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Cargo Area Storage Drawers

Storage, Racks, Bed Conversions, Cargo area modification, tie-downs, extra fuel, roof-tents, awnings, curtains, cooking devices, water makers, water heaters, navigation devices, communication systems, tinted glass, flooring treatments, power and battery controllers, and all that other stuff you don't really need but is nice to have for big trips.
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samduhspam
Posts: 114

Re: Cargo Area Storage Drawers

Post#31 » Mon Feb 22, 2021 5:09 pm

TMog617A wrote:The top support plates shown earlier do not fit my interior as the G plastic molding is just a bit too inward. This is stock so I am sure other w463s may have the same issue.
DSC06360.JPG

Here is a close-up of the edge that would need to be cut to make it fit. The plates are made of carpeted 3/4" (IIRC) plywood so modifying should not be too difficult).
DSC06361.JPG

Installed (with optional ugly anti-theft style blanket):
DSC06363.JPG
This last picture does not show the final install as the kit comes with some cover plates to make it look more integrated. Also, there is a step to bolt the box down to the body for safety reasons. The kit also comes with some eye bolts that you can attach to the top plate (between the carpeted areas) as there is the Front Runner typical rail system. Really handy for strapping cargo on top.

I have opted to not cut the support plates down as i was always planning to transfer this box into a (future) W460 expedition build with a different interior layout.

Anyways, this box was installed in April 2015 and is still going strong today. I actually picked up 6 bags of water softener salt (40lbs each) and 4 bags of top soil (similar weight) from HD today and loaded all 10 bags (approx.400lbs) on top of the cargo box with no problems. One drawer I use for tools and emergency essentials while the larger drawer is typically empty and is used for groceries that need to stay put during the drive home.

Hope this helps. If you want more pix just let me know and I'll get some tomorrow. I am really happy with this system and it will certainly be transferred into my expedition G once ready.


Thanks for the pics and write up! How’s the battery accessed after the drawers are in?

creede
Posts: 70
Contact:

Re: Cargo Area Storage Drawers

Post#32 » Wed Feb 24, 2021 8:51 am

I've got the frontrunner drawers too and have been super happy with them.

Image

You can see some photos of them here: https://creedefitch.com/g500

samduhspam
Posts: 114

Re: Cargo Area Storage Drawers

Post#33 » Wed Feb 24, 2021 1:24 pm

How do you access the battery after the install? My Europa has the battery on the drive side rear corner of the trunk.

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inkblotz
Posts: 8202

Re: Cargo Area Storage Drawers

Post#34 » Thu Feb 25, 2021 4:31 am

Here is a link to what I have. viewtopic.php?f=18&t=8826&hilit=drawers

Court
Posts: 812

Re: Cargo Area Storage Drawers

Post#35 » Thu Feb 25, 2021 8:05 am

I am not certain but I think Trekboxx May be developing a drawer system for G Wagons. A while ago I saw an Instagram post of theirs showing a laser scan taking place on the cargo area of a G.

I did contact them a while back before making my drawers and they said they were interested but had not had a G to work on. May be if there is enough interest they will accelerate design.

Their product is great but expensive.

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TMog617A
Posts: 498

Re: Cargo Area Storage Drawers

Post#36 » Thu Feb 25, 2021 10:35 am

samduhspam wrote:
Thanks for the pics and write up! How’s the battery accessed after the drawers are in?


Mine is a 2007 US model so the battery is located under the center foot well in the rear passenger compartment.

I have not seen a Europa version in real life, but i imagine your battery is where my CD changer is located. In that case, you would have to remove the drawer box to access the area you are referring to, unless you can access the battery compartment from the top. In that case you could just remove the side support, which could be easily achieved if you would leave the driver side support not screwed down.
'21 GLE350 - Wifey's daily driver
'07 G500 Flint Grey - Daily driver
'89 230GE - Overland Expedition G - (In surgery)
'62 Unimog-S 404.1 - OM617A - 406 Power Steer - Custom Rock Krawler (TMog)

creede
Posts: 70
Contact:

Re: Cargo Area Storage Drawers

Post#37 » Thu Feb 25, 2021 11:40 am

samduhspam wrote:How do you access the battery after the install? My Europa has the battery on the drive side rear corner of the trunk.


Simply put, you don't. I had to take my whole drawer setup out when I installed my house battery on the drivers side rear. Any future access will require taking the whole setup out. It's not the worst job, but not a 10 min job either.

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TMog617A
Posts: 498

Re: Cargo Area Storage Drawers

Post#38 » Sun Mar 07, 2021 7:55 pm

samduhspam wrote:How do you access the battery after the install? My Europa has the battery on the drive side rear corner of the trunk.


My W463 model has the battery in the rear passenger footwell location, so well away from the cargo area.
maxresdefault.jpg
Above pic borrowed from Google to illustrate the area of my battery location (under the cup holders in the rear passenger area).

If your battery is located in the driver side rear wheel well area, where my CD changer is located (see pix in my earlier post), then you could still have access from above once the drawer box is installed provided you leave off the side top support board, which i have done, or just make the top support easily removable.
However, if you only have horizontal access to your battery, exactly like my CD changer access, then the drawer box will block access indeed.

Hope this helps a bit.
'21 GLE350 - Wifey's daily driver
'07 G500 Flint Grey - Daily driver
'89 230GE - Overland Expedition G - (In surgery)
'62 Unimog-S 404.1 - OM617A - 406 Power Steer - Custom Rock Krawler (TMog)

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apple
Posts: 1768

Re: Cargo Area Storage Drawers

Post#39 » Sun Apr 04, 2021 2:01 pm

creede wrote:I've got the frontrunner drawers too and have been super happy with them.


did you have to trim yours to fit?

creede
Posts: 70
Contact:

Re: Cargo Area Storage Drawers

Post#40 » Fri Apr 23, 2021 6:58 am

Mine were in the truck when I bought it, but they don't look like they have been trimmed at all.

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