Unistrut fridge drawer

[JMacs]

Like so many others, I haven't seen anything that I like in my price range. So it was time to make my own. Completely lacking in welding skills and having limited carpentry skills (certainly compared to so many on this forum), I had to turn to something else. Unistrut. If you can't weld, but still want to build something out of metal, this is your material. It has many pieces and parts ready to fit together that make the possibilities almost endless.

Project starts off with a piece bolted to the back wall of the bed. I have 2 pieces laying length wise for the track. The two track pieces are bolted to the back wall support to keep them in place.


Next is a piece of plywood with 2 half height pieces of Unistrut screwed to the bottom. Full height pieces would have provided more support, but they wouldn't clear the tailgate when I tried to slide the drawer out.


The interlocking lips of the track provide a pretty decent job of keeping the back end of the drawer from flipping up. But I wanted to make extra sure, so I added a pair of "trolley" wheels. These also help with sliding the drawer out.


There is a piece of all-thread at the front to keep the track pieces aligned. There is an extra bolt a little way back that provides a stop to keep the entire thing from sliding out onto my toes.

 

[JMacs]

Currently, I am relying on friction to keep the drawer from sliding back and forth. After a trip or two, I will find out if this is enough. Even if it does slide, it will only go about 3 inches back and forth between the front of the bed and the tailgate. If it gets to be too big of a pain pulling out, I did place the bolts and all-thread so I can come back and add a couple of roller bearings.

It seems to handle the weight with no problem. I sat my 190 lbs on the end with no issues. It does rest on the tailgate at full extension. I made the platform extra long so at some point I can add a box of kitchen stuff. But that is the next project.

 

[Stumpalump]

Brilliant. Can you describe those wheels?

 

[Ryanmb21]

That's sweet! Would love to see more pictures and hear how it works!

 

[4x4junkie]

Memories of the Erector Set I had as a kid just came to mind.

Nice work indeed.

 

[JMacs]

Here is the website for the wheels.
http://www.unistrut.us/index.php?WP=show&GRP=Trolley I used the P2749s.

Legos and erector sets for adults. I have been dying to figure out a way to use the trolleys. The other idea I have is to hang some unistrut from the roof and putt a trolley system there. Thought that would be a good place to put things you don't want getting crushed. Or maybe for wet towels.

Ryanmb21, It works pretty easily. Grab the front handle, lift a little bit to take some weight off and reducing the friction. And pull. I can get it out pretty easily. My 9 year old can't. The trolley wheels help keep everything aligned and help slide the platform along. Since the top lip curves back around, it keeps the wheels in the track. Normally, you hang this stuff from the ceiling and use it that way.

I will try and snap some more pictures tonight.

 

[JMacs]

Going with the KISS theme of design, the grab handle is just a cut out.


Here is another picture looking straight down the strut pieces so you can see how the fit together.


At partial extension, the track is still supporting the load. At full extension, it starts to rest on the tailgate.


And here is the help telling me it is too damn humid to be working out there.

 

[Prd_Cdn]

That is a wicked design! Great work - love Strut

 

[krick3tt]

Thanks for the link, I had lost it over time. I used those trolley wheels to make a sliding door system in a house I rebuilt. Much better than a standard pocket door system.

 

[lqdchkn]

simply brilliant

 

[Hillbilly Heaven]

Could you not use more trolleys and eliminate the strut on the bottom of the plywood or are the trolleys to short in height? Would be less friction. Would still some type of stop and lock.

 

[JMacs]

The strut on the bottom of the plywood is doing two things, providing structural support for the plywood and acting as a guide to keep every thing aligned. Height wise, the trolleys lift the plywood about 1/16 - 1/8" above the bottom strut. Just enough to keep the plywood from rubbing. It is the strut on strut that is providing the friction.

I was really trying to keep the entire assembly as short as possible. The bottom struts are in the truck bed grooves.

I was struggling coming up with a simple brake / lock system. Friction between the struts is about as simple as it gets. We'll see how bad the friction gets when it is fully loaded up in about 2 weeks. I can add rollers to it. But the last thing I want to do is open the tailgate and have the fridge come rolling out at me because I didn't park on a level surface. :Wow1:

 

[lqdchkn]

... But the last thing I want to do is open the tailgate and have the fridge come rolling out at me because I didn't park on a level surface. :Wow1:

Add a spring latch to the underside front of the plywood that would pin through the front inside of the unistrut track. That would lock your fridge in place and keep it from rolling forward or backward when unintended.
.

.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EDKJ0T...TF8&colid=241DQCM14C2FX&coliid=I22UO7NLZZP1OL

 

[plh]

What is the height of the track "assembly" ? ie how much gap do I need for the lower unistrut, upper unistrut and roller... looks like about 1.5"?

 

[jmnielsen]

Awesome idea! I had no clue they made those trolley wheels for unistrut.