I really like your practical approach to this. Much lower cost and not over built like some other options, and you also admit where you could have made some enhancements. Love your idea of using a clamp when ripping plywood!
Thanks man. When you've got limited time to build something and the truck needs to get back to work, might as well keep it simple. I use this system every day all day long and it's still going strong.
Great job! I lifted my drawer bottoms 1/4” via a dado cut in the sides, this created runners on each side and significantly reduced the drag and friction, a little wax on the runners and I can pull my drawers quite easily.
Great work fella. A good storage set up is a total game changer for efficiency when you work out of your vehicle. Same set up as I have in my own van. My city (Wellington New Zealand) is very hilly so without sliders my drawers can get too heavy if I'm parked facing downhill. I've been caught a few times too when parallel parked in a line of cars with not enough room to pull my long drawers right out. So, I'm careful to have the 'seldom used' items at the back of the drawers. There's no perfect set up, it's all about what works best for the user. Thanks for posting.
Absolutely, mate. That sounds like a great way to store gear in a van -- plus ya have more room! I'm a steady consumer of videos about New Zealand ... cool place!
Love it man. I NEED to adapt it to my work van. It drives me up the wall dealing with PILES of tools and boxes. And I haul a lot for the company I work for. Nothing like reorganizing everything in the back EVERY TIME I have to haul materials
I’ve been referring to this video quite a few times while brainstorming my truck drawers and it’s been a great resource so I wanted to throw you a few bucks as a thank you. Then, I saw the link to the plans and they were $2!! Crazy good value. Hope it all adds up in your bank account. I’m building them tomorrow.😉
Good luck with that build, man! I figure it's better to sell the plans for cheap and get the idea out there than to overprice them. You're gonna love all that organization and storage. If I were to build them again I'd probably use a beefier bottom on those drawers. Mine seem to be wearing after a couple of years. Thanks man
@@metaspencer I did a little more than half the work today but had to stop due to good ol’ Minnesota snow! :) I added plywood to the bottom of the drawers so that should help. Thanks for the tip.
i built something like this for my 04 2500 ram about 7 years ago. i used 1/2 ply on the sides and 33/4 on the bottom. the frame was constructed of#2 1x3 kreg jiged together=lighter. the bottom of the drawer i spaced up so only the sides ride on the frame i put paraffin wax on the bottom of the edges to help with sliding. i also moved the rear most vertical panel inboard so i could use some leftover closet dowel for handles from sided to side with small storage below the handles for tape measures pens pencils ect. i did less cross sectioning than you did just a support avross the top in the center out of 1x3 to keep the tops of the drawer from flexing.
Sounds like you did a good job. That paraffin wax is a great way to go as mine have definitely had some friction issues and been tough to open and close when fully weighted down. With my 8' drawers they can get really heavy ... too heavy. It's cool to hear that others have done similar things! Thanks for checking it out, man
Get UHMW strips to run down the bottom of the drawers on the left and right side. I have them on my truck bed tool box and they work awesome. Even up here in Canada at -40C outside.
Oh man, that is a great idea ... what happened is that the rod is now way down at the end and hard to reach. So I'll have to fish it out! Nice to know it's up there, tho :)
For wood on wood use floor paste wax. Will last about a year and the more it soaks in the better it works. I also use it for sliding big beams by myself.
Remove the felt pads right away, and rub down the mdf hard board with bar soap. The soap will be an excellent addition to make the drawers side with ease. it's what I use when ever I am doing wood on wood contact. Nice work and truck setup.
I have mod boxes so a simple rollout bed would work great and I can stack and roll my kit right to the worksite. I must say though that a second platform would be amazing for adding square footage to my truck bed storage. Hmm....
on the topic of multiple batteries for tools, I realize this is 4 years or more old, but I have adapters for each brand of power tool I have that allow me to swap batteries as needed. my dealt tools can use Milwaukee and ridgid batteries, Milwaukee can use rigid and dealt, and rigid can use dealt and Milwaukee batteries... and each adapter was no more than 12-15 bucks per, so I have 6 of them , so any combination of battery and tool is possible. Just in case you didnt know, now you do :) also, thanks for this video, because obviously im building one now and wanted ideas to add to mine. ill post mine as well....
Woah, there are adapters out now! That's a game changer man ... thanks for the tip. I'm gonna have to look for them because this battery swapping is getting out of hand
You can buy converters on amazon that allow you to use different battery platforms with different tools. You could get the ones you need for the chargers you want to use to charge the batteries for the other tool manufacturers.
You could put very low profile casters toward the front on the bottom/ base surface facing up and toward the back on the bottom of the drawers facing down. Four casters each would do it and support the drawers in and out.
Just found this video thank you so much for doing it. I was playing around with the idea of bearings versus wheels. Then you used the old conveyor tracks which we also have quite a few just sitting in the barn and I can’t believe I didn’t think of it so thanks for the idea.
Just built some my drawers slide plywood in plywood construction exterior grade.i rubbed it down with snowboard wax and it slides real nicely.got big handles from glass shower door. 72”long 16” wide
Great video. I have had the same drawer system for tools. Mine has 3 drawers same height. I built mine in 2001 and has been in a few trucks over the years and has now become part of my camper van conversion. Drawers are hard to pull out I agree. When I built mine I mortised the bottom of the drawer sides so the drawers only contacted 3/4 inch each side of the bottom..that helps some. Wax helps also. I have Osb tops that slide in and out with the drawers, adjustable/ removable. Makes a nice worktop and some protection from weather and theft when working inside with your drawers open. Again great video.
Oh, I love the cover/worktop idea! I'm really liking the drawers: I use them daily and don't know how I'd stay organized without them. Thanks for the comment! I'm envious of your van ... I totally want one
Love this idea. Would be a great storage idea for the prison bus (or any - i've noted it for under bed storage in my upcoming bus conversion). A question though: How much weight does that plywood frame add to the vehicle? Especially with those heavy tools on board. Here in the UK it's a problem we'd need to address to avoid a ticket. And if I can make a suggestion? The power cable from the inverter would look neater if it was ran over the ceiling shovel rack out of the way rather than along the side of the truck. This would also allow more stuff to be hung on the side without the power cable getting in the way?
I have to admit that the power cord is super messy the way it is: I need to tidy that up! I'll try your ceiling idea tomorrow and see how it goes. If it's not right, I'll tuck it away under the bed rail. Now, as for weight it is certainly a consideration. My truck is rated to carry about 2,500 lbs, and the drawers themselves are around 200 lbs. The tools add quite a bit, though: I'm thinking the weight added back there is around 800-1,000 lbs. Next time I'm at the steel yard I'll have to weigh in and see where it's at. One thing I should probably do before that is pull out some less-used and heavy tools. I'm sure I can find a few. Take care!
Omg wish I could build that. Need something for fishing gear. I'm disabled and can't just jump in to get stuff so that would be so nice. I've seen so many built and wish I could get help to make yours part of my truck. Good job sir. God bless
5:15 I use the spray teflon that dries for wood on wood. Works awesome on old drawers and very old wooden windows. It's really a godsend. I thought I'd mention it so when/if your felt fails you have a fall back plan. Good on you for reusing the angle iron bed frames. I get a lot of those here and have built all kinds of things out of them. With the tool batteries it's too bad more of the companies don't make their chargers have a 12vdc "travel" option. I just bought such a charger for a video camera. There's so much heat loss & electrical waste converting 12vdc to 120vac then back to the battery voltage. Having two pulls on the drawers would help immensely, so would the teflon stuff I mentioned above. You could also pull those metal ones off and attach another board from the face and cut some pull out holes cut at angle with a jigsaw and use those instead of needing new hardware. I know what it's like to try to keep all that stuff organized. I've kept rental property running smoothly for decades and I too have needed all that stuff. But now I feel like it's overwhelming me with all of my health issues. There is just so much stuff. I wish you were closer. I like your sensibilities and I'd hire you.
Oh how I'd love to help out with rental properties -- I'm looking for someone like that here in town, as rental properties need constant care. :) How have I lived this long and not heard of that teflon spray? I'll look for it at the hardware store as it's just what I need in this instance and several others ... sliding smoothly is what it's all about. Hang in man! I'm sorry to hear about the health stuff.
@@metaspencer Like most every one else you've probably just used the teflon spray for metal on metal. I experimented and tried it on the wooden applications just to see if it was better than the wax I was using. Definitely was. Just make sure it is the type that dries out. I buy whatever is cheap or on sale. Yeah property care is really never ending. Mentally I like to do it but my joints don't. That's a big part of why I bought an electric lawnmower and snowblower -- no pull start to wrestle with.
It's scary how alike you and I are. I constantly change the back of my truck but I do need to build a truck bed box system. I use to work for a large homebuilder and all the material I would need were right in the dumpsters but now that I have to buy it, this has slowed me down considerably. Thanks for the video's and I will keep watching.
Having to buy stuff will definitely put the brakes on things! It's funny that you should mention constant change because I was just thinking yesterday "I should change my drawer system to add boxes for chainsaws up on the slider." So yeah, a constant work in progress. Thanks for checking it out!
When you purchase a electrically charged battery powered, enabled tool, is the cash register being utilized for the transaction battery powered of plugged directly in to a more reliable electrical outlet? That should be a clue to the sucker charging game.
Thanks for sharing, looking for ideas for similar to my pickup here in UK. Think this system will work pretty good on my Mitsibushi L200 it's considerably shorter than the monster you have. Thanks for sharing 👍🏻
Nice build. Very similar to mine for the drawers-we did not do a sider- and we have had some drawer problems and am looking at solutions here. Also looking at using screw on skids for boat trailers. I used teflon tape that worked great but it eventually came off [our drawers are several years old]. Tried PVC trim. Nope. Have to check on some of the other ideas.
Yeah, the cost of the commercial options is just way, way too high ... a good hybrid that I thought about was to buy bins and build a system around them. Good luck with it!
I built some similar (but shorter) drawers for a station wagon a while back. I didn't want any steel rails in case I get rear ended. More of a problem in a wagon than your truck. I used teflon strips made from kitchen cutting boards instead of felt for sliders. BTW, could you mount the tube below the roof rack, between the rack and the roof. This will free up the room on top of the rack. Cheers from Australia.
I had a station wagon for years and never thought of drawers ... sounds like a great idea! You're right about that tube of mine: it's eating up the space up top and I don't even store much in it these days. I may move it to the trailer ... good hearing from you!
Hey, Spencer here with a few notes. First, PLANS for the storage system are now at metaspencer.etsy.com ... And I should say that after a few months of use I've already made a few changes to this drawer system: the top slider is now on roller ball transfer bearings (amzn.to/2PE7vN9) ... the other thing to note is that the felt pads came off before too long and there is now some wear due to the hardboard-on-hardboard connections. So I may end up going with drawer sliders for the drawers at some point in the future.
@@y0uCantHandle fortunately it's dry in there ... but that hardboard does seem to be wearing from daily use ... so it may not be the best in the long run
Excellent job for your first set. I’ve built a couple sets now and find that I don’t need the pads under the drawers. I just applied some wax and run them wood to wood. I like your slider top. Handy!
Great DIY build! What about on your drawers instead of using hardwood sheets you used plastic sheets? Remember the old-school plastic bed liners that didn't work too well because they allowed everything to slide all over the place? Maybe plastic on plastic would slide pretty well. Or instead of that just add more felt pads. I've noticed some felt pads are smoother than others, and I've found strips of carpet that slide better than felt. Or a combination of those materials.
Great video , thanks for sharing your Ideas. Something I saw that got my interest were the bars up in topper ceiling. Could you explain those and how they mount?
Good eye. Yeah, I love those bars and have a few different kinds. They're called cargo load bars and here's an example of a ratcheting one: amzn.to/2Wdqzpk ... I tend to use the ones that twist tight
my travel / cargo boxes for my guitar equiptment have some really beefy handles on them, and i made the boxes myself, i don't remember who exactly i got them from , but i ordered them on amazon,, and it came in a pack of 10 handles for less than $ 20.00 ,,this is an awesome idea,, my friend was just lookin at some $1,500.00 drawers for the back of his truck, but you could probably buy a used car you could just tow behind for storage for that money, lol,, but i think i'll just show him this video insted,, & i do auto body so we can make them pretty
I like the whole project, but a thought, based on my own unpleasant experience: In an accident, all the tools in back will become deadly projectiles and will crash through the windows and join you up front. A metal lath grill or something could be bolted on over the window to keep stuff out of the cab.
Ahhh, great idea. I think those are called headache racks and would be easy to fabricate and install. I'm putting it on my list ... thanks for the tip!
Love the set up. I’m on my third build of drawers, I’ve built them on different trucks. Similar set up but I don’t have a shell so the slide isn’t needed for me. But great idea
Having drawers in the back makes a huge difference when not having to move stuff around. It's a real time saver when accessing tools. But I agree. They get heavy after a while & you will wish for bearing sliders.
Get chest drawer pulls! They work great. You can get them at a Home Depot for a few bucks. They drop flat when not in use, and when you go to lift them they stop at 90 degrees so your fingers don’t get pinched. Works awesome for my drawers.
I really enjoyed this video and your inverter install. I'm planning on using your ideas on a work van I'm setting up. Did you make a video about the dual battery setup on truck? I have plenty of room I think but I'd like to know about the isolator and how you wired it up
@@metaspencer It's a great city. It's made a drastic resurgence since the collapse of the steel industry to become like a mini silicon valley of the east with healthcare, robotics, biotech material science, and education as leading industries. It's big enough to have culture and arts and a good economy, but people here are quite nice... it's got a midwestern feel. Nothing beats the nighttime skyline when you emerge from the Fort Pitt Tunnel right next to the point downtown. It's been home for about 25 years. We'll have a place to park here on family property when we finish our skoolie and go nomad... when my last kid gets out of school. Pittsburgh will always be home for us. There is a laundry list of things I don't like about Pennsylvania, like idiotic bureaucracy in the government, needlessly complicating everyday life, and pretty high property taxes, but for an eastern city one could do a lot worse.
I know I'm behind but went looking..aha..my style with hardboard. I have Avalanche super sticky liner. Great design,thanks. Have you updated or changed along line of sealing the hardboard and giving a heavy coat of paraffin. Should slide?I'm considering the white HDPE plastic like Australian company drifta uses,super slippery. Want to avoid rollers.Thanks again.
Hey man, thank for checking it out. I'm still running with these boxes just like they were when built. The hardboard has taken some wear and will fail at some point, but no big problems yet. Sure the drawers are a bit hard to pull out when fully loaded, but that doesn't bother me much. I added bearings to the top slider which is a big improvement.
Great set- up, but your top slider should have some kind of safety lock so it doesn't slide out when you don't want it to..,, also can you fit 4x8 sheets?? I built something similar with those roller balls on both sides of the drawers instead of that material you used. I framed it just with 1x6s. The drawers slid on the 1x6s with the roller balls mounted to them. The top slider , same thing it slid on the roller balls.. Unfortunately the truck could not handle any weight ( nissan frontier, sold it) Yeah commercial versions are insane money. On my current truck, I went to low rise side tool boxes, and a ladder rack system, and a slider . Just a sheet of plywood that rolls on steel wheels. I mounted the wheels on that waterproof plastic decking. Nothing is screwed to the bed , the side tool boxes are mounted to the brace on the ladder rack system, and the ladder rack has heavy duty clamps that mount to rail, no screws or holes either 👍. I am just going to paint the plywood with couple coats of this really good exterior paint I have left over. Sherwin Williams duration..
Good eye: I added a safety lock on the slider about two days after making this video. It's just a locking pin but keeps it in place. Your setup sounds good. I'm going for side tool boxes on my "new" truck and thinking they'll offer good access. Thanks for the comment! :)
Ooooo, outfitting the suburban will be fun. Did I mention that my sister has a matching 1990 Suburban (matching my Silverado, that is)? It's a great beast ... love those things!
Love your build, thanks for the video. Just curious how it's working? Are you still without guides? I am getting ready to build a set like this, I have some rollers for the slide out, but the drawers I didn't really want to do guides.
Thanks for checking it out! It worked well for years but I got rid of it to move cross country in the truck. The weakness was the tag board. I’d just use plywood as a base no rollers
I’m not sure where your getting your Milwaukee and rigid stuff but I have both platforms in both 12V & 18V and I have sets that are both comparable in age from about 3 months old on each set to over 5 years old on each set and they do NOT interchange between those two brands. I’ve tried over and over and they just are not the same at all and will not even slide together. It sure would be nice if they would but at least the 10 sets I have do not interchange.
this is by far the most practical of truck drawer builds ive seen so far...and you use yours ,,thanks
Thanks! yeah, it's a great and practical system
Dude that is so awesome. I can only pray somebody doesn't break into your truck And steal all your stuff. Thank you
Thanks for checking it out! So far so good on the truck ... high security around here
Necessity is the mother of invention, I think they came out great! There is nothing like being organized!
Thanks! Yeah use them every day to fight the chaos
I really like your practical approach to this. Much lower cost and not over built like some other options, and you also admit where you could have made some enhancements. Love your idea of using a clamp when ripping plywood!
Thanks man. When you've got limited time to build something and the truck needs to get back to work, might as well keep it simple. I use this system every day all day long and it's still going strong.
The best most honest video I’ve seen on bed boxes.
Thanks! Good to hear
Great job! I lifted my drawer bottoms 1/4” via a dado cut in the sides, this created runners on each side and significantly reduced the drag and friction, a little wax on the runners and I can pull my drawers quite easily.
excellent! sounds like a great way to do it ... those drawers can get heavy!
Great idea. Cool video. Rig up and spring load the draws so they are not heavy to pull.
Yep, good idea. With a bit of engineering it could be as easy as pie to work those drawers. But man: I use this system every day and it's great
Great work fella. A good storage set up is a total game changer for efficiency when you work out of your vehicle. Same set up as I have in my own van. My city (Wellington New Zealand) is very hilly so without sliders my drawers can get too heavy if I'm parked facing downhill. I've been caught a few times too when parallel parked in a line of cars with not enough room to pull my long drawers right out. So, I'm careful to have the 'seldom used' items at the back of the drawers. There's no perfect set up, it's all about what works best for the user. Thanks for posting.
Absolutely, mate. That sounds like a great way to store gear in a van -- plus ya have more room! I'm a steady consumer of videos about New Zealand ... cool place!
I have plywood on plywood drawers, heavy too and i just rubbed a wax candle all over the bottom of drawers. It works really nice.
Happy gliding !
Great idea. Mine definitely need wax!
Another alternative is hdpe strips
I've got that same CNC router except sometimes after a long week the hard drive crashes 😵💫
(got me chuckling on that one!)
Love it man. I NEED to adapt it to my work van. It drives me up the wall dealing with PILES of tools and boxes. And I haul a lot for the company I work for. Nothing like reorganizing everything in the back EVERY TIME I have to haul materials
It’ll be great in the van. Very cool
You have got the dream garage. Love the setup you have in the back of your truck. Great job. Love watching your videos. Thank you.
Thanks! Yeah, I’m pretty happy about it
I’ve been referring to this video quite a few times while brainstorming my truck drawers and it’s been a great resource so I wanted to throw you a few bucks as a thank you. Then, I saw the link to the plans and they were $2!! Crazy good value. Hope it all adds up in your bank account. I’m building them tomorrow.😉
Good luck with that build, man! I figure it's better to sell the plans for cheap and get the idea out there than to overprice them. You're gonna love all that organization and storage. If I were to build them again I'd probably use a beefier bottom on those drawers. Mine seem to be wearing after a couple of years. Thanks man
@@metaspencer I did a little more than half the work today but had to stop due to good ol’ Minnesota snow! :) I added plywood to the bottom of the drawers so that should help. Thanks for the tip.
Excellent
i built something like this for my 04 2500 ram about 7 years ago. i used 1/2 ply on the sides and 33/4 on the bottom. the frame was constructed of#2 1x3 kreg jiged together=lighter. the bottom of the drawer i spaced up so only the sides ride on the frame i put paraffin wax on the bottom of the edges to help with sliding. i also moved the rear most vertical panel inboard so i could use some leftover closet dowel for handles from sided to side with small storage below the handles for tape measures pens pencils ect. i did less cross sectioning than you did just a support avross the top in the center out of 1x3 to keep the tops of the drawer from flexing.
Sounds like you did a good job. That paraffin wax is a great way to go as mine have definitely had some friction issues and been tough to open and close when fully weighted down. With my 8' drawers they can get really heavy ... too heavy. It's cool to hear that others have done similar things! Thanks for checking it out, man
WOW what a build such a great idea. Nice job.....
Use these drawers every day ... super handy :)
great use of clamp when ripping plywood. cant believe that i never thought of that.
Oh yeah, holds it so so well :)
Get UHMW strips to run down the bottom of the drawers on the left and right side. I have them on my truck bed tool box and they work awesome. Even up here in Canada at -40C outside.
Thanks for the tip! Never heard of them
Huge thanks for using my track "Ocean" for this cool video, really appreciated! 👌🙂
Dude, huge thanks to you to making it ... love the vibe!
@@metaspencer with pleasure, glad it could help some content creators, thank you for your support! 😊
Great job. Simple & effective. I love how you try a concept, then not be afraid to change it as you see how it works.
@@mullierattie2538 Thanks! what a nice thing to say :)
Just for a heads up i would put the fishing rod in backwards so when you hit the brakes the rod tip doesn’t break.
Oh man, that is a great idea ... what happened is that the rod is now way down at the end and hard to reach. So I'll have to fish it out! Nice to know it's up there, tho :)
For wood on wood use floor paste wax. Will last about a year and the more it soaks in the better it works. I also use it for sliding big beams by myself.
I’ll look for some. Thanks for the tip!
Great video bro! You kept it cheap, simple, and it's very crafty! I'm gonna more or less copy you. Thanks!!
Thanks man! You’re gonna love the setup
Remove the felt pads right away, and rub down the mdf hard board with bar soap. The soap will be an excellent addition to make the drawers side with ease. it's what I use when ever I am doing wood on wood contact. Nice work and truck setup.
Cool tip. Yeah the felt didn’t last long
I have mod boxes so a simple rollout bed would work great and I can stack and roll my kit right to the worksite. I must say though that a second platform would be amazing for adding square footage to my truck bed storage. Hmm....
yeah, always nice to have that added space
on the topic of multiple batteries for tools, I realize this is 4 years or more old, but I have adapters for each brand of power tool I have that allow me to swap batteries as needed. my dealt tools can use Milwaukee and ridgid batteries, Milwaukee can use rigid and dealt, and rigid can use dealt and Milwaukee batteries... and each adapter was no more than 12-15 bucks per, so I have 6 of them , so any combination of battery and tool is possible. Just in case you didnt know, now you do :) also, thanks for this video, because obviously im building one now and wanted ideas to add to mine. ill post mine as well....
Woah, there are adapters out now! That's a game changer man ... thanks for the tip. I'm gonna have to look for them because this battery swapping is getting out of hand
Nicely thought out and executed.
Thanks. Yeah they’re great
Thanks for keeping it simple.
That's the way I roll ... no need to overcomplicate things that work well
You can buy converters on amazon that allow you to use different battery platforms with different tools. You could get the ones you need for the chargers you want to use to charge the batteries for the other tool manufacturers.
Oh that sounds good! Thanks for the tip!
Nice quick build. Nice shop. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for checking it out! Still use this setup daily
You could put very low profile casters toward the front on the bottom/ base surface facing up and toward the back on the bottom of the drawers facing down. Four casters each would do it and support the drawers in and out.
Casters are a good idea ... I might just go there, if the drawer continues to annoy :) thanks!
I was above to spend a lot of money. Thanks bro. You sae my day
Excellent! Yeah, those slider systems can be expensive ... might as well build your own
Just found this video thank you so much for doing it. I was playing around with the idea of bearings versus wheels. Then you used the old conveyor tracks which we also have quite a few just sitting in the barn and I can’t believe I didn’t think of it so thanks for the idea.
Good to hear! Drawers make the back of the truck so, so much better. :)
Just built some my drawers slide plywood in plywood construction exterior grade.i rubbed it down with snowboard wax and it slides real nicely.got big handles from glass shower door.
72”long 16” wide
Snowboard wax! Great idea. Sounds like a great setup!
Thanks for the video. I like yours better than the others. Simpler to make, and in my opinion better.
Thanks, man. Yeah, I had to build them in a day just to get the truck back into action. :)
Always fun . . . . . plus good ideas I can steal . . . lol . . . shop looks plenty good, lotsa wonderful space. Love the HF line lights. . . . . . lookin' good!! . . . . Rog
Thanks for checking it out :)
Great video. I have had the same drawer system for tools. Mine has 3 drawers same height. I built mine in 2001 and has been in a few trucks over the years and has now become part of my camper van conversion. Drawers are hard to pull out I agree. When I built mine I mortised the bottom of the drawer sides so the drawers only contacted 3/4 inch each side of the bottom..that helps some. Wax helps also. I have Osb tops that slide in and out with the drawers, adjustable/ removable. Makes a nice worktop and some protection from weather and theft when working inside with your drawers open. Again great video.
Oh, I love the cover/worktop idea! I'm really liking the drawers: I use them daily and don't know how I'd stay organized without them. Thanks for the comment! I'm envious of your van ... I totally want one
Well thought out system. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for watching!
Silicone spray works great for wood on wood drawers
Thanks for the tip!
Love this idea. Would be a great storage idea for the prison bus (or any - i've noted it for under bed storage in my upcoming bus conversion). A question though: How much weight does that plywood frame add to the vehicle? Especially with those heavy tools on board. Here in the UK it's a problem we'd need to address to avoid a ticket.
And if I can make a suggestion? The power cable from the inverter would look neater if it was ran over the ceiling shovel rack out of the way rather than along the side of the truck. This would also allow more stuff to be hung on the side without the power cable getting in the way?
I have to admit that the power cord is super messy the way it is: I need to tidy that up! I'll try your ceiling idea tomorrow and see how it goes. If it's not right, I'll tuck it away under the bed rail. Now, as for weight it is certainly a consideration. My truck is rated to carry about 2,500 lbs, and the drawers themselves are around 200 lbs. The tools add quite a bit, though: I'm thinking the weight added back there is around 800-1,000 lbs. Next time I'm at the steel yard I'll have to weigh in and see where it's at. One thing I should probably do before that is pull out some less-used and heavy tools. I'm sure I can find a few. Take care!
Awesome video, I've been wanting install a slide out kitchen. Your design gives me new ideas without spending 1,000s of dollars.
Yeah, do it cheap and you'll love it! That slide out kitchen will be great
Omg wish I could build that. Need something for fishing gear. I'm disabled and can't just jump in to get stuff so that would be so nice. I've seen so many built and wish I could get help to make yours part of my truck. Good job sir. God bless
Good hearing from ya, man
@@metaspencer thanks you too.
I use battery adapters for my craftsman and ryobi to run off my dewalt batteries. Works great.
Woah adapters! I haven't seen those ... what a great idea ... I'll have to look for them ... thanks
5:15 I use the spray teflon that dries for wood on wood. Works awesome on old drawers and very old wooden windows. It's really a godsend. I thought I'd mention it so when/if your felt fails you have a fall back plan.
Good on you for reusing the angle iron bed frames. I get a lot of those here and have built all kinds of things out of them. With the tool batteries it's too bad more of the companies don't make their chargers have a 12vdc "travel" option. I just bought such a charger for a video camera. There's so much heat loss & electrical waste converting 12vdc to 120vac then back to the battery voltage.
Having two pulls on the drawers would help immensely, so would the teflon stuff I mentioned above. You could also pull those metal ones off and attach another board from the face and cut some pull out holes cut at angle with a jigsaw and use those instead of needing new hardware.
I know what it's like to try to keep all that stuff organized. I've kept rental property running smoothly for decades and I too have needed all that stuff. But now I feel like it's overwhelming me with all of my health issues. There is just so much stuff. I wish you were closer. I like your sensibilities and I'd hire you.
Oh how I'd love to help out with rental properties -- I'm looking for someone like that here in town, as rental properties need constant care. :) How have I lived this long and not heard of that teflon spray? I'll look for it at the hardware store as it's just what I need in this instance and several others ... sliding smoothly is what it's all about. Hang in man! I'm sorry to hear about the health stuff.
@@metaspencer Like most every one else you've probably just used the teflon spray for metal on metal. I experimented and tried it on the wooden applications just to see if it was better than the wax I was using. Definitely was. Just make sure it is the type that dries out. I buy whatever is cheap or on sale.
Yeah property care is really never ending. Mentally I like to do it but my joints don't. That's a big part of why I bought an electric lawnmower and snowblower -- no pull start to wrestle with.
Never knew they had teflon wax, thanks for the info
Thanks for making and sharing this video. Great job with the build and with your explanation/walk through
Oh great! It’s been terrific to use
recessed rollers might be the trick. look good.
I've seen some that might be the ones you're thinking of! I think you're right
It's scary how alike you and I are. I constantly change the back of my truck but I do need to build a truck bed box system. I use to work for a large homebuilder and all the material I would need were right in the dumpsters but now that I have to buy it, this has slowed me down considerably. Thanks for the video's and I will keep watching.
Having to buy stuff will definitely put the brakes on things! It's funny that you should mention constant change because I was just thinking yesterday "I should change my drawer system to add boxes for chainsaws up on the slider." So yeah, a constant work in progress. Thanks for checking it out!
When you purchase a electrically charged battery powered, enabled tool, is the cash register being utilized for the transaction battery powered of plugged directly in to a more reliable electrical outlet?
That should be a clue to the sucker charging game.
This is a good idea for the van life.
agreed ... good storage is what it's all about
Thanks for sharing, looking for ideas for similar to my pickup here in UK. Think this system will work pretty good on my Mitsibushi L200 it's considerably shorter than the monster you have. Thanks for sharing
👍🏻
Those Mitsubishi trucks are nice -- it'll work out great!
Nice build. Very similar to mine for the drawers-we did not do a sider- and we have had some drawer problems and am looking at solutions here. Also looking at using screw on skids for boat trailers. I used teflon tape that worked great but it eventually came off [our drawers are several years old]. Tried PVC trim. Nope. Have to check on some of the other ideas.
Mine are wearing a bit under heavy use and I added bearings under the top deck
Dude, I think your build looks pretty badass
Thanks man!
Great job ....simple...that’s exactly what I need for my ram 1500.. needed some inspiration thanks !! Greetings from Europe :-)
You're gonna love the extra organization and storage ... enjoy it!
That is a great job! I have been looking at the commercial version for my work truck. But cost was ridiculous.
Yeah, the cost of the commercial options is just way, way too high ... a good hybrid that I thought about was to buy bins and build a system around them. Good luck with it!
I built some similar (but shorter) drawers for a station wagon a while back. I didn't want any steel rails in case I get rear ended. More of a problem in a wagon than your truck. I used teflon strips made from kitchen cutting boards instead of felt for sliders.
BTW, could you mount the tube below the roof rack, between the rack and the roof. This will free up the room on top of the rack.
Cheers from Australia.
I had a station wagon for years and never thought of drawers ... sounds like a great idea! You're right about that tube of mine: it's eating up the space up top and I don't even store much in it these days. I may move it to the trailer ... good hearing from you!
Hey, Spencer here with a few notes. First, PLANS for the storage system are now at metaspencer.etsy.com ... And I should say that after a few months of use I've already made a few changes to this drawer system: the top slider is now on roller ball transfer bearings (amzn.to/2PE7vN9) ... the other thing to note is that the felt pads came off before too long and there is now some wear due to the hardboard-on-hardboard connections. So I may end up going with drawer sliders for the drawers at some point in the future.
FYI, UMHW sheet * "rails" * would be a good alternative.
@@larryrichardson5167 Yeah, I think you're right there ... wood on wood is creating some drag over time with daily use :) thanks!
@@y0uCantHandle fortunately it's dry in there ... but that hardboard does seem to be wearing from daily use ... so it may not be the best in the long run
@@metaspencer what do you have them rolling on?
@@antonyoneil294 amzn.to/2ui1ONS
Excellent job for your first set. I’ve built a couple sets now and find that I don’t need the pads under the drawers. I just applied some wax and run them wood to wood. I like your slider top. Handy!
I see what you mean about the wood-to-wood connection ... I think it would be just fine. Love those drawers! :)
Great DIY build! What about on your drawers instead of using hardwood sheets you used plastic sheets? Remember the old-school plastic bed liners that didn't work too well because they allowed everything to slide all over the place? Maybe plastic on plastic would slide pretty well. Or instead of that just add more felt pads. I've noticed some felt pads are smoother than others, and I've found strips of carpet that slide better than felt. Or a combination of those materials.
Great idea on the plastic. I tried felt pads but they just pulled off and didn't last. Plastic would be ideal!
You did an awesome job bro
Thanks for checking it out!
Great video , thanks for sharing your Ideas. Something I saw that got my interest were the bars up in topper ceiling. Could you explain those and how they mount?
Good eye. Yeah, I love those bars and have a few different kinds. They're called cargo load bars and here's an example of a ratcheting one: amzn.to/2Wdqzpk ... I tend to use the ones that twist tight
@@metaspencer ah, very nice. Thanks for the reply on that.
Try using UHMW plastic for sliders. Plastic will slide on hardboard easier than hardboard on hardboard.
I've gotta do that. Resistance has been annoying ... thanks for the tip!
my travel / cargo boxes for my guitar equiptment have some really beefy handles on them, and i made the boxes myself, i don't remember who exactly i got them from , but i ordered them on amazon,, and it came in a pack of 10 handles for less than $ 20.00 ,,this is an awesome idea,, my friend was just lookin at some $1,500.00 drawers for the back of his truck, but you could probably buy a used car you could just tow behind for storage for that money, lol,, but i think i'll just show him this video insted,, & i do auto body so we can make them pretty
It's always nice when you can build something simple and cheap that solves a lot of problems. Thanks for checking it out and good luck with it!
I like the whole project, but a thought, based on my own unpleasant experience: In an accident, all the tools in back will become deadly projectiles and will crash through the windows and join you up front. A metal lath grill or something could be bolted on over the window to keep stuff out of the cab.
Ahhh, great idea. I think those are called headache racks and would be easy to fabricate and install. I'm putting it on my list ... thanks for the tip!
@@metaspencer Thank you for all the great vids! Came for the prison bus project, but stayed for the other topics...
No! That will never happen to him. 🙄
Cool Video, " CNC Router" LOL ...
haha ... not precise but got the job done :)
great video. this is an old video now, has there been anything that you've changed or you would do differently next time?
Awesome storage. I’d keep it simple again. Just wood on wood
Love the set up. I’m on my third build of drawers, I’ve built them on different trucks. Similar set up but I don’t have a shell so the slide isn’t needed for me. But great idea
I'm thinking of building a second set for my other truck ... like you, I'm guessing, the design keeps changing a bit each time :)
Pretty bad ass video.
thanks for checking it out, bud
Having drawers in the back makes a huge difference when not having to move stuff around. It's a real time saver when accessing tools. But I agree. They get heavy after a while & you will wish for bearing sliders.
Yeah the drawers make the truck so much more useful ... true what you say about the weight, too
ONE OF BEST videoS iv seen!!! THX brother!! any plans forslide box,,,????
Thanks man! Working on the plans now but it’ll be a week or so ... friction is wearing on the boxes so far so slides seem better
Great job
Thanks for checking it out!
Get chest drawer pulls! They work great. You can get them at a Home Depot for a few bucks. They drop flat when not in use, and when you go to lift them they stop at 90 degrees so your fingers don’t get pinched. Works awesome for my drawers.
Good point! I converted these handles to big rectangular ones after a day or two ... much better to grab and pull with! :)
I really enjoyed this video and your inverter install. I'm planning on using your ideas on a work van I'm setting up. Did you make a video about the dual battery setup on truck? I have plenty of room I think but I'd like to know about the isolator and how you wired it up
Oh how I’d like a work van!! Sounds great. No video yet on that isolator but I should make one
Following your idea, I just recorded what I hope will be a helpful video on the isolator setup ... I hope to post it soon
@@metaspencer Sweet! I do enjoy working out of a van.
Nicely done. Come to Pittsburgh and help me organize my garage! All the cold beer you can drink while working!
Sounds like a fun trip! I've only driven through Pittsburgh but when I was there I thought it looked like a really cool city! :)
@@metaspencer It's a great city. It's made a drastic resurgence since the collapse of the steel industry to become like a mini silicon valley of the east with healthcare, robotics, biotech material science, and education as leading industries. It's big enough to have culture and arts and a good economy, but people here are quite nice... it's got a midwestern feel. Nothing beats the nighttime skyline when you emerge from the Fort Pitt Tunnel right next to the point downtown. It's been home for about 25 years. We'll have a place to park here on family property when we finish our skoolie and go nomad... when my last kid gets out of school. Pittsburgh will always be home for us. There is a laundry list of things I don't like about Pennsylvania, like idiotic bureaucracy in the government, needlessly complicating everyday life, and pretty high property taxes, but for an eastern city one could do a lot worse.
Great organization as usual..😁
Thanks!!
Simple and practical. Thanks
Thanks for checking it out!
I know I'm behind but went looking..aha..my style with hardboard. I have Avalanche super sticky liner. Great design,thanks. Have you updated or changed along line of sealing the hardboard and giving a heavy coat of paraffin. Should slide?I'm considering the white HDPE plastic like Australian company drifta uses,super slippery. Want to avoid rollers.Thanks again.
Hey man, thank for checking it out. I'm still running with these boxes just like they were when built. The hardboard has taken some wear and will fail at some point, but no big problems yet. Sure the drawers are a bit hard to pull out when fully loaded, but that doesn't bother me much. I added bearings to the top slider which is a big improvement.
Good video. Nice use of scrap wood with those back dividers! Just a tip, maybe give your mic deadcat a a trim. LOL
Haha, that deadcat is way too shaggy! Thanks for checking out the vid
@@metaspencer LOL
That smile when you slid the fishing rod in is priceless, haha!
Haha ... I don't know what it is, but I always feel better knowing I've got my fishing stuff along with me :)
Great set- up, but your top slider should have some kind of safety lock so it doesn't slide out when you don't want it to..,, also can you fit 4x8 sheets??
I built something similar with those roller balls on both sides of the drawers instead of that material you used. I framed it just with 1x6s. The drawers slid on the 1x6s with the roller balls mounted to them. The top slider , same thing it slid on the roller balls.. Unfortunately the truck could not handle any weight ( nissan frontier, sold it)
Yeah commercial versions are insane money. On my current truck, I went to low rise side tool boxes, and a ladder rack system, and a slider . Just a sheet of plywood that rolls on steel wheels. I mounted the wheels on that waterproof plastic decking. Nothing is screwed to the bed , the side tool boxes are mounted to the brace on the ladder rack system, and the ladder rack has heavy duty clamps that mount to rail, no screws or holes either 👍.
I am just going to paint the plywood with couple coats of this really good exterior paint I have left over. Sherwin Williams duration..
Good eye: I added a safety lock on the slider about two days after making this video. It's just a locking pin but keeps it in place. Your setup sounds good. I'm going for side tool boxes on my "new" truck and thinking they'll offer good access. Thanks for the comment! :)
Very Slick!
Thanks for checking it out! I'm still using them every day and loving the setup
Also, uhmw plastic works pretty good for sliders. It’s not effortless, but it works pretty good for me.
I'll have to try that if/when I upgrade ... the stuff I used won't last forever
Getting ready to something similar for the Suburban soon too.
Ooooo, outfitting the suburban will be fun. Did I mention that my sister has a matching 1990 Suburban (matching my Silverado, that is)? It's a great beast ... love those things!
Love the double double layer and simple design. Where are you from? I've never heard a miter saw called a drop saw.
Thanks for checking it out! I'm originally from the west coast (USA) ... drop saw seems to be a term that's not used much these days :)
Also, have you thought about using some plastic pieces and waxing the bottom of drawers? Might slide easier.
Good idea ... yeah the wood on wood started to grind with daily use ... plastic would be better
If you haven't changed it already, you might try some paste wax on the sliding surfaces. Nice work.
Thanks for the tip! Seems like that would help it slide
Great video thanks for sharing
Thanks for checking it out! It's been a great system
Very usefull system. Great design to keep your tools organized.
Thanks man!
Put an threaded pipe closure like the back at the front. That way when someone puts in a short piece of pipe you can pull it out.
I totally need to do that! Too easy to get stuff stranded in there as is. Thanks for the tip!
Great Idea.... I need to build something like this for all my tools in my suburban I use for work... thanks for posting this... :-)
You could totally do something similar in your Suburban ... I've always wanted one of those rigs :)
Programmed the router. Haha nice!
Always super high-tec around here :)
Wow. Very cool. Verrryyy cool
Woop woop!
Love your build, thanks for the video.
Just curious how it's working? Are you still without guides?
I am getting ready to build a set like this, I have some rollers for the slide out, but the drawers I didn't really want to do guides.
Thanks for checking it out! It worked well for years but I got rid of it to move cross country in the truck. The weakness was the tag board. I’d just use plywood as a base no rollers
@@metaspencer you mean the masonite?
Anything hard would work
Nice video
Thanks for checking it out, Caroline!
Grate job man...
Thanks man. It's been a great way to keep things organized
Angle iron bed frame is hardened steel. The only way I know to cut it is with a cutting torch.
Makes sense …. Thanks man
You could cover the bottom of the drawers with plastic laminate (Formica) would slide better
ooo, cool idea! I've been getting some wear with heavy use on the existing setup, so that change might be in the near future
This is great! Thank you for sharing.
Excellent
Get a ridgid or Milwaukee set. Same battery system for their tools. And they will definitely last longer than Porter Cable 🤷♂️
Yeah, hoping to someday. They make great stuff
I’m not sure where your getting your Milwaukee and rigid stuff but I have both platforms in both 12V & 18V and I have sets that are both comparable in age from about 3 months old on each set to over 5 years old on each set and they do NOT interchange between those two brands. I’ve tried over and over and they just are not the same at all and will not even slide together. It sure would be nice if they would but at least the 10 sets I have do not interchange.
Nice work
Thanks man
How and what type of straps to put stuff on ceiling of camper shell? Thank you
those are truck cargo bars like this one: amzn.to/3MAgo8f
Did you do any suspension work on the rear of that 90's truck to hold all the added weight?
No it's a 2500 and handles it well.
Very nice
Thanks for checking it out