Paul
Elite Explorer
- Joined
- August 18, 1999
- Messages
- 1,332
- Reaction score
- 733
- City, State
- Grit City, Washington
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- '94 “Sport”
So here’s the back-story: Every couple of years I chose a project to make the Explorer better or more capable - - some are small, some are re-do’s of old projects that either needed upgrades or wore out, and some (like this one) are a bit more involved.
This year, it’s putting together a rear cargo storage system in order to organize all off-roading and other equipment that I carry in the rig. In the past, I’ve used an aluminum “foot locker” that was a decent fit for the cargo area, but it wasn’t very efficient, and allowed a lot of wasted space. An alternative solution was a fabricated a throw-away storage unit from an old mini-van that I modded to fit the cargo area - - not a terrible option, but you were forced to pull anything off the top of the unit in order to access the storage bins below.
So I knew what I wanted - - a drawer system, and preferably, with a sliding top section that would facilitate mounting a cooler / fridge, or action packer or tool box.
So I found a set that I really felt would work, they’re called Outback Solutions and available through ARB. All steel construction, carpeted inside and out, and modular, so they can be stacked side by side or one atop each other.
They make several different sizes and some that they refer to as “Roller Drawer – Roller Floor”, that is a drawer with a top “floor” that rolls out where you can mount a fridge, tool box, etc. Unfortunately, this option was not available in the size I wanted. . . For some reason I prefer to leave the rear seats in an upright position, if I lowered them (or removed them), I could have purchased the larger drawer with built in roller top “floor”,
So now the modifications. . . Had a old computer storage rack at work that was going to the scrap heap, so grabbed two of the shelves with rails. . .
Had to figure out how to mount the shelves, as at 24” wide, they were 4” wider than the 20” wide drawers. After some deliberation, decided a “top” to the two drawers was the best method, as it would close off the cargo area. Not much work here - - just had to notch out the rear portion of the ½” plywood.
More to follow. . .
Paul
'91 Sport
This year, it’s putting together a rear cargo storage system in order to organize all off-roading and other equipment that I carry in the rig. In the past, I’ve used an aluminum “foot locker” that was a decent fit for the cargo area, but it wasn’t very efficient, and allowed a lot of wasted space. An alternative solution was a fabricated a throw-away storage unit from an old mini-van that I modded to fit the cargo area - - not a terrible option, but you were forced to pull anything off the top of the unit in order to access the storage bins below.
So I knew what I wanted - - a drawer system, and preferably, with a sliding top section that would facilitate mounting a cooler / fridge, or action packer or tool box.
So I found a set that I really felt would work, they’re called Outback Solutions and available through ARB. All steel construction, carpeted inside and out, and modular, so they can be stacked side by side or one atop each other.
They make several different sizes and some that they refer to as “Roller Drawer – Roller Floor”, that is a drawer with a top “floor” that rolls out where you can mount a fridge, tool box, etc. Unfortunately, this option was not available in the size I wanted. . . For some reason I prefer to leave the rear seats in an upright position, if I lowered them (or removed them), I could have purchased the larger drawer with built in roller top “floor”,
So now the modifications. . . Had a old computer storage rack at work that was going to the scrap heap, so grabbed two of the shelves with rails. . .
Had to figure out how to mount the shelves, as at 24” wide, they were 4” wider than the 20” wide drawers. After some deliberation, decided a “top” to the two drawers was the best method, as it would close off the cargo area. Not much work here - - just had to notch out the rear portion of the ½” plywood.
More to follow. . .
Paul
'91 Sport
