Well, I finally got a cap for my P/U. Now, I want to build a floor in the bed with drawers that pull out of the back. Yeah, I know about the Extend o Bed. I still want to build ’em myself, just because that’s how the old farts I admire would have done it.
I’m thinking of making two drawers each about 2 ft. wide, 6 in. high and 5 ft. deep. The slides would be of modified garage door track and rollers, and the drawers and frame of 3/4 ply. Any thoughts?
Andy
Arguing with a Breaktimer is like mud-wrestling a pig — Sooner or later you find out the pig loves it.
Other people can talk about how to expand the destiny of mankind. I just want to talk about how to fix a motorcycle. I think that what I have to say has more lasting value. –Robert M. Pirsig
Replies
Dont drive off with the tail gate down....
About ten years ago, I had the experience of my tailgate dropping open on its own as I rounded a corner. I heard the thump of the gate dropping, looked in the mirror and saw my generator sliding down Route 94. I'm still using that generator. It's a Honda.
AndyArguing with a Breaktimer is like mud-wrestling a pig -- Sooner or later you find out the pig loves it.
Other people can talk about how to expand the destiny of mankind. I just want to talk about how to fix a motorcycle. I think that what I have to say has more lasting value. --Robert M. Pirsig
Andy, for that kind of hasrdware, I imagine you would lose a couple of inches under the draweers unless you were able to have the shaft mounted inside the drawer for a low-boy type chassis, if I'm making muyself clear.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Andy,
I don't know if you have a full size or a compact pickup, but there is a picture in Gary Katz's finish carpentry book of a pretty nice setup. Not really sure of the hardware though. I could''ve sworn there was an article in an old issue... oh, well.
Not much help,
KitTechnique is proof of your seriousness. - Wallace Stevens
I have a steel mechanics chest for drill bits, router bits and the like. One day I had it sitting on the tailgate when we needed to jockey trucks around. I thought no problem as long as I was very careful about it.
Man did I misjudge that! I had to stop traffic in the middle of main street to shovel up my tools
ROTFLMAO
That was MY first thought!
my other first thought was that we'll have to find Andy an "Olde Faught" bumpah stickah
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
I think the hardware is the trick. I would be tempted to see about using a modified overhead garage door track. Good luck
I swear in the last month I have seen pictures and directions for building exactly what your talking about. Now if I can just remember where. View Image
Who Dares Wins.
Andy, many years ago I built something similar except, as I recall, the two drawers were 12" deep. I built the case and drawers out of 3/4" plywood and there was a partition in the case between the drawers. I had acquired several of those devices that went under refrigerators to move them in and out from the wall. As I recall there was a series of six small wheels at each end of the device. I mounted two wheel sets at the bottom front edge of the case to support the front of the drawer, two wheel sets to the rear bottom of the drawer and two wheel sets on a lip at the top rear of the drawer. The wheels at the front case and rear drawer bottom supported the drawer until it was far enough out that it reached the balance point, then the set mounted on the top of the drawer would start bearing on the top inside of the case. Worked like a champ and didn't cost much since I got a deal on the wheels. It fit in a short-bed Ford.
ever wonder why all those old farts have bad backs?
because they were too damn cheap to buy somthing store bought that actually works smoothly!
but Gunner(?) is right ... this was just covered.
Someone 'round here just built one.
Jeff
Buck Construction, llc Pittsburgh,PA
Artistry in Carpentry
I got some rollers from a surplus conveyor, made a frame of two 2 x4s laying flat in the truck bed with notches for the roller axles.
The rollers are about one foot apart.
Then built a box to ride in and out on the rollers.
If you notch the 2 x 4s so the rollers are as close as possible to the truck bed without binding you will have only about 2 inches below the box.
I mounted a store bought roller in a metal U frame on the tail gate so the box rides out level.
Yoy need to fashion some kind of safety line so the box can't roll off the rollers to the ground.
George Bush
FOUR MORE YEARS
Edited 10/4/2004 9:26 pm ET by ARROWSHOOTER
Andy
Mine is all taken apart right now other wise I would take a picture of it for you.
I built a three drawer box, made them about as high as the side of the truck. That way you can store stuff on top.
I'm building a new one so the top rolls out, got a set of those full extension drawer guides, there 60", I am going to mount that on the top of the box so I don't have to crawl up on top of the box to fetch the table saw and chop saw.
My drawers are on a make shift roller, I took pipe that fits around solid steel rod, maybe 3/8" rod. then I fasten these in the bottom of the box and the drawers roll in and out on the rollers. They don't roll as easy as a ball bearing guides but they aren't all that bad.
My drawers are 3/4 ply. the box is 5/8 ply.
Doug
doug;
where did you get the 60" guides, how much can they carry, and how much did they cost
BB
I cant find the place where I got them right now, have to look tommarow.
Some place like Hardware------- or ----------Hardware. Just cant remember right now.
They will hold 500 lbs. and they cost something like $225 give or take a 5 spot.
I seen them in several catalogs but this particular one had them much cheaper. I will look for the catalog if you are interested.
Doug
I did a similar doo dad with table extensions, sliding dovetail maple slides..the kind for adding a leaf...they also make some with a little cog and notched rail deal. Know what I mean?
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations.
i built some for a friend in the handyman racket, they were about 22"x8"x6'. We used continuous kv 1300 guides, all of the way down the the drawers and the sides. We just deleted the stops on the guides and it works well. about three years old and guides have held up so far. I haull too much weight, i doubt that the guides would work for me.
My ex boss did something like that, he used maple as a clete on the side of the drawer, then another clete to hold the drawer off the bottom of the box. It was clete ridding on clete. Then waxed the hell out of it and they slid real nice.
I'm only putting the full extension drawer guide on top of the box, dont like crawling up to get the table saw and chop saw.
My boxes slide fairly well, could be better, but I dont need a come-along yet so its all good!
Doug
Everybody is mentioning these 60" full extension guides at $300, got mine for $225, rated for 500lbs. Just bought them 4 months ago.
Edited 10/5/2004 8:12 pm ET by [email protected]
IIRC, http://www.Rockler.com has drawer slides that are that big (60"), and that strong (500#).
And IIRC, they are also as expensive as they are desirable.
Unless you're the lead dog, the view just never changes.
Accuride builds giant full-extension drawer slides. They have a 60 inch version rated for "500 lbs in moderate use, 400 lbs in frequent use, and 300 lbs in mobile use (such as in trucks and RVs)". Here's a data sheet -- http://www.accuride.com/uploads/products/pdf/9301-r8-0403.pdf www.cabinetparts.com sells a pair for $300.
I built the same thing yer all talking about ...
'cept I built mine outta metal ...
in a Chevy factory ...
I call it ...
a van!
I just put some shelves inside ......
JeffBuck Construction, llc Pittsburgh,PA
Artistry in Carpentry
Right on bro! I was thinkin as I was lookin at all these posts,I might just go out side and get a pic of my empty truck bed...All of my stuff is at the Job... in lug boxes and milk crates and such...
Scribe once, cut once!
This is a picture of what your after right? It came from the book trim carpentry techinques by Craig Savage. (Taunton Press) It's not the article I was thinking of but it seems to be a good set up.
Who Dares Wins.
Yes, that's it! Maybe a little deeper than I'm shooting for, but that's the idea. I figure that the drawer only needs to be as deep as my deepest tool box. The handtools live in Bucket Bosses, and they can sit on top.
AndyArguing with a Breaktimer is like mud-wrestling a pig -- Sooner or later you find out the pig loves it.
Other people can talk about how to expand the destiny of mankind. I just want to talk about how to fix a motorcycle. I think that what I have to say has more lasting value. --Robert M. Pirsig
Hey andy
That's just what I am doing at the present, got a 2000 f- 150 ext. cab, 6.5' bed. so far I ahave built 2 sliding boxes 2' (+/-) x 4' side by side from the front of the box to just behind the wheelwells, approx 9" deep. Over this is a 3/4 ply platform (resting on the wheel wells) . I put a vertical divider between the two drawers to keep the platform strong and non saggy. Now i am mounting shelves at the top of the bed height , around the perimeter of the bed and have got a metal cap with full doors on the sides for easy access. Best thing i got on the cap was the full height "hatchback" door- tailgate gets removed. Leaning in over the tailgate on a full-size is a total PITA for me. So far the drawers are sliding nicely just on the plywood bottoms on the plastic bed liner, but they're not super full of crap yet either. Regarding drawer slides I have seen some 500lb-60" ones that cost about 300$ /pr canadian. Gave them a miss, I like the old fart approach better too.
Let me know how it works out
Andy
Andy, I been conbtemplating the same thing.
My Idea is to combine two pieces of track eithe back to back or edge to edge to get an S shape.
then the rollers would go into hardwood blocks under the box and mounted to the truck bed.
this would effectively make a full extension "slide".
I will try and sketch some pics and up load them.
definately keep us posted on this!
Mr T
I can't afford to be affordable anymore
How about this?
Mr T
I can't afford to be affordable anymore
Something like that, except that I was planning to mount the tracks side by side. I'd put two rollers on one shaft, with a big washer between them so that the tracks wouldn't bind on each other. That might not be rigid enough, though.
AndyArguing with a Breaktimer is like mud-wrestling a pig -- Sooner or later you find out the pig loves it.
Other people can talk about how to expand the destiny of mankind. I just want to talk about how to fix a motorcycle. I think that what I have to say has more lasting value. --Robert M. Pirsig
Andy, take it from an old timer,go buy one.
Unless you have nothing else to do, or just don't satisfy the need to build things enough all week.Spend the extra time with your wife and kids.Plus, equipment is a good write off.
Vince Carbone
Thanks for all the ideas,
AndyArguing with a Breaktimer is like mud-wrestling a pig -- Sooner or later you find out the pig loves it.
Other people can talk about how to expand the destiny of mankind. I just want to talk about how to fix a motorcycle. I think that what I have to say has more lasting value. --Robert M. Pirsig
Rockler has the 60" drawer glides, made by Accuride. $300 a pair.
Too rich for this swamp Yankee's pocketbook. Heck, the truck's barely worth that.
AndyArguing with a Breaktimer is like mud-wrestling a pig -- Sooner or later you find out the pig loves it.
Other people can talk about how to expand the destiny of mankind. I just want to talk about how to fix a motorcycle. I think that what I have to say has more lasting value. --Robert M. Pirsig
If you get tired of farting around with it, I have a used Weather-Guard roll out I'd probably sell you cheap. Can't use it on a flatbed.
Andy
If it were me, I'd put a set of rollers on the back top of the box to make it easier when the drawer was pulled out.
In my van, I built a platform and storage.
The back section has a shelf (removable in dados) to store 6" high boxes that pull out.
I can get 8 of them in there (that's alot of storage.)
I use the plastic soda carriers, but some home made apple boxes would work fine.
Long stuff stores on the left and right with a tall toolbox and socket set in the taller wheel well spaces on either side.
The top allows me to carry anything I want (tools, boxes, plywood sheets, etc.)
Works great for me.
Good luck
Jeff
I think most folks leave their drawers off when they bed a pickup.
Andy likes a play on words and I haver made soem really bad jokes, but that one eclipses any stretch I have ever come up with yet
I'll have to remember it!
;)
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Wow. I'm impressed.
Joke time. But first, a little familiarization. You may not be familiar with the West End of Stroudsburgh, PA. You need to know that it's got a reputation for being, well, a little red about the neck.
What does it mean when a West Ender is drooling from both sides of his mouth?
The trailer's level.
Andy
Arguing with a Breaktimer is like mud-wrestling a pig -- Sooner or later you find out the pig loves it.
Other people can talk about how to expand the destiny of mankind. I just want to talk about how to fix a motorcycle. I think that what I have to say has more lasting value. --Robert M. Pirsig
Edited 10/5/2004 9:39 pm ET by ANDYENGEL
I built a two drawer cabinet that fit in the back of my PU. The sides of the drawers were 1 x 12 white pine. I dadoed for the plywood bottom. I radiused the bottom edge of the pine sides. I waxed them and the bottom of the cabinet in which they slid. Believe it or not, I could slide the full length drawer out with one hand. They were loaded with all kinds of tools and hdwe. It's how they did it in the old days and it's really not something that needs to be over engineered.
Last week I brought home a brand new Chevy 3500 van with Adrian Steel cabinets and a Weatherguard rack. You guys convinced me a van is the way to go. But I've still got my pick-up. And I still have the drawers in my garage.....just in case ;-)
jocobe
These work well also:
http://www.rockler.com/ecom7/product_details.cfm?&offerings_id=5328
Jon Blakemore
Andy
I have one of the rollout beds that I do not use. If you are interested email me at [email protected] I am in West Greenwich RI.
mike
No good deed goes unpunished
Edited 10/5/2004 11:31 pm ET by Affordable Solutions
first great cooking ...
now discount truck beds ....
U da man!
haven't seen you around much ... figured U were still resting up from all the work you did at MikeFest ...
Jeff
Jeff
Hope all is well with your fine family.
I have been busy on out of town jobs (ie no internet connection) I just grab a few moments when in town. Hopefully the next couple of projects are local.
mikeNo good deed goes unpunished
Things couldn't be better!
tell the wife and kids we all said hi ... and thanks for the extra babysitters again.
great family ya got there.
Jeff