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Home / Drawer Box for Truck Bed

Drawer Box for Truck Bed

Looking for storage infinite for guns and gear but don't want to shell out for a commercial unit? Hither'due south a weekend build – a custom storage solution for your truck – for less than $300.

Buying a ready of sliding drawers is a quick and easy option, and there is a fistful of great companies that create dynamite drawers that simply drop in. These off-the-shelf drawers are designed to fit an empty truck box. However, if you lot've already added accessories like toolboxes or demand sizes other than standard, custom storage comes at a premium. If you're like me and adopt to pay in sweat equity rather than hard-earned cash, then this DIY solution is correct for you.

Grab A Tape Measure out, Let's Design

Keeping with the theme of custom drawers on the cheap, I started by rummaging through my lumber pile (a stack of salvaged forest perfect for a weekend projection) to trim down my shopping list and cost!

Searching online for truck drawer plans, I noticed two bones designs: one made with strips of plywood fastened together with pocket screws, and the other using dimensional lumber and simple joinery. If you own a pocket pigsty jig (or need an excuse to buy one) so the pocket screw design is possible, which has the advantage of beingness lighter, and you tin use up smaller pieces of plywood. No pocket hole jig? So the simpler, and just as strong, box and drawers built from plywood sheets and two-by-8s (or use wider lumber for deeper drawers) is the best option. I chose the second to illustrate the project concept, then merely remember information technology is for inspiration and not the only way.

This set of truck-box storage drawers will fit between the wheel arches of whatsoever standard pickup, so carefully measure the length of the box, and we're ready to go started. A tight fit ways the unit isn't going to motility while y'all're driving. Next, decide on the drawer depth. Measure your gun case, camp stove or whatsoever else you plan to stow. Plus, take into business relationship large items like a domestic dog kennel that might demand to sit on acme of the unit of measurement; otherwise you lot may have to leave your dog at habitation – non adept!

Beyond these basic plans, deck out your drawers with such refinements as locks, internal dividers, a gun rack and even LED lighting to best conform your needs. Tucked out of sight in a truck topper, locked truck bed drawers are an platonic spot to store firearms and ammunition, as they comply with the Canadian firearms transport regulations.

The Build

Cutting the plywood for the top and bottom of the box, as well as the 2x8s for the frame. Drill and countersink the screw holes in the plywood. Side by side, fasten the end to the plywood, then butt the side and heart boards and secure using 2.5-inch screws. Finish screwing the bottom to the frame.

Side by side, rip the drawer bottoms, making them half an inch narrower than their space to allow room for the drawer glides and rip drawer sides. Indoor/outdoor rug on the drawer lesser helps protect your gear, and now is the fourth dimension to install it. Using spray agglutinative, tack the carpet to the top face up and and then sandwich it between the bottom and the sides, secure with screws, then cut off the excess cloth.

UHMW plastic or puckboard is glace and an ideal matial for the glides. If yous can't find it for auction, make the glides from thin strips of woods, and wax the glides to reduce friction. Last, install either the wood or plastic glides along the bottom and sides of the box.

Cut the drawer fronts slightly shorter than the full height of the drawer, so they don't bind on the truck tailgate. The fronts are fastened to the drawers using screws.

A locking handle, keyed the same every bit your truck topper, is a handy pick when security is critical. For my build, I opted for low-price rope handles for the drawers.

Finishing the drawer box adds durability and longevity. A tin can of rubberized undercoating pigment, exterior floor pigment, or indoor/outdoor carpet will protect your projection from habiliment and tear.

To add together the pick of loading and removing the truck drawers with help from a partner, I added four metallic handles along the sides. These serve a dual purpose of a lashing bespeak to secure the drawers to the truck bed, tied with a trucker's hitch, of course!

Other Design Considerations

In this project, I created two drawers of the aforementioned size. I could have fabricated i larger, and the other modest or even created three skinny drawers. For more complex truck drawers, the plywood strip design is a better choice to lower the weight.

If you lot accept time to remember about your storage needs, you can hands comprise those ideas into the perfect truck drawers. Happy building.

  1. This DIY project uses elementary joinery like butt joints.
    This DIY project uses simple joinery like butt joints.
  2. Most of the cutting for this project was completed using a round saw.
    Most of the cutting for this project was completed using a circular saw.
  3. The get-go step was to cutting the parts for the frame. Our build used 2×8 lumber and 3/8-inch plywood. Parts were cut for a custom fit to my truck bed.
    3. The first step was to cut the parts for the frame. Our build used 2x8 lumber and 3/8-inch plywood. Parts were cut for a custom fit to my truck bed.
  4. Spiral holes were marked and pre-drilled to prevent splitting the wood.
    4. Screw holes were marked and pre-drilled to prevent splitting the wood.
  5. Countersinking screws, specially on the drawer bottoms, foreclose the screws from snagging on the frame as the drawers move in and out.
    5. Countersinking screws, especially on the drawer bottoms, prevent the screws from snagging on the frame as the drawers move in and out.
  6. A clamp secures pieces to assemble a tight box joint, as on this drawer.
    6. A clamp secures pieces to assemble a tight box joint, as on this drawer.
  7. Plywood drawer bottoms were attached using drywall screws.
    7. Plywood drawer bottoms were fastened using drywall screws.
  8. An indoor/outdoor carpet protects the gear stored in the drawers. Here, we sandwiched the carpeting between the bottom and the sides.
    8. An indoor/outdoor carpet protects the gear stored in the drawers. Here, we sandwiched the carpet between the bottom and the sides.
  9. Trim the excess carpeting flush with the edge of the drawer using a utility knife.
    9. Trim the excess carpet flush with the edge of the drawer using a utility knife.
  10. Puckboard was cut into one-inch strips and installed in the fram as drawer glides.
    10. Puckboard was cut into one-inch strips and installed in the fram as drawer glides.
  11. Glides along the side of the frame keep the drawer tracking true in the frame.
    11. Glides along the side of the frame keep the drawer tracking true in the frame.
  12. A 1/4-inch spacer keeps the drawers affluent with the front of the frame.
    12. A 1/4-inch spacer keeps the drawers flush with the front of the frame.
  13. If the box is not a permanent addition to your truck, you'll demand an easy manner to load and unload it from your pickup – handles along the sides make moving the box easy.
    If the box is not a permanent addition to your truck, you'll need an easy way to load and unload it from your pickup – handles along the sides make moving the box easy.
  14. You tin can now load your completed box with gear, inside and on superlative.
    You can now load your completed box with gear, inside and on top.

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Source: https://www.bcoutdoorsmagazine.com/diy-truck-box-drawers/