Imagine the Perfect Drawer System Merri Morrall Family

Drawer systems are a hot topic these days. Before you go out and purchase or build an expensive setup for your rig, we have some suggestions that may help to custom-fit the right system to your needs.

Drawers help keep things organized, a place for everything and everything in its place. They make it so much easier to get to things without having to dig through deep totes. Our experience is, if we can’t get at something quickly, we usually go without.

There are pros and cons of buying a system that is pre-made versus building your own. Purchasing a readymade unit is less hassle, usually takes less time, is often well-engineered, and is likely easier than designing your own. However, what others offer may

Imagine the Perfect Drawer System

not be exactly what you want or fulfill your particular needs, and pre-made modules can be very pricey.

For building inspiration, check out other people’s systems and manufactured ones, too. Collect the elements that will best serve your needs. Then, begin to map out how you will build it.

Start by measuring your available space and decide how you want to secure it. For safety, the drawer system needs to be securely held in place. If permanently mounted, it can be bolted down through the floor. If removable, consider using the factory d-rings on the cargo floor.

It’s important to determine what will be put in the drawers. Lay your probable contents out on the floor in the way you plan to store them. You will want the most-used items towards the front of the drawer. Heavy things like tools and recovery gear should be kept down low. Measure the space your gear takes up. This will establish each individual drawer’s depth and width.

Will you need a space for a cooler or fridge? Most people carry one or the other and want easy access to their food and beverages. We created an upright set of drawers on one side and put our fridge on the other. Will you be using the top as a sleeping platform? These questions will help establish if you want a vertical or flat top-drawer box. You may want your drawers to double as counter space or be able to use it as a table. Your drawer system can be as elaborate or as simple as you want. It doesn’t have to be pretty or fancy.

We drew our design out on paper several times as we thought of new features we wanted to include.

If you have little or no experience in woodworking, look at your house furniture for ideas how to join the panels. The easiest joints to make are simple butt joints with glue and screws.

After determining the dimensions, draw simple pictures from differing angles. Start your drawing with the overall size of the cabinet. Build the size of the drawers to fit accordingly. Incorporate all measurements, including the thickness of the panels and leave room required for drawer slides.

When embarking on a DIY project, our first thoughts center on building materials. Our choices are often dictated by the tools we have available, our budget and our skills.

A vehicle drawer system built with an extruded aluminum frame and lightweight panels will keep the weight down, but can easily become very expensive. For most do-it-yourselfers, plywood is probably the most economical and easiest material to work with.

For drawer operation, a few options to consider are metal drawer slides or wood-on-wood slides. Metal slides make the drawers easy to pull out and push in, can be equipped with stops, and can allow the drawer to be pulled out all the way, making getting to the things at the rear of the drawer easier. But they can be expensive and make the construction more involved. Woodon-wood drawer slides are easy to make and there is virtually no extra expense. However, wood-on-wood can operate too loose or too tight, or even grind down over time.

Although the finished weight of your project should be a priority, sometimes it’s better to over-build (thicker materials) then skimp and have it collapse or fail. Keep in mind, drawer bottoms also need to stand up to the weight of their contents.

With the right skills, materials and a plan, you can build your own custom drawers that will keep your rig organized and perhaps make your trips more enjoyable.

If you would like further instruction, check out these videos on our YouTube channel. One shows how we built a simple two-drawer cabinet, and the other is a much more elaborate system with counter space and all.

DIY Rear Drawer System Overland Storage DIY Rear Cargo Drawers - Easy Build Merri Morrall

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Our Alternative Plan for Retirement

Nearing retirement, Charlotte and I have a lifetime of backpacking experience between us and to some pretty obscure places to boot. We honeymooned in Timbuktu in Mali, so buying a truck to drive around the world seemed the most natural progression for our retirement plans.

What we were about to undertake took our traveling to a whole new level. I was encouraged to buy tools that I had no idea what they were or how they might be used. We both had to undertake our heavy goods driving licenses, we did a first aid course and even bought a defibrillator for our journey.

It was around two years from buying our Mercedes Atego truck under the supervision of Ian from Motorcraft Adventure Developments who did the build for us, to driving away on our adventure (COVID cost us six months+).

That time took us through one of the steepest learning curves of our lives. We learned how to change wheels on our monster truck (we uprated the tires to Continental HCS 395X85XR20’s offroad to give us a bit more height).

We learned how to service the truck and that oil goes beyond the filler cap under the bonnet and actually has a purpose.

Yes, we were seasoned travelers but knew nothing of the mechanics of a truck and what we were undertaking. The guys at Motorcraft lead us through the whole process from stretching the chassis to the final fit-out of the interior which was a battle of wits with Charlotte’s artistic side rearing up versus the practicalities of making Charlotte’s ideas work on our trip. We would hear those immortal words “All this extra stuff isn’t camping you know,” to which our retort became “Yes, we know. We are not camping; we are driving around the world.”

Charlotte got her way in most cases …the upgrade on the fridge to an Isotherm 320 Marine fridge/freezer was a genius suggestion by Ian and although it hurt financially at the time, my goodness we are so pleased to have one large fridge and two draw freezers. Keeping the wine chilled is a breeze now. I believe the fridge alone is 11 cubic feet!

We have encountered some criticism via social media of the comfort we have had built into our truck as we have spent as much money as we

could afford to make the journey as pleasurable as possible. Some diehards seem to believe you have to sleep on a bed made out of 6” nails to be a true overlander. We don’t believe this is the case and are happy with our luxurious permanent double bed and we even have a dartboard and pedestal for our entertainment.

Other items include a rooftop terrace complete with handrails, solar panels, a rooftop tent as well as a Honda CRF250L mounted on a hydraulic lift at the rear of the truck (another amazing innovation by Motorcraft).

The whole build is truly magnificent and we are so pleased with the end result, and so when the day came to leave the factory, we couldn’t have been happier.

Our travels took us through France, Spain and Portugal before reverting back to Italy to catch the ferry to Morocco to start our trip proper. That was six months ago. We have learned so much more and are able to tackle any number of mechanical and electrical procedures now, and we can even change a fuse without reverting to the manual!

We tend to split duties between us and both drive, which can turn heads when a blonde lady in sunglasses thunders through a Berber village driving a 13.5-tonne lorry.

I tend to do more of the mechanical stuff and get assigned duties like laying on my back to check for oil leaks under the truck whilst Charlotte undertakes the lighter duties like making sure the wine is chilled correctly.

As everyone has been affected by COVID … so have we. We are currently waiting for the border to Mauritania to open before we can move on and see Morocco. As the gatekeeper to Africa, and Mauritania being the real deal, we are so looking forward to dipping our toes into the melting pot of Africa and beyond!

As we wait, we learn more and more and fall more in love with our beautiful home. The original plan was to travel for maybe three years and then it slipped to five, and now we feel 10 years may be more realistic, with the biggest challenge being: What we do when we are done?

If you are reading this article and wondering if you should take the plunge, please believe me when I say just do it! It is an amazing way to spend your time. I read so many inspiring quotes like, “Don’t wait until tomorrow, you only live once,” etc., all over social media written by Jane in Halifax or Bill in Portsmouth. Who I’m afraid to say, will most likely never take the plunge? Which is such a shame, as it’s the only way Charlotte and I are to live now!

Anyway, I must go, we have an electrical short on our motorbike to sort out this morning and I need to get out my multimeter to find the problem.

David and Charlotte

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