F150 Full Size Storage

[RWB_F150]

So first things first, new to this forum but long time lurker.

I was getting pretty tired of my tool box in the back of my truck. It was to cluttered and I could never easily access anything. I've always have had a tool box in ever truck that I owned, and knew it was time for something different.
My plan was to build some type of storage / sleeping platform.
I won't go into detail about my truck, I'll save that for another thread.

I have a 6.5 ft bed which will be perfect for my wife and the two dogs.
I told my wife my plan about the storage system and she jumped on board when I mention traveling and camping to much of my surprise.

So with out further ado time to gathered material.
I can't take full credit for this, I found an instructable post that was for a f150 that I mirrored with a few different changes. It didn't have the right count as far as materials went and I used some different things.

1 - sheet 3/4 plywood
2- sheet 1/4 plywood (this is used for bottom of the structure and for drawer bottoms)
1- 2x10x8 (used for middle of the box)
5 - 1x8x6 (used for drawers)
3- 1x10x8 (used for side of the box, 4ft section for back and for 4ft section for drawer faces)
2- 1x8x8 (used for side wings)
24 ft - total of 1x1 square tubing (my local metal shop sold me a 20 ft section of 1/16 tube, then went to Home Depot and bought a 4 foot section of 1x1 tube 1/16
50 - bearings that fit over a 5/16 bolt-( i scored mine from E-Bay $22 free shipping -I only used 48 of them, that may change)
24 - 1 1/2 - 5/16 bolts (used for your side bearings)
12 - 2 1/2 - 5/16 bolts (used for middle bearings)
36 - 5/16 lock nuts ( hope depot sells packs of 25)
75 - 5/16 washers (Home Depot sells packs of 25)
25 - 1 1/2 - 1/4 bolts (for holdings your metal to your drawers)
25 - 1/4 lock nuts
-paint
1 - small box 1 1/4" wood screws
1 - small box 2" wood screws
2 - door jam catches
8- hinges (Home Depot 2 or 3 dollars it was cheaper than paino hinges)
2- paddle latches (got from eBay for 12 dollars a piece 23 dollars total with shipping)
1- 4ft section of aluminum ( I tihink it was 1/16 thickness? This will go on top of the 3/4 plywood to protect the front edge)

**still undecided if I should paint dark grey or black, or truck bed liner**
Really don't know how I would feel crawling on top of the liner and if I went with a lighter color if it would keep down the heat. Any suggestions?
Also I'm trying to figure out how to add pictures to the post and not just an attachment I hate that.

 

[RWB_F150]

So I have a 6.5 ft bed. I wanted to leave a couple of inches open by the tail gate to put odds and ends is need be, so the main structure was measured to be 77inchs. I cut the bottom board and the 1x10s to the length.


Next take your other 1x10 and measure the length of the back of your structure and screw it in. Save the 4ft drop of this, because this will be used for your drawer faces.


I don't remember off the top of my head the bottom bearing measurements were, I think I went 2 inches up from the 1x10 took my t-square and drew a line across on both 1x10. It looked about right and it ended up working.


To get the dimensions for the drawers, I placed both of my 1x1 tubes against the sides of the box and measured a crossed. I wanted pretty tight tolerances, hate wobble so your going to want to take 1/4 inch off of your measurement. In theory this should give your 1/8 play on either side of the box. Experiment what works for you. Since we already have our 1x8x6, and we want our drawers to be 6 ft long,cut your length of your plywood to 6ft.
Take your other 1x8x6 and cut to fit the back of your drawer.


To get your holes I drilled threw a hole big enough for the bolt to fit threw, and on the opposite side I used an angle grinder to cut a square opening. These are rough and have not been filed down yet, I used a Drexel tool for that.
Now take your scrap piece of plywood place in on the bottom of your frame inside of the structure, and place your drawer on top of that. Place your 1x1 tube on top pressure to the side and this will give you your height that your tube needs to be bolted into place. Mimic to the other side. I used 6 bolts per side, on the 6 ft sections. 4 bolts for the 4 ft section and 3 bolts for the 3 ft section. Hope this is making since, if not I can take a picture


Here you can see the spacing for the ball bearings I used.


So this is where some of my frustration came, and time taken. I didn't know the height of the top bearing so I kinda guessed and tried to measure. I ended up having to redrill and widen some holes, but it turned out ok. The holes are about 2inches apart, you want about 2/16ish of an inch between the top 1x1 tube to provide support for when your drawer is fully extended. This is trail and error.


Here she is as of today. I stopped because I was getting tired and didn't want to cut the top because it was the most expensive piece of wood.
Hopefully I will finish up later this week.

 

[dsm02c]

Very cool, love the bearing design, always jealous of what a bed in a full size can hold!

 

[RWB_F150]

Thank you dsm!

So a little update, got the front of the drawers on, and the paddle latches.
Take the left over 4ft x10 section of your 8x10x8 and measure the length of the interior of the box. Cut to fit, you will have to do some trimming up top to get it to fit right.
The paddle latches were trial and error. I found the center of the front of the drawer, measure the back side of the latches and made a template to put of the board face. I kinda winged it and it turned out good

More to come!

 

[ismael D]

Nice work

 

[RWB_F150]

Put the metal in the paint booth today

 

[SDDiver5]

Very nice! It's great seeing another F150 on here!

 

[Mtn Mike]

Nice. I'd like to do something very similar. Do you know how much it all weighs?

 

[RWB_F150]

I would guess close to 200 plus or minus, with drawers no tools.
But I figure that it is lighter than metal, and really it's just like carrying around an adult in the back of the bed, so I am not really worried.
I can move the whole thing, without drawers install on to my rolling work bench by myself out of the back of my truck bed
I have a few more pictures to upload, I have now finished everything, and will paint the box tomorrow.

I've spent a little more than I wanted on this project.
I'm guessing around 250-300 US.
But it's the price of a tool box, so all and all I am happy.

 

[RWB_F150]

He is the box into the truck with the wings.
I have added 4 hinges on each side. The plan is to cut the board in half, in the middle, so that you can open just the front, or open the back.

I don't know why the last picture is an attachments but you can see where I have cut the "wings" so the board sits flush against the bed sides.

I put anchor points in the back, they didn't really do a good job of keeping the box in place, so I'm going to see how good of a job the wings do at keeping the box in place and go from there.
On the schedule for tomorrow is paint, the putting everything back together

 

[RWB_F150]

By the way, the whole project was done with a circular saw, drill and jig saw just to get those nice cuts to get the wings flush.
To "rip" the boards, I took my measurements, used a straight edge and took my time to keep it straight.

This was my first big wood working peoject.
If I can do it, anyone can do it.

 

[RWB_F150]

My buddy came over today and help me with the finishing touches.
We sanded the whole thing down and started the paint.

Got as far as 2 coast on the top and 2 coats on the wings.
I am going to paint the drawers tomorrow, once I get home.

The plan is to have this thing together by Saturday.
I have a leaky camper shell, so it is not going to go in just yet. Maybe by next week.
Oh, and in case your wondering the color is forest black from Home Depot. I wanted a dark grey, but black enough to match the line-x. Think I nailed it, looks good so far

Sorry but for the life of me, I can not figure out why it's turning the picture sideways.

 

[GregSplett]

You camper shell leak up front between the bed and shell?

 

[RWB_F150]

Yes it does, I bought it used so I guess the gasket is worn out.
I'm going to take a look at it and try and replace it. The cap shop up the road said the would do the whole thing for 50 bucks

 

[RWB_F150]

Here is the paddle latch, these just slip in the hole and sit flush. So to prevent it from pulling out I drilled 2 holes and put 2 bolts thru.

Tracks are installed, I eye balled a can of spray paint on the shelf to match the drawers.



Finish product, and to think it only took me a month! Would of been done a lot sooner if it wasn't for school. I added some d-ring tie downs for storage options.
Oh and I used 1 quart of paint for the box, and I just barely scraped by with it, literally.



Sorry for the mess, everything from my tool box has been thrown in the corner for the last month of the build. I am going to pick up some mats to put in the bottom of the drawes and build some type of dividers next week.
All and all super satisfied how it turned out. I ended up buying one of 2 more things that weren't listed to suite my needs, but everything to get you started is on the first page. Cheers!