Rear pull out drawer project documentation for 2001 T4 Eurovan

[markcm2]

This thread documents the construction of a rear cargo area pullout drawer for our 2001 T4 Eurovan weekender and will list a few considerations I came across while building, pictures, measurements and such.

My design intent was to utilize as much space as possible under the rear deck and I wanted the drawer to extend about half way under the rear bench seat when closed to retain some usable space from the access holes in the front of the bench seat. I wanted soft close hinges and a decent drawer-slide extension to allow the drawer to pull out far enough that we can reach into the back of it. I also wanted an access hole from the rear face of the drawer which I could slide our telescoping ladder in and out of. I think I've achieved most of this, on to the documentation.

Materials:

*1 full 4'x8' sheet of 1/2" plywood (I bought prefinished)
*1 2'x4' sheet of 1/2" plywood (for my ladder compartment)
*2 24" soft close drawer slides (Amazon ASIN B015GMRIDI, claimed to be 100lb)
* 2pcs of 1/8" thick 2" aluminum (bought from Lowes hardware)
*1 bottle wood glue
* box of 1-1/4" wood screws

Tools I used:

*Drill with countersink bit
*Screw gun/Drill
*Table saw
*Circular saw
*Jig saw
*Hand Belt sander
*Table belt sander
*Hand scroll saw (for finishing cuts I made with a circular saw)

Key things I learned and had to adjust for were (all of this is shown in my pictures too):

*The trunk cargo area isn't level, if you mount the drawer slides "square" or "parallel" to the shelf support the drawer will naturally want to self close. Not a bad thing but be aware you might want a latch to hold the drawer open. I cut mine so that when you pull the drawer out, the last few inches of the top of the drawer drag on the bottom of the shelf. This friction holds the drawer open but I caution that getting this fit was more luck than skill.
*Make sure the drawer slides protrude no more than 3" past the center of the rear support leg to avoid interference with the rear hatch and drawer (shown in images)
* Leave a little clarance between the the top of the drawer and the bottom of the shelf, and air tight fit doesnt do you any good and the shelf/bed will flex some with weight such as an ice box.
* I had to notch out for the front bars/legs of the rear shelf support bar (shown in my pictures below)
*mount the drawer slides at least 2.25" below the top of the rear shelf frame work to avoid your slide from interfering with the latches of the top shelf and its framework.
*To measure the rear most clearance, I put masking tape strips on the threshold then closed the rear hatch and climbed in the back with the shelf/bed removed and marked the inside of the rear hatch on the tape. These marks came in handy when dry fitting the drawer before mounting the slides.
*Tip- When cutting plywood, put masking tap on the cut line and use a good finish blade; this will greatly reduce splintering.

Here we go with the images:

I started with some measurements of the rear of the van (numbers are for reference and may have changed slightly during construction):

Then drafted an idea of what I wanted the drawer to look like and applied the measurements (numbers are for reference and may have changed slightly during construction):

Started cutting, gluing, and screwing the parts together (I pre-drilled all the holes):

Mounted the 2" backing plates to the frame of the shelf support:

When dry fitting the drawer, I found that the drawer hit the forward legs of the rear shelf support and had to cut a 4"x4" relief. I patched the driver's side hole on the inside of the drawer and since my ladder compartment covered the majority of the hole on the passenger side I left it well enough alone:

Next was putting the drawer slides on the the drawer. First I dry fit the drawer in the van and marked the top of the slides on the sides of the drawer. I then removed the drawer and the slides and mounted them to the drawer about 1/4" offset to ensure I'd have some clearance. I started with just two of the slotted mouting holes so I could make some height adjustments; once I had it where I wanted it, I finished installing the mounting screws in the drawer slide. The bolts from the forward shelf support legs gave me some hassle due to their height.

For my ladder "compartment", I cut an access hole in the rear face, secured a support ledge to the side of the drawer and then built a cover. I cut it such that it fits in pretty snug, it stays in place but I can pull it out if we needed the extra space.

Here are a few more shots with measurements:

And here are a few shots of it installed:

[amyshannon]

Th9is is awesome , Thanks

[Zeitgeist 13]

Nice work! I think I'll follow your lead with this mod, as we need a better way to use that space. Can it be removed easily?
_________________
Casey--

'89 Bluestar ALH w/12mm Waldo pump, PP764 and GT2052
'01 Weekender --> full camper
y u rune klassik?

[markcm2]

[Joshwa]

This is something I’d like to do also, but of course between the earlier model boxes in back. Do you recall the floor clearance measurement to clear the rear plastic trim?
_________________
93 Weekender TDI conversion (AHU)
93 MV TDI conversion (1Z)
Weekender rear cot
Late model cabin air filter on 93
Euro spec bumper install on 93

[markcm2]

[Joshwa]

Yes, how much you had to raise the box from the floor to clear the rear plastic trim. I think I can figure it out now that I look at the pictures again. Thanks.

I actually bought the metal later model frames, but just not motivated to cut holes in the back trim and weld studs to the wheel wells. Drill a hole in the floor and weld a nut on. On the plus side, I can easily attach drawer slides to the existing wood boxes.
_________________
93 Weekender TDI conversion (AHU)
93 MV TDI conversion (1Z)
Weekender rear cot
Late model cabin air filter on 93
Euro spec bumper install on 93

[markcm2]

[Zeitgeist 13]

Where did you buy the high quality non-construction grade plywood?
_________________
Casey--

'89 Bluestar ALH w/12mm Waldo pump, PP764 and GT2052
'01 Weekender --> full camper
y u rune klassik?

[markcm2]

[Joshwa]

The bed board sits right on the boxes with the earlier models. The bolt down close to the rear seat is the same, but the bolt down closer to the hatch is absent. So the boxes bolt down close to the rear seat, then just screw down into the plywood closer to the hatch. In reality, one could build up an alternate support for the bed board to get a full width drawer.

On a side note. Not sure if this is the same with the read bed board height with the later vans, but I did some measurements and find that the overall height of the cushion top ends up being 1" lower than the back rest when laid back in bed mode. Likewise, the rear seat bottom is 1 1/2" lower at the seat belt gradually moving towards 0" difference at the front of the seat.

The flooring replacement looks great by the way.
_________________
93 Weekender TDI conversion (AHU)
93 MV TDI conversion (1Z)
Weekender rear cot
Late model cabin air filter on 93
Euro spec bumper install on 93

[markcm2]

Follow up 1-year after completing this pull out drawer project.

For anyone even remotely considering this, DO IT! This drawer has been a huge improvement to convenience and efficiency.

[Joshwa]

What's your access like from the inside panels? Are you able to reach into the drawers from the rear seat panels?
_________________
93 Weekender TDI conversion (AHU)
93 MV TDI conversion (1Z)
Weekender rear cot
Late model cabin air filter on 93
Euro spec bumper install on 93

[markcm2]

[amyshannon]

We followed Marks plans and we love our drawer ! I store all my fly fishing and camping gear in it and I am always ready to take off in a minutes notice! Love the drawer

[beyondmp3]

Just wanted to chime in and say I really like the drawer setup, and I support everyone’s attempts to try to use that difficult space below the rear bed on the MV’s. I made a similar drawer a while back (great minds?) - very similar I would say in overall shape and construction. I added a cutting board and silverware tray cutout which ended up working very well. Here’s a couple photos:

This ‘93 van has just finally died and I’m just beginning the process of moving all the goodies to a 2000 GLS I just picked up. We shall see how it goes!

[Zeitgeist 13]

In preparations for our many camping trips this Summer, I removed the front lower bed panel after getting tired of the doors breaking off every other time they were opened. I was thinking of making my own out of wood, but now I'm wondering if the back...er, front side of the drawer could be incorporated into this panel. We sleep up top now, so the bed never gets deployed any longer. The front of the drawer could have doors that open and sit flush with the bed. Gotta think some more about this...
_________________
Casey--

'89 Bluestar ALH w/12mm Waldo pump, PP764 and GT2052
'01 Weekender --> full camper
y u rune klassik?

[markcm2]

[Zeitgeist 13]

I was thinking that the drawer would protrude just enough to be flush with the tube openings where the stock doors normally reside. The center where the latch release handle* sits would need to be recessed on the drawer. I'll take a pic of the this space tomorrow.


*btw, the latch release mechanism is a shockingly Mickey Mouse design...even for VW
_________________
Casey--

'89 Bluestar ALH w/12mm Waldo pump, PP764 and GT2052
'01 Weekender --> full camper
y u rune klassik?

[bigfoot_ev]

First off, huge thanks to markcm2 for this detailed write up. I used this extensively for my own project.

My main goal was to accommodate my compressor cooler, so I had to go a slightly different route. As you will see in the pictures I no longer have a full downstairs bed, so obviously my solution won't work for some other folks. I also wanted access to the complete under seat area. Finally, I was stuck trying to maximize my remaining space after the cooler was in place. In the end I built some plywood boxes because I couldn't find anything else that would work.

The bottom line, as others have said, putting a pull out in the rear of a Eurovan makes a huge difference for usability and accessibility.

Here you can see the space for the cooler. You can also see plastic boxes that I use for under seat storage.

Here is the cooler out in the wild

Close up of the under seat area

I remove the front cover so that I can access the plastic boxes from the front.