circular saw and router and get to work.

A couple of lengths of timber on the base for support, and to lift the sides enough to (mostly) clear the lip of the door, and 18mm MDF for the sides. To keep weight down, I've run three cross members up top for strength, covered with a 6mm MDF. I also slid a sheet of masonite in the groove just below the supports to stop any contents from snagging on them.



On long trips, I want at least one of the back seats up, and the other side goes down to fit the Engel. That leaves me the right 2/3 of the boot to play with.



I also angled the back to match the angle of the rear seats when they are up. That means there isn't a sharp edge when the seats are down, but also since I haven't anchored the drawer, it is wedged in enough to stop it from toppling when its open.

I got lazy with the camera, and stopped taking photos while I was cursing as I tried to learn how to do dovetail joins for the drawer sides. After spending about as much as I paid for my router on a dovetail jig and guide bushes, I was determined to make it work before I ran out of scrap
timber!

Also, no pictures while I was carpetting either, coz I was too busy getting high on contact adhesive, even after I swore never to open the container again after spending a weekend carpetting my boat last year!



A couple of handles on each side, and the drawer is relatively easy to carry around. I've also got two 25L supacheap special toolboxes which fit nicely on top of the drawer, and tie down nicely to the side handles with a couple of rubber straps.



The only thing that I'm a little doubtful about is the drawer runners. I've used the sturdiest ones I could find at Bunnings (but that's not saying much) so they may be in need of replacing if they don't last the distance of a rough ride.

[Jaffas]

I like! Gives me ideas... as I was planning on making my own soon. No probs with not securing the drawer?

[froop]

Well, you can probably see a series of magnetic door closers across the top, which give the drawer a nice feel when it clicks close on a flat, or slight incline. They wouldn't hold it shut if I opened the tailgate while attempting a steep uphill recovery . But the drawer is perfectly sized so that the tailgate closes onto it to keep it shut.

When I go offroad, I plan to keep my essential recover gear in the toolboxes on top of the drawer - that way I can get to it easier by just opening the glass - I've been in a couple of sticky recovery situations where opening the tailgate was not an option