Have you built bed storage/drawers?

Seeking some advice from those who have already build bed storage/drawers in the bed of their truck.

Im looking to build bed storage drawers for the back of my truck, I have a camper shell on my rig so I'm not too concerned with security or weatherproofing it. Ive been looking around at some other designs and I have found some great ones but I just wanted to get some advice on materials/designs that seem to hold up with the test of time.

Of all of the research I have done this is the build I have found most impressive, it appears to be running off of bearings that glide on metal tubing:


One of the primary concerns I have is that I live at the beach and the air is very moist and tends to cause wood to warp or bow overtime. I was thinking to counter this that I would have to get a very dense wood that would withstand weathering a little more than your average sheet of ply.

If you have any building ideas or experiences with your drawers/storage system please share, would love to hear others input before investing into building one of these.

 

Have you checked out this forum?
http://forum.expeditionportal.com/forums/91-Storage-Solutions

Especially this one...
http://forum.expeditionportal.com/threads/47516-LATEST-PROJECT-Truck-Drawers-Sleeping-Platform

 

Yea I have, thats actually where I found the images I posted above, its from one of the threads that was on that page: http://forum.expeditionportal.com/threads/141088-Truck-Bed-Storage-System?p=1815389

unfortunately upon reaching out to the author I haven't received a reply. So I thought I'd get some feedback from those who have previously created one and have some best practice tips.

 

I built mine out of 3/4" x 6" pine and 3/4" birch ply. sealed with thompson water sealer. (Dirt and water WILL find its way in there)

Mine is also a bed platform, i lived in my truck for 7 months while in school in Leadville.

My slides are wood on wood. routered a groove in the frame, smaller groove in the drawer and inserted a very hard wood in the drawers channel to act as the slider rail. used some wood slider wax and have a roadie storage box handle for my pull handle. No moving parts, so nothing to get stuck or break. It slides easy.

tips i have, figure out what you will carry, estimated weight, pick the lightest material that will work, no point in adding unnecessary weight.
If what you are storing is an odd shape or could stick up, make sure it wont catch and prevent the drawer from opening ( i have top loading access panels on mine for this reason/access stuff without opening tailgate

I would install a bed stiffener as my bedsides are separating from the weight of the shell and offroading, which allows water/snow slush, dirt to get in there. I have TC Stiffeners on the way as well as some tail gate seal/weather stripping stuff.

Photos on the first few pages
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/dclb-overland-long-term-living-build.439778/

 

Yea I think bed stiffeners would be a good idea and total chaos is the way to go.

Im curious, I noticed you had squares cut out on the bottom of the drawers, did you do that to shed weight? Ive seen that in a couple of build and I'm curious as to why that is done

 

yeah, its just framed up that way, no reason to make it solid all the way down, saves a decent amount of weight, never had and issue with flexing or anything like that.

 

I have this

 

Did you use drawer slides for yours?

 

Could try marine grade plywood, pricey but water resistant

 

Thats a good idea. I've used that on a previous project but completely forgot about it.

 

I did a pretty similar build here and here. It's been in the truck for two years no without issue.

Cutouts were to shed some weight and to make installation and removal a little easier (it gives you somewhere to put your legs when you are shuffling the carcass in and out).

 

Baltic birch ply is worth alook.
http://www.woodworkerssource.com/bl...-birch-plywood-why-its-better-when-to-use-it/

 

I am friends with a guy that built really nice aluminum jet boats (mostly 18' to 23' if I remember correctly ) back in the day. He told me they used regular exterior grade plywood for the decks then painted it on all sides with penetrating epoxy sealer before covering the upper side with marine vinyl. I asked him why they didn't use marine ply and his answer was that it was completely unnecessary. He claimed the only difference other than cost was the interior marine plys were void free. Other than that the adhesive and grain structure is identical. He also said the penetrating epoxy helped prevent water intrusion but more importantly it has some kind of special property that prevents rot. He is a hell of a craftsman so I am inclined to believe he knows what he is talking about. To the point that when I completely rebuilt my boat nine years ago that's how I did it and so far so good. But of course YMMV and it's worth researching his claims for yourself.

 

No. It slides in and out. Found on YouTube where a contractor did finish his with wax and it slides just fine. He had a lot of stuff like tools and such. I do not plan to carry a lot of crap unless in an expedition. That picture does not do my project justice. I only posted that in a hurry as I am dealing with a much bigger issue with a rat or something eating my wires and thus getting a p0333 error code. I plan on finishing it and post the pics here.

 

It's been a long time, I don't remember who it was, but they used whatever ply they could find, then had it bedlined. Now that I think of it (while typing), that's how Truck Vault does theirs. Not sure if it's MDF or what, but they bedline it 100% to fully seal the wood. It adds a bit of weight, but definitely seals it up.

Our drawers use a similar bearing system to your first photo up top, and it doesn't limit you in sliding length, like regular slides would do. We have a drawer system to fit in these, but it's not full bed length though, it's 1.3m, 51.1" long.

 

What did you use to fasten all of the bearings to the wood sidings?

 

I've looked into MDO plywood. This description is from the Anderson Plywood website: MDO is produced with a high-quality thermosetting resin-impregnated fiber surface bonded to one or both sides under heat and pressure to create an exterior-grade plywood panel. Specially selected veneer directly beneath the fiber overlay provides a smooth surface that is ideal for painting. MDO is manufactured with waterproof resins that meet or exceed all veneer-grade, adhesion, and construction requirements. Sign writers find MDO is ideal and the panels of choice for Exterior Signs.

 

Truck Vault used MDO plywood I believe.

 

Just a boatload of 5/16" stainless button head bolts sandwiching the plywood and bearings.

It goes from outside to inside: Button head, washer, plywood, washer, nut, bearing, nut