NM Rear storage design

[floater05]

In the process of building rear storage system for my trip around australia. need to have it complet by the end of february.

- needs to have access to the rear seat well (have an amp and aux battery in there)

- needs fridge slide (waeco cf-50)

- need atleast one drawer

- needs to fit a sub

any input appreciated...

the aux battery does not need to be portable therefore the only reason id need to access the seat well while on the road would be to access the jack or if anything went wrong with the rear battery or amp?

perhaps i could re-locate the jack and forget about access to the seatwell?

I need access to the 2nd row seats but would also like to be able to sleep in the car. if anyone has any ideas about placing a removable frame over the second row seats let me know. im blank on this so far.


so far im thinking,

200mm raised floor put in to allow access to 3rd seat well... can place table, chairs, ubute etc under the raised floor.

fridge on passenger side with the sub mounted behind it... either facing the seats or facing the floor.

single large draw on drivers side... will store tools, spare parts, camping gear and recovery gear.

heres a bit of a diagram, failed maths in school so some of the measurements may not be exact yet but from what i can tell it should all fit except for the sub.

thanks,

Luke

[sharkcaver]

Have a think about the height of the raised floor. I made mine so I had a flat surface once the rear seats were folded down. Makes it very versatile (until you put a cargo barrier in that is). IIRC, mine is 300mm from the floor to the underside of the frame. Even at that I sometimes wished I'd gone 25mm higher, the amount of things I've sometimes wanted to put under there and just missed out......Once you have a fridge slide on the top shelf, you loose the functionality of a flat surface up there. The trade off is the higher you go, the harder it is to access the fridge internals. So 200mm may be just right for you?


That said, I've seen shelves much higher than mine. I'm not keen on that myself as I like my objects to be on flat ground below side window height. But you have lots of possibilities you can explore. There is a multitude of build ups on the forum, spend some time looking at what features you like and what you don't. Good luck. Fitting the rear shelf in mine made my vehicle into something else. Great bang for buck IMO.

[floater05]

Thanks for the feedback sharkcaver. im a short bloke so i wanted to keep the fridge as low as possible without making the space below the floor useless. 200mm fits my ubute camp stove in its case.

will have a fiddle around with the tape measure and see if i change my mind or not.

cheers!

[dolphin]

now , if your going on this long around Aust journey i would really consider not taking the Sub / Amp gear as this is just taking up room for something more important that you could need to have on board.
the third row under floor seat area is a good size when the seats are removed, so pack up this area with yes the secound battery plus whatever you think will fit in nice and snug, use a piece of plywood for the floor cover so you can just slide it out to get to whatever is in the 3 rd row floor pan.
have double drawers on the base of box that can also slid right out and off for ease of entry to this 3rd rtow floor pan area. then just go up from there with design so the fridge etc etc etc fits the area well. the main thing we must remember when making up this rear storeage unit stuff is to Keep It Light. some of the ready to fit units [ no names mentioned ] are just way to heavy empty and when all is full the weight is just not good for fuel economy etc.

[techietom]

Have a look how I've done mine.
Made it the height of the folded seats. Still full access to the 3rd seat well.
Made a tilting fridge slide pretty easily too which solves the height issue with the fridge.
No drawer, I use crates, more versatile, and easier to pack/unpack.
You could fit the battery in the well, but I put mine under the bonnet.

Its light, simple, and easily removable.
Maybe some idea's you can use there:

http://www2.pajeroclub.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=27729

[BrisVegas]

I'd also be questioning the need to lug a sub and amp around with you. Put some decent speakers in the front doors. The sound from the rear would be muffled by cargo anyway.

But anyway, I've got the second battery in the 3rd row storage area. I also have my compressor, snatch strap, trolley jack, bag of tools and a couple of spare hoses and belts. It all fits snugly and I can get it out through a hatch on the driver side of the box/shelf thing I built. On the passenger side I've got my fridge slide bolted down to the new ply floor. I wanted the heavy stuff down as low as possible. I've just got a couple of big tubs for dry food and pots and pans and plates etc. along with my blow moulded folding table on the driver side. That stuff comes out easily if I need to get access to the stuff underneath the floor. All my soft light stuff goes up on the shelf or tucked into nooks and crannies beside the storage unit. My touring tent and folding chairs live on the roof racks. Works ok. Would love more space or a camper trailer, but then I'd prob just bring more crap we don't really need.

I'm too tall to sleep in the back (plus I've got a wife and two kids) so never really considered that option, sorry.

[captain_paj]

I'd also be questioning the need to lug a sub and amp around with you. Put some decent speakers in the front doors. The sound from the rear would be muffled by cargo anyway.

d00d a sub kikz azz fooly wif al doze sik beets!

I LOVE my music while driving. SWAMBO turns it down every time though. Maybe it's 'cos the kids and I like Weird Al, Professor Elemental and Mr B The Gentleman Rhymer

If I had to toss up between recovery tracks and a sub, man that would be a tough choice...Some nice low rumble does go down well...As long as that low rumble isn't an indication of a catastrophic failure coming on

I have a wife and three kids and when we go camping its a bolt on the trailer affair - how do you guys fit everything into and on the Paj?

[floater05]

Had a look at the images of yours BrisVegas, and i really like it. nice and simple.

ditching the sub an amp is not an option. iv had one in my car since i was for 7 years. plus i wil be doing too many hwy kms to not have decent music.

i will be living out of this thing for the next however many months or years. so i think drawers would suit me better than tubs. more permanent. once the cars packed it will rarely be unpacked.

CaptainPaj, my recovery tracks live on the roof!

tough decisions, whether to go something similar to Techietom's like my first design or something more similar to BrisVegas's. hmm

thanks for the input guys

[floater05]

Can anyone using the Bunnings Connect it comment on the strength?

[rogg]

I made my storage for a flat bed. Fits a double swag mattress from Clarke rubber. And is great to sleep on. Just made it the same height as the seats when folded and made some legs to hold up the front. Doesn't move and the
flat panel just slides back over the box when I won't to put the rear seats up again.

http://www2.pajeroclub.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=26946

[floater05]

I made my storage for a flat bed. Fits a double swag mattress from Clarke rubber. And is great to sleep on. Just made it the same height as the seats when folded and made some legs to hold up the front. Doesn't move and the
flat panel just slides back over the box when I won't to put the rear seats up again.

http://www2.pajeroclub.com.au/forum/...ad.php?t=26946

cheers rogg, thats given me some ideas