Tuffy Drawer in TJ

Hem'n haw'n over this one. Big Bucks, but so is the gear I haul and not having to unload or stress over it when I'm parked for lunch or such is the rationale.

https://tuffyproducts.com/products/...eats-must-be-removed-on-non-unlimited-models/

Tuffy had 30% off Labor Day sale so I jumped on it along with the divider kit and tie down rails.
That was Saturday. Pending shipping is the status as of this evening. Had hoped to put the drawer to use this weekend but it's not looking real promising. They're only one time zone away (about 500 miles).

Now I can use this
https://www.rhinousainc.com/products/spare-tire-trash-bag
for trash, wet stuff and lighter weight items instead of many pounds of recovery gear hanging off the spare tire or in a lump in the cargo area.
Editorial: I'm disappointed in Rhino USA (in name only). All their gear I've seen is China made but they're "American Owned". I get it but I don't have to love it.

FWIW the Smittybilt TJ/LJ version of the security drawer is discontinued (per direct email from SB) and OOS everywhere. Had a comment here that it was less than stellar quality tho' so just as well.
 
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I am planning on building a rear deck, but might need to see if Tuffy makes a product that will work as a slide out for under it. One stupid issue I have been worrying over - how my dogs will be able to jump up to the rear deck. If I had a strong enough slide, I could let them use it as a landing, plus it would make getting to the fridge in the back much easier. Another option I have considered is just putting a tailgate under the rear deck - for the dogs, and to have a place to slide the refrigerator onto.
 
Got the Tuffy drawer installed but not without issues.

1. Nutserts they use to attach frame are cheap junk, 2 came out and was a PITA to cut off bolt and replace in the corner position. There was no way to get a grip on the sert from behind.

2. The long divider is 1.5" short and tightening hardware bows the sidewall where the track runs. I expect the drawer would bind with this. I had to shim with 7 washers per side to keep it square. Wrong divider set?

This from the same outfit (Bestop) that required 3 trys to get me the correct, special order upper doors.

I'll be calling them today.

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Got the Tuffy drawer installed but not without issues.

1. Nutserts they use to attach frame are cheap junk, 2 came out and was a PITA to cut off bolt and replace in the corner position. There was no way to get a grip on the sert from behind.

2. The long divider is 1.5" short and tightening hardware bows the sidewall where the track runs. I expect the drawer would bind with this. I had to shim with 7 washers per side to keep it square. Wrong divider set?

This from the same outfit (Bestop) that required 3 trys to get me the correct, special order upper doors.

I'll be calling them today.

View attachment 358696

View attachment 358697

Phone call today. Scratching heads but moving to resolve.
Tuffys "pressnut" next to my rivnut.
Full 1/2" shim each side.

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Wow, that sucks. I guess that what happens when the corporate types take over. I wonder how long it'll be before they ship production off to China?
 
well that kind of sucks. I have the tuffy 058-01 and I like it, but having a few extra inches of depth would be nice. All in all it works for what it is supposed to do. The 3 inch gap at the bottom is nice for storing softop windows, cardboard targets etc.

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well that kind of sucks. I have the tuffy 058-01 and I like it, but having a few extra inches of depth would be nice. All in all it works for what it is supposed to do. The 3 inch gap at the bottom is nice for storing softop windows, cardboard targets etc.

View attachment 358826

that is the model I am putting into mine. Turns out I have 3 sets of torx bolts and not one T35 to get the rear seat brackets out.
 
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I put some aluminum angle around the top and some tacky fabric so things wouldn't slide around sitting on top of the box

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Got the Tuffy drawer installed but not without issues.

1. Nutserts they use to attach frame are cheap junk, 2 came out and was a PITA to cut off bolt and replace in the corner position. There was no way to get a grip on the sert from behind.

2. The long divider is 1.5" short and tightening hardware bows the sidewall where the track runs. I expect the drawer would bind with this. I had to shim with 7 washers per side to keep it square. Wrong divider set?

This from the same outfit (Bestop) that required 3 trys to get me the correct, special order upper doors.

I'll be calling them today.

View attachment 358696

View attachment 358697
Reply from Tuffy after making them.aware, complete with pictures:

"This caused quite a bit of a stir. Apparently, no one has noticed this issue. No customers called in, nothing. But what you received is in spec to our cad.

Explanation I got from my engineers, "I’m pretty sure we’ve figured this out. In 2014 there was a move to a new slide supplier and the new slides were ¼” narrower. This meant that the drawer needed to be widened ½”. Unfortunately, the 133-divider kit was not updated to match this increased width.”

I am on the hunt for some spacers that we might have here to send out to you.

I haven’t forgotten about you, I just don’t have a clear solution yet, so I didn’t think it appropriate to reach out and say I didn’t have a solution yet."
 
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Reply from Tuffy after making them.aware, complete with pictures:

"This caused quite a bit of a stir. Apparently, no one has noticed this issue. No customers called in, nothing. But what you received is in spec to our cad.

Explanation I got from my engineers, "I’m pretty sure we’ve figured this out. In 2014 there was a move to a new slide supplier and the new slides were ¼” narrower. This meant that the drawer needed to be widened ½”. Unfortunately, the 133-divider kit was not updated to match this increased width.”

I am on the hunt for some spacers that we might have here to send out to you.

I haven’t forgotten about you, I just don’t have a clear solution yet, so I didn’t think it appropriate to reach out and say I didn’t have a solution yet."

And my solution to get rid of 7 washers on each of 4 bolts (passed along to Tuffy):
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07V8F8T2J/?tag=wranglerorg-20
 
Reply from Tuffy after making them.aware, complete with pictures:

"This caused quite a bit of a stir. Apparently, no one has noticed this issue. No customers called in, nothing. But what you received is in spec to our cad.

Explanation I got from my engineers, "I’m pretty sure we’ve figured this out. In 2014 there was a move to a new slide supplier and the new slides were ¼” narrower. This meant that the drawer needed to be widened ½”. Unfortunately, the 133-divider kit was not updated to match this increased width.”

I am on the hunt for some spacers that we might have here to send out to you.

I haven’t forgotten about you, I just don’t have a clear solution yet, so I didn’t think it appropriate to reach out and say I didn’t have a solution yet."

Better yet, make the dividers the correct size and send them out with a 20% off coupon and some swag.
 
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Better yet, make the dividers the correct size and send them out with a 20% off coupon and some swag.

He's sending spacers and will talk with management and accounting...
Rebate maybe.
Whether they adjust the cad and fix the issue, I dunno.
Service is great.
 
Reply from Tuffy after making them.aware, complete with pictures:

"This caused quite a bit of a stir. Apparently, no one has noticed this issue. No customers called in, nothing. But what you received is in spec to our cad.

Explanation I got from my engineers, "I’m pretty sure we’ve figured this out. In 2014 there was a move to a new slide supplier and the new slides were ¼” narrower. This meant that the drawer needed to be widened ½”. Unfortunately, the 133-divider kit was not updated to match this increased width.”

I am on the hunt for some spacers that we might have here to send out to you.

I haven’t forgotten about you, I just don’t have a clear solution yet, so I didn’t think it appropriate to reach out and say I didn’t have a solution yet."

So glad I bought mine before 2014….

🙂
 
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So glad I bought mine before 2014….

🙂

It could be 8 years before I receive the final piece of this puzzle. All 3 packages were sent from Cortez, CO under a Master Tracking number, 2 made the trip on time, the 3rd (tie down bars) has traveled from Cortez, CO to Aztec, NM, to Phoenix where it spent a 3 day weekend, then south to Tuscon for a couple days, back to Phoenix and now sits in Beaver, UT since 6pm last night but is scheduled for delivery today. I went online and reported it missing via FedEx.
I have to think there's more than one idiot that's handled this package.

Can't wait to see the condition when it arrives.. a spent piñata I'm thinking.

Just ventilating..:mad::rolleyes:
 
It could be 8 years before I receive the final piece of this puzzle. All 3 packages were sent from Cortez, CO under a Master Tracking number, 2 made the trip on time, the 3rd (tie down bars) has traveled from Cortez, CO to Aztec, NM, to Phoenix where it spent a 3 day weekend, then south to Tuscon for a couple days, back to Phoenix and now sits in Beaver, UT since 6pm last night but is scheduled for delivery today. I went online and reported it missing via FedEx.
I have to think there's more than one idiot that's handled this package.

Can't wait to see the condition when it arrives.. a spent piñata I'm thinking.

Just ventilating..:mad::rolleyes:

All that time in Phoenix and you didn't let me know.
 
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So Saturday I finished installing my Tuffy Drawer. I like the build quality overall. The size is about perfect for what I wanted. I didn't want it to be too tall so I can still stack stuff on top, or even through my spare on top but also deep enough for my recovery gear and some tools to keep in the Jeep.
I reused that $20 Home Depot carpet on top, so thing will have some friction and not make a racket.
 
I am in the NE and am soft top full time. For security I have opted for the Tuffy Underseat Concealed Carry draw for things like my iphone, keys, wallet, flashlight and other small items. Out back I have the Bestop Instatrunk because I want to keep my back seat. InstaTrunk is tiny, but it is stout enough that I don't worry about the few things I have in there. I might be willing to switch to a shallow full length drawer if I could mount the seat on top of it.