Is this a dumb idea? Truck Bed Platform Questions

Hi all,

I am in the process of designing a drawer system for my 2002 Extra Cab... I'd be using it to store camping/recovery gear, and potentially mount a refrigerator slide-out on top of the drawers.

As of right now, my main questions are regarding the baseplate. After some consideration, my initial plan is to cut out a treated plywood baseplate to the shape of my truck's bed; I would have it sitting on top of small wooden pieces that run along the length of my bed for ventilation purposes... it would look like this (credit to The Honest Carpenter on YT):


My primary concern:

The pros of this style is that I don't have to drill into my truck's bed to tie stuff down. The con, however, is that it would technically be "free floating", held down by gravity alone. Now, realistically, if my truck rolls, I have much more important things to worry about. I don't plan on pitching my truck sideways so much that it could fall sideways either... really, I'm more concerned about hitting bumps and stuff that cause it to pop up and rattle around. Thoughts? Should I just drill into the bed?

 

i would suggest tying it down in at least 4 locations.

in the front, there's tiedowns part way up, just in front of the wheel wells. i would run a piece of 1/16" steel flat stock and bend it into an "L" to bolt to your platform, and use the bolts on that tiedown. those bolts are only riv-nutted through the fiberglass bed assembly, so they're not life-or-death secure, but would be enough to keep the platform from coming loose.

in the rear, i assume you're going to be covering the bed, so a set of bed stiffeners would be beneficial for the extra overhead load and keep the bedsides from flexing too much. but also it would offer another method to tie the platform into the bed bolts without resorting to adding holes to the bed.

 

Man that is the perfect answer for me. I really appreciate it. I was wondering how I could use those tie down loops at the top of the cab... You're right, if I bends some steel it would probably work- Might even look into some L shaped brackets that could fit. Great idea.

And for the back near the tail gate, I actually have some bed stiffeners coming in tomorrow that I've been considering. Could also be a good solution. Thanks for the help.

 

If you are worried bout those strips deteriorating cut some Trex boards into strips. And or spray the bottom strips with a bedliner material. Should help keep it from sliding

 

hmmm good idea. Will probably outlast the wood for sure. Thanks.

 

You can use some semi-rigid foam, at least at the bends in the cutouts to minimize float/smash. The foam at the angles ONLY provides stabilizing without blocking all air-exchange. The range of foams available is not small ...

 

what if you put longer bed bolts to not make new holes

I’d check out how Decked secures

that being said I think most folks who make a bed platform
myself included
That has storage underneath - are probably using gravity and not driving upside down on a Hot wheels loop