Alternative to big $$$ drawer sliders?

[hammer]

Hey Guys, I've been searching around on here for the last hour and haven't found much. If there are links out there that already discuss this can you kindly forward those to me please?

Anyways, I'm in the planning stages of doing the interior storage in my trailer. I'm having a hard time choking down the prices for the heavy duty drawer slides. I want teh long ones too, like 60 inches. I"m on the hook for $200-$450 a pair depending where I look. And I need two pairs. Not happening on this kids budget.

So what are my alternatives aside from friction sliding/incredible hulking the drawers in and out?

The one idea I have floating around in my head is using bearings out of roller blades.

http://image.made-in-china.com/2f0j...lade-Groove-Ball-Wheel-Bearings-6200-2RS-.jpg

I'd mount these to the drawer sides and then have them roll inside a channel. I figure there is 16 bearings in one pair of rollerblades. I could pick up a used pair for minimal $$$ if not free if I scrounged around enough. Weight wise I'm 245lbs and a pair of roller blades gets me around just fine.

Thoughts? Other ideas?

 

[Oyster9]

Slides


How's about uhmw polyethylene.
I used it for the same reasons.
No hulking at all.
Otherwise there is a great thread with a excellent platform using bearings like you describe.
It is called latest project-truck drawers/sleeping platform.
It is very nicely designed.

 

[1leglance]

there is a great thread around here on rear storage setups and a few people did their own slides using roller blade bearings and 1in sq tubing.
I bought 100 of the bearings dirt cheap and the tubing isn't bad....now I just have to build

 

[hammer]

Yeah i found that thread. Thanks. So much for my original idea :bowdown:

At least I got the link for the bearings. Thanks guys.

 

[soonenough]

Check eBay for the drawer slides, I found a pair of K&V 60" 500-lb rated slides BNIB at a surplus store for $79 (they retail for close to $500 if I remember correctly). That was after I spent a bunch of time laying a drawer system out using UHMW for the slides since I figured I'd never be able to afford the drawer slides. Check eBay frequently; I think it took me nearly a month to find the ones I bought.

 

[MotoDave]

I've played with a design for a cheap way to make whatever length drawer slide that you need. Got the idea from the commercial bedslide units. They use 2 bearings per slide, one fixed at the end of the bed (back of the truck), and one mounted to the opposite end of the drawer. I would use C-channel for the rails cutting away a portion at the end for the corresponding bearing to drop into. Mount the bearings off center enough so the sections of channel don't rub under weight.

Easier to figure out from pictures than words

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/x01PNtrhHmqq23Wd1eFLeKZBs3JDQyNt4aeJzUrk1Fg?feat=directlink
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/yKh3zeipLEt0a17cRtukHqZBs3JDQyNt4aeJzUrk1Fg?feat=directlink
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/y48br3GCJMmCS55x7b-a2qZBs3JDQyNt4aeJzUrk1Fg?feat=directlink

 

[Woodsman]

I've done UHMW plastic slides a few times but mostly do full extension drawer slides when I build drawers.

The problem with the UHMW and the bearing/rail slide system is that you don't get anywhere close to full extension so much of the drawer contents are inaccessible.

This can be good for boxes containing strictly picnic gear because on UHMW they can be pulled completely out easily and then slid back in when done with meals or whatever.

 

[ab1985]

I've had good luck with TCH. http://www.tchweb.com/tchstore/home.do

 

[racehorse]

I've had good luck with TCH. http://www.tchweb.com/tchstore/home.do

x2

 

[jh.]

I've had good luck with TCH. http://www.tchweb.com/tchstore/home.do

I'm looking for 48" and didn't see anything from them even in that length - OP is looking for 60".

 

[Bennettbf]

For those of us who don't know how to swing a welder, you might want to try oak rails and dados routed into the sides of the drawers:



Not a great shot, but you can see the rails in the sides of the drawer uprights:



The math gets a little weird trying to factor in "wiggle" room for all of this, but the end result is 46" drawer rails that were a hell of a lot cheaper than the roller types:


They will hang free, too.

 

[Brandon Libby]

Those look beautiful, you should sell them, bennettbf.

 

[Bennettbf]

The wooden solution

If you have a table saw with a dado blade or a router, you can make drawer slides the old fashioned way. The rails should be of stout, dense wood (I suppose plastic would work, too) and the drawer sides should be longer than the drawer is deep. The rails ride on the dadoes which are about a quarter of an inch deep in 1/2" plywood.



Making the drawer sides longer enables you to have access to 90% of the drawer when it is pulled out. Yes, there will be some waste at the back end, but if you're clever enough, you can put that space to some useful purpose, like hiding wookies or smuggling powdered ice into Canada.



These drawers are about 40" deep and hang out just fine on their own. They are lubricated with paraffin and aren't as easy to slide as their ball-bearing counterparts, but the slides also don't cost over $100 each.

B

 

[magentawave]

Bennettbf - Since your drawer sides are only 1/2" thick plywood with 1/4" deep dados (hence 1/2 as deep as the ply is thick), I was wondering how well they've been holding up? What kind of plywood did you use?

If you have a table saw with a dado blade or a router, you can make drawer slides the old fashioned way. The rails should be of stout, dense wood (I suppose plastic would work, too) and the drawer sides should be longer than the drawer is deep. The rails ride on the dadoes which are about a quarter of an inch deep in 1/2" plywood.

 

[Mo4130]

That is exactly what I was thinking about doing for drawers, because realistically I need something that can be easily removed, so I can use it for dump runs when I'm not cruising the back country. I am also a firm believer in keeping it simple.