[NSRCA-discussion] Moving pickup floor

[Richard Lewis]

My Dad has been doing this for years in an F150 short bed.  No fancy rails,
etc...just the big flat bottom of the tray sliding on the painted metal bed.
Easy in/Easy out, no hernias.  You have to push it in and pull it out, but
the required effort is pretty easy.

 

No need for anything near as heavy as ¾ inch plywood for this application.
His is ¼ Luan paneling/ply bottom and 1x2 rails around the perimeter.  Very
light and has held up well for 4+ years of use.

 

He initially made it with legs to hold it up when extended, but learned that
it was just as easy and convenient to slide it part of the way out and let
it cantilever over the tailgate.  With the tailgate supporting it, it can
come out plenty far enough to access the stuff sitting on it without the
hassle of the legs.

 

If you wanted something to slide it on, get some cheap HDPE cutting boards,
Teflon blocks, or UHMWPE blocks to reduce friction, but like I said above,
just sliding on it’s bottom is pretty good.

 

Richard

 

  _____  

From: nsrca-discussion-bounces at lists.nsrca.org
[mailto:nsrca-discussion-bounces at lists.nsrca.org] On Behalf Of Ed Deaver
Sent: Wednesday, April 25, 2007 3:21 PM
To: mini-iac at yahoogroups.com; NSRCA Mailing List
Subject: [NSRCA-discussion] Moving pickup floor

 

Hey everyone.  Am soliciting ideas to make a floor for my 8ft bed Dodge Ram
that will slide easily.

Have checked out drawer rails but none are long enough and the saleman
states wouldn't handle the weight.  There is a kit out there for around $600
but think it can be made much cheaper.  Already have a 3/4" piece of ply.
Just need to figure out a way to be able to slide it in and out of the bed
without getting a hernia, or using such force that the planes dislodge when
putting back in.

Some thoughts I had are using 2x4's on the side and making a slide channel
using 1x1's and lubricating with some grease, lithium ect.  Don't know how
that would work.

Another thought is to try to find some sort of premade "track" that can be
screwed to the 2x4 and the ply using a series of bearings/wheels to slide
easily.

The next question is do I put a movable leg on the end so when pulling out
it drops down and supports the floor, or just have a dead line on the floor
and never pull it out past that point?

Thanx in advance and any help or ideas are greatly appreciated.

Ed

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