A while back I decided to build some drawers. I spent some time looking at other builds and commercially available systems.
I wanted:
1) Easier access to food and equipment while camping
2) Easier access and packing for things closest to the seats
3) The ability to fold down the seats to carry long items or sleep
4) A decent amount of water storage (I ended up with more than originally planned, but without having a custom tank built, my options were limited)
5) Easier access and storage for tools
6) Good value
I drew up some plans, and bought some cabinet plywood. Cabinet ply won't split apart as quickly as regular plywood, and looks nice. My other options was to build the entire thing out of aluminum, but that would require a lot of my brother's time as I can't weld, and would be very expensive.
I built this base relatively quickly, and then added drawer slides.
I hadn't bought locking drawer slides because they were more expensive, but I wanted to lock my drawers in and out. I used some cheap pop pins, and a thin strip of aluminum to make a my drawers lock. The pop pin goes through the wall of the base and clicks into a hole in the drawer when it is closed and pops out behind the drawer when it is fully extended to lock it open. I used metal "L" brackets to support the wings on the base.
The pop pin:
I used hooks and turnbuckles to attach the drawer to the tie downs in the truck. I reinforced the back the hook where it goes through the wood with a little square of aluminum.
The drawer with aluminum strip and hole drilled, so the drawer remains closed:
I wanted:
1) Easier access to food and equipment while camping
2) Easier access and packing for things closest to the seats
3) The ability to fold down the seats to carry long items or sleep
4) A decent amount of water storage (I ended up with more than originally planned, but without having a custom tank built, my options were limited)
5) Easier access and storage for tools
6) Good value
I drew up some plans, and bought some cabinet plywood. Cabinet ply won't split apart as quickly as regular plywood, and looks nice. My other options was to build the entire thing out of aluminum, but that would require a lot of my brother's time as I can't weld, and would be very expensive.
I built this base relatively quickly, and then added drawer slides.
I hadn't bought locking drawer slides because they were more expensive, but I wanted to lock my drawers in and out. I used some cheap pop pins, and a thin strip of aluminum to make a my drawers lock. The pop pin goes through the wall of the base and clicks into a hole in the drawer when it is closed and pops out behind the drawer when it is fully extended to lock it open. I used metal "L" brackets to support the wings on the base.
The pop pin:
I used hooks and turnbuckles to attach the drawer to the tie downs in the truck. I reinforced the back the hook where it goes through the wood with a little square of aluminum.
The drawer with aluminum strip and hole drilled, so the drawer remains closed: