110 rear drawer with compressor and air tank

[decnal]

Hi all,

I must have read through every rear storage and drawer build thread on this great forum - to get a little inspiration before I started my drawers

So I thought I would share my drawer build, maybe it will help someone

I used google sketchup to plan everything out and it was quick and easy once I got the hang of it. There are some good sketchup tutorials on-line aimed at furniture makers which helped me get started. I used the Cutlist sketchup plugin which automatically generates a cut list from the 3D model. It also nests the parts onto a standard sheet but I didn't use that

Sketchup 3D model with the top sheet hidden. The holes in the front corners are to give clearance for the cargo barrier brackets.

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/members/decnal-albums-drawers-picture3444-sketchup-no-top.jpg

I used one sheet of 12mm ply and a few bits from the offcut bin at Mr Ply & Wood which they cut to size from the cut list while I waited. Getting all the pieces cut wasn't that expensive, they were all perfectly straight and square and I didn't have to stuff around getting a full sheet of ply home. Having said that, the back of the Defender isn't straight or square so even though I took plenty of measurements and allowed for it in the 3D model, there were still some adjustments made during trial fittings.

I glued (no more nails) and screwed it together and sealed with a clear marine epoxy. The slides, latch and marine carpet are from Dunn & Watson and the rubber sheet is from Clark rubber. I wish I had taken a few pics during assembly

I used the space to the right of the drawer to mount a VIAIR 480C compressor, 9L air tank and manifold with pressure relief, gauge and Nitto coupling. The air tank and manifold is an ebay special and I bought the VIAIR compressor from Airide for not much more than the compressors offered by the usual 4WD accessory suppliers. Much better quality, spares availability and it has a 100% duty cycle.

This photo shows a trial fit of the right hand side box with compressor, air tank, relay and manifold. I used captive pronged tee nuts to hold things down. Really useful but I had a job finding them in metric

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/members/decnal-albums-drawers-picture3451-compressor-trial-fit.jpg

The switch is a standard heated seat switch with a bit of scratch action

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/members/decnal-albums-drawers-picture3452-switch.jpg

It's a snug fit and was a bugger to manhandle through the door and into position. It's bolted down through the original tie down point bolt holes and to the cargo barrier.

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/members/decnal-albums-drawers-picture3446-completed.jpg

The long length of cargo tracking is from Daniel at Mulgo and the two single dome versions near the door are from ebay. There is a screwed down hatch to access the gear in the right hand side but I won't bother cutting through the rubber until I need to get in there.

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/members/decnal-albums-drawers-picture3448-open.jpg

I have a 12V fan to mound at the end of the compressor to get a bit of air flow over it. Although other than the first fill of the tank, the rear door is open when I air-up and the compressor doesn't seem to get too hot. The thin black cable runs through to a spring loaded air tank drain

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/members/decnal-albums-drawers-picture3447-compressor.jpg

Pretty happy with how it turned out, got exactly what I wanted and for a lot less $ than one of the commercial offerings

Cheers,
Lance

[Chops]

That's a top job you've done there Lance.
Just a quick question on the program you used to design your system. Did you just download it from somewhere on the net, or was it specifically bought from a web site? It looks like it could be a very handy tool.

[Drover]

Nice work, one of the best knock-up's I have seen.

Good use of the space between the drawer and mudguard.

Thanks for the look.

[Homestar]

That's a top job you've done there Lance.
Just a quick question on the program you used to design your system. Did you just download it from somewhere on the net, or was it specifically bought from a web site? It looks like it could be a very handy tool.

Hi Chops - Google Sketchup is free - Google SketchUp (http://sketchup.google.com/download/)

Check out the tuitorials for it on youtube - very handy program when you get the hang of it

[decnal]

Thanks guys

As bacicat said, Sketchup is freely available from Google and pretty handy, especially for projects like this

The cultist plugin is a really useful addition, available from www.steveracz.com (http://steveracz.com/joomla/content/view/45/1/)

[Chops]

Thanks guys, I'll check it out.
I've got a 5 disk program at home that was organized for me which will do all that and more, but to use it, I'll need a rather large capacity comp to use it, hence it's never been installed.

[GyroLandy]

Dumb question, but what do you use the airtank for?

[decnal]

The tank is an accumulator, it just stores compressed air at high pressure. In my setup, there is a pressure switch in the manifold that turns the compressor off when the pressure reaches 120psi and back on again when it falls to 70psi.

I flick the compressor on a few minutes before stopping to air-up and let it fill the tank to 120psi. The first tyre fills real fast :D The other benefit is that the compressor continues to fill the tank while I stuff around putting each valve cap back on, walk around to each tyre, untangle the hose, etc.

By the time I've finished with my fourth tyre, the guys with standard compressors are finishing off their second or starting on their third.

[Didge]

I love sketchup; been using it for years and best free cad programme out there. Great setup and explanation!Only problem with bei g the first to air up is you usually stand around talking to others as they do theirs!