Diy Low profile trailer slide-out storage / kitchen out of mild steel?

Hi all - I'm trying to build out my off-road trailer and finally got some of my gear. I've been scouring the site for ideas and haven't quite found what I am looking for or maybe overlooked it in the vast amount of awesome builds. I'm hoping to get some advice on the slide-out design.

I'm starting with a bear trailersport trailer.

I just got the ARB Weatherproof 63 fridge (so stoked!). Its a beast and pretty heavy. Also got a dry-box kitchen box, that I plan to have lay lengthwise in the trailer. All in the fridge and kitchen box come in at 70" long. I'm looking to build some kind of pull-out or slide-out mechanism that lets me pull them out and possibly fold down or attach legs at the end to have a pull-out kitchen. My main concern is I've only got 1" (maybe less) of height to work with because of the lid and the kitchen and fridge are just shorter than the lid.

Screen Shot 2017-09-29 at 8.54.08 PM.jpgScreen Shot 2017-09-29 at 8.45.28 PM.jpg

So the design I was thinking was a thick angle iron attached to the bottom of the trailer with some kind of sliders on the side, with a metal bottom that just a hair higher than the bottom of the trailer. My 2nd mission is to try to do this out of mild steel so that I could weld it up with my son. I have millermatic 211 and have (basic..very basic) welding skills and me and my 16yo son are going to a welding class this weekend and I thought it would be a great little project for us. I assume I could spray the steel down with some kind of rust proof coating, not sure. I'm open to any and all advice though, my main concern is a good design to follow so I can get this stuff all camp ready and get out into the woods :)
 

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rayra

Expedition Leader
A thin plate welded on its edges to a round pipe could serve as your tray, the pipe trapped between rollers fixed in the bed of the trailer, with fold down legs attachable at the end would probably serve your height limitations and have sufficient strength for your need span. You'd have to recess rollers at the rear lip, under the tubing, or use some sort of glide material like a teflon, nylon or delrin block. And that will serve as the leverage point. The rest of the tray could have all the rollers fixed ABOVE the tray rail.
That will get you very close to a zero-clearance tray.

Or maybe use one of those trapped bearing caster wheels as the leverage point.

images


With some of those mounted to the trailer floor, your slide could be as thin as you can manage to make rigid.


eta
something akin to this. You'd have to add a framework outside the stored tray to keep it wher eyou want it.

thindrawerslide.jpg



the plate wouldn't even need to be welded to the rail pipes, you could use pan head self-tappign screws into a pre-drilled series of holes in the pipes. That way you could use some lighter material for the tray surface. You could weld the pipes in a rectangular hoop the size of your tray and even add a third longitudinal support pipe up the middle of the tray for further droop support.


eta2

for that matter you could even sleeve the tray tubes inside larger support tubes and have the tray structure connected at the tailgate end and riding on the bed of the trailer. Sort of like the slider on a trombone. That would be about as close to a zero-clearance design as I can come up with off the top of my head, given your welding / metal criteria. My go-to would be wood.
 
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NatersXJ6

Explorer
What you are asking for is pretty easy. The budget will drive the project. If you can afford full length drawer slides, I would get them. They provide the rigidity for your system. Then you mount them to the trailer floor with an "L" bracket. I wouldn't use angle iron, too heavy for your needs. You could have someone brake 14 ga sheet, pricey, or use the brackets accuride and others already make. Or you could do what I did, and split 1" x 3" rectangular tube lengthwise into two "L" profiles. The first time, I did it with a circular saw and metal blade... Then I used a plasma and got a much better cut. The fridge can drop down into this setup so that it moves just above the bottom of the trailer. The dry box... Depends on the specific dimensions of the opening. If you are looking for prep surface... That is another animal. But not impossible to overcome. Remember that the fridge and box do not need to sit on a surface, only crossbars at the mounting points.

If you make legs, be sure they can adjust some. And... Build something to stabilize the trailer. Opening a 6' kitchen off the back will flip the trailer if the hitch isn't properly locked onto a vehicle and the back isn't stabilized.
 

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