under bed storage for Escape 19 - minimal woodworking skills

[Windymountain]

We recently purchased an Escape 19, first generation. It has the permanent bed and I wanted an under bed storage drawer. I learned a lot from the many posts. But I'm not a woodworker and have minimal tools. Here is what I did.

1. Went to Home depot and bought a sheet of 3/8 plywood. I felt 1/2 inch was too much/heavy. I had them do the cuts. I have a 2x4 bottom and 12 inch sides. Simple cuts all for free. Final drawer size - 4 feet long, 12 inches high, and 24 inches wide.

2. Assemble the sides using screws, glue and a cordless drill. Tools most of us would have.

3. The 19 footer has a raised section under the bed (2 3/4 inches higher than actual floor), but set back from the doors by 4 inches. Perfect. I used standard non swivel casters 2 1/2 inches high at the front under side of the drawer. These casters fit perfectly in this space and are a fraction of an inch above the floor. So the drawer doesn't roll. It actually sits on the raised platform.

4. I wasn't going to pay a few hundred dollars for the long drawer slides at Lee Valley and then deal with attaching them and lining them up and screwing into the floor - too much skill needed for me. SO, at Lee Valley I bought 2 side mount casters for $3.70 Canadian each. I mounted these near the rear of the drawer so less than a quarter inch of the wheel was below the drawer.*

5. In the front of the drawer, I cut out a hole for your hands to slightly raise and pull the drawer forward. It rolls great on the rear casters. Once its pulled out a bit the front casters touch the floor and it rolls on all 4 casters.Also the front castors will hit the 1 inch high strip of wood right behind the doors. So when i brake a bit hard it can only slide forward a bit before stopping. If i slam on the brakes hard the lip may not stop the drawer so I may add something else to act as a stopper - but thats for later.Here are a few pictures.

[Oldtimer]

Simple and easy well done

[HABBERDABBER]

Bravo!

Elegant solution. Well done and concieved.

[mtnest]

You say you're "not a woodworker." Coulda fooled me. You did a great job. -Tom

[Curious Mike]

Well done. I may co-opt your idea. Might be able to find a way to bungee cord the drawer while driving.

[rubicon327]

Nice work. It looks like it would be pretty easy to slide over to the curb side a bit to access the bypass valves on the water heater piping and if you have it the EZ winterizing tee for antifreeze.

[Bobbie54]

Nice, and I could modify that for my 15A where I use the dinette as permanent bed. (Now that I don't have a dog that sleeps under it.)

[Windymountain]

Thanks for the positive feedback everyone.
Since it’s not on rails, the drawer is able to move to the side quite easily. I can move it left and then access the EZ winterizing tee that I installed - I do have to lift the mattress and the panel above the water pump area. If I move it fully to the right, I can access long items I can lay beside the drawer.
Note I am still debating on adding a partition wall between the drawer and the passenger side where I have the exterior access hatch. I may add it for part of the length.

I have thought of the bungee chord and will probably do that as a simple solution to ensuring it never rolls forward during sudden stops. The hole for the handle is ideal to wrap a bungee chord around and then fasten to 2 eye bolts I would add on the sides.