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

I bought my slides from Ovis Online but looks like they only have options that lock both sides but I wonder if you could call.

I used 56" slides but if I was to do it again I would go 58"

 

Since you used 56” slides, do you have a portion of the drawer that is partially covered/still inside the ‘shell’ of the drawer?

 

I have this dead space between my drawers and the tailgate that is wasted space. Ignore the red notes on the pictures it's an old picture.

 

Finally finished up all of the items I planned on building and have had a chance to test everything out a few times.


Mostly good, with a few problem areas I could use some advice on.

First the good:

1. I’m done! Building it was actually fun but using it is way better.
2. The platform works great. Bins slide in and out easily and the retrieval hook thingy (stores in the frame) makes the whole system as easy as permanent drawers.
3. Ghetto cooler slide! Moving a loaded cooler out of the way to the rear of the bed (and back again) was going to be a PITA, but no way I wanted a permanent slide system. Ghetto slide is basically just a tray for the cooler bottom with low friction HDPE “skis” that fit the bed channels. Totally removable and also stowable out of the way. Weighs about 7lbs and cost about $15-20 in materials. Works super good enough.
4. Rod storage. Bought the actual holders but made up brackets that bolt to the rail and then follow the cap contour. Technically should hold 10 rigged rods between 7-11’ (in half) but more than 5 is a bit of a PITA. Not as convenient as 1-piece storage, but didn’t want a permanent cab/cap gasket to pass thru and haven’t installed a roof rack yet. Works great and definitely prefer it to suspending from the caps ceiling.

I pulled the platform today to check for any wear issues, etc. @chrslefty, here’s a pic of the underside.


Good news is no wearing on the bed from rubbing, or to the varnish where the birch sits on the bedside lip.


Problem 1 - besides just being ugly, I have a paint adhesion issue. It actually looks like the primer didn’t take but here’s a pic and maybe someone more experienced could chime in.


I’m wondering what might cause this (I took surface prep seriously and used what I thought was a good Rustoleum primer). More importantly, could someone recommend a good option to fix it?


Problem 2 - Probably need to just live with it, but getting more water and dust intrusion than I was hoping for. I taped and caulked under the bed rails (paying particular attention to the cab side corners, which also got EDPM rubber plugs and permatex). It looks like it’s either coming under the bulb seal OR being wicked over by the carpeting. Planning on stopping by the installers in the next few weeks to see what they think, but has anyone seen wicking before? The back side of the carpeted “lip” was dripping wet after an extended hard rain yesterday. Also, anyone have a trick for the corners of the rear glass? It’s a Leer 100xr.


Much thanks in advance for suggestions!

 

Do you have roof tracks? That’s where mine leaks and I haven’t got around to removing them to redo the seal since I’ll probably add O-track or some such when I do and haven’t picked it yet. Also, you can peel(or slice the glue) up the bulb seal at each lower corner of the hatch and add a flap of inner tube (Snugtop comes with these) to counter the tailgate lip and prevent the bulb seal from getting rolled in. Another possibility is the third brake light. Then there are aftermarket seals for the sides and bottom of the tailgate. I’d only do the sides to allow for drainage unless dust intrusion is a problem too. Leaking around the windows is always a possibility but unless you can find direct evidence I’d look elsewhere first. If it is there are videos on how to replace the seals.

 

Fortunately I’m not getting any leaking thru the tracks, windows, or brake light. That’s a great suggestion for the rear glass. Thank you!

A picture is probably useful. After driving thru a heavy rain for an hour and then parked in the downpour on a steep uphill angle, the carpet under the lip (where my finger tips are) was soaked, getting progressively wetter front to back until it was so saturated it ran down the bed stiffeners. The top side (where my thumb is) was bone dry.

 

I'm loving my new bed platform setup. This is the first time I've done this and I decided to go straight to the @BamBeds. I like how modular it is. If I want to haul something tall I could just put up one of the slats on top of the middle one, and if that's not big enough I could just put it all the way back onto the third one. I don't have to remove the whole setup. And if I did want to remove the setup, it's super easy. I added carpet. Even besides sleeping and camping, it's amazing how much stuff I could fit under there just for daily use. Right now I have my work gear, camping gear, two chairs, and a few bits of recovery gear all underneath. And the top platform has plenty of room for whatever else I need to take. I'll eventually get a mid-rise shell. Working on a full write up on these for my build thread

 

That’s almost certainly from where the shell front sits on the front bed wall. There’s no overlap like the sides and most installers just lay a bead of silicone where the bed rail caps transition to the front of the composite bed. Silicone skins so quickly it often doesn’t provide a good seal or just pulls loose from bed/cap flex.

 

Made a quick and easy screen for the back of my GFC. Easily adaptable to any topper/shell.

Just window screen, duct tape and sticky Velcro. Less than $20 in materials and 15 minutes in time.

Just folded the duct tape over the edges to reinforce the edge of the screen and so the Velcro had something to stick to. Other side of the Velcro is stuck to the inside of the GFC frame. I left the screen square and didn’t bother angling it to fit the opening of the GFC.

Doesn’t go all the way to the bottom since the bed platform covers that part.

 

That looks good. I'm loving my bambeds. Added carpet

 

I have the same Leer canopy and have the same issue; no idea how water keeps coming in. Tried sealing around the window from the outside but the headliner under the window's edge is dry. The underside of where the bolt goes through is where it gets soaked so badly the water drips off it like a tap (at the tailgate end only). I have no solution to add to this discussion but wish I did...

 

Sound identical. I'm slowly working thru different possible solutions even though I'm shooting in the dark. I'll be sure to let you know if I figure it out.

One item I'd share in case it spurs something... I'm only seeing this on the passenger side of the cap. Nothing on the drivers side except for a few drops out of the corner. Not sure what that means, but definitely did water-proof the heck out of both sides of the bed sides equally before I had the cap installed.

LMK if you find the silver bullet and good luck!

B

 

Crazy, mine is only the passenger side too-- it gets very wet while the drivers side might drip a few drops.
I had an ARE DCU canopy prior and sealed under the bed rails + installed a tailgate gasket; it did not have this issue (some water still got in at the cab end corners but not much)

 

Work on Rev 2 in on going. I sold my bed rack and tent and I am getting a topper. Overall the set up held up well, there was some delamination of the plywood due to being exposed to the elements for 2 years and a couple areas where I saw mold where the wood was not being exposed. I wanted to retain as much as I could with the new set up but realized the overall set up should be different for the use case. I ended up cutting down the drawer bank to keep that for the blackstone and reusing any of the wood that was in decent condition. Using a spray in bed liner that seems to be very durable once it cures.

 

R2 mostly complete

 

Thought I would add my simple twist on this... It pained me to buy a second sheet of plywood for this project, so I tried to get creative by cutting two identical pieces for the front/middle sections (21'x56.75') and cutting a narrower piece for the tailgate that was slit in half. It had to split in half and drilled/glued to a board cut to length to fit in the recessed part of the bed. I used 3/4" aluminum C-Channel to strengthen it all and gives it a more finished look paired with a $25 6'x9' roll of industrial carpet. With the smaller tailgate section taken out, my fridge fits perfectly snug (It also fits on top of the platform but I would need a tilting slide to access it). I have 12 feet of L-track that I am debating on adding to the bed and/or platform as well... I am sure I will continue to tweak it to my liking. Definitely want to find the "perfect box" to take up 50% of the bed, but not sure if this unicorn exists.

 

Same canopy and same issue on the same side. Also a ton of dust in the cap and tailgate. Fairly frustrating. Live in rainy Washington so I’ll have to wait until July to probably try to figure anything out.

 

Here's the KISS/short-on-time build I just did for my friend's 2010 long bed. Went with a 3 panel platform ala Bambeds, but with pine plywood instead of birch or bamboo (weight & cost). Since the pine is less stiff, I added some stiffener ribs. Carpeted the platform panels. Then made a single full width/depth drawer that has two partitions and a sliding table top. That's it. Cost about $150-200, probably only weighs about 75-100 lbs total and can be taken in and out in about 3 minutes.

I added some tie-downs to keep the drawer from sliding around. Slightly annoying but dead simple.
This shows the stiffener ribs, two in each direction. Helps a fair amount with sag.

 

Nice work. Love this simple design

 

what gauge wire and what route did you take from the bay to the bed?