bed drawer (organizer) build for 2016 tacoma (goal: under $200)

so I've been looking at storage solutions for my 2016 tacoma TRD OR DCSB.. I like to keep things slightly organized, but still have some utility in the bed of my truck. been looking at totes, overpriced commercially available drawers and bed slides..

so I've started planning a cheap single drawer (on passenger side only, you will see why later..) looking at a max height of around 6inches tall, leaving 13 inches above the drawer for 4 Plano storage locker boxes (currently only have 2, but will get more). this will allow me the ability to still close my tonneau cover, and with some sealing keep out the dust/water from the trails, and roads.. I plan to have in my bed a 75Qt lifetime cooler, 3 jerry cans (2 gas, 1 water), drawer system, and 3 or 4 plano totes, and possibly a tool bag/box..

these are the plano totes I have now...

Plano 1619-00 56 Quart Tote Tub (Black (Pack of 2))

https://www.amazon.com/Plano-1619-0...=1&keywords=plano+totes&qid=1582924797&sr=8-7

I have had larger 40gallon totes from sterilite, and lowes "craftsman" but they kinda suck, are large, and get heavy when loaded with tools, and camping gear.

the drawer is deigned to have easy and quick access to recovery straps/rope, shackles, hitches gloves, and my camping stove (camp chef everest), 4 1lb propane bottles, as well as my jetboil flash, and 2 large 400/500gram fuels for that. the top of the drawer will be covered in either another piece of plywood making it a slide out countertop. to cook on, or prepare meals.

drawer will be constructed of 1/2, 23/32"plywood, 2x6's, and using walmart cutting board material (HDPE/UHMW)for the slider (friction surfaces), the exterior will be primered, and possibly herculined.. with door seals for the drawer face. the top front and inside edges will have aluminum angle flush fit & riveted to the plywood/2x6. with a simple rope handle and locking latch to keep it closed.. taking measurements tonight, and will scan my drawings tomorrow. and sunday will be build day (weather permitting)

I do plan to leave the cubby on the outer back so I have access to the power outlet (I use it to charge my milwaukee M12 batteries, and eventually My rigid batteries for an impact. as well as the small storage box on that side.I will however make a door to access this..

 

Alternate idea: use actionpackers. Can swap one of the big ones out for jerry cans. 6 will fit between the wheel wells. Or do 3 plus a tool tote

 

while thi may be a good idea for you, they are too heavy/learge to load up, and carry down to my basement. I dont have a garage..... yet...

 

Ah, thats a big game changing point. Your idea is def easier then.

 

yea, i do however plan to try something a co-worker just mentioned to me... because i do want this to be removeable is to attach some rollerblade wheels to it.. so I can lift the end and roll it out set on ground a roll it (kinda)... for when i need access to the full bed.I think these wheels may be countersunk and have an axle to keep them unobtrusive. the box will secure to the bedsides with some fasteners (rivnuts, or epoxied nuts/washer, and bolts..

 

sooo looking at measurements I can make a max 60"x23"x6" (exterior dimensions) drawer. drawer dimensions will be approximately 58.5x19.75 (allowing 1/4" for UHMW/HDPE sheets on each side, and allowing for 1/8" on bottom) x4.5" interior dimensions of the drawer will likely be 58"x19.25"x4"

here are my item dimensions

Camp Chef Everest Stove: 23.5 x 13.5 x 4
Propane 1lb bottle: 8.75 x 3.75 x 3.75
iso-propane canisters: 4.5 x 4.5 x 5.5 for 500gm or 4.2 x 4.2 x 3.5 for 230gm (may have to downgrade my canister sizes to fit in the drawer)
tow strap is approximately 18x18x2.5
Shackles and D-rings will fit easily


Exterior dimension limiting items:
Lifetime 77Qt cooler: 31.13 (call it 31.25")x 19x 19.5"
Sceptre jerry cans: 14" X 6.5" X 18.5
Plano Sportsman trunk: 24 x 15 x 13

ideally I would make the box taller, but this does fulfill most of my needs.



my dumb pencil sketchup....

 

Interesting buil . In for details our tent and rail set up is so simila .

 

well progress today... I made the drawer, and constructed the slide.. I do have to modify the drawer box slightly, drawer fits too tight on the sides.. but here are the pics..

purchased so far:

1 sheet 15/32 plywood
1 sheet 23/32 plywood
2 2x6x8 boards grade #2 stud
3 boxes of eye hooks (screw into box top to hold down plano boxes with bungee cording)
1 flush mount ring pull (to open the drawer)

need to get:

UHMW strips (ordering from mcmaster-carr, soon)
paint
some type of latch, or lock mechanism... I already have pop-lock on my tailgate so not horribly worried about it being opened when at a store..
bungee cord to hold down plano boxes
some sort of carpet, was looking for auto carpet, but didnt see any at lowes, or walmart.. just stuff to quiet down the items in the drawer


heres the progress I have made so far..

 

This is just a rough fitup, and I noticed that block ahd split after I had taken the picture.. it will be replaced.. I have to pull it all apart again so that I can run the drawer box sideboard through a planer.. they fit too tight, and rub on the drawer making it difficult to pull out (not horrible, but an annoyance. useing the 23/32 ply for the sides/front and 1/2 ply for the drawer bottom I gained a significant amount of storage, and didnt sacrifice much strength. 22 3/4 wide, and 56" long.. and I can still fit my jerry cans, cooler, and at minimum 3 Plano boxes...

and the tonneau cover still closes, and there about a 1/2-3/4 gap fromt he tonneau to the plano box tops.. I do have to space the boxes to mis the 3 crossbars in the tonneau cover, but not a big deal..

 

still looking at attachment methods.. the front lip though the bed is the easiest, but I would like to have at least 1 bolt up fron to locate the box, and make sure it doesnt jump when hitting corrugations/whoops at 40-50MPH.. I am thinking of drilling a hole back from the front bed bolt in that lower channel and use a rubber isolator washer, and hard washer... LIKE THIS (EXCUSE THE CHICKEN SCRATCH, NOT A GREAT ARTIST WITHOUT SNAP-TO...)


black being the bed, gray being painted aluminum bar (thinner than teh bed notches, the brown is the factory bed bolt, gree is a wood nutsert, and the purple being a bolt washer, and rubber isolation washer. only problem will be lining this up by myself for re-installation. a simple pin and cotter system (think hood pins)would be ideal. QUICK AND EASY...

 

...... THIS GAVE ME AN IDEA.....

https://www.discountramps.com/cargo...MIsr-ot4v_5wIVh4jICh3GQweYEAkYFCABEgIuv_D_BwE

now if only i had a lathe... I would make the cap MUCH larger, and smoothed cap design.. and at 12.99/bolt... that's kinda steep.

 

so spent last night, and part of today working on the box/drawer setup. I took it over to my dad's and ran the sides, and rear board through the planer, and flattened the boards out, took me a while as I had to change the blades on the planer (never done it before, not really hard, but time consuming.)

sorry no pic updates.. it was just a bunch of finnish work, and refitting..

I did order 12"x24" 1/4" thick UHMW off Amazon (cheaper than mcmaster-carr, or other plastic suppliers I looked at) $25 a sheet I ordered 2, but think I'll be able to work with 1 sheet and i cut 1 sheet into about a 1.875" strips this got me 5 full strips, and 1 slightly undersized strip. I took the undersized strip and cut it into 3" strips, giving me 6 3"strips these will be used on the sides of the drawer, the longer 24" strips will go on the bottoms. and act as slide rails for the drawer, and support the bottom. I did rebuild the drawer, and used pressure treated wood I had for the corners, it holds better, and is more stable than the blocks I originally used.

I'm also working on a drawer latch/pull mechanism. going to hamilton marine tomorrow, and see what they have for a latch, hoping for something like this...

$24 Vakocean Boat Cam Latch Flush Pull Hatch Lift Marine Stainless Steel

https://www.amazon.com/Vakocean-Lat...=stainless+flush+latch&qid=1584330108&sr=8-28

I am also heading to parents first to throw a coat of paint on the drawer box (rettle can primer)first thing, and then I will head to marine supply house.

looking at recessing some 3/16" thick aluminum 1" angle to the sides, and front of the drawer purchased 2 8ft pieces for $15 each.

I also founda solution for sealing the drawer from dust, and some water witha $12 rubber door edge seal.

I will post up my reciepts later.. I do have a few returns to make, but so far under the $200 budget I set I am currently looking to test a few coatings I have some duplicolor undercoating, and I was looking at either flexseal paint, or this textured deck restore paint...

 

box base, and drawer are all primed, and I puttied up all the screw holes.. bought some "Phantom black" exterior flat latex to paint the interior of the box/drawer. I'll be lining the bottom with either automotive carpet, or toolbox drawer anti slip mat. I intend to have a hook and bungee setup inside the drawer to keep the larger items in place.

 

went to marine supply today (pays to go when they are open)... duh...

I picked up a black plastic, and SS quarter turn latch (non locking) for $29.95 (similar to this

T-H Marine Supplies Anchor Handle Lock

https://www.amazon.com/T-H-Marine-S...ised-search-10&pf_rd_t=BROWSE&pf_rd_i=3398841)+ some SS bar stock (12" piece for $12) to make the latch, and SS nuts/nylock nut to holt the latch onto the end of it.. this setup should never rust or cause me issues.. for $45 we are near tipping the $200 budget I had set forth going into this project, and in hindsight I would have gone another route with some of the materials 23/32" ply is HEAVY!! the 1/2" ply would have been sufficient in my application, and cheaper.. however the 23/32" ply makes for great drawer sides, and provides plenty of strength to the drawer.

(I could have gotten this cheaper on Amazon.com, but with this coronavirus scare BS, I figured I would keep my $$$ closer to home by purchasing from a local supplier, slightly more expensive, but I know exactly what I'm getting.)...


drawer topper (looking into getting a piece of aluminum sheet that sets into the top of the drawer, and can serve as a work surface/flat area to work on.. I may end up using a bit of the HRMW strip I have left over to make a shelf inside the drawer to hold this up rather than rout the top of the drawer sides. doesnt need to be super strong, but be able to support 25lbs (I figure stove/tank, and a pot of hot water or more would be nice...

 

Subscribed for progress.. The bedliner idea is kind of interesting

 

I did a little testing... the duplicolor stuff stayed kinda pasty like cheap oily undercoating/waxy frame coating stuff... not sure if its from the age of it or what ( few years in a heated basement).... but I did get this pro bedliner https://www.grainger.com/product/55...kwcid=AL!2966!3!50916762837!!!g!376518747345!

stuff goes on rather thick/quickly, and hardens within an hour, and recommended cure is only 72hours before using the surface, and UV/fade resistant.

I did a test block of wood, and was satisfied with the result.. its not a super rubbery texture, but has just enough gription to it, that I'd be happy with it as a top finnish on the box.. just have to be careful how I apply it, I could have gotten the roll on Qt, and it may be the better way to go... we shall see.

 

Yup, roll on might be a good idea. And you could use some UHMW strips on both sides (top and bottom) so it would slide real nice regardless of finish

 

still looking at options to secure it to the bed.. was thinking oversized carriage bolts (like 3/4") and attaching them to the bed in the valleys (remember this is a 3rd gen, the bed is a polymer composite, kinda like fiberglass), then drill out the heads, and tap for a decent sized button head allen screw remember we are only hoping to locate the box.. not support it, so if the box weighs around 85lbs, plus the 100-150lbs of gear in it.. the fasteners only need to hold up to 250lbs of sheer load... a 1/2" or M12/14 shouldnt have a problem with this..

 

Hey I really like your load bars and tonneau cover, I see that you've listed your mods at the bottom of each comment and it looks like you're calling the load bars "Max modular 14" rack" is "Max" but a quick google search turns up nothing using that description I'd like as much info as you can provide on your tonneau cover, brackets and load bars if it's not too much trouble.

 

SORRY I UPGRADED SINCE THIS POST.. I have the max modular 14" rack with tonneau brackets now. the older ones are the KBvoodoo high rise https://www.kbvoodoo.com/shop/toyot...-use-with-tonneau-covers-fits-years-2005-2016 they worked ok.. but I did'nt like the squeeking, and the loss of visibility out the rear window... my new rack allows me to use more of the bed space. much easier to retrieve gear, and crawl under my RTT if i need to.. and the RTT does'nt go fully above the cab...





during this trip i punctured a tire, and upgraded to the 285/70/17 GG ATX