Rear Drawers and Spare Tyre

[LEX FRANKS]

Has anyone managed to fit a rear drawer system to a LR4 and still been able to access the spare tyre mechanism ? Or is it best to invest in a rear wheel carrier?


Cheers


Lex Franks

[~Rich~]

A bought one most probably not but will stand corrected if someone has. A custom built set of drawers yes. Download the plans with pictures from my signature.

But I did end up getting a RWC and LRTank ;)

[juliatea]

I have a single deep drawer on the right and an Engel fridge on slide on the left. I have a remote access to the wheel winch between the two, which comes through between the two rear seats and then through the MDF base that the drawer and fridge slide are fixed to.
The remote access gear is dependent on the age of your car.
It seems that land rover changed the desin of the top of the winch about Jan13.
I previously had a D3 which was easy as you just put a socket over the hex nut with an adapter and extension.
Now I have a D4 which has a peculiar winch top with a hole in it.
I have sorted out a remote access and you can
see the photos in my gallery and the description if you go to the following posting in disco 3co uk.
DISCO3.CO.UK - View topic - D4 remote access to wheel winch, cars built after jan 2013 (http://www.disco3.co.uk/forum/topic106209.html)

if you have any questions won't be able to answer for a couple of days as I am just about to hop on a plane to the uk
juliatea

[ADMIRAL]

Certainly makes it a lot easier to fit drawers and a fridge in with a RWC and an Aux. tank. Have a look at the plans available on this forum. You may not follow them exactly, but the research is sound, and it will give you plenty of good ideas.

The basics are to make your self an angled base panel ( the cargo floor and tailgate are not on the same plane, and you have to lift the rear of the cargo area floor, if you intend using a fridge slide or drawers on the base ) Make a drawer set as a separate component that can be attached to the base, and lock the base/drawer structure to the cargo area. I have used turnbuckles onto the existing LR cargo tiedown rings.

If you intend using a large fridge, your design is pretty much restricted to a drawer set on one side, and a fridge slide on the other. If the drawers cover all of the available width, with a fridge slide above the drawers, the remaining space restricts the size of the fridge dramatically, particularly if your chosen fridge has a sideways opening lid. (The tailgate inner trim restricts the lid opening arc )

A fridge on the base panel allows the use of a quite large unit. The Engel , ARB or National Luna 70-80 odd litre models will all fit. ( and I also have a cargo barrier burning a bit of space ) A good piece of time should be spent sizing the unit and checking for lid clearance etc though.

It took me 3 versions before I was happy with my final design and operation. I would make the drawers narrower if I had to do it again. It is easy to get greedy and try and maximise the drawer space. The extra width comes at a cost, as it makes the fitting of the unit and the access down the sides, that bit more difficult. My final setup still allows access to the OE bins and panels. ( but as mentioned, access is tight )

I felt it was important not to destroy the LR interior in the cargo area, and my drawers/base/fridge slide, can be removed/installed in about 25 mins. When removed, there is no evidence the drawers have been fitted.

Happy camping.

[Patrick C]

Hi there
I bought a set of drawers from Drifta (drifta kitchens)
They are fixed with an attached tie down kit which attaches to the vehicle rear cabin tie down points via supplied turnbuckles
When I need to get to the spare, I can have the drawers out in a few minutes
The 2 drawer kit cost about $1200 including freight to the Sunshine Coast

Cheers

Patrick

[stray dingo]

Department of the Interior build theirs with access to the winder

Car Consoles & 4WD Storage Drawers - Department of the Interior - overhead consoles, roof consoles, custom built consoles, 4WD interiors, storage systems, vehicle consoles, radio console, dashboard pod, four wheel drive. (http://www.consoles.com.au/Rover_LandDiscovery3_cargo.htm)

they were the only ones who did this as standard when I was looking.

(Ultimately, at the price of most drawer systems, I found it more reasonable to have the rear wheel carrier fitted and a generic sized pair of drawers off ebay)