TRUCK BED DRAWERS

Intro: TRUCK BED DRAWERS

• This is my truck bed drawers i made. this was not my idea, many people have made these but there is no instructable. so here it is.

• these drawers are great i load the heavy with tools and they still work great.

STUFF YOU WILL NEED-

• 1 - sheet 3/4 plywood
• 1 - sheet 1/4 masonite
• 1 - sheet 1/4 plywood
• 4 - 1x4x 8'
• 7 - 1x10x 8'
• 3 - 1x12x 8'
• 4 - 1x1 square tubing
• 50 - bearings that fit over a 5/16 bolt- i got mine from E-Bay
  

  (Qty.50) 608-2RS two side rubber seals bearing 608-rs ball bearings

• 24 - 1 1/4 - 5/16 bolts
• 12 - 2 1/4 - 5/16 bolts
• 50 - 5/16 lock nuts
• 70 - 5/16 washers
• wood glue
• paint
• 1 - small box 1 1/4" wood screws
• 1 - small box 2" wood screws
• 2 - slide latches
• 2 - handles
• 4 - piano hinges
• 4 cabinet pulls

TOOLS YOU WILL NEED-

• circular saw
• jig saw
• screw gun
• tape measure
• drill
• table saw
• paint roller and brush

--- WATCH THIS VIDEO --- WATCH THIS VIDEO --- WATCH THIS VIDEO ---

STEP 1: Build the Frame

• cut your masonit and 3/4 plywood about a half inch short of the length of the inside of the bed.
• cut 2 - 1x12 and the 2x12 to 3/4 inch less then your plywood.
• cut 1 - 1x12 to 4'
• glue and screw them together like the photo. the board on the face was temporary.
• slide it in the bed and center it.
• if you have a bed liner, mark the ribs at each corner. then drill the 4 corners and insert a 1/2" bolt.
• the frame will not be able to slide let or right. [as seen in photo]
• build your drawers 2 1/4" less then the openings.
• cut a 1/4 inch grove at the bottom of the 1x10" and glue the plywood to slide in for the drawer bottoms.
• bolt the square tubing to the side of the drawers. about a 1/4 of the way up from the bottom. making sure that the drawer will be about 3/8" above the masonite.
• then bolt the bearings on top and bottom.
• there should be at least a 1/8" gap between the top bearing and square tubing when drawer is closed.

STEP 2: The Top

• screw the plywood on the top of the frame and slide in the truck.
• then take the 1x10 and trace the profile of your bed sides.
• cut out and connect with piano hinge. install pulls to open.
• i put braces down to hold weight.
• you can add level holders and such if your using tools.
• then paint if you want it painted,

STEP 3: Lights

• i then siliconed a 16' of - 5630 waterproof flexible leds -
• and a switch to turn them on and off
• this is very bright when dark out.

STEP 4: Finished

• i hope this helps you build your own drawers.
• thanks for viewing.

Comments

[DannyR89]

The build is a good one but there are many ways to do this, I chose another without the metal slides bc they take a few more inches of space from the drawers. I build as you did but leaving the slides & bearings off, I used the same Masonite bottom but heavily waxed the drawer bottoms, it allows a few inches on each drawer to widen them, 2) for very heavy or bulky items (air compressor, ice chests, bicycle, chop saws,etc) an easy way to load/unload these items & save your knees, I mounted a 3/4” full sheet of ply to the top of the drawer carcass by waxing the bottom (rough side), mounting 5’ straight pcs of 1/2”,(4) screwed down placing 3/4” ply on top & secure both edges , full length with a hold down of 3/4”x 5/8” overhang this allows an easy pull out tray that can be loaded & unloaded standing on the ground, this tray can be pulled out to within 1’ of its end, fully loaded but to do that the drawers must be pulled out 1st. It doubles your carrying capacity for a little bit more money. Shalom!

[LJoyT]

What I like about your system is it has two drawers. I haven't done anything like this, but it is on "my list" as soon as my shell comes. (Back-country short-term vagabond wannabe.) Have you slept on top of this, and do you think it is really important to keep the headroom "roomy"? I really want to store my cooler, stove, and kitchen junk on one side, but the cooler is too dang tall.

[LauraL1]

Very impressive!!!!

[Ag800Hans]

I dont see a video available to be watched, on this page. Has it been removed? Thanks for sharing, regardless, looks solid, functional, and simple enough to build. Awesome!

[SteveW127]

Love this idea and will hopefully use it in my van. Not sure I'm missing this point but how do you stop the draws from completely coming out?

[jdorrington]

Hi goose, building similar and stumbled across your great instructable (thanks!). I was considering using c section instead of box therefore using just one line of bearings in the channel. Wanted to pick your brain and wondered if you'd considered that - and maybe discounted it as un-workable!?

[Anthonyh7]

Just out of curiosity, how much did it cost to do this..I'm considering something similar but trying to keep cost low.

[THE GOOSE]

i already had the square tubing and some of the wood, and spent another $150. i will sell you mine if you wana come get it. i bought a trailer and cant put the tail gate down because of the jack on the trailer. so unfortunately i had to remove mine.

[JasonS99]

Are these still for sale? I'm in Columbus Ohio and would come get them ASAP

[The.FletchPVA]

I'm initerested in purchasing it, where do you live?

[THE GOOSE]

Akron Ohio

[The.FletchPVA]

It's about an 8 hour drive for me. How much do you want for it? Do you have an email?

[ElliottB2]

Hey nice job on this! One question: How did you bolt the square aluminum tubing to the sides of the drawers? Did you have to cut circular holes in the tubing?

Thanks

[zman1204]

Nice very helpful in construction

[rhkramer]

Nice job! I like the drawer slides! Where did you get the bearings, and do you have a part number or such?

[dblr]

Not sure, but they look like skate bearings. Similar to these: http://amzn.com/B002BBD6X4

[rhkramer]

Thanks!

(Aside: I don't think that's exactly them, they have an 8mm I.D. which won't fit on a 3/8" bolt. They'd be a tight squeeze (or worse) on a 5/16" bolt, but that might be
workable, especially if polished with some emery cloth while chucked
in a drill.)

[THE GOOSE]

i checked and it is a 5/16 bolt. here is a photo of how they fit.

Thanks: The Goose

[THE GOOSE]

those are the ones i use, but your right i may be wrong on the bolt size. i i didnt modify the bolt in any way. i will check the next time im in the garage.

[THE GOOSE]

i got them off of ebay they are skate board bearings.

(Qty.50) 608-2RS two side rubber seals bearing 608-rs ball bearings 608 rs