jgaz
Adventurer
Great idea using the insulated jugs. Might have to use that one
Post up your drawer/storage system
- Thread starter neliconcept
- Start date
There are some seriously talented folks on here. My storage solution is basic but very robust for my needs.
- 10g water bladder under the second row platform which houses a fridge and a "snack" box with open top for accessing while driving. The water bladder implodes into itself, which keeps the water sloshing to a minimum. Our duffle bags sit next to the snack box.
- cargo area has two drawer system made out of alum and they contain all recovery gear and tools. This area also houses a kitchen, one 5gal potable water can and a 10# alum Worthington propane tank.
- Under the RTT are two storage compartments (you can make them out in the pic with the RTT deployed) - the fwd compartment under the RTT houses the awning walls and misc soft items. The rear compartment under the RTT houses a DIY alum table. Both compartments are lockable and accessible from both sides of the vehicle. These are made out of bend 1/8" alum, nothing fancy.
- The cargo attic holds soft stuff like jackets and such. I'm using a 48" Metra food shelving that spans both sides of the cargo area.
- There is also a permanent dog bed next to the kitchen box in the cargo area. A no spill water bowl lives there as well.
-Kitchen drawers have no slides, simple wood on wood action. Drawers are lined with adhesive backed foam on the top and sides. Corrugated plastic is used for separation and to keep the rattle to a min. The whole kitchen fully loaded probably checks in at 100#, just a WAG on my part. This box houses all kitchen stuff, including the stove and the RTT ladder. A ladder with muddy feet is no longer an issue! On the right side open compartment the rtt ladder is housed. On the top open compartment there is a two burner stove, and an area rug.
-There is a slide out (more like, rotate out) tray under the fridge that is used to temp hold food during loading/unloading the fridge. You can see a hose in the same area and it is connected to the water bladder for dishwashing. The tray also holds clean dishes during dishwashing.
- A handwashing station is always ready with a soap dispenser on the door, next to the fridge, along with a towel. So nice to wash hands at a moment's notice before making a samich.
- An utensil holding system made out of thick canvas is attached to the left side of the kitchen. Each utensil has its own compartment, which eliminates any rattling and also promotes quick access for roadside lunch action. Knives and a medium size cutting board live here as well. My daughter is amazing with a sewing machine!
- Alum cargo drawers hold all recovery gear, including front+rear driveshafts, axles, one birfield, various hardware, welder, jumper cables, spare fuel pump, fusible links, bottle jack and a good assortment of metric tools.
All this took 17 years of tweaking and finally, has reached a plateau. No more frustration from digging for stuff, re-arranging things, etc. Vehicle is always ready to serve. Yes, she's a heavy pig at 7200#! The cargo barrier is from AUST and it's super convenient to hang hydration packs, bungee camping chairs, first aid kit, etc on the forward facing side.
Let me know if you have any questions.
- 10g water bladder under the second row platform which houses a fridge and a "snack" box with open top for accessing while driving. The water bladder implodes into itself, which keeps the water sloshing to a minimum. Our duffle bags sit next to the snack box.
- cargo area has two drawer system made out of alum and they contain all recovery gear and tools. This area also houses a kitchen, one 5gal potable water can and a 10# alum Worthington propane tank.
- Under the RTT are two storage compartments (you can make them out in the pic with the RTT deployed) - the fwd compartment under the RTT houses the awning walls and misc soft items. The rear compartment under the RTT houses a DIY alum table. Both compartments are lockable and accessible from both sides of the vehicle. These are made out of bend 1/8" alum, nothing fancy.
- The cargo attic holds soft stuff like jackets and such. I'm using a 48" Metra food shelving that spans both sides of the cargo area.
- There is also a permanent dog bed next to the kitchen box in the cargo area. A no spill water bowl lives there as well.
-Kitchen drawers have no slides, simple wood on wood action. Drawers are lined with adhesive backed foam on the top and sides. Corrugated plastic is used for separation and to keep the rattle to a min. The whole kitchen fully loaded probably checks in at 100#, just a WAG on my part. This box houses all kitchen stuff, including the stove and the RTT ladder. A ladder with muddy feet is no longer an issue! On the right side open compartment the rtt ladder is housed. On the top open compartment there is a two burner stove, and an area rug.
-There is a slide out (more like, rotate out) tray under the fridge that is used to temp hold food during loading/unloading the fridge. You can see a hose in the same area and it is connected to the water bladder for dishwashing. The tray also holds clean dishes during dishwashing.
- A handwashing station is always ready with a soap dispenser on the door, next to the fridge, along with a towel. So nice to wash hands at a moment's notice before making a samich.
- An utensil holding system made out of thick canvas is attached to the left side of the kitchen. Each utensil has its own compartment, which eliminates any rattling and also promotes quick access for roadside lunch action. Knives and a medium size cutting board live here as well. My daughter is amazing with a sewing machine!
- Alum cargo drawers hold all recovery gear, including front+rear driveshafts, axles, one birfield, various hardware, welder, jumper cables, spare fuel pump, fusible links, bottle jack and a good assortment of metric tools.
All this took 17 years of tweaking and finally, has reached a plateau. No more frustration from digging for stuff, re-arranging things, etc. Vehicle is always ready to serve. Yes, she's a heavy pig at 7200#! The cargo barrier is from AUST and it's super convenient to hang hydration packs, bungee camping chairs, first aid kit, etc on the forward facing side.
Let me know if you have any questions.
Last edited:
PhilActual
Observer
BigBrokenZJ
Active member
Made some significant progress on mine this week
Had a decked system prior to this (up for sale), but when we picked up the new fridge, discovered how much bigger it was, so decided to do my own drawer/tray setup
Had a decked system prior to this (up for sale), but when we picked up the new fridge, discovered how much bigger it was, so decided to do my own drawer/tray setup
Groverland
Member
Backstory:. I'm recently divorced and have some extra furniture from when I sold my house and moved into an apartment. I kept a couple IKEA bookcases with the thoughts I could use them in a future project. This is my story(insert Law and Order- 'Don, Don').
First I screwed the two together with some screws. I want half the set-up to be drawers and the other half to be a sink/water storage area.
Next, I attached the two Toyota factory tie-downs I removed when I installed Total Chaos bed stiffeners for my camper. Glad I kept those! They will attach to the front tie-downs which are still in my Tacoma via some 1" strapping.
Next, I cut a 10" diameter hole with a handy little attachment for my Dremel rotary tool in the side I'm using for a sink. I did two rounds at different depths to not put too much pressure on the cutting bit.
Now I have placed a small sink that fits perfectly in the spot I cut. I will have two Dometic Go Jugs underneath and plumbing coming tomorrow to ensure a proper drain from the sink to the grey water one. I'm still debating whether to get the fancy faucet they make...
More details to come as a prepare for my upcoming trip. I bought a 1"x6"x6' board to span across the bed(nestling in the slots for those). These will support my set-up. Fortunately, so far I'm doing pretty good with weight. The bookcases are less than 25# each and the Go Jugs only hold 3 gallons of water- which will be spread over two jugs.
First I screwed the two together with some screws. I want half the set-up to be drawers and the other half to be a sink/water storage area.
Next, I attached the two Toyota factory tie-downs I removed when I installed Total Chaos bed stiffeners for my camper. Glad I kept those! They will attach to the front tie-downs which are still in my Tacoma via some 1" strapping.
Next, I cut a 10" diameter hole with a handy little attachment for my Dremel rotary tool in the side I'm using for a sink. I did two rounds at different depths to not put too much pressure on the cutting bit.
Now I have placed a small sink that fits perfectly in the spot I cut. I will have two Dometic Go Jugs underneath and plumbing coming tomorrow to ensure a proper drain from the sink to the grey water one. I'm still debating whether to get the fancy faucet they make...
More details to come as a prepare for my upcoming trip. I bought a 1"x6"x6' board to span across the bed(nestling in the slots for those). These will support my set-up. Fortunately, so far I'm doing pretty good with weight. The bookcases are less than 25# each and the Go Jugs only hold 3 gallons of water- which will be spread over two jugs.
Groverland
Member
motovan_mn
Active member
That Dometic faucet pump looks sweet. I bought a cheapo one on amazon designed for the 5 gallon office water jugs, but can't seem the get the plasticky taste out. Would love to hear your thoughts on this one!
My GF just got this in the mail and I'm curious how well it'll perform. This will be in her Casita camper with the potable 5g jerry can located under the sink.
Water dispenser
Ryanmb21
Expedition Leader
Wow, this is incredible! Anywhere I can find more info? Very nice!!
motovan_mn
Active member
That looks like a good half-step between my cheapo amazon version and the $$$ dometic version
Mad_Texan
Adventurer
Links in my signature to Instagram and Steelsoldiers.
Oscar Mike Gulf Yankee
Well-known member
I use these.
Groverland
Member
Not going to lie... it's not cheap for what it is, but I justified it(in my head, anyways) by spending nothing on the actual cabinets themselves I had some room to splurge on the Dometic stuff.
The thing I like about the Go Jugs is they have two openings on top- one is standard Nalgene size and the other is just large enough to fit my forearm in for cleaning. This- along with them being constructed of food-grade LDPE and BPA-free- makes water taste like water. That and they fit the spot in my cabinet perfectly!
The faucet is really cool! It comes with a 2-feet length of tubing to attach to any jug, but was designed to snap-in to the Go Jugs(which already have a hose internally). The faucet self-primes for a second before the water dispenses. There's no actual buttons or knobs, just a spot on top you tap with a finger twice to start the flow and once to stop. Zero plastic-taste! Sorry, I know this isn't a gear-review thread so I'll stop there.
