I have a large (~40" x 72") under bed drawer that fits between the frame rails of the alumimium flatbed on our Tacoma. We use the drawer primarily to store the entry ladder for our FWC fleet and some other miscellaneous items, but not more than 50lb total. For V1.1 of the drawer used UHMWPE 'slippery tape' for the 'drawer slides' on both the wood contact surface of the drawer (which is basically just a sheet of 1/2" baltic birch) and on the aluminium angles that it rides on. This worked great until we drove a couple of hundred miles of dirt road in Death Valley and had sand/dust/gravel work its way between the two mating surfaces. This tore up the low friction tape and made it very hard and loud to slide the drawer. I need some ideas for V2.0. I am thinking commercial drawer slides as the load is not that great and the drawer doesn't need to be full extension - 36" of travel would be fine. However, I am not sure how well these will hold up to the dusty dirty and occasionally wet environment under the flatbed. Does anyone know of a drawer slide meant to for this type of application - or other ideas?
Drawer Slides for Dirty and Dusty Locations?
- Thread starter Rando
- Start date
MagicMtnDan
2020 JT Rubicon Launch Edition & 2021 F350 6.7L
Search the threads here and you'll find several put up by those who have made their own heavy duty drawer slides using roller bearings and steel angle and/or steel tube. I'll bet that design will work well for you.
JoshN
Observer
If you need it supported when extended you need a slide of some sort (some sort of heavy duty marine grade slide it seems). However if you don't need it supported when extended (like if it can rest on a tailgate) then try UHMW plastic as glides on the base of the box with the drawers simply resting on it. No moving parts. Can't corrode. Weight limit is whatever you want since you are just resting it on flat super slick plastic. Amazon carries it in various thickness and lengths. Just glue your strips on the box, let your drawers slide on top.
a picture might help with understanding, but you basically built a wood drawer that hange off the bottom of your flatbed?
is there any reason not to seal it up in a sheet metal box and use regular heavy duty drawer slides?
If I'm thinking about your setup correctly, it seems like nothing will live long term in that environment. I would put my energy into controlling the environment.
is there any reason not to seal it up in a sheet metal box and use regular heavy duty drawer slides?
If I'm thinking about your setup correctly, it seems like nothing will live long term in that environment. I would put my energy into controlling the environment.
I tried exactly this approach - but would get fine gravel in between the the UHMWPE slides, which would dig in and tear up the plastic. Hence the search for another solution. I have also tried using ball bearings and aluminium l bracket with similar results - small pieces of gravel would sit on the aluminium and get drawn in between the aluminium and the upper bearings - causing them to jam.
I have a feeling that I am overthinking this and that regular drawer slides might work just fine. There is plenty of discussion amongst wood workers about using drawer slides in fixtures for saws and routers and they seem to do just fine in these very dusty conditions. I don't need either full extension or heavy duty slides, so it maybe worth just giving it a go. I am hoping to avoid having to build a full box as I am trying to keep weight to a minimum and the things I am storing - ladder, shovel, etc don't care about being dirty.
So, I build furniture and cabinets as a hobby, everything in my shop (garage) is always covered in sawdust. Drawer glides or mechanics stuff are covered in oily sawdust. Sawdust is soft, fluffy, and friendly, except for the whole dust explosion thing... Under truck dust is abrasive, gritty, and comparatively violent.
however... I think you probably are over thinking it. Things like ladders and shovels don't really need drawers. Just put a couple of angles or channels under there, and slide the ladder between them. A rubber bungee keeps it tight and isolates it from rattling. similarly, a shovel or similar stuff could just be bunged to a piece of expanded metal latched or bolted across the frame rails. If you really want to get fancy, pivot one side or one end so you can swing it down to attach the stuff?
simple is usually cheaper and better unless you are trying to show off fab skills.
mojavephonebooth
New member
I made my sliders out of skateboard wheels. The 2 in the front are mounted to the frame and are stationary. The 2 in the back are mounted to the drawer, and move with the drawer. Works like a champ.
rayra
Expedition Leader
Could either make a full-enclosing box and have the drawer end gasketed to keep everything out, or go with regular sides and make / grind some relief notches in their channels in such a way that grit can escape the mechanism more easily. But those gaps in work in both directions.
It shouldn't be difficult to build a fully enclosing box with a drawer in it, which seals up tight. Don't even need bearings or slides, and something as simple as Jeep rubber hood latches could squeeze it shut.
It shouldn't be difficult to build a fully enclosing box with a drawer in it, which seals up tight. Don't even need bearings or slides, and something as simple as Jeep rubber hood latches could squeeze it shut.
Haf-E
Expedition Leader
I second the skateboard wheel approach - have seen them work for many many years in friends climbing rigs which were used for construction projects as well - lots of dirt, sand, gravel etc without problems. You can pick up wheels from cheap boards at Goodwill and other thrift stores - no need for new ones. Cheap, simple, reliable, fairly easy too.