After I got the topper and rack squared away, my next goal was to come up with some sort of organization for the bed. Since I was typically going to be carrying a bunch of stuff for work, I wanted a way to keep items easily accessible and protected while I was taking the rack and garment bags in and out of the bed.
I figured the best way to accomplish this was with dual level storage, work stuff on top and gear on bottom. After doing some research, I found some drawer systems that seemed to fit the bill, but the wife put the kibosh on that as soon as she heard the price. I saw a few DIY solutions online that looked solid, so I decided to go that route. I'm not a master woodworker, but I have a saw and a tape measure, so off I went to the lumber yard.
First order of business was to establish what the deck height would be. For ****s and giggles, I tossed some planks in the factory notches in the bed and it looked to be about perfect. At this point, I was hoping it would double as a sleeping platform, and there was enough height above to not feel like I was in a coffin, but enough space below to be useable.
Next was to build a frame for the drawer. This was as simple as using 2 pieces of 1x10 and a few pieces of 1x3 to set it up. I got super lucky and didn't need to rip the 1x10 to the proper height... everything you see fits perfect from the yard.
Next was the bearing system for the drawer to ride on. I had seen a few pre-built drawer sliders on Amazon, but they were all very expensive for the length I wanted. Instead, I went on Ebay, ordered 80 skateboard bearings from China, and used them, along with some 1x1 square stock. The bearings fit perfect on a 5/8" bolt shoulder and are secured through the 1x10 with t-nuts.
Bottom Row
Bottom and Top Row
You need a lot of bearings for this, but I was hoping that with enough of them, the weight would be distributed well.
1x1 attached to side of drawer
Drawer without deck supports.
Fully extended. I tried to measure as best I could so that it would clear the tailgate but just barely. As it sits now, at full extension, it actually drops a hair and sits on the tailgate itself, so that I didn't need to come up with a way to lock it to prevent the drawer coming all the way out of the truck if opened on an incline.
Next was the task of anchoring it to the bed so it wouldn't tilt out. Unistrut pieces fit perfectly in the Nissan Utilitrak system, so I utilized that.
I used 4 anchor points right through the 1x3 that ran horizontally at the base of the frame. 2 in the front of the bed and 2 in the back.
Next was to toss the horizontal deck supports back in and start on the deck. The drawer frame was screwed to the 2x6 supports and then I laid plywood over top. The center section is screwed to the deck supports.
The side panels were left unattached for storage along the side of the bed near the wheel wells.
I then put some trim on the face of the drawer. This piece of plywood hits the vertical supports of the frame and keeps the drawer from going too far in. It also provided a place to mount some barrel locks to keep the drawer from opening and closing under acceleration and braking.
Next was a trial run on a short fishing trip. It worked well, but one large open space was a pain when the beers started rolling around.
I took the drawer out and installed some dividers using 1x6. I also gave the drawer a full coat in bed liner to protect the wood from any wet fishing gear.
For the top deck, I also coated the plywood in bed liner before installing outdoor carpet that I found at Lowe's.
The side storage covers I ended up cutting in two. I used a block of wood to keep them in place on the horizontal supports when they are closed, and some nylon webbing as pull straps to lift them out. They fit nice and snug when in place.
All in all, I am very pleased with how it turned out. The fit and finish isn't on par with the $1500 options out there, but I think I am only into this for maybe $150...? I forget, but it wasn't much. The bearings and hardware were the most expensive parts.
