THAT!! THAT THING!! the American adventurist rendezvous, what is that. (yes I know I can google it, but where the good OB conversation in that?). sounds like something id like to go to .
Another camping drawer/slide out project (Jeep JK)
- Thread starter chris_nc
- Start date
THAT!! THAT THING!! the American adventurist rendezvous, what is that. (yes I know I can google it, but where the good OB conversation in that?). sounds like something id like to go to .
Off-Road Ranger I
Average Joe,
The event is one of 3 ( I believe) annual events that are put on by the American Adventurist team and the one most local to us. It's really just a great gathering of like minded folks focused on camping, off-roading, paddling, and biking. Great folks to share knowledge with, camp fire shenanigans and the world famous dutch oven cooking contest and pot luck dinner. Take a look at the American Adventurist web site - similar in nature to OB. By the way, the founder and other team members are the commandants for the BF Goodrich 36 Hours of Uwharrie off-road competition. That's how I met them and got involved.
Off-Road Ranger I
So for everyone following this thread, I'm currently working on the 2.0 version of this project.
As I've been using it for several months now, I've found a few things that needed to change. First, as someone pointed out earlier, I did start to see issues with not having a brace at the back of the slide out drawer for my cooler. After repeated use, I see more play in the slides due to movement with the center brace. I've now added a back section that has made this pretty solid, so I think it should work fine now. Second, I wasn't too impressed with the combination of bed liner on the cooler drawer surface, and paint on the rest. The paint was too slick, and the bed liner just didn't have the texture or color I was looking for.
I decided to cover it with an auto carpet. After looking at several options and trying to find a decent product at a reasonable cost, I finally landed on using something similar to what you would cover a speaker box. So far, it's working out well. I'm no pro by any means and it's the first time I've worked with this stuff. Corners are the most difficult part. Here it is after a few hours work. I'll post the final outcome as well.
As I've been using it for several months now, I've found a few things that needed to change. First, as someone pointed out earlier, I did start to see issues with not having a brace at the back of the slide out drawer for my cooler. After repeated use, I see more play in the slides due to movement with the center brace. I've now added a back section that has made this pretty solid, so I think it should work fine now. Second, I wasn't too impressed with the combination of bed liner on the cooler drawer surface, and paint on the rest. The paint was too slick, and the bed liner just didn't have the texture or color I was looking for.
I decided to cover it with an auto carpet. After looking at several options and trying to find a decent product at a reasonable cost, I finally landed on using something similar to what you would cover a speaker box. So far, it's working out well. I'm no pro by any means and it's the first time I've worked with this stuff. Corners are the most difficult part. Here it is after a few hours work. I'll post the final outcome as well.
Off-Road Ranger I
So the corners and edges were just not turning out the way I wanted. Kind of a mess really. Back to Lowes for some aluminum that I could use for edging. I had been thinking about doing this for a while, to protect the edges better. I guess my decision was made for me. Got the front pretty much finished up, and most of the material cut for the back. Would have made more progress, but my wife distracted me by having me build her a birdhouse! 
Enthusiast I
Off-Road Ranger I
It's the Lifetime 55 quart cooler. It's a little larger than I wanted or need, but it works really well and the price was right. It also got fairly good reviews as well. Even empty, it is already a bit heavy though. I pre-chill it, make sure my food and drinks are cold to begin with, and top it off with ice. I've had ice still at the end of a 5 day trip. I do need to figure out a rack or something for the inside, to keep often used items within reach.
Enthusiast I
Thanks for the tip. I am looking to obtain a cooler vs. a frig and I liked your set up as I am designing a pull-out system for my JK and I know several of these type coolers are right to the dimension we have to work in the back of our jeeps. BTW - I am down the road from you in Concord so who knows as we may pass each other on I-85 sometime. Keep Jeeping!!
Off-Road Ranger I
So here is the latest on the 2.0 version. I completed installing the aluminum edging, trimmed down the slide out table, and reinstalled it, and then mounted it back in the Jeep. It looks a lot better than the first version, and the fabric matches the rest of the interior well. I still have to rebuild the slide out drawer for the cooler, and think I might take a different approach and use 1" square tubing. 
Enthusiast I
Off-Road Ranger I
Reviving my old thread because this seem to be like an annual upgrade process for me! So here is the 3.0 Version!
Last year I moved from my traditional cooler to a fridge. While running it off my normal starting battery seemed to work fine, I still wasn't happy with the solution.
The project for this winter was to remove the platform, shorten the slide for the fridge which allowed room to mount a battery box and an ARB locking outlet. I also installed a Renogy DC-to-DC charger in the space under the fridge, and built everything with Anderson's connectors to keep it all modular. I can swap out batteries, or remove the entire platform with ease. I built a custom power whip to run to the engine compartment, and have a meter mounted in the back corner of my hardtop to monitor things. It's a full shunt based/coulomb meter that allows me to track current going both in and out of the battery.
I tested everything out in the garage for several weeks, and worked out the design, then completed all of the work back in mid-Feb. It has been running full time in the Jeep for the past several weeks and works great. The 20A Renogy charger is awesome. This set up will allow me to easily add a small inverter if I want to, or additional USB ports, etc. and not have to worry about killing my starting battery. If for some reason I need continuous charging, a solar option will be easy to add, and allow me to top off the battery during the day, if not driving.
Cheers!
So here is the 3.0 Version!Last year I moved from my traditional cooler to a fridge. While running it off my normal starting battery seemed to work fine, I still wasn't happy with the solution.
The project for this winter was to remove the platform, shorten the slide for the fridge which allowed room to mount a battery box and an ARB locking outlet. I also installed a Renogy DC-to-DC charger in the space under the fridge, and built everything with Anderson's connectors to keep it all modular. I can swap out batteries, or remove the entire platform with ease. I built a custom power whip to run to the engine compartment, and have a meter mounted in the back corner of my hardtop to monitor things. It's a full shunt based/coulomb meter that allows me to track current going both in and out of the battery.
I tested everything out in the garage for several weeks, and worked out the design, then completed all of the work back in mid-Feb. It has been running full time in the Jeep for the past several weeks and works great. The 20A Renogy charger is awesome. This set up will allow me to easily add a small inverter if I want to, or additional USB ports, etc. and not have to worry about killing my starting battery. If for some reason I need continuous charging, a solar option will be easy to add, and allow me to top off the battery during the day, if not driving.
Cheers!
