EDIT:
Since the original facebook album didn't work I'll slap some of the photobucket pics up now that I have a spare minute.

Built a basic box to fit between the wheel wells in the rear. 2x6 frame with drawer made from 1x4 pine. Bottom of drawers is 1/2" plywood. Mounted them in with 36" 250lb drawer slides (hoped to use them as seats, but dont think the wood will hold up to it)




Cut my 'table tops' to fit in empty space above drawers. left about 1/8" play on either side.


Stained, routed edges, and glued outdoor carpet to table tops.


Installed 3/4" plywood on top of the drawers and cut side flaps to fill in the gaps. Attached with piano hinges.


Flipped the whole thing over to install some felt tape on the underside of the platform. This will allow the stained and finished surface of the tabletops to slide without getting scratched up.


The carpeted side of the tabletops will ride along some 'skis' so they can be pulled out independently of the drawers. The tip of the ski drops low enough that if you push the drawer in with table top out, they will automatically catch the table top and slide it back up into place. Just a piece of 1/2"x1/2" angle iron 2' long. Cut about 1.5" off each end to bend.




(currently missing a pic of how they mount but let me know if you have any questions, again just have a few minutes to post this so I'm trying to get as much down as I can)

For latches I used a simple cabinet latch that will be completely hidden. The striker for the latch had to be countersunk to allow the table tops to slide in and out.



I covered the whole upper surface with outdoor carpeting, stained and finished the drawer fronts, and sprayed a can of duplicolor bed liner in each drawer. If you notice, the platform surface doesn't go completely to the rear of the drawers. This allows support for the filler panels I put on.


Finished product



Tabletops stored in the unit just above the drawers so they are out of the way until you need them


Here is a shot with a table top completely pulled out, wing pockets open, and the two filler panels removed.


Same shot from the rear seats looking out. You can see the added draw catch that reinforces the weak point right behind the seats.


And lastly, one of the sleeper configurations. Pull out a table top, flip it over, and it will rest on the same overhang as the fill panels, just put a support board under the front end and you have extended cargo area or sleeper. The sizes are designed such that I could remove the bottom rear seat and use the table top AND the fill panel to make an even longer sleeper platform but havn't yet cut the support pieces to test that.


My schematics are still burried in the garage but when I find them, I'll try to scan them and put them up here as well. Let me know if you have any questions and I'll try to answer what I can remember off the top of my head. Again I appologize for not having more time to document the whole thing right now, but I'll try to get back to it if there is interest from you guys. Enjoy

-Nick

 

linkys no worky... photobucket? easy setup and uploading

 

Thanks for the heads-up. 70+ views and you're the first to let me know. It's set to be visible by all so I'm not sure why it didn't work. I'll try to get the photobucket ones up as soon as I can.

 

linky no worky and would like to see schematics too

 

What they said^

Whats Spacebook? Is it like Myface?

 

OK round two.... let me know what you think

 

Love it! I would also be interested in seeing the schematics.

 

gorgeous... i would love to be able to do that with my truck... do you have links to where you bought the slides?

 

very nice work! i was just looking at my passenger floor board and all the junk that's been accumulating there (ratchet straps, bungees, jumpers, etc...) and this project could definitely be a welcome addition to the runner. i'm diggin' the table top idea- haven't seen that mod yet!

 

I can't fully claim the tabletop idea. Back when I was looking for inspirations I had seen someone with that and thought it was a great idea. If I recall though, they had separate panels for use as the sleeper platform. I wanted to have it very modular so I could carry it all at once without taking up extra room.

I still need to go through all my receipts and see how much the total cost came out to be. The drawer slides I ordered from DrawerSlides.com. They have a huge selection with decent prices. I ended up finding the 36" slides for ~$41 each but total with shipping for the two sets was just over $100. I didn't realize at the time, but they dont have any sort of release mechanism. Now I can't remove the drawers without unscrewing them. If I had known I would have paid a little extra to get ones with it. Looks like they don't have the exact ones I bought anymore or I'd post the link to them.

 

That is awesome! I've been looking for a low profile design that I liked since I need one that won't interfere with a roll bar...very nice work!

 

Mauzer, It's been a while since I've kept up with Yotatech, but just realized I haven't changed my location. I'm now in Houston and haven't been wheeling in about 4 years. I have a lot of maintenance that needs done before I do any. What part of TX are you in?

 

Sold the '97 but I have these drawers for sale if anyone is interested:

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f109...ton-tx-269747/