Bed slider design - request for feedback (1 Viewer)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Joined
May 18, 2017
Threads
63
Messages
2,145
Location
Vernon, BC
I need a sliding platform for my 63QT ARB and a (yet to be made) chuck box that will sit in front of it. These items need to fit in my Tacoma's bed, underneath the tonneau. The fridge height is the limiting factor here, giving me a total of 3/4" of vertical room that can be taken up by the sliding mechanism. This limitation eliminates all commercial offerings, as they are all much too tall.

What's left is doing this custom. I will be using 60", locking Orr and Orr drawer slides (already ordered).

I considered making the frame from 1/2 plywood myself, but due to the space constraints, it wouldn't be fully boxes in, and I fear that attempting to reinforce it by adding metal cross members or what-not would result in a hack job.

Making this out of metal would be much better, but I don't have the tools/space/know-how to weld, and while I again considered making some 90-degree bends in aluminum and using Metal Weld to join pieces together, it'll still be a hack job. So, I'm leaning towards having a local fabrication shop do it for me. Got a quote, it's expensive ($895+tax = $1000 CAD), but I think I can make it work. Before I commit I want to make sure I've thought of everything, and that's where I'd like some advice.

My initial design:

MBI6d8D.jpg


Frame is green, cross-members are red.

Exterior of the frame will be 4 1/2" tall angle, with 3/4" width at the bottom (flat) part. The room in that "valley" is just under 1", so 3/4" will allow for some adjustment and a good fit. The frame will have an extended "tab" to secure to the truck's original bed-bolt, labeled B.

The front cross-member (in front of tonneau canister) will be elvated so as to sit on top of the "mountains". At item labeled A is a hole in the bed (previously used for a bed slide that I had), which will be used to secure the cross-member to the bed via some low-profile hardware.

The rear cross-member (by tailgate) will also be elvated, but not to the height of the "mountains" - only high enough to clear the bed stiffener. The washer on the bed bolt labeled C will be removed and the cross member will replace it.

The total vertical-height loss so far is the thickness of the front cross-member, which I anticipate being 1/8", plus any protruding bolt head hardware, another 1/8", for a total of 1/4".

The sliding tray ("drawer") will be no more than 1/4" thick aluminum (possibly thinner), and it will sit 1/2" above the flat of the "mountains." I have checked and this position will clear the tailgate nicely. This will also clear the front cross-member by at least 1/4". Issues due to sagging (when extended at the tailgate) are possible, but I'm hoping that won't be the case.

This is the drawing I showed the metal fabrication shop:

fo2Xf3P.jpg


Since the frame will be 4 1/2" tall, 1/2" of that height will sit in the "valley," 3" will be taken up by the drawer slide, and in the remaining 1" I will have M8-sized holes drilled all around the perimeter so that I can use them as tie-downs, or attach future expansions via simple bolt-on methods.

Similar holes will be drilled in the tray of the slider. The rear portion of the tray will accomodate my 63QT ARB fridge. The front portion will have my chuck-box & stove, and possibly 10lb propane tank between the fridge and chuck box. The front of the tray will not have a wall so that I can have a drawer/cutting board/etc. slide out from my chuck box right at the bottom.

This is the sketch/quote the fabricator put together:

wcTMhmN.png


He's thinking of making everything out of 1/8" aluminum. I'm concerned that may be a little light and that 3/16th would be a better/safer choice. Any thoughts on this?

My future plans involve a water tank sitting under the tonnea's canister (this is a bit of a problem as all quotes for a custom-sized - 45L x 12W x 9H - are coming in very expensive - another grand). As I'm getting a dual-swing-out bumper this summer, I may look into fitting a rectangular water tank in the original spare's location. Another item I'll be making (from plywood) is a long, narrow storage container that will sit on top of my passenger-side wheel arch in the bed. I already had this setup before, and will be making the next iteration of that idea. I may have brackets that connect this container to the frame of the slider.

The left/empty side of the bed will be used for random gear. My RTT will sit on top of a FrontRunner rack that will itself sit above the tonneau (mounting system being currently fabricated by another shop).

Is there anything else I should consider? Anything else I should add?
 
I think 1/8" is too bendy. I recently got a slider tray made of 3/16" and it's nice and strong, but still really light.
 
I think 1/8" is too bendy. I recently got a slider tray made of 3/16" and it's nice and strong, but still really light.

With the drawer slides in place, the frame should be quite rigid. But I did just ask the fabricator to revise the quote with 3/16" aluminum for the tray instead of 1/8th. I'm mostly concerned about the tray flexing/drooping down when loaded, and catching on the tailgate because of that.
 
Now this is just me, For the cost hes asking to fabricate it, you could grab the materials and a used welder and fab it up for less than 500. AND it will allow you to creat or repair the vehicle to your own needs/taste. just how I would look at it.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom