Doozy4212's Better Truck Drawer Build/Guide

thanks man! that means a lot! I have enjoyed the build greatly. unfortunately the weather has been poop the last couple of days in Denver but I am hoping to get the base in the truck soon!

 

UPDATE: 5/4/2018

Last night I got the left hand side drawer sanded down with 350 grit paper and coated it with Minwax Paste Finishing wax to make sure it's smoother than a baby's butt. I'll skip all the jibber jabber and just show you the drawers in the truck!



I got the whole thing bolted down with Grade 8 hardware. Yes, I drilled holes in my bed and through bolted everything. I used 1 1/2" 1/4-20 bolts. I have two bolts on each of the wings and one bolt in the center cubby and one bolt in the right cubby as you look into the bed. For the cubbies at the front I used 1 1/4" stainless steel fender washer to gain a larger surface area to hold everything down! I also put a bead of silicone in and around each hole before bolting everything up to keep the water away!



Once I got everything in I noticed the was a gap under the bed and while there is a SLIGHT upward bow in the base, it's not this bad.



I started thinking my bed was sagging in the center making it look worse than it is. Then I started looking around and realized the bolts holding the L-Track down on the left side are a hair to long and the the whole base is essentially resting on the wheel well. I will get 1/4" shorter bolts and countersink the washers and nut 1/4" on the bottom to fix this issue.

Aside from that one minor snafu this thing is starting to really come together. I plan on fixing the bolts on Sunday and building the drawer for the left hand side! Updates to come!

Thanks!

Drew

 

I’m starting my drawer build this weekend. Can’t wait to see how yours turns out!

 

Yeah me either! Post some pics of yours when done!

 

UPDATE: 5/7/18

So, I had a party yesterday for my GFs birthday/a housewarming party for us. Things got a little wild (lots of tequila) and I got a very slow start today. With that being said, I also didn’t have a huge to do list either. As far as the drawers go I wanted to do just a few things:

• Countersink all of the L Track bolts 1/4” to clear wheel well.
• Trim top deck edge with aluminum angle
• Replace all washers on cap with new stainless steel washers
• Add quickfist for propane tank
• Rewire 3rd brake light

Like I said, not a lot to do, and all relatively small tasks but thats all my throbbing head could handle....

First I unbolted the drawers and pulled them put to gain access to the L Track bolts. I am getting really good at finagling this beast in and out. Once the base was out I pulled the top 7 bolts out as they were the only ones interfering with the wheel well and cauing the base to sit uneven. I drilled out all the holes from the bottom 1/4” deep with 5/8” bit. Once done I rebolted the track and cut all of the bolts flush.



My next task was to trim the deck with aluminum angle. I used 3/4 aluminum angle and #6 stainless screws with finishing washers to do so. This was not hard, it was time consuming however. I had to cut the pieces to length, then cut one end to a 45 degree angle and last mark all the holes to drill. Once marked I used a punch so the bit would not wander and drilled out a pilot hole. Finally I sanded down all of the cut edges with 350 grit paper for a nice smooth finish!



Next I replaced all the washers on my cap with 1 1/2” stainless fender washers because all of the stock washers were beginning to corrode/rust. Its the simple things people



While I had the bolts for the cap out I also went ahead and put my quickfist in to some t nuts I order on Amazon a while back. This will allow me to set the tank on the deck and strap it to the rail to keep it secure and upright.



Finally I reconnected my 3rd brakelight. This got busted up pulling the drawers out one of these times and it essentially just pulled the female end of the plug right off of the wires. I called my cap dealer, they had no new plugs to give me, I checked a couple auto parts stores, no luck. All good, I lopped off the male and and just soldered the two together and taped it up. Easy peasy!



I head out of town Wednesday am, who knows what I’ll get done before then. Just keep watching.

Thanks

Drew

 

UPDATE: 5/8/2018

Last night was the last night I'll get to work on the drawers for a week or so. I leave for South Cackalacka tomorrow for my sisters graduation from USC. With that being said I was on a mission to get the drawer for the left side done! I got the frame built but still need to add the drawer face and a divider in the middle along with doing all of the finishing touches.

First I cut a 48" section of 1/2" birch down to 18 1/4". With a width of 18 1/4" this gives me about 1/8" of "air" on either side. I also ripped two pieces down to 8 3/8" to again maintain that 1/8" gap from top to bottom as well as side to side.



Next I marked the base 1/4" from each outside edge and drilled countersunk pilot holes every 6".



Tacked on side 1.



And side 2.



The birch was slightly warped but nothing to bad. I straightened out and squared up when I attached 1/4" birch pieces at the front and rear of the drawer.

Front:



Rear: I also added some left over 3/4" square dowel to the upper edger to add just a little more structural rigidity to the back of the drawer.



As you can see the outside "walls" of the drawer are pretty straight.



Next, a test fit in the truck.

Rear of drawer just entering its new, designated home.



And the gaps at the front when fully closed!



Lastly, a dry fit of the gear that will live in the drawer. On the right a Kelty Low Love Seat, on the left a Marmot Limelight 3P Tent and then a packable down blanket and Eno Hammock with straps!



I am very happy with how well this turned out and how fast it all went together. I am going to add a solid wood divider at the end of the chair and tent to help keep them in place. This will leave me with a smaller cubby at the front for quick access to other items. I still need to sand, varnish the inside, wax the outside and move on to whatever the hell is next. I'm sorry if it does not seem like there is much rhyme or reason to this. To be 100% honest I am doing tasks based off a massive to do list and the amount of time I have in a given day to do stuff. Smaller tasks with less time, larger tasks with more time.

Thanks for watching!

 

sub'd

 

UPDATE: 5/15/2018

This is not a real update.

As you all know the system has a pretty gnarly bow in it. This bow is coming from the piece that goes across the system being crooked. When I used my friends table saw he was helping me guide the very awkward 3/4" ply through the saw. He was standing parallel to the blade and pushing the board inward with more force than he should have, this caused the fence to move and permanently put a curve in the "backbone" of the base.

Here's the piece causing the issue:



Basically, I left town for 5 days and while my truck was parked at the airport I placed ~300 lbs on top of the drawers in hopes it would flatten out the bow. I get back into town, open the back to put my suitcase in and no dice. Still has a nasty 1/4" bow. The reason this is no bueno is because the drawer slides I am using only have 1/32nd of an inch or tolerance. The bow has the whole thing cattywompus.

SOOOO, when I landed on Sunday, I went back to Home Depot, bought 2 brand new sheets of birch and had them cut it there. I measured every piece myself before leaving and eyeballed all edges to make sure it was as close to laser straight as possible. I started assembling the base again last night and it already looks one million times better. I will hopefully be back to where I was by the weekend.

I'm OCD beyond belief and after hanging out and chatting with my grandfather (a master wood worker with over 60 years of practice) over some whiskey this weekend he basically said the only way to get the bow out is to restart due to that one curved cut. Sure, I did not want to spend another $100 on wood but I am extremely confident in the design of this system and know if I build it right now it will last for years to come. Buy once, cry once. This is a minor set back all things considered.

 

Nice build. So no slides on the updated version?
If you like that Kelty low loveseat their adjustable single chairs are great too. You can recline them and stargaze with ease.

 

There will be two slides on the right hand side of the system. I’ll be providing some small updates a little later today!

 

UPDATE: 5/21/2018

The re-rebuild is going well...

I have made it to a point where I am ready to coat the base in spar/urethane again. I built the base ensuring this time that the entire system is laser straight, level and square. I literally measured most things 3-4 times and eyeballed all of the ply to make sure it was straight before I glued and screwed.



I also took this opportunity to do a few more detail oriented pieces.

I pre-drilled all of the holes for the L-Track on the left hand side and also pre-drilled the countersinks so i can get the spar/urethane in the holes as well allowing for the utmost protection.



I also cut the left side edge of the deck at an 80 degree angle to match the wall of the bed allowing for an even tighter fit.



Filled all of the screw holes and prepped for sanding.



Additionally, for the right side edge that will be used to support the removable right side deck, I pre-drilled all of the holes for the threaded inserts. I used a stopper on the bit and drilled about 5/8ths deep to ensure clearance for the inserts but also not deep enough to fully go though the wood. This will allow for a fully sealed system with the assistance of some silicone and also keep the whole thing cleaner looking.



Lastly I also cut the right side removable deck, drilled all the bolt hole to line up with the inserts and countersunk them so the bolts and washers will sit below the plane allowing for me to slide things without them catching.



My next steps from here are to build the drawer for the left side and also cut all of the cubby doors. Once I have these all built, I will do a final sanding and varnish everything at once. I plan to have the drawer built tonight, sanding done tomorrow and coating everything this week that way by the weekend I can focus on the bedslide and kitchen drawer. I will hopefully have everything fully done in the next 2 weekends.

Side note, lift is getting installed on Saturday with some help from friends and wheels and tires are going on next Wednesday!

 

Sorry for the lack of updates ya'll still working on the re-rebuild. Will be laying down spar/urethane for the rest of the week after I finish just a few more small things tonight!

 

UPDATE: 5/29/18

I have pretty much got back to where I was before I rebuilt everything. I have had a lot going on in life that has pulled me from this project recently. Excitingly enough I got my lift installed this weekend and wheels and tires go on tomorrow. I have the day off of work too so that should allow me to get these drawers together even more. At this point all I have to do is mount the drawer slides, design and build the right-hand drawer and mount the bedslide portion of the top deck. It will still be time consuming but I expect to be finishing this project in the next weekend or two. We'll see though because I am psyched to hike some 14ers too! Lots-o-pics to come!

 

UPDATE: 5/31/2018

So as I mentioned two days ago, I had a little stay-cation yesterday while my truck was in the shop getting wheels, tires and an alignment. The truck looks AWESOME, but it's filthy, I am going to try to clean her up Sunday and get some pics posted then!

ANYWAYS, back to the real deal. I was able to get a lot done on the drawers yesterday so lets just dive right into it.

I started the day by getting all of the EZ-Lok threaded inserts glued and screwed in. Like the rest of my project I used Titebond III to hold these guys in tight and the added peace of mind of waterproofness is nice as well. There are 11 inserts total on the upper piece that will be used to support the right hand deck.

Pilot holes were drilled out once more and vacuumed up to remove all dust.



Generous amounts of glue were then applied.



Inserts were drove in using a 6mm hex.



Voila!



Next I added 1" x 1" Stainless Steel L-Brackets and stainless screws to add a little more support to the underside. They are spaced about 17 3/4" apart.



This thing is SOLID!

Lastly, I attached all of the aluminum angle to the edges of the deck once again. I also took the time to sand down and round off the corners with a power sander and 350 grit paper.



Technically this was not the last thing that I did, but it's the last thing I have pictures of as I took a break mid-day and resumed work near dark when the lighting was poop. I will attempt to get some more pics up tonight once I get home.

Other items I did yesterday include:

• Sanding and waxing the left-side drawer
• Drilling a hole in the drawer face/mounting the slam latch and catch
• Mounting the drawer slides with machine screws, washers and nyloc nuts
• Greasing slides
• Mounting piano hinges for the cubby doors at the front of the system

I will try to get pics up tonight but I will also be packing the truck because I am heading to the mountains Friday night to hike my first 14er of the season. Mt. Elbert, 14,433 ft (tallest peak in CO and second tallest in continental US), our route is the standard route for this peak coming in at Class 1 with 4,700 ft of elevation gain and a total of 9.5 miles round trip.

I will resume this project on Sunday when I am back in town!

Thanks!

Drew

 

Best drawer build thread I have read yet!!

 

thank you greatly, more pics coming in a little!

 

UPDATE: 5/31/2018 - Part II

Trying to be a man of my word! Here are some more photos of the other tasks I finished yesterday. Fair warning these photos are not as good, the light is still poop but it's at least something to look at! I have the drawers inside for now to keep them on a flat surface and off of my deck. Like I said, I do plan on having them in my truck this weekend but that will hinge upon when I get back into town and what time I have left. I really need to wash my truck, inside and out, so that is kind of the priority.

Here are the slides all bolted up. I decided to split the pairs of slides as my old ones are non-locking and the new ones are locking. In the locking pair I ordered a few months ago both slides came with a very stout lock. I am going to use one locking slide from the pair and pair it with a non-locking to essentially get locking slides top and bottom. For now I have only added the two slides on the right hand side of the base as they add a lot of weight to the system and I still need to wrestle this thing into my truck.



All of the threads still poking out from the bolt will be cut off and ground down.

Lastly, all the more pics I have for you guys is of the left hand side drawer. This is the drawer that is not on slides but instead just a waxed wood on wood slide that still glides like butter. To keep this guy closed I used a SouthCo slam latch commonly used in marine applications. It's UV resistant and has a closure strength of 478 lbs. plenty strong. Plus all that will live in this drawer is my camp chair, tent, packable blanket, hammock and some other odds and ends.

To mount the latch it called for a 2" hole saw to do so but I used a 2 1/8" hole saw because A. it's what I had and B. it allowed a little play. To fill the void I used silicone because why the hell not.



For the divider that separates where the chair and tent will live from all the other stuff I'll throw in the smaller cubby I used 3/4" birch because it's what I had to pick from in the scrap pile. I did need cut a notch on the top to allow clearance for the catch for the slam latch.



That's all I have for now and all I'll have for a couple of days but I am happy with everything I've done so far. The slam latch worked out even better than I imagined, the slides went on with little trouble and I feel like I am close to seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

Thanks for sticking with me for those of you that are still around!

Drew

 

your attention to detail is astounding. Great work thus far.

 

thank you sir, I will have some updates this afternoon

 

something just popped in my head. Structural Foam Core could be used for the top sheet? Or other locations where you're not going to be putting stress on the surface. Would lighten up the build considerably.

Or maybe I'm just talking out my arse