Show us your truck bed sleeping platform/drawer/storage systems

Damn!!

 

@EatMeImATaco how much space did you leave between the bottom of the drawer and the bottom sheet? 1/4” I want to do an 1/8th but I’m afraid of some sagging

 

I only left myself with 3/8ths to work with. Hope that wasn’t to overly optimistic. Seems like it will be fine.

 

It was an eyeball estimate but roughly 1/8". I laid the tube on my template where it would sit in the final position and set the bearings tight to both sides then just slid them out by a hair. I used 3/4" plywood for everything but the base so I'm not really worried about sag and if it does, it gives me an excuse to design and build v.3

 

Cool...I'm going to do the same.

 

Looks professional as fuckkkk.
Side question what metal tubing did you opt for, for the slider drawers. And why not stick with the prefabbed drawer slidrrs, it looks like you're looking some drawer clearance with the metal tubing

 

Having just done this and posted previously in the thread, allow me to intrude on the answer:
1) 1" steel tubing (mine are 48" not 72")
2a) Strength. The best drawer slides I found could support 500lb per pair. The tubes are limited only by the strength of the material. While I am not likely to get near that, it is nice to know I can.
2b) Cost. The drawer slides mentioned in 2a are about $180 per pair at 48". The tubes were about $16 each.
3) The clearance loss isn't that much. The slides loose about 1.5" (3/4" each) whereas the tubes loose a hair over 2" - on the whole it's less than a 3/4" difference.

 

On my build I ran a dado about 3/8 deep down drawer sides and glued & clamped steel tubes with

$32 3M 5200 (06500) Permanent Bonding and Sealing for Boats and RVs Above and Below the Waterline Waterproof Repair, White, 10 fl oz Cartridge

3M 5200, - mainly because I couldn't figure out a way to attach the tubing without drilling through inside of drawers. Its held up fine after over 12 months of abuse. Wish I'd made the tolerances tighter cause they're a little slack.

 

maybe you can see here

 

I could not have said it any better. Haha.

The only thing I can add is that the cost is not just the $32 in tubing, but also $30 for bearings, and $45 for hardware. Still cheaper than slides and probably will far outlast them.

 

I just finished attaching my rails tonight. Drilling through didn’t bother me too much. I used these self tappers and they bite hard!!

 

Now, figure how to mount this thing. Going to have to alter it a bit. Best choice I could find though that was lockable.
30k+ truck and the tailgate doesn’t lock. Boo hoo

 

Do what I did and just get a locking latch from Pop-Lock, you can get them keyed to your ignition key too.

 

I might have to do that!! Thanks. Wish we could have something that worked off the fob. I wonder who has hacked a 3rd gen gate lock?

 

Pop and lock makes one that works off the fob. I have one on my ‘13

 

Alright cool. I am buying that tonight when I get out of the shop. Thanks guys!!

 

Anyone DIY a bed slide style platform? Drawers are neat, but they are too bulky for my needs.

A bedslide is much more usable for what I need.

 

Thank you sir! Just helped me Make my decision

 

If you find the drawer bottom drags a nifty item called a transfer bearing can take care of that. It's simply a ball bearing in a housing. Use as many as needed to spread the load amongst them. The lowest profile I've seen creates a 1/8" gap with less than 3/8" thick drawer bottom.

 

I added more bearings to the end because I had a few extra and I think it really needed them. Everything has been sealed.

I am ready to put my drawers in, but I cannot for the life of me stop my cap from leaking in the front where the bed meets the cab. I have caulked the bed rails, and I caulked the gasket at the front where the gap is. I think now I am going to take all the gasket material out and do it over. I have seen some people use pool noodle? Basically it needs a very compressible closed cell foam. What does everyone use? I know it won’t be totally watertight but I am getting a puddle in the front two corners.