Since the Alpha is no longer my DD and is now my off road toy having full access to the cargo area has become less important than having organization for tools, recovery gear and camping supplies. I have wanted to do it for a while now so decided while off for the holidays to build a cargo drawer system.
I first started out by removing the rubber cargo area mat. I didn't realize until I went to remove it but it's one piece that goes up over the wheel wells. Thought it was just a mat that could simply be removed but had to cut it out. I cut it so that if I ever one to put it back you shouldn't be able to tell it was ever removed.
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The base of the plastic interior piece on either side of the cargo area curves in at the very bottom which reduces the overall width of the usable space by 1"-2".
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So to utilize all available space I trimmed this section off on both sides.
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I figured there would be more road noise with the rubber mat removed and I didn't want metal on metal when I install the drawer system so I covered the cargo area with sound deadening material.
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Then it was time to build the frame for the system. I had draw everything up and was ready to build. Had a friend that was going to weld it up for me but our schedules hadn't lined up and I was off for the holidays so decided to buy a cheap welder and teach myself
Of course what would have taken him maybe a day took me three days and my welds would probably make him cringe, if not cry, but it works and nobody will see them
Frame all built and test fit. Note the small section on the left side. Had everything built and when I did my first test fitting I realized that when the cargo door is open it does not give clearance for a drawer to go the full width to the left side. Time to pull it and figure out a work around without wasting space.
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I have a tool set with a wide selection of sockets and extensions that I always carry with me. The problem with this set is the case would take up a lot of room in one of the drawers and wouldn't fit in the new narrower left drawer. This is a great set and very handy on the trails so wanted to keep it and it ended up working almost perfectly to use the space on the left for it.
I welded in gussets to use the four existing tied down anchor points in the cargo area to anchor down the system as well as four on each side to secure tie down points on either side on top of the system.
Here it is all finished up, well almost. I still need to do a few things like carpet the inside of the drawers, cover the left front and cover the left top. Waiting to cover the left top until I decide exactly what I want to do. The original plan was to have the fridge/freezer on a drawer so it can slide out but am rethinking that now. I also had planned on building a third drawer that would go on top on either side but with the issue of the narrower drawer on the left that won't work. Going to load everything up and see if I even need to additional drawer or not.
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Tool set in it's cubby for easy access. As an added bonus it allows for air space around the base of the fridge/freezer with is a requirement of the compressor.
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Was a little worried at first when I got the fridge/freezer that it wouldn't fit int the cargo area without folding down the seat but my measurements were correct, couldn't go a 1/4 inch larger
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26" by 13.5" and 18.5" drawers will give some nice storage. One of the main goals was to get the weight of the tools carried in the pelican case on the Gobi rack down lower rather than up high and this should work pretty good.
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Finally got around to taking a couple of pics of the finished product. At this point I have decided I am not putting the fridge on a drawer.
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Still need to organize but all the tools are on the left and most of the recovery gear is on the right. With some other mods I am planning I might be able to get everything in the left drawer and leave the right drawer for camping gear.
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Will probably wait till after a couple of trips with this setup to decide if I will continue with the original plan of three drawers. The reason the top is in two pieces is so that I can remove either side and bolt a third drawer in it place then the top would move on top of it. Would be nice to have the additional drawer when needed but able to remove it so there is a nice flat surface across the back.