After 6 months away from my truck I had plenty of time to think about ways to improve it and my first mod after being back at the wheel was in form of some well needed organization.
So I built a drawer system that incorporates a kitchen and plenty of storage. It's constructed using 1/2" plywood so fairly light but plenty strong. I didn't want to loose storage space so didn't use the typical sliding rails. Instead I made some 1/16" hardwood tracks that the drawers slide on. I just coat them with wax and they work great. The bottom right drawer has a removable plastic sink, storage for cooking utensils and the stove. There's an opening at the front of the drawer to run my propane cable. The 5lbs tank is hidden to the right of the drawer.
In the upper right drawer it's mostly cooking pans, plates, bowls... That drawer is shorter as it bumps against the back bench while the bottom one slide underneath.
The left drawer is shallow at the back but full height at the front so I have enough room to have a long axe, recovery and safety gears... I can even put two wvo cubies in there!
On top there's a storage box that while opening creates an extra shelf, great while cooking. I can also move that box to the front to support the bed (between rear bench and captain chairs). It's narrow enough that I can push it to the right and have leg room while sitting in the captain chair facing backward. It also leaves enough room to have the captain chairs facing forwards with leg room.
Finally I made a foldable bed platform that stores to the right of the captain chair and doesn't obstruct the air vent. If I don't use the storage box to support the bed I simply use my cooler that has the right height. The bed has the same width as a fat Thermarest and works great. I can keep the back rest of the rear bench up and still have 6'3" of sleeping room. With the back down then the captain chairs can both face back and a second platform can be added to have room for 2 adults way taller than me...
I've been using this system on my return trip across Canada and this weekend while camping and I would not go back to my old way! It's been working awesome. It's really nice not to have to search for anything, it all has it's place. The system is also secured as it is locked under the rear bench and can also be further secured with the existing rear bench nuts. As for the storage box I secure it for the moment with a tensioner belt.
But pictures are always better than all this bla bla bla
- Frame.jpg (97.27 KiB) Viewed 13124 times
- Drawer system.jpg (90.03 KiB) Viewed 13150 times
- Back of unit.jpg (82.49 KiB) Viewed 13120 times
- Kitchen.jpg (66.1 KiB) Viewed 13131 times
- Storage, bed support.jpg (104.41 KiB) Viewed 13110 times
- foldable single bed.jpg (63.11 KiB) Viewed 13111 times
- Cooking in style.jpg (96.74 KiB) Viewed 13064 times
