Bed slide drawer/dog crates in the bed/cap (Photo heavy)

Hey all,

I decided to make a drawer with a platform for my dog's crates in the bed. In case anyone else thought about doing the same, here's a breif breakdown of what I did.

First I installed lights, finally... I had them sitting on my workbench for about a year. The cap is lined, so stuck some industrial strength velcro on the back and they stay up great. Ran a new line back to the bed for the lights, and for the 12v seen later.


I did all my calculations, and with the crates I have, I needed the floor to be at the height of the wheel wells in order for the crates to fit in. roughed out the support structure of the drawer: (the top strapping was just to keep it square.



Made the drawer (and top) out of 3/4 sanded subfloor.



Next painted the drawer and the front section of the support with spray/roll in bedliner.



500# 56 inch locking drawer slides (total drawer length is 60")



Next fit the drawer to the slides. (not my vett in the background), you can see the securing rings to D rings (front) and to the bed stiffeners (back) with turnbuckles, opposing directions. Also I was going to be using straps to the D rings in the back and the middle to secure the crates down once installed.



Covered the top with the trunk/stereo carpet, cut slits for the middle straps to fit through for the crate tie downs.



Installed top, with straps coming from D rings. And the drawer handles.



Hooked up the 12v to a 12v/usb/switch (I run a 12v swamp cooler in the back for summer for the dogs), bluetooth temperature monitor to my phone. The dogs are never in the truck unless we're driving somewhere, and I can monitor the temperature in the back. The swamp cooler does a really nice job at dropping the temp, plus we dont make long drives often, and if we do... they come in the cab.



Dog crates in:



All in all, it went pretty smoothly, and took about 16 hours total, give or take.

I have more detailed descriptions and more pictures if anyone is interested in anything more than the above.

 

Thanks for all the pics. Often ppl don't post enough pics IMO. Love the look. Looking to do something similar soon! I will post pics when I get done.

 

Solid setup Im just curious if you were to sell this how much would charge? I’m contemplating going with an arb drawer system or maybe a decked system but would love to have someone build something custom that fits what I do instead.

 

Honestly... No idea, it's about $500 in materials between the slides, wood, hardware, carpet, paint etc. I don't have an exact number but I'd guess about 500, the slides are pricey, and wood currently is.

About 16 or so hours, maybe 20 in labor, probably cut down significantly if you do a bunch of them.

I built one for my brother's 4runner a few years back that was more involved with side wings, and add-on front extensions to make a full sleeping platform set up in the back and it definitely took longer than this setup.

I'd say they wouldn't really be worth building them for profit unless you truly enjoyed doing it because I doubt anyone would pay 1000+ for a wood drawer/platform, and that'd only be about 500 in profit for 20 or so hours of labor... depends what your time is worth I guess haha.

 

Very slick! How is the OSB holding up? I'm looking to build a double drawer system but using HDPE strips on the bottom instead of drawer gliders. Maybe even resting on the bed itself instead of a bottom plate. Any issues using screws in the OSB?