Bed Drawers - pics of my install

To start with the boxes the drawers sit in weighs about 75 lbs a piece. Secondly, the tailgate supports most of the weight. I can pull the drawers about 2/3 out before the half point extends past the tailgate. The other thing I've done is install rollers to the back of the drawers that place upward pressure against the box thereby limiting downward tilt. These also reduce friction quite nicely.

 

I can't provide a link as I bought them locally. There's a plastics place near my house. I told them what wanted to do and they pointed me to this stuff. It came rolled in a 50' roll with a super sticky side. It is surprisingly slick and low friction. The steel ball bearing sliders are great but I'd rather waste my $300+ on Maxtrax or some other piece of gear I'll use twice a year and feel cool about. This setup suits my needs.

 

Make sure she understands she only gets one drawer.

 

Yep, looks like it would be sturdy to about 2/3 extended like you say. Thanks for the pics! Well done on the drawers.

Also, it'd be nice to secure the boxes to the bed like @0210 said so that you could remove one half if you didn't need it. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it looks like one half could shift without the other.

 

Correct. With half out it would be free to slide to the other side. As it sits with both halves it is extremely snug. I had planned on more wiggle room but the herculiner added more thickness than anticipated. There is no play at at all as it currently sits. I do like the idea of securing with turnbuckles to the bed anchors. I'll adopt that addition if the need arises.

 

Nice work good job!

 

Subbed for future mod

 

...Beautifully built, and looks Great!.........BUT.....how practical is this when it is raining or snowing out?...That's something I have always been concerned about?....

 

Nice work man. Looks great.

 

Great idea for drawer slides. Drawers for centuries had no hardware, and this is a notch above that!

 

Looks good

 

looks great. just a question, why did you just go 3/4 or so way up the bed? I've thought about doing this and when I look at all the pics and schemtics, they only go up that high or lower. I want to bring up to just below the bed rails. I have a few things i want to put on a drawer that are a bit taller so I want a drawer system to be a little taller.

I just didn't know if it was personal preference for people? or if there were actual reasons for not going up any higher. Lots of people are smarter than me at this, so I figure if not many people are going taller drawers, there has to be a reason but can't seem to find it.

Looks great.

 

Thanks!

 

As this picture demonstrates there is a 1" ledge that goes around the bed about 3/4 of the way up. The ledge is also flush with the wheel wells. This makes a convenient support structure for the plywood to rest on as it supports the weight of someone sleeping on it. Also, any taller and there won't be much headroom if sleeping in the back which I intend to do.

 

Slick setup! I wonder how feasible it would be to make a fridge/cooktop drawer box. How does Herculiner hold up to weather? Only recommend with a hard top or will occasional drips not pose a problem?

 

There are innumerable examples of what you are talking about here. Their designs and craftsmanship is more refined than what I created.

http://forum.expeditionportal.com/threads/9034-Post-up-your-drawer-storage-system/page203

As for Herculiner it is absolutely impenetrable to water. It's designed for truck beds exposed to the weather. If your wood is covered in it I'd have no reservations about water exposure. I didn't coat the inside of my box with Herculiner but I did apply an outdoor polyurethane as an extra layer of protection.