Overland Drawer Build TACOMA- Pic Heavy

[PapaDave]

Where are you putting your bikes?

Bikes are on the bed racks mounted next to my RTT. I have a tonneau cover and Voodoo racks that go around the cover
Older photo without my hard heavy duty cover on

Different trip to Pismo

 

[Natchez]

I like

 

[PapaDave]

Well we are in whistler. Found some great dispersed camping spots, and the mosquitos here are HUGE. The drawer is awesome and I’ve gotten a number of questions about it.

First night in Canada, can’t beat the views

Finally reached Whistler

Amazing trails- B Line


Off roading to find a camp site


Brandywine Falls

And get this...we found Lost Lake

 

[PapaDave]

Our whistler trip was EPIC! 2 amazing days of downhill riding which was capped off by a cold wet mud filled day today. We became solid mud by the end of the day and we almost hit a bear and her 2 cubs standing in the middle of Ho Chi Min run. Right now we are free camped right off Puget Sound. Thanks for following along and here’s our photos.


One very happy son


Cold wet muddy and awesome

 

[Hazelwoodjr]

That’s unbelievable! Absolutely amazing job!!!


Sent from my iPhone using OB Talk

 

[Kingsize]

Awesome! Great work, followed by even greater fun. Can't beat that, and can't beat a good day with your son.

 

[Ditch]

Wow, and to think people pay good money to get a mud bath. LOL. You've found a much better way. What an achievement! Nothing better than wearing that dirt back to camp as a badge of manhood. Not to mention crossing paths with a bear. Oh man.
It look like a blast was had and what a way to share with family.
I love the added photos of your drawer system in use. They look like they will hold a ton of gear. And hats off for all that beautiful scenery.
Thank you for sharing all of it.

 

[mntnbomber]

Wow great work. That has got to be the best use of space I’ve seen! Great camping pics too!

 

[NRoofless_garage]

This is awesome! Good work.

Sent from my Pixel XL using OB Talk mobile app

 

[TacticalBBQ]

Wow! Awesome job on the drawer system you built! Also what a great trip to take with your son. Looks amazing!!

 

[PapaDave]

Thinking about adding a DIY bed slide. Has anyone done this with some sort of lateral bearing or sliding mechanism? I need a very low profile slide so that my cooler will fit under the tonneau. Thinking about using a T slot system to anchor the rear of the slide to the truck as it pulls out.

Making lunch up by Tahoe, imagine a slide under the cooler that pulls out 5’ like the drawer.


First idea of using 56” drawer slides mounted to a flat board and laying right on the truck bed

Then thought about a slide that lays on the truck bed without drawer slides, but T slots anchored to the bed and T nuts on the bed slide that keep the end of the slide from lifting up as it extends out

Anyone done something similar to this?

 

[Gillityr]

80/20 makes sliding base plates that fit into their T-slot channels. I thought about putting some channel in the bed, and then a piece that is aligned to it on the tailgate with a few-inch gap so the gate can close. Then maybe just file down the slider wear material a bit so the cooler could just slide out and onto the rail on the tailgate, across the gap. Also, get at least one slide with the brake :)

I have not tested nor proven this would work. I was just going over this very same issue on my Canyon recently, and was creating a 3D model for not just a fridge slide, but also a bed rack for my RTT :)

 

[Boort]

@PapaDave

Thinking about adding a DIY bed slide. Has anyone done this with some sort of lateral bearing or sliding mechanism? I need a very low profile slide so that my cooler will fit under the tonneau. ...

Check out V-Slot Linear rails ( https://openbuildspartstore.com/v-slot-linear-rail-1/ ) These are used for low cost DIY CNC Routers and mills. The 20x40 rails should be stout enough for your application.

For a lower cost, possibly lower profile option you could go with 2 V-rails ( https://openbuildspartstore.com/openrail-linear-rail/ ) mounted to 3/4" ply. Then a 3/8" base for the cooler with 6-8 wheels to rid on the rails. (similar could be done with Angle Iron if you have the tools. )

Boort

 

[PapaDave]

80/20 makes sliding base plates that fit into their T-slot channels. I thought about putting some channel in the bed, and then a piece that is aligned to it on the tailgate with a few-inch gap so the gate can close. Then maybe just file down the slider wear material a bit so the cooler could just slide out and onto the rail on the tailgate, across the gap. Also, get at least one slide with the brake :)

I have not tested nor proven this would work. I was just going over this very same issue on my Canyon recently, and was creating a 3D model for not just a fridge slide, but also a bed rack for my RTT :)

That’s a very similar concept I had. It may not slide out as well as my heavy duty sliders, but it doesn’t seem as important to me that it does. I need to look again at 80/20, my issue is low profile as my cooler just barely fits now with the bed mat in. If I take that out I get 1/2” or more back

 

[PapaDave]

@PapaDave


Check out V-Slot Linear rails ( https://openbuildspartstore.com/v-slot-linear-rail-1/ ) These are used for low cost DIY CNC Routers and mills. The 20x40 rails should be stout enough for your application.

For a lower cost, possibly lower profile option you could go with 2 V-rails ( https://openbuildspartstore.com/openrail-linear-rail/ ) mounted to 3/4" ply. Then a 3/8" base for the cooler with 6-8 wheels to rid on the rails. (similar could be done with Angle Iron if you have the tools. )

Boort

That second link does offer an interesting potential solution, thank you!

 

[Gillityr]

Lots of options found here: https://8020.net/catalog/category/view/s/shop/id/837/?cat=1345

Video showing a couple of ways to use their linear slides:
You could likely mount the T-Slot rail into the bed and use a slider pad on top for a very low profile. Might even be able to use one of the half-profile T-slot rails, and end up with your fridge sliding very close to the bed. All just ideas of course.

 

[Tony Patrignani]

OMG................That's totally AWESOME

 

[PapaDave]

OMG................That's totally AWESOME

Haha thanks!

Here is my drawer in action

 

[Whiteout]

Thanks for sharing your build and details. Excellent idea! Would you mind sharing what hardware you used (slides and coffee table lifts). They seemed to have held up very well. Thanks.

 

[PapaDave]

Thanks for sharing your build and details. Excellent idea! Would you mind sharing what hardware you used (slides and coffee table lifts). They seemed to have held up very well. Thanks.

So there’s two halves of my thread on this as I posted my build in the general discussion area and it turns out there’s a DYI section on OLB that I didn’t know about. Here’s a link to the other thread with almost everything I used. If you build a drawer let me know! Thanks

Dave
https://www.overlandbound.com/forums/threads/overland-camping-drawer-photo-heavy.16021/page-2