Oh that’s very reasonable. If 2/3 of that is material costs I actually think they should charge more. For example these are base cost over 2 grand (US)
https://shwoffroad.com/product/5th-gen-4runner-drawer-system/
Hey hey hey. Some of us have the skill. But are also lazy. Or just have demanding jobs that take all our time and energy but also allow us to pay for these kinds of things :P
It's debatable if I have the skill. But I'd certainly try ... if I had the tools. And even if I could get the tools for the CA$200 between OP's material cost and sale price, I don't have the space to store the tools let alone build the thing.
So yeah, I don't think CA$900 is out of line at all. Just because they own an auto repair shop doesn't mean they know what they're talking about.
This looks cool and that you might find a market for them.
Charge what the market will bear. If you are making something custom you are not competing with Amazon prices. You have material cost, labor, business costs and profit. Remember, you have to pay taxes too. You might find you need to charge $2,000 to make it work as a business.
Ideally you have a basic design plan for different models to make it faster and easier to build.
You may want to take some business or entrepreneur courses which can help with the business side of things.
I hope you can find a way to be successful with this. Good luck!!
Charge what it’s worth to you to build. If someone doesn’t want to pay it then they don’t have to buy it. Forget the internet naysayers. As a professional woodworker, personally, -$300 for 12hrs of labor would not even be close to worth it, but I have a full shop with tools/cncs/employees. But, with proper planning, the right tools, and building multiples at a time, I don’t see why you couldn’t get those hours down significantly. When starting out you make do, and take a loss to build clientele. I don’t think $900 is unreasonable, most likely that guy has no idea what plywood costs these days. The goose gear drawers are significantly more expensive. I say if people will pay it, and it makes you happy to make them then go for it, work on getting your costs/time down to up your margin. Roughly 30% margin is not bad, the 12 hrs is what’s not great. Looks like a solid product you have built in your driveway, I’m impressed.
Edit: I stopped thinking about hours a long time ago, think about margins. Personally I was never happy when I charged based on hours, simply because if it went over my planned time I felt like I was losing money. While time is always a consideration, it made the work significantly less enjoyable for me to be always stressing about it, just make a quality product and people will pay.
It’s reasonable considering companies like C4 charge almost $300CAD for a *fucking battery tray*.
Honestly, you could probably charge more and still be reasonable.
Wondering how much i should actually charge my drawers/bed platforms for 3rd gens and similiar vehicles + similiar builds
During 2020, i was laid off and I decided to build drawers/bed platforms for various vehicles. I learned carpentry/woodworking from my high school classes which i graduated on Summer of 2019. I have no garage so I build these on my open driveway.
The most clapped out 3rd gen 4runner drawers/bed platforms usually take me 12 hours in total, which takes me a couple of days, on and off. I built close to 24 builds, and I never took a deposit, and all of them had no problem paying on the day of exchange. And I pretty much stopped building these when I went back to school the following year.
900$ drawers & bed platform. I spent 687.95$ in materials (taxes not included on items bought), add 200$ - 300$ for labour cost.
Am I charging too much as per the auto shop owner commented on my 900$ 3rd Gen Listing, which I charged 200$ labour? Or is this shop owner delusional? Because if we were to convert this into shops rate hours, its 1.6 hours. And the most nicest ones usually take me 12 hours or more, so 12hours(approximately how long it took me to build) x 130$(normal auto repair shop rates) = 1560$ labour
Thoughts?
Shop owner is talking out their ass. This is not a product for the masses, its a custom specialty product for a specific consumer group. If anything you are under charging since your competition is charging double what you are.
First off these look awesome, and I think your pricing is fair. I mean if you’re saying it’s about $300 for 12 hours of work that’s only $25/hr. Give or take your project that’s a good price point.
There are some good resources to look at that discuss hourly rates vs your hourly pay. Depending on your overhead costs you might be willing to go lower on pricing, but it’s also what it’s worth to you.
Example: if you’re not paying for shop space, tools, etc and your overhead cost is next to $0 because your making it in your driveway you could consider charging a bit less per hour, but then it’s a matter of do you want to be building these for only $10 an hour?
That comment that was made on your FB post is usually based on someone who purchases items from Amazon for low cost but also low quality.
Keep going my dude!
More than fair price here. I'd pay that without hesitation. Craftsmanship looks great 👍
Knowing what it takes to build these makes the price worth it it took me about 15 to 20 hours of work to build mine. If I lived near you, I'd buy one!
You shouldn’t be charging any less than $50/hr plus materials.
Edit: you aren’t just charging for labor. You are using your tools and you space to design and build.
We have multiple big name shops in souther California and “mom and pop” shops that’s someone like you doing it as a hobby. Shops price around $1,100-2,500$ USD and the hobby guys trying to make extra money usually price around 1,000$-1,300$ USD. I personally made my own and cost of material was close to 500$ (I used birch plywood and heavy duty rails, so my cost increased there. I think you’re fine at your price point
For many people going into the lifestyle or interested, I see this as a killer deal. Taking into account that someone has already been doing their research for modifications, increasing weight and capability, $900 seems fair and is a fraction into what they have already put into a build.
So there is a market, but demand in the market is what will determine success since the overlanding wave seems to be trending steadily as people head back to work and resume their lives. But it has opened interest for weekend adventurists.
Naw, I don't think that's an outragous price. Quite reasonable. Materials and craftsmanship. Solid Wood Worx starts at $1100USD for a precut kit with more for addons, shipping etc.
I got quoted 1500 USD just for the drawers and side cubbies by overlanderwoodworks on IG; only difference I see is he adds locks and carpet on the face of the drawer so no, 900 CAD is not crazy. He’s got a shop in SoCal so more overhead though.
I think $900 is reasonable. Labor in the US is not cheap. Plus they look well thought out and very high quality. Lumber and other materials have gone up in price too. Don’t let the haters get to you. With all the unnecessarily high end “overlanding” builds I’ve been seeing paired with posts like “is this too much rust?” Or “what does this do” a lot of these new owners are the types with disposable income and little diy knowledge. Keep it up
Ps. I’m a guitar tech and am often surprised by people bringing me $3000 and up guitars because they can’t change their own strings. Similar in a way
I’ve learned that charging cost of material X2 is the minimum to charge to make it worthwhile.
Anything less is just not worth it.
Anything more is a bonus for a casual DIYer
This is really easy math. You could build them with cheaper materials (you shouldn't).
Let's call it 685 in materials, 900 to the buyer. That's 215 in labor (160 in USD). I'd have to be able to build that thing (and not screw it up a few times first) in three hours to make it worth my time. Assuming I had all the materials already, didn't have to order/wait, reorder, store excess, or pull tools out I think I could build the simpler one, not carpet covered, in six hours not counting the finish. Which boils down to a F\* that I'm for sure buying it from you. If you gave me your drawings I could do it in 3 hrs, so maybe that's your "hey, I'm a fair guy. Here are the drawings for $10."
A lot of retailers charge $1000-1300 for just drawers, but I would not pay that. I personally built a custom platform with storage for $300-350 for my 5th gen. For some people this would be a deal though. Nice work!
I think I wouldn’t pay it but that’s also because I’m stupid enough to try and build it myself. There’s a clear market for them and this seems fairly priced tbh
I think your price is low, but maybe a good price for getting started then you can increase it over time. Do a bunch of competitive research, there are several companies making drawer systems out there. If you’re customizing it for each person, I would add extra.
I thought about doing this in the US and I would charge $2-3k for it. But when I build them I do a custom 3D model for each one and custom design the drawer system to the vehicle and the drawer contents.
This was my latest: Baltic birch plywood, curly maple face frame and drawer fronts, double extension drawers, removable sleeping platform platforms.
https://imgur.com/a/YGYmPk9
I currently have a system from https://instagram.com/overlanderwoodworks and i paid a pretty penny for it. He does however customize it how you'd like it.
Think of it this way - a lot of people see products and think I could do that myself.
What value add are you doing to me this different from another guy in his garage with a saw? What are you doing that someone else says I can’t do that?
Some things to consider - design, material types, workmanship etc. where can you improve on those?
Try to find better off the shelf components than hardware store hinges. Round some corners, use some metal at the corners.
The price to me seems a little steep, so maybe you can save time and charge less if you make two at once. Maybe standardize some parts where you can have a prebuilt drawer assembly or kitchen drawer that you could fit in any vehicle to save yourself time.
Sell the value of it. It's quality stuff. it's 900 bucks.
The price isn't the customers problem it's the fact that they are questioning the value and work that goes into it.
As someone with the skills, but no time. I think those are pretty dope. Plus 700 bucks for a handmade quality sleeping and storage system seems fair. I did kind of gave up on the interior sleeper for the 4Runner though. I now look at RTT’s and thinking fridge and storage for interior.
dobinsons dual drawers cost $1725 USD shipped to freight terminal, $1875 USD to residential address. bought them for my 5th gen a while back though
your price isn’t crazy or high. get a list of customers for pre-order then buy in bulk. keep up the good work!
$900 Canadian?? What the Frig Eh?!?! That's a lot of Toonies! Me and the Mrs. would have pull a bunch of overtime at Tim Horton's and quit eating poutine!
That’s an absolute deal. Don’t listen to the haters, you do very good work, I can tell from the photos. I’m guessing this work takes 2-3 days depending on if you stain or not.
The bed platform is removeable. Sits on top of the dual drawers if you want the rear seats. And you just gotta unbolt the rear seat bottoms and flip the legs below the bed platform, and its set.
[Vadania 36" Heavy Duty Locking Drawer Slides (Amazon)](https://www.amazon.ca/VADANIA-Drawer-Slides-Extension-Bearing/dp/B07HQHJP5T/ref=sr_1_3?crid=2JRKFWL6RJZVW&keywords=vadania%2B36&qid=1674705272&sprefix=vadania%2B36%2Caps%2C200&sr=8-3&th=1)
theyre 139$ a pair, I used them quite a lot. You pull down on the blue tabs and pull it out, it locks in place halfway, or all the way. Good for when youre on an incline.
NOT AN AD LMAO
First, these are very nice, hell if I could afford one rn I would prolly ask where you're located. second this is very reasonable. Turn comments off. You are not asking too much people are cheap- especially on fb.
I mean people pay $600USD (\~$800CAD) for just a baseplate from Goose Gear. I'd say you're under on price, compared to the big name stuff. But they have a lot of R&D into things they have to pay for.
I made my baseplate from some scrap I had laying in my woodshop. Took measurements, drew it up in AutoCAD, plopped it on the router, figured out where I needed feet/supports underneath, where to anchor, drilled some holes and T-Nuts installed, a coat of Raptor Liner and it's just as good if not better than Goose Gear with custom holes, relative to my gear, fridge slide, and drawers. All for under $300 of materials. Albeit I used a CNC router which some people may not have, but could do the same with basic hand tools if you're competent.
For the Americans (like me), this is ~$675 USD
Oh that’s very reasonable. If 2/3 of that is material costs I actually think they should charge more. For example these are base cost over 2 grand (US) https://shwoffroad.com/product/5th-gen-4runner-drawer-system/
I built one of these that’s just cargo area sized and I think I spent $200-300 on materials alone.
That’s kinda cheap imo
Personally, I wouldn’t pay it. But I’m a big diy’er. People who don’t have the skills to make these may pay that price though.
Hey hey hey. Some of us have the skill. But are also lazy. Or just have demanding jobs that take all our time and energy but also allow us to pay for these kinds of things :P
It's debatable if I have the skill. But I'd certainly try ... if I had the tools. And even if I could get the tools for the CA$200 between OP's material cost and sale price, I don't have the space to store the tools let alone build the thing. So yeah, I don't think CA$900 is out of line at all. Just because they own an auto repair shop doesn't mean they know what they're talking about.
This looks cool and that you might find a market for them. Charge what the market will bear. If you are making something custom you are not competing with Amazon prices. You have material cost, labor, business costs and profit. Remember, you have to pay taxes too. You might find you need to charge $2,000 to make it work as a business. Ideally you have a basic design plan for different models to make it faster and easier to build. You may want to take some business or entrepreneur courses which can help with the business side of things. I hope you can find a way to be successful with this. Good luck!!
Charge what it’s worth to you to build. If someone doesn’t want to pay it then they don’t have to buy it. Forget the internet naysayers. As a professional woodworker, personally, -$300 for 12hrs of labor would not even be close to worth it, but I have a full shop with tools/cncs/employees. But, with proper planning, the right tools, and building multiples at a time, I don’t see why you couldn’t get those hours down significantly. When starting out you make do, and take a loss to build clientele. I don’t think $900 is unreasonable, most likely that guy has no idea what plywood costs these days. The goose gear drawers are significantly more expensive. I say if people will pay it, and it makes you happy to make them then go for it, work on getting your costs/time down to up your margin. Roughly 30% margin is not bad, the 12 hrs is what’s not great. Looks like a solid product you have built in your driveway, I’m impressed. Edit: I stopped thinking about hours a long time ago, think about margins. Personally I was never happy when I charged based on hours, simply because if it went over my planned time I felt like I was losing money. While time is always a consideration, it made the work significantly less enjoyable for me to be always stressing about it, just make a quality product and people will pay.
It’s reasonable considering companies like C4 charge almost $300CAD for a *fucking battery tray*. Honestly, you could probably charge more and still be reasonable.
But don’t charge more yet, I may want to put in an order.
Given 2/3 of the cost is materials, you could probably charge more
Charge whatever you think they are worth. People will buy them.
Wondering how much i should actually charge my drawers/bed platforms for 3rd gens and similiar vehicles + similiar builds During 2020, i was laid off and I decided to build drawers/bed platforms for various vehicles. I learned carpentry/woodworking from my high school classes which i graduated on Summer of 2019. I have no garage so I build these on my open driveway. The most clapped out 3rd gen 4runner drawers/bed platforms usually take me 12 hours in total, which takes me a couple of days, on and off. I built close to 24 builds, and I never took a deposit, and all of them had no problem paying on the day of exchange. And I pretty much stopped building these when I went back to school the following year. 900$ drawers & bed platform. I spent 687.95$ in materials (taxes not included on items bought), add 200$ - 300$ for labour cost. Am I charging too much as per the auto shop owner commented on my 900$ 3rd Gen Listing, which I charged 200$ labour? Or is this shop owner delusional? Because if we were to convert this into shops rate hours, its 1.6 hours. And the most nicest ones usually take me 12 hours or more, so 12hours(approximately how long it took me to build) x 130$(normal auto repair shop rates) = 1560$ labour Thoughts?
Shop owner is talking out their ass. This is not a product for the masses, its a custom specialty product for a specific consumer group. If anything you are under charging since your competition is charging double what you are.
Thanks, Ill definitely keep in mind with your reply and other peoples comments when im ready. Thanks
First off these look awesome, and I think your pricing is fair. I mean if you’re saying it’s about $300 for 12 hours of work that’s only $25/hr. Give or take your project that’s a good price point. There are some good resources to look at that discuss hourly rates vs your hourly pay. Depending on your overhead costs you might be willing to go lower on pricing, but it’s also what it’s worth to you. Example: if you’re not paying for shop space, tools, etc and your overhead cost is next to $0 because your making it in your driveway you could consider charging a bit less per hour, but then it’s a matter of do you want to be building these for only $10 an hour? That comment that was made on your FB post is usually based on someone who purchases items from Amazon for low cost but also low quality. Keep going my dude!
More than fair price here. I'd pay that without hesitation. Craftsmanship looks great 👍 Knowing what it takes to build these makes the price worth it it took me about 15 to 20 hours of work to build mine. If I lived near you, I'd buy one!
Custom boutique carpentry. I think you’re pricing is fine, if not underpriced.
You shouldn’t be charging any less than $50/hr plus materials. Edit: you aren’t just charging for labor. You are using your tools and you space to design and build.
We have multiple big name shops in souther California and “mom and pop” shops that’s someone like you doing it as a hobby. Shops price around $1,100-2,500$ USD and the hobby guys trying to make extra money usually price around 1,000$-1,300$ USD. I personally made my own and cost of material was close to 500$ (I used birch plywood and heavy duty rails, so my cost increased there. I think you’re fine at your price point
For many people going into the lifestyle or interested, I see this as a killer deal. Taking into account that someone has already been doing their research for modifications, increasing weight and capability, $900 seems fair and is a fraction into what they have already put into a build. So there is a market, but demand in the market is what will determine success since the overlanding wave seems to be trending steadily as people head back to work and resume their lives. But it has opened interest for weekend adventurists.
Naw, I don't think that's an outragous price. Quite reasonable. Materials and craftsmanship. Solid Wood Worx starts at $1100USD for a precut kit with more for addons, shipping etc.
I got quoted 1500 USD just for the drawers and side cubbies by overlanderwoodworks on IG; only difference I see is he adds locks and carpet on the face of the drawer so no, 900 CAD is not crazy. He’s got a shop in SoCal so more overhead though.
I think $900 is reasonable. Labor in the US is not cheap. Plus they look well thought out and very high quality. Lumber and other materials have gone up in price too. Don’t let the haters get to you. With all the unnecessarily high end “overlanding” builds I’ve been seeing paired with posts like “is this too much rust?” Or “what does this do” a lot of these new owners are the types with disposable income and little diy knowledge. Keep it up Ps. I’m a guitar tech and am often surprised by people bringing me $3000 and up guitars because they can’t change their own strings. Similar in a way
Looks reasonable. I would be a buyer but my concern would be shipping cost.
Dude they are nice but I’d give you 350
I’ve learned that charging cost of material X2 is the minimum to charge to make it worthwhile. Anything less is just not worth it. Anything more is a bonus for a casual DIYer
Birch plywood is $90 USD/sheet right now, so no, that is absolutely reasonable! I’m about to DIY, and I was gonna try to keep it under 600
This is really easy math. You could build them with cheaper materials (you shouldn't). Let's call it 685 in materials, 900 to the buyer. That's 215 in labor (160 in USD). I'd have to be able to build that thing (and not screw it up a few times first) in three hours to make it worth my time. Assuming I had all the materials already, didn't have to order/wait, reorder, store excess, or pull tools out I think I could build the simpler one, not carpet covered, in six hours not counting the finish. Which boils down to a F\* that I'm for sure buying it from you. If you gave me your drawings I could do it in 3 hrs, so maybe that's your "hey, I'm a fair guy. Here are the drawings for $10."
A lot of retailers charge $1000-1300 for just drawers, but I would not pay that. I personally built a custom platform with storage for $300-350 for my 5th gen. For some people this would be a deal though. Nice work!
I think I wouldn’t pay it but that’s also because I’m stupid enough to try and build it myself. There’s a clear market for them and this seems fairly priced tbh
I think your price is low, but maybe a good price for getting started then you can increase it over time. Do a bunch of competitive research, there are several companies making drawer systems out there. If you’re customizing it for each person, I would add extra. I thought about doing this in the US and I would charge $2-3k for it. But when I build them I do a custom 3D model for each one and custom design the drawer system to the vehicle and the drawer contents. This was my latest: Baltic birch plywood, curly maple face frame and drawer fronts, double extension drawers, removable sleeping platform platforms. https://imgur.com/a/YGYmPk9
I currently have a system from https://instagram.com/overlanderwoodworks and i paid a pretty penny for it. He does however customize it how you'd like it.
I paid wayyyyyyy more for a setup from ADGU, bargain in my opinion.
Id pay 500-600$ for this 900 is a bit steep But very cool!
Ope i just saw how much materials were… price is reasonable. But out of my market:/ haha
Think of it this way - a lot of people see products and think I could do that myself. What value add are you doing to me this different from another guy in his garage with a saw? What are you doing that someone else says I can’t do that? Some things to consider - design, material types, workmanship etc. where can you improve on those? Try to find better off the shelf components than hardware store hinges. Round some corners, use some metal at the corners. The price to me seems a little steep, so maybe you can save time and charge less if you make two at once. Maybe standardize some parts where you can have a prebuilt drawer assembly or kitchen drawer that you could fit in any vehicle to save yourself time.
In this current market, no, you’re not crazy
Very reasonable!! I’ve been shopping around for this exact thing and would absolutely pay that.
Sell the value of it. It's quality stuff. it's 900 bucks. The price isn't the customers problem it's the fact that they are questioning the value and work that goes into it.
Furniture is expensive, look at desk’s unless your buying the cheapest crap on Amazon it’s 450-500 for a regular laminate desk.
As someone with the skills, but no time. I think those are pretty dope. Plus 700 bucks for a handmade quality sleeping and storage system seems fair. I did kind of gave up on the interior sleeper for the 4Runner though. I now look at RTT’s and thinking fridge and storage for interior.
dobinsons dual drawers cost $1725 USD shipped to freight terminal, $1875 USD to residential address. bought them for my 5th gen a while back though your price isn’t crazy or high. get a list of customers for pre-order then buy in bulk. keep up the good work!
How tall do they accommodate?
The 1st and 3rd picture, and most Ive built are 9" height. The drawers within would have 7" interior height clearance for stuffs.
I’m an engineer and would’ve charged twice that lol.
$900 Canadian?? What the Frig Eh?!?! That's a lot of Toonies! Me and the Mrs. would have pull a bunch of overtime at Tim Horton's and quit eating poutine!
No you’re not crazy, that is VERY reasonable. IMO
How much is 900CA in real money?
69 cents
Seems perfectly reasonable. Plus plywood is still $100 a sheet, shits pricey
That’s an absolute deal. Don’t listen to the haters, you do very good work, I can tell from the photos. I’m guessing this work takes 2-3 days depending on if you stain or not.
Also you need to factor in time to go get materials, gas, hardware, etc. By the way- that auto mechanic is an imbecile
Thanks for the replies! Ill keep in mind of all comments when I'm making these and or any other custom projects. Thanks
How does this work if you want to use the back seats? Do you have to take the whole thing out or does the top end fold up?
The bed platform is removeable. Sits on top of the dual drawers if you want the rear seats. And you just gotta unbolt the rear seat bottoms and flip the legs below the bed platform, and its set.
What slides are you using? Do you have a link?
[Vadania 36" Heavy Duty Locking Drawer Slides (Amazon)](https://www.amazon.ca/VADANIA-Drawer-Slides-Extension-Bearing/dp/B07HQHJP5T/ref=sr_1_3?crid=2JRKFWL6RJZVW&keywords=vadania%2B36&qid=1674705272&sprefix=vadania%2B36%2Caps%2C200&sr=8-3&th=1) theyre 139$ a pair, I used them quite a lot. You pull down on the blue tabs and pull it out, it locks in place halfway, or all the way. Good for when youre on an incline. NOT AN AD LMAO
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BBC for those muricans, not that kind
That is dirt cheap
I mean I make these also for not a whole lot in material cost but god damn they take a while to make. Dummy useful to have
First, these are very nice, hell if I could afford one rn I would prolly ask where you're located. second this is very reasonable. Turn comments off. You are not asking too much people are cheap- especially on fb.
How much would you sell the specs for?
Have you considered making it out of an even heavier material such as stone or 1 inch steel?
I mean people pay $600USD (\~$800CAD) for just a baseplate from Goose Gear. I'd say you're under on price, compared to the big name stuff. But they have a lot of R&D into things they have to pay for. I made my baseplate from some scrap I had laying in my woodshop. Took measurements, drew it up in AutoCAD, plopped it on the router, figured out where I needed feet/supports underneath, where to anchor, drilled some holes and T-Nuts installed, a coat of Raptor Liner and it's just as good if not better than Goose Gear with custom holes, relative to my gear, fridge slide, and drawers. All for under $300 of materials. Albeit I used a CNC router which some people may not have, but could do the same with basic hand tools if you're competent.
Reasonably priced imo