DIY Bed Slide Question.

[20streetrod06]

i've scanned through several pages of multiple threads on DIY bed slides, and i'm sold on making one for my AV. i've seen some that have wheels, drawer slides, and some that just sit directly on the bed floor.

i've got it narrowed down to wheels, or sitting directly on the OEM bed mat. wheels would make it easier to move obviously, but all the weight will be focused on 6 points (or more depending on the number of wheels i use obviously). i don't want to eventually have a bunch of indents in the rubber mat form the wheels, so im leaning toward no wheels, and it actually just sliding. i know this will take more effort to move it on my part, but im curious what others have done to help it slide across the rubber bed mat? carpet the bottom of the slide maybe? or will bare plywood slide well enough on the bare rubber?

 

[bpdutton]

My experience is nothing slides easily on the rubber bed mat, especially if it has any weight to it. You need something smoother/slipperier sitting on the bed mat and then something sliding on top of that. My simple solution for the need to slide things in and out is 2 big pieces of cardboard I fashioned from a 6' bathroom vanity box. I put both pieces in on the bed mat and slide the top piece out onto the tailgate (or further if needed. The top piece has a 2 inch lip all the way around thanks to a razor knife and some duct tape.) Put your stuff on the top piece and slide it in as you load your stuff. Cardboard slides real easy on cardboard and this has worked pretty well for me over the years. I've used it a lot moving my kids in and out of their college dorms. Of course, you don't want to leave the cardboard in your bed if it gets wet in there... I keep it in the garage until I need it. YMMV

 

[MS03 2500]

It may come to what you are putting back there. I made mine for golf clubs mainly and it did roll around. Remember it's not waterproof back there

 

[Vaeagleav]

You may loose slight amount of height but I like the idea of drawer slide homemade setup myself if the slide is connected to the lower tiedown bolts in the bed. That would give you anchor points so if you have something heavy it won't roll out of AV and hurt you or someone standing as load is brought out over tailgate.
I have an old CargoPro bedslide that I have used since 2004 in my 2004 AV and moved it into my 2008 AV and used it since 2004 with no problems or maintenance. It is attached to the four lower cargo tiedown bolts

 

[MS03 2500]

That was pretty much what I did, use the tiedowns to hold it in place. I had a bedslide in it at one point but things still rolled around in it,

Here is a link but one thing about it is its heavy, real heavy so I have to use a come along to get it back in. Try regular plywood

BedSlide/Bed Organizer built my way.

The start I wanted to organize the bed. 3 things I wanted 1. Stop things from sliding all over the bed 2. I wanted something to hold my Golf Clubs 3. I needed it to be removable by 1 person. So I had 2 sets of 500 lbs 60 inch full extension slides in the parts pile that I wanted to make a...

www.chevyavalanchefanclub.com

 

[20streetrod06]

that is way overkill for what i'd use it for. im just wanting something lightweight to keep things from getting lost at the front of the bed. In my Colorado i had a bed divider, to keep things near the tailgate.

which that make me wonder, do the bed sides in the Avalanche have slots to put a 2x12 in to divide the bed? i've had mine for less than a week and havent looked inside the bed that closely. that could actually suit my preferences better than a bed slide

 

[EXT4ME]

Have a look at the sides of the Avalanche bed.

There are slots built into the plastic for you to insert cut boards to use a cargo dividers.

Amazing how they thought of such things.

 

[20streetrod06]

Have a look at the sides of the Avalanche bed.

There are slots built into the plastic for you to insert cut boards to use a cargo dividers.

Amazing how they thought of such things.

yeah, like i said i had made on for my Colorado. just hadnt looked that close at the AV bed yet. i think thats the route i'll go. i can always make a bed slide later on if i so choose.

i think a simple bed divider will accomplish my goals.

this is the one i made for the Colorado many years ago. and the Tri-Fold bed cover i had on it.

 

[MS03 2500]

It's over kill for most people, but it sure makes it easier to get crap out of the bed, just slide the drawer out and pull out what you want no reaching for stuff.

Just giving you options.

 

[ygmn]

OR buy a boat hook and leave in back to grab them things up front.

 

[20streetrod06]

yeah, i totally get the appeal of the bed slide. but 95% of the time the bed of my truck is empty. and I'm basing that off 17 years of truck ownership. so for me, keeping what few items i have in the bed near the tail gate is more beneficial than having access to the whole footprint of the bed.

i had not even thought about a simple bed divider, cause i hadn't looked at the bed sides that close, and i hadn't come across any threads on here about them.

 

[ygmn]

YOu cut 2x6 and they have vertical and horizontal slots in bed side plastic.
Front and rear

 

[BainMan]

OR buy a boat hook and leave in back to grab them things up front.

My coworker does this with a 'modified' broom handle with a curved table leg duct taped to it. Easy and cheap solution!

 

[Midwestmk2]

I am going to be doing this same project this spring. I've also been throwing around the same ideas about wheels or rollers but have the same fears. Also don't want to lose any height of my storage area. Then i found this video and will be doing the same thing with some small tweaks.

 

[bookish]

Midwestmk2, that is perfect. I was thinking of using the 4x8 sheets of plastic they have at Home Depot for bathroom walls because they are so slippery, but masonite is brilliant because the rough side grips the rubber mat.

 

[Midwestmk2]

Yeah and i have some extra fleece from when i did my sub box for the bottom of my slider instead of just small strips.