Yakima MOD Topper for HomeBase SUV Storage Drawer - 24" Long x 18" Wide

Video Transcript for Yakima HomeBase SUV Storage Drawers MOD Topper Review

Hey everyone, it's Evangeline right here at etrailer.com and today we're gonna be taking a look at the Yakima MOD system. This is gonna be a modular organizational system for the interior of your vehicle. We have some different ways of organizing, mixing and match. Let's take a look at some of its features and see our first impression. The overall concept is that this is a non-permanent organizational system for inside of your hatch, your trunk, your vehicle. So we have these boxes that have these slide out drawers and you can mix and match, move them around, and even the interior of your drawers can have organizational totes that fit right inside of it.

So this system is available in three different sizes. So we have the medium right here. So looking at width, this is gonna fit your smaller SUVs, even in your large SUVs, if you still want space to the side, you can have that option. Then you get to the large, which is gonna be a little bit longer, but it's gonna have the same depth. And then you get to the extra large.

So the width is gonna be the same as the large, but it's gonna add even more depth. The way to secure your vehicle is we have these straps and then we have these hooks. So these are designed to be used with the tie down points of your vehicle. So compared to build out camper vans and SUVs where you permanently bolt a platform to the base of your car, and this is gonna be a more non-permanent solution. Holding our system upright, we have these legs and this creates the support for our system, but also lifts it up and off of the bottom of our vehicle.

So if we have mats or anything else underneath here, that way we're not snagging those. But also if your vehicle has a lip, you're still able to slide out these drawers without running into that lip. Now other vehicles have an extra tall lip or an extra recessed cargo area, so you do have the option of purchasing separate legs that give you an even higher boost. As someone who's worked with car camping products and working on decking out your SUV with those solutions, my first question was, "Okay, can this platform be used as a bed platform" Unfortunately not. And that's something you're gonna have to start looking for more permanent solutions for.

You do have a good amount of weight that this can carry for them, and with the ability to move the drawers around, you can figure out what works best for your organization. There's some interesting Yakima unique features to these platforms though that are gonna be different from a platform you can build yourself. Some of these features are gonna be the tracks that line the top. You're gonna have these bamboo tops and that wood top is gonna be the same thing as the table that is included with your base system. So similar to the work table that you would get with the EXO system, just on a smaller scale. We're gonna have this nice flat even surface and there's even little magnets in the corner. That way when you have it stored inside your drawer, this is not sliding around. And whenever you set up maybe a food prep station, a workstation for your laptop, you know you have a level surface for it. This has a single latch system on the passenger side designed for if you have your hands full, you only need one hand to operate. I personally would like to have the option to go either driver's side or passenger side just in case I have other cargo maybe in the way depending on the vehicle. But I do like how it is an easy to use latch and once it does lock into place, it's secure. And I'm not concerned about the drawers shaking, vibrating, or sliding back out. With the Yakima MOD system having different ways to mix and match as well as organize your items as well as different size options, that makes it interesting because then you have different ways for different vehicles for different adventures to make this system yours. So the most important thing is knowing what type of vehicle we have, the specs and that we can pick between the medium, large and extra large, and then knowing what you're gonna load into it, because then you can go up, down, move this around, and even stack boxes and totes on top of each other. Now just like the Yakima EXO system, which is a modular system for your hitch receiver, this is also something that once you jump into it, you plan for the long run. All the accessories work great with each other, but are not as impressive if you only pick one or the other. So to really get the best out of this, I do recommend checking out our website, looking at those different accessories and planning out your system and what works best for you. Otherwise, if you're just looking for a base with a slide out drawer, that might be something that you can build out for yourself. Sure will take more time and more energy and more planning versus if you get the Yakima system, which will take all of that effort out and give you a full system that is sturdy and complete right as is. So there's a pros and cons to every system. Hopefully this piqued your interest and that way you can start looking and finding what works best for you.