Rack Drawer

Gator GRW-DRAWER3U Rack Drawer

The Gator 3U rack drawer offers substantial storage space for larger accessories, spare equipment, or personal items that need to travel with your rack. At three rack units, it can hold items like headphones, tablets, documentation, and a full complement of spare cables and adapters. Best used in larger racks where you have the space to dedicate to storage alongside your active gear.

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Photos

Manufacturer product photography — the drawn faceplate stays true to panel layout; these show the hardware itself.

Gator GRW-DRAWER3U Rack Drawer — Photo: Gator CasesClick to zoom

Equipment type: Rack DrawerCatalog classification
Documented weight: 4.5 kgUsed in transport and case planning
Rack placement: 3UBuilder checks available rail space
Power draw: 0WVerified passive · no AC required
Catalog estimate: ~$149Use retailer rows for current price and stock

01 · What it does—and what that changes in your rig.

Product overview

Start with the payoff, then work through how it functions, where it fits, and the details that change a real build.

The payoff

Rack Drawer decisions, organized around the whole rig.

The GRW-DRAWER3U is exactly what it sounds like: three rack units of lockable storage that travels inside your rack. It plays no active role in your signal chain — no power, no ports, no routing — but in a well-organized touring or install rig, dedicated storage is infrastructure. This is where your backup IEM transmitter batteries live between sets, where your show drive and emergency cable kit ride instead of floating loose in a backpack, and where anything that needs to stay with the rack but not on a table actually stays with the rack.

Equipment type: Rack DrawerCatalog classification
Documented weight: 4.5 kgUsed in transport and case planning
Rack placement: 3UBuilder checks available rail space

Gator product panel3U · 0W

Function

How it works in the path

At 4.5 kg empty and 380 mm deep, this drawer has real presence in your rack before you put anything in it. That weight budget matters — loading it with headphones, a tablet, documentation, and a full spare-cable kit will push it well past 8–10 kg depending on what you carry, and that mass is hanging off your rack's rail threads. The lock is a practical feature for festival environments where a rack sitting open at stage-left is an invitation. Three units is a meaningful commitment of space, so be honest about your rack height before you spec it in.

Best fit

Where it earns its place in the rack

This drawer earns its place in a 16U or larger fly rig or a permanent install rack where you genuinely need consolidated, lockable storage on hand at the rig rather than in a separate case. If you're building a tight 6U IEM rack for a club run, giving up half your space to a drawer is almost certainly wrong — a 1U shelf or a pouch on the outside of the case will serve you better. The GRW-DRAWER3U is a touring professional's answer to the question of where all the small critical stuff actually lives.

In the rack

Details worth deciding before load-in.

Mount it in the bottom third of the rack to keep the center of gravity low — a fully loaded 3U drawer up top makes a tall rack noticeably top-heavy on uneven stage floors.
Use the lock every time you close it, not just at fly-away. A drawer that rattles open during load-out and spills spare cables behind a rolling rack is a bad night.
Label the inside with a laminated checklist of exactly what belongs in it — batteries, spare adapters, show drive, emergency cable — so you can confirm at a glance before doors that nothing walked off.
Account for the 380 mm depth when speccing your rack case; some shallow tour racks won't close cleanly over this drawer if other deep gear is mounted directly behind it on the opposite rail.

03 · What this product asks of the rest of the system.

Compatibility

Treat connector names as the start of the check—not the answer. These are the boundaries that determine a complete working path.

Best fit · Rack Drawer

Use it when 3U and 380 mm of depth fit the case.

Plan the companion path

Use documented companion accessories and system pairing; no physical connector map is verified for this catalog item.

Documentation boundary

No physical connector map is documented. Do not infer compatibility from category or product shape alone.

05 · Compare the decision, not just the price.

Alternatives

The rows are organized around fit, power, I/O, and system role so a cheaper unit cannot hide a more expensive workflow.

Compare	Gator GRW-DRAWER3U Rack DrawerThis gear	Gator GRW-DRAWER1U Rack Drawer	SKB 1SKB-R1U Rack Drawer	Penn Elcom 1U Rack Drawer
Fit	📐 3U	📐 1U	📐 1U	📐 1U
Power	⚡ 0W	⚡ 0W	⚡ 0W	⚡ 0W
Weight	⚖️ 9.9 lb	⚖️ 5.5 lb	⚖️ 4.4 lb	⚖️ 4.9 lb
I/O	🔌 No documented ports	🔌 No documented ports	🔌 No documented ports	🔌 No documented ports
Estimate	💵 ~$149	💵 ~$89	💵 ~$69	💵 ~$55
Deep dive	Current selection	Full comparison →	Full comparison →	Full comparison →

06 · Resolve the questions that can change the purchase or build plan.

Planning questions

Short, source-backed answers surface rack fit, power, cabling, and connection details before they become surprises.

How will the Gator GRW-DRAWER3U Rack Drawer affect rack fit and case depth?

It occupies 3U. Its documented depth is 380 mm.

How much power does the Gator GRW-DRAWER3U Rack Drawer draw?

It is verified passive and requires no AC power.

07 · See this unit inside a real rack plan.

Builder preview

Placement is only the start. Builder checks space · depth · weight, power headroom, dependencies, and compatible signal paths around this exact catalog item.Open in Builder

08 · Related gear, in the order you may need it.

Rack Drawer

Gator GRW-DRAWER1U Rack Drawer

1U · 0 ports · ~$89

Rack Drawer

SKB 1SKB-R1U Rack Drawer

1U · 0 ports · ~$69

Rack Drawer

Penn Elcom 1U Rack Drawer

1U · 0 ports · ~$55

Rack Drawer

Gator GRW-DRAWER2U Rack Drawer

2U · 0 ports · ~$119

Rack Drawer

Gator GRW-DRAWER4U Rack Drawer

4U · 0 ports · ~$179

Rack Drawer

Penn Elcom 5U Rack Drawer

5U · 0 ports · ~$199