Storage box/drawers set up for 5th gen 4 Runner

[davis31052]

T4R owners,
Looking for recommendations on a storage drawer system for my 4Runner. Obviously you get the best bang for buck when you design and build it yourself. However, my wood working skills suck so I want to just buy a set up. But.....I want some thing economical.

Post up your recommendations please.

TIA.

 

[Cavo]

You seem to want your cake and eat it too!!!......LOL......the Frontrunner system is awesome, but pricey. What are you looking to pay? I too am looking into doing something like a drawer system. Need to see, once I get my Gobi roof rack, how much room I have and what more is needed.

 

[davis31052]

Yup, I do! Price wise I'd like to stay under $500. That might not be realistic but it's my fixed upper limit.

I'd be interested in seeing what others have adapted for use like this. In my building at work, we have a central fire alarm system that uses boxes like these. About 3ft x 2ft and 5-6 inches deep and painted in a red crinkle finish. prices are above my max though.

 

[Cavo]

I have some frontrunner cub containers, 4 to be exact, which are cost efficient for the quality and durable. I plan on making a drawer system using them. I have run the cost to be about 400 to make, but once again, this involves making it, so probably not for you. I am the same with electrical. I always pay others to install and pull apart the interior.

Ahhh, the joys of getting your rig "perfect"......expensive, time consuming and never ending !

 

[krax]

The drawers in my 5th Gen are home brewed. They're the best "mod" by far.

For $500, you'll have to build them yourself. And $200-300 of that is the drawer slides and latches. Once I experienced the level of precision needed to do it right, the time needed to cut and build, and the cost of materials, the prices charged by companies like Goose Gear and Trekboxx started to make sense.

Check out some YouTube videos and try to find a guy that knows woodworking that would be willing to help you with the project. Mine went in place of the third row seats so there was some extra headache involved, but I'm happy to answer whatever questions you've got.

 

[davis31052]

I have the pull out tray in the back of mine. I don't think it has the structural integrity to support much more than a load of weekly groceries though. I'd be better served to source this out to a custom cabinet maker, I think.

 

[krax]

The level of precision is along the lines of cabinetry, with the added complication of custom fitting it to the vehicle and mounting it securely. I had the help of a master carpenter, who so happens to be my father, and it was still a pain.

I had a third row which meant I had no factory tie-down points once the third row was removed. This meant I had to bolt the drawer carcass to the floor which led to a lot of measuring at weird angles to drill bolt holes just right. You could bolt yours the same way or use turnbuckles with the factory tie-down points. I think bolting it looks cleaner, but it's a pretty permanent install.

Be careful of your overall height. I kept mine around nine inches (about three inchess above the original height with the third row) to preserve the cargo space for my day-to-day use.

 

[ShredHead]

I have the pull out tray in the back of mine. I don't think it has the structural integrity to support much more than a load of weekly groceries though. I'd be better served to source this out to a custom cabinet maker, I think.

If you remove the factory slide-out tray, you can utilize the existing threads in the cargo space to bolt drawers to. You can also remove the front D-rings in the cargo area and bolt into those threads to secure the front points. I believe an M6 bolt fits the factory threads perfectly...

I recently installed a single ARB drawer in my 5th gen and mounted it to a wood plate which bolted down to the floor of the cargo area (in place of the slider tray). The ARB drawers a pricey (slightly cheaper than Goose Gear) but worth every penny! I would also check out the BetterBuilt box (around $350).

 

[davis31052]

Thx Shred. I'll look more into the Better Built box. I have a Northern Tool store near here.