This seems to be a fairly popular topic at the moment, but it is something I have had in the back of my mind for some time. With some proposed travels coming up in the near-ish future, I thought I would finally get on with building some drawers to keep stuff in, for the discovery.

I have seen the MSS store drawer and a number of other solutions from both Australia and South Africa, but they all came out a little too pricey for my budget. Whilst my solution hasn't necessarily been the cheapest way to go, it certainly isn't into the realms of the commercially available systems.

My criteria for the drawers were as follows:

- Made out of metal - My disco leaks, and I have a habit of dunking it into damp places, so wood is not favored.
- Fit into my existing Load rails - see pics below
- Easily removabale from said load rails
- Not stop the Load rails from being used for other stuff...
- Be strong enough that I could put anything on top of the drawers that I might put in the boot of the truck
- Be able to carry recovery gear and tools, and whatever else I need reasonably instant access to...
- Be made by me, at home (mostly) with whatever materials I can obtain cheaply and easily...

The Back of the disco has load rails thus:


I have since removed the rear dickie seats, the resultant gap will be used to hold jerry cans.

Layoutwise, the MSS design uss a single drawer, and a lcokers either side. The lockers still require you to unload whatever is on top to get to them, so I went for 2 drawers next to each other.

I decided to use a frame type construction, as I can fabricate that relatively easily. Folded construction is good, and often lighter, but requires the use of a folding machine of some description, whereas framework can be cut and joined quite simply. The trade off here is efficient use of space; a folded construction can utilise the space better, whereas the framework will intrinsically lose some space.

I came to the conclusion that the drawers and the outer frame would all be made from 20mm square ERW steel. This is quite a thin wall material, but gives good strength for this sort of application without being massively heavy. I went through using stainless or aluminium, but I an not setup to do either at home, so steel won! The Steel came from my friendly local blacksmith (thanks paul) and so far I have used nearly 18m of it that is 3 6m lengths!

Outer Frame Work:


A Drawer Frame:


The outer framework only needs to have the top covered - the sides are fairly immaterial at this stage. This will be done with 3mm aluminium, obtained from the scrap yard - an ex-road sign. The same piece of ally will yield the front/bottom piece for the draws themselves. This has been folded using a brake press, but is the only bit so far. The sides of the drawers will be filled in with 1.6mm ally, as that is what I had lying around (from previous visits to the scrap yard!)

The Drawer Front/Bottom Piece:


How the drawer will fit together:


The slides / runners for the drawers came from an equipment rack, also at the scrap yard, and are rated at 75kg per pair. I figured this would be enough for my use. They are 600mm long, but my drawers are 700mm deep, so I decided I would just put up with the 100mm difference.



The drawers will be kept closed using the same type of catch as the MSS draws use - that is a Southco Paddle latch. These are physically huge, but if you need to get in the drawer whilst wearing gloves for example, then the size is good. I am using the non-locking stainless steel variety, since that is what I could get at a sensible price. Mine came from the states, since anyone in the Uk was looking at £40 per catch. With the shipping and a bit of duty, these came to just over £20 each - by far the most expensive single component in the build!



I wasn't too worried about them not locking, as with the rear door closed, you will not be able to get to the front of the drawers anyway.

Have just about got the frames finished, and all the pices in place to get the drawers together. Framework needs the welds dressing back, since my design has some fairly close clearances, but my welding doesn't! The frame needs paint, and then the whole lot can be constructed....

watch this space....

Good progress there, Mark.

I still haven't even started measuring up for mine.

Pete

Mark

These are surely going in the "new" disco

Tim,

Yeah they are going in the new one now, but I started them before I got it! The new one will have the cargo rail in, the same as the old one though. Alternatly, I will make the drawers bolt down through the 4 threaded holes already present in the Disco floor... The design is still fairly fluid!


Mark

thats going to weigh some!!!!!

Not as much as you might think. I can lift the total of what I have made so far with one arm... I will weigh it when it's done though...

Using 18mm birch ply and some hard wood battens would probably weigh more as you have material and strength where you don't always need it.

Nice job there Mark.

Mark, I've just hijacked your thread to show my drawer build too Since I'm making mine from wood it should make a nice contrast to yours whilst staying on topic
As far as design goes, I'm just making it up as I go along !









Mo

Mo, I like it. I thought about the shelf idea too, but the discovery has a rather large bumper that works very well as a table!

Is there more do go on top or down the side?

I'm going to board straight across the top Mark but I'm not sure what to do with the bit at the side yet as I'm making it all up as I go along. My toolbox did fit in there but the build has crept across the back and there's not so much space now. We'll see, perhaps I'll have to invent a use for it. The front has yet to go on and I'm not sure about what latch to use yet. I've also got to put a divider or 2 in the drawer and then we'll be about done I hope...

Yours is looking very substantial, that's going to take heaps of abuse ! Looking forward to seeing the remainder of the building of it

Mo

Mo,
Where did you get those rails from?
Pete

Those drawer runners are available from B&Q in a range of lengths and can also be full extension so 600mm will pull out 600mm.

But they only seem to be rated to 45kgs-is this enough? Are they online as I can't seem to find them?

B&Q have a crappy website (I hope you are reading this, B&Q) and it is next to impossible to find stuff there. It is easier to go to the store and look in the hardware aisle. Ebay has some.
45kg isn't too bad, near 100lb. If you need more capacity then you can double up on them, leave a 15mm gap between the sets to make it easier to install when you have removed the drawer though.

Found the B&Q page.

Yup, Mr. Night train is quite right, B&Q it was, £13.50 for the pair, which is very reasonable you'll find, if you care to shop about
Mo

As a bespoke cabinet maker it pains me to say I do use B&Q drawer runners quite a lot both for my own work shop storage and for some of my clents who need or want full extension drawers.

Can I be one of those too now ?
Mo

Mark, that is looking pretty bloody good mate. I am watching this with interest! I cant wait to see the end result.

Mo.....damn, you started before me! I am begining mine tomorrow. Managed to get some Birch ply just down the road, and have been tweaking the design, so I think I'm about ready to start now. Do you have any more pictures at all??

Martin

If you like. I had to give up my job and study full time for two years and then sell my Harley and equip a workshop and then start making and finding clients. There's no money in it though so I teach it at college two days a week.

I used to do that job, making posh furniture and nice fitted kitchens for people.
its hard work as nobody appreciates the work that goes into building something from scratch...

night train, I see I'll stick with learning to become a plumber then

Mo

There's money in plumbing, electrics, plastering and joinery but nothing at all in furniture. I still love the job though, but I can't afford to play Land Rovers anymore. Though that could be to do with being an environmental architecture student and having a house to rebuild.

By the way, what does IIRC mean? I've not come across that before.

Anyway, we're off topic.

I hope there is plenty of money in it, it's costing me enough to train !
IIRC means If I Remember Correctly

Martin, what would you like pics of ?
I haven't done any today as I had to accompany SWMBO to the Tate Modern and I shall be helping WKW90 with his rebuild tomorrow so I won't be resuming the battle until Friday.
You have a design ! Bravo sir, I just had a rough idea and made it up as I went along, and it's not turned out too badly so far. the fun will start when I try to make the front of the drawer flush with everything else

Mo

Ahh, cheers for that. It had me stumped for ages.

Thats my problem too Mo.....making the front bit flush. I dont want any SPECIFIC pics, just anything showing close-ups/joints etc.
I didn't get to start today too started raining a bit after finishing my rear speaker enclosure design, and couldn't be bothered anymore. Might crack on tomorrow weather permitting.

Mart

Hi, nice job.
I made a very similar set up a couple of years ago.
My RRC has its LPG tank where the spare wheel should be. I didn't think the previous owner's idea of a Holts tyre re-inflator/sealer would be much use on a Rangie wheel so I got another spare wheel/tyre which then need somewhere to live.
I made my storage system wide enough to accommodate a spare wheel lying flat with a drawer alongside.
I used 15mm ERW box section welded frame with a 8mm ply top pop-rivetted on.
The spare tyre section has a removable front flap of 8mm ply.
The drawer was assembled from 8mm ply with 20mm angle strengthening.
I simply cut oval holes approx 100mm X 30mm as hand holds for the drawer and spare wheel flap.
The fronts were covered in grey carpet cut to go inside the hand holds.
The lower tailgate butts hard against the front of the drawer/flap so security wasn't an issue, although I did buy a couple of cabinet locks from screwfix which I've yet to fit.
The top also has grey carpet glued on so it looks a bit less agricultural.
It wouldn't win any design awards but it was cheap to make (about £40) and it does the job.
At the moment it's sitting behind the garden shed wrapped in a tarpaulin as I took it out last year so I could replace the rotten boot floor.
Oh the joys of Rangie ownership!

Bob

Chaps, I'm planning to build a drawer similar to this for the back of my 110 SW. I've got no problems with building the thing but, ideally, I'd like it to be the full length of the load bay, which is about a metre. Does anybody know where I could get some decently strong drawer runners of that length?

I think you will struggle with runners that length.
How about making your own?

A simple way would be to fix a 25mm angle to the bottom of the wheel boxes so that it forms a channel with the floor. Then make your drawer to fit between the flange of the angle that sticks out and then bolt little roller bearing to the sides of the drawer frame to run between the floor and the angle. Cheap bearings can be found on Ebay if you search for skate board bearings, about £2 for a set of 8 at 20mm diameter and 8mm wide with an 8mm bore.
It will mean that you can't pull out the full length but if you wanted to do that then you could slide in a shelf under the drawer that is held in place with angle on the wheel boxes. You can then pull out the shelf half way and then the drawer above it almost all the way with the shelf taking a lot of the weight.

The slide-out rails used on almost all rack-mount servers and networking equipment are made by - Accuride

Accuride also supply rails for general use, they're available up to 1.5m long, with load ratings of up to 225kg per pair.

They're stocked by RS and Farnell and, if you don't have an account with either of them, can be bought online from - Components Direct

When I disposed of some old Compaq servers at work, I kept some of the heavier-duty rails, a pair of which, my mate used to make a plywood drawer in the back of his 110 CSW -










Paul.

Thanks for the idea. It's an interesting approach but really too complicated for what I want.


Excellent - just what I was after. I'll probably compromise on some 800mm long ones though, as the price effectively doubles for the lengths above that Thanks very much

Made some progress on the drawers over the easter weekend, in between the snow showers....

First job was to finish dressing all the welds back to ensure there was enough clearance inside for the drawers to run, and all the panels to fit properly. Once that was done, all the framework got a coat of red primer, and then a coat of black satin. Spraying during random snow and rain storms is not fun...

Having painted, the slides got bolted to the outer frame. I also added some draught excluder to the surface where the drawer closes. This should take up any slack in the fit, and stop the whole thing rattling:



Once that was done, I got the sides of the drawers attached to the drawer frames, and the front/bottom piece attached. This was all due to be done using countersunk rivets, but it turned out that the countersink on a pop rivet is a 120 degree whereas all the countersinks I had were for 90 degrees (normal screws, etc). So given that it was Saturday night on a bank holiday weekend, I got on and used normal pop rivets for the sides, and Large headed pop rivets for the front:

Inside the Drawer:



The front:



However, I still couldn't use normal rivets for the bottom, as the clearance wasn't there... so I got enthusiastic in the machine shop and made a nice 120 degree countersink:



which whilst not exactly elegant, worked to get the bottoms riveted up:



Once everything was attached, I installed the handles in the front, you can see that in the pictures above...

Next the drawers got attached to the runners:



These runners have quite a nice feature in that the drawers are not attached to the runner directly, but attached to a bracket that locates on the runner, and means the drawer can be removed from the runner easily, just by lifting a couple of clips. There is also an extra hole to allow the drawer to be bolted to the slide, which I will use once the installation is finished:



So now we have runners attached to frame, drawers built up, and attached to the runners, the only thing left is to attach the top to the outer frame. Again, countersunk rivets were in order:

All ready to be riveted:



So, once I had filled the holes above with rivets, and attacked it with the air rivetter, we should be all ready for the fun bit...

Take one empty Discovery:



Add the outer framework:



This is not fixed down to anything yet, as I haven't added the load rail to this car. I am also not sure whether to keep the carpet or mats in the boot, but it should all still fit ok.

Add the right hand drawer:



Clears the door no problem, and should clear the pockets that are attached to the new (old?) door card:



Then add the drawer to the other side:



This leaves a gap at the side, which will be used to hold stuff, and give access to the load rail that will be installed at some point:



And also a gap at the back, which will accommodate the pockets on the door:



So, whilst there are one or two 'fit' issues (due to my inability to make anything square ) and it dosn't exactly look bling, with the monster rivets, and that road sign chic, I am generally pleased with what came out:



It has probably cost in the region of £100, possibly less. This is mainly due to acquiring materials from the scrapyard, rather than buying virgin aluminum sheeting and runners.

I haven't weighed it yet, but just to echo someone's sentiment above, it ain't light....

Nice!!

One for the load bed of the 90 next, please.....

Guys............I am 100% definitely starting mine tomorrow!!

Got my runners all sorted out.....ended up with B&Q 600mm runners, rated at 45kg......but cant remember where the paddle latch suppliers were.

Mark, you got yours from over the pond, right? Where from please!

Or, what UK suppliers are there where I can order online??

Martin

Really nice work there, Mark.

I've just made a humungus drawer slide, the back bone to my pole trailer, goes from 2.5m to 3.5m to 4.5m long and locked with a M28 bolt!

Looking great mark!
Pete

One word - Albert Jagger. Their website is not good but the online PDF catalogue is comprehensive and you can order on the phone. I bought a load of stuff from them for the trailer build.

Chris

As Chris says, I think that would be far less hassle. There are a couple of people in the UK who would sell me the handles I wanted, none of which did online ordering, and all of which wanted upwards of £40 each for those specific handles. Having seen the ones Chris got, that would seem to be far easier.

Chris, Have you got any further with the drawers on the trailer?

Cheers
Mark.

That's two words, Chris !

Mo

I have been thinking of doing something like this in the back of my 90 too , but i also would like to replace my 4 inward facing seats with 2 forward facing on top of a storage box if possible have any one ever done this ?

Sorry Mark, I missed this...

Yes, though mine are no more than simple sliding trays. I will do an update some time - I am working on the kitchen fittings at the moment... and I need some alternative to the current door rubbers as it is plain impossible to shut the doors without a super-human effort. Once closed the catches are being over stressed.

Chris

Your drawers look really nice Mark

Mo

I'm glad you like them Mo.

Now, what do you think about my new storage solution for my Discovery?


Mark