Nissan Patrol 4x4 (Africa)

Looking Good!!

Gents for those that are building racks and drawer systems etc out of Connect-It or similar aluminium tubing or extrusion in the Gauteng area, I am more than willing to cut your aluminium to size for you at no charge, we have automated double head cutters to manufacture aluminium windows and doors, so I can assist Members where possible.

Ckaber wrote:Gents for those that are building racks and drawer systems etc out of Connect-It or similar aluminium tubing or extrusion in the Gauteng area, I am more than willing to cut your aluminium to size for you at no charge, we have automated double head cutters to manufacture aluminium windows and doors, so I can assist Members where possible.

That is a fantastic offer. The only issue I had was cutting the square tubing. Not really an issue but it could have been done better. Nothing alot of measuring and a mitre block couldn't solve.

So it is in and 95% complete. I ran out of time so shoved it in the patrol and drove it to namibia:)

So the original design held up during construction although at a piont I gave up on the loose drawewrs that drop into a cradle idea... I should have persevered as I now have legasy bits that are part of that idea and were already attached.

It is amazing to see something that you envisioned and designed take shape. I truely envy people with jobs making things... a true sense of achievement. My normal day envolves the opposite... blowing stuff up, loading it in trucks, grinding it down and ending up with tiny gold bars.

So here is the design to remind you all what it is supposed tolook like:
First the fridge went in. It sits on a slide that is too small hence the spacer blocks and to get it in as far to the right as possible I lifted the slide up a cm so it sits ontop of the lip in the wheel arch that accommodates the fuel filler. I made a shelf for the battery between the fridge and the rear seat. The step really limits what you can put there hence the self. You can now stow things under the shelf too. Battery box going in and voltage reader positioning. I got it from Bushpower and the recomended battery the discover Current Automation Battery Supplier Price of R3700 vs R4700 at bushpower and R5200 at Outdoor warehouse. The inital layout and testing of the slide positions. The only reason I did not buy a ready made is the drawer needed to open without having to open both barn doors. The good news is that a floor mounted drawer will clear the door without needing the hinge to be modified. I also needed to make sure there was space for the drawer due the drawer overhanging the slide.

The alumium square section was wrapped in matt black vinyl. I used cable tensioners and rough cut aluminium brackets... they were meant to be neatened up but I never got around to it... and they work!!
System in
How it looks without the top deck in.


Clearing the door... mission accomplished!!
Something I am proud of is the fact that the drawers overhang the slides. It is difficult to see in the pictures but the aluminium sides have a step and the rails sit inside the step. It means maximum space use. I then have an alumium siding on the frame holding the drawers. Everything has mm of clearance.

One last picture of the complete system.
This was before i fixed the wonky lid. The lid is hinged and you can access the top drawers from the back seat.

Hi Biggles

Looks like an awesome system you have there and gives me some hope for one I have been wanting to build for ages now.

Can you please see if you can resize the pics in your last and second last post. It is around 77mb in size and takes really long to load the page.

If you dont know how to resize the pics, just send them to a friend via Whatsapp and have him send it back. You loose almost no quality and its about 10 times smiller in file size.

I would have helped you on this one, but I am in India and its not easy from a smartphone

Michael wrote:Hi Biggles

Looks like an awesome system you have there and gives me some hope for one I have been wanting to build for ages now.

Can you please see if you can resize the pics in your last and second last post. It is around 77mb in size and takes really long to load the page.

If you dont know how to resize the pics, just send them to a friend via Whatsapp and have him send it back. You loose almost no quality and its about 10 times smiller in file size.

I would have helped you on this one, but I am in India and its not easy from a smartphone

Hey, I thought it resized them automatically... anyway dropped down to phone friendly size;)

I don't really have alot of fabrication experience... so it was a big learning curve for me. My usual moer-by approach did not work here!! After the first hour I made such a big mistake I was forced to go and get the computer so i could actually work from the plans I had done

I am working on the costing but I would say I spent about R6000 on just the drawer system (excluding battery and battery box). But I would have to calculate how much materials I have left over. It I just had to cost the items used I would say in the region of R4000. The slides alone cost R1,233 from furnloc. I have alot of wood, aluminium and carpeting left over. I also stuffed up with the fasteners. I bought close to a 100 bolts and nuts all stainless and realised that I failed to account for carpet thickness...

It is very light... Each deck can be loaded and unloaded by me alone. I took it offroading and it is tough. I loaded it with heavy scrap to see if it rattled or broke.
And the only big modification I need to do it something to hold the drawers open when it is nose down on an incline to stop the drawers closing by themselves.

Very cool!!

where did you get the drawer and fridge rails from?
I really would love to finish my drawer system before the Dune trip, but I don't think it will be possible (sad face)

Michael wrote:Very cool!!

where did you get the drawer and fridge rails from?
I really would love to finish my drawer system before the Dune trip, but I don't think it will be possible (sad face)

Furnloc stock a wide range of ratings and lenghts. 900mm Heavy duty were 411 a pair.

The fridge slide is an old front-runner fridge slide I have had for years.

Steve that is looking great.

My only suggestion would be to cut a hole in the wood and carpet under the fridge slider so that you have access to the fuel pump if required.