Woody's Tub fitout

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Under the tub it'll be exposed to the elements - not a terrible thing - but it's hard to get to for maintenance, so choose a gel/agm battery (and, having chosen one of these, don't ever expect to be able to use it as a starter - you'll kill it).

Inside the tub, the best place would be over the wheel arch. I chose the right hand side, because I use it less than the left. Inside my battery box is an inverter, which powers a powerboard that has a battery charger, the Engel and a double 240V outlet on the rear of the box. The battery charger charges the battery while we're going and then the battery connects to the Engel and a 12V outlet for general use in the tub.

I want to re-do mine, make it a little larger, make it a little longer. I'm going to lose a small amount of tub space but that's no real problem for me.

I'll post photos when I've rebuilt it. All I've done for now is spend $20 on a sheet of 12mm ply and whacked something together. It needs to look a lot more professional.
 
YBO

have a go at doing it all yourself - its not that hard.

I've mounted the 2nd batter on the drivers side of the car, so the cables from the front battery to the rear go down the right hand side chassis rail and up into the tub. The battery sits just inside the wheel arch.

By then running an internal partition on the LEFT of the battery back towards the tail gate, you end up with a nice spot for the fridge to sit at tub level.

Then you work out how wide your want your drawer(s) to be (single or double) and run another partition down the other side of the tub.

Also you need to work out what height u want the drawer to be. I did this calculation by working out what tool boxs i wanted to take with me and measured the tallest box and added 10mm for the inside measurement of the drawer. I also spent plenty of time working out the jig saw puzzle of where everything was to do inside the drawer, so i had room for all tools on the left side, camping pots/pans at the rear (at full depth i mean) of the right side, and other easy to get at stuff like food towards the front of the right hand side.

Before you start, go shopping for the drawer runners. My research back 15 months ago at Hafele showed that i can get h/duty runners for the whole length of the drawer (1.4m long) at a cost of like $800. No way was i prepared to pay that price, so i opted for a shorter system runner for like $120.00. The compromise is that i had to have the 'flip lid floor' as per the photo's to get easy access to the full depth of the drawer when fully extended. It had the added benefit of being able to access the start of the drawer without even opening the tail gate. Easy to quickly get at a snatch strap and shakle out at a moments notice (or a packet of chips ....)

I already had the battery and the wiring harness, so there was no cost set up for me there.
I already had the Fridge, so no cost set up there.

I had to buy the plywood, some SS hinges (zinc would have been ok too i guess) some appropriate size screws, and then the carpet.

I reckon the whole drawer and false floor setup in the back probably cost me less than$750 including the drawer runners.

I also spend money on tools so the MRS thinks the setup cost me more like $1000.00

(KRAFTY - NO MORE COMMENTS FROM THE PEANUT GALLERY THANKYOU) ... LOL
 
WoodyD40 said:
(KRAFTY - NO MORE COMMENTS FROM THE PEANUT GALLERY THANKYOU) ... LOL
Click to expand...

That's an open invitation :ha:

Honestly though I like your set up it doesn't suit my needs but if something like that was needed then I would do something very similar, our old Hiace van which was set up for camping was set up in a similar way with draws and your fit out is on a par with our brilliant work :big_smile:

Putting in a second battery is an fairly easy job which with a few simple rules most people can manage, however the best advice is to really think about where you want things to fit and possible future projects which may limit things. It's not always that easy to do but wiring everything up today only to find you don't like it tomorrow is a PITA. The battery can go just about anywhere but you have to make sure it's location suits you not anyone else so consider all your options before lifting a tool.

Once the decision has been made the job is fairly easy and straight forward, you can make it more difficult depending on the theories you subscribe too but it doesn't have to be hard. Someone on here quoted $1200 for a second battery fitment the other day which I think was a joke but if you can't or decide not to do this yourself you should probably allow upwards of $500.
 
not sure how to respond to that comment Krafty ...

was that meant as a positive ???

*snigger*
 
Well, looks like my overkill design of my drawer system needs a complete overhaul. Meaning, rip it out and start again.

The aim is to try to save at least 100kg's out of my system.

My thoughts are to do a simple 15mm square tube SHS frame which i can weld together at home, and then use max 7mm ply where needed for gables - and i might even use it for the floor as well. I might introduce a fridge slide, as my MRS has trouble reaching into the fridge and usaully has to climb up onto the tail gate.

I'd also like to include a 70 to 100 litre water tank between the wheel arch's (which will be empty most of the time) and have the draw much shorter than the 1.4m. I might even split the large drawer into two shorter draw's. I've found that its way too heavy to slide back in when i'm stuck facing uphill on a track.

I've thought about attempting an aluminium frame and pop riveting the system together, but then i'll have the problems of where do i get the aluminium folded? At least if I go with light weight steel and almost just 'tack' weld it together with ply, I can do everything at home by myself.
 
Depends on the folds you need I do have the ability but no idea of the time frame given that the bender is used 9-5 weekdays. However I also have the ability and pretty much all the tools to do it without a bender for most bends especially with Ali.

You've seen the my toolbox Woody, it does take time but that was all bent by hand so it can be done on a larger scale.
 
Woody,

On made my last drawer system I used Cube lock. It's a little pricey but makes a light strong frame. May be an option to consider.
 
WoodyD40 said:
Well, looks like my overkill design of my drawer system needs a complete overhaul. Meaning, rip it out and start again.

The aim is to try to save at least 100kg's out of my system.

My thoughts are to do a simple 15mm square tube SHS frame which i can weld together at home, and then use max 7mm ply where needed for gables - and i might even use it for the floor as well. I might introduce a fridge slide, as my MRS has trouble reaching into the fridge and usaully has to climb up onto the tail gate.

I'd also like to include a 70 to 100 litre water tank between the wheel arch's (which will be empty most of the time) and have the draw much shorter than the 1.4m. I might even split the large drawer into two shorter draw's. I've found that its way too heavy to slide back in when i'm stuck facing uphill on a track.

I've thought about attempting an aluminium frame and pop riveting the system together, but then i'll have the problems of where do i get the aluminium folded? At least if I go with light weight steel and almost just 'tack' weld it together with ply, I can do everything at home by myself.
Click to expand...

Hey mate, thats almost exactly what i'm going to do to mine, but i'm going to bring the height up to the top of the tub, my plan was to make one big drawer to slide up the middle but after reading this I might re-think it, no good if can't slide it in & out.
How you thinking of doing the water tank, I was looking at between the wheel arches as you said, but even at full height of tub & 100mm deep its only like 35litres, i'm wondering if I can fit a very flat one (50mm) beneath the drawers full length & width, might be a pain to get the water out though.
 
The size of the drawer is an issue if your off-road and need to get to your recovery gear. Smaller drawers will be lighter and easier to push back in.

Height of the floor is an issue - there will be a lack of space to put camping gear in. I aim to only go about 30cm (ish). that is enough height to put some pots n pans in (stacked), and or recovery gear. Best way to work it out is to get some bits of ply and mock up a drawer first and experiment with what you can put into it in what order - before you commit to building anything inside the back of the Ute. (the ply will be cheap compared to redoing the Ute fitout a couple of times because you change your mind)

I also have to consider how i'm going to put a 100 litre ice box in the back of the ute. If I raised the floor too much, I will not be able to get it in anymore. You can only put so much into a 50 litre fridge, hence the ice box for extra food.

Water Tank: I will be going for a drive down to my local trailer joint on the weekend to suss out what plastic tanks are available. Anything from 50 to 80 litres will be on my target list of tanks to looks at. Most tanks available are about 250 to 300 high - so it will come down to the length and width to suit the space between the wheel arches. (I also have my 2nd battery beside the right wheel arch, so that is another contraint to deal with or be forced to relocate). By having the water tank between the archs will force me to build shorter drawers - this will also give me more option with the drawer runners, and will be cheaper to source too.

The first weight problem I have with my current in-built draw system is that i have a full bed of 12mm ply lining the tub, and have built on top of that. The 2nd weight problem that I have is that the false floor is out of 17mm ply. The 3rd weight problem is that the draw is way to heavy and long (means i put too much crap into it).

I think the only things i need to put in ONE draw is my recovery gear - so its easy to take out and put on the back seat when i go off road. The 2nd drawer will be the basic things I need for camping, some aluminum pots and pans. I will now leave the cast iron pot and frypan in the camper trailer from now on.

My tools should stay at home, and only be loaded up in the Navara on an as needed basis - and then, only what i think could be helpful. No need to have a full set of screw drivers, ratchet socket set, ratchet spanners, open spanners, ring spanners, 4 adjustable wrench's. I think i'll be limiting to 4 screw drivers and the ratchet spanners and one adjustable wrench now.

(geez, another wordy reply to your post ...)
 
Hahaha........yeah I'm a tell off sort of bloke.

Have fun working out the best options - it's a never ending story.
 
Don't feel too bad woody, the tool box I always carry in the back of my nav weighs in at about 25-30kg., the second battery would be worth about 35kg, the fridge another 25kg (empty) so there's a good 100kg, as well the canopy and canopy racks...

I hate to think what mine weighs in at. (i might go find a weighbridge this arvo)
 
My king cab weighed in at 2800kg with all the crap on it, had my new one on weigh bridge yest, 2800kg with trailer and trailer full of scrap cable.
I guess i've a couple hundred kg's to put in it when I make the drawers, hardly anything in it at the mo
 

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