Truck bed drawers. Do you have one?

I'm in the process of designing a camper van (06 Express).  I have multiple ideas.  The first requirement is that it needs to be able to turn into a not-camper when it's not the weekend.  

My first design involved removing the rear side trim and putting vertical plywood up to the windows with a little shelf under the window.  Behind those panels I could hide an inverter, maybe a couple batteries, and some tools/jumper cables/jack/etc.  I could put some e-track on the plywood, then put some load bars and a platform across to lay a mattress.

My second idea was to install some of those drawers like this:

I would actually probably build them out of plywood.  The system pictured above is A) not really long enough to be a bed at 62", and B) it's $1600.  It's a lovely system, but I can buy the drawer slides for $80 and likely build it for 1/10th the cost of buying it.

Pros?  Cons?  The only big con I can think of is that it would remove about 12" of height from the cargo area.  It's rare that I need to transport something a full 4' tall, but it is nice to know that right now I could put a riding lawn mower in there if needed.

Tell me why I should (or shouldn't) put big honkin drawers in my van.

I've got those exact same drawers in my truck. They are by a company called "Decked". They are fantastically made- I beat the crap out of them every day, load thousands of lbs of weight on top of them, and have never had an issue.

Yup. I definite could have built them cheaper (but probably not as good quality)

In a van, I would probably have built my own (less weather exposure). 
 

For a van, look at American Van. More configurable, specifically for a van, less weather resistant, a bit lower price tag. 

American Van floor storage system
 

(Unless you want to build yourself)

Note on the slides...

You need some serious heavy duty slides. Mine can hold 500 lbs fully extended.  Full extension slides. And they should have at least 3 separate stop locations (keep the drawer open when the truck is on a hill so it doesn't smash your hand when you are reaching into it)
 

Not sure $80 will cover it...

Well, it would be $45 x 2 for 250lb slides.  I think I found 500lb slides for just north of $100.  Basically, I lied a little bit :).   Like these here

They come in all different sizes from 16" to 60".  My thought was splitting the difference.  Maybe some 48" or 52" drawers out the back for tools and work things, then some light-duty drawers to the front for camping storage like clothes or dry goods.  The drawer slides for the front drawers could be cheapy drawer slides, and I already have about 40 of those that someone donated to the theater.

I do love the decked setup.  It looks like a super awesome rig.  I like the metal construction of the ones you linked, but they're smaller yet, and still not long enough... which I suppose I could add on with ply.

In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :

I use slides like that pretty regularly. They don't have the stop locations like the Decked ones (you NEED these). But it wouldn't be hard to fabricate a pin lock or something. 
 

I also would never use those slides on bed drawers because of the weather (not an issue with the van). 
 

Go big or go home. 
 

One other consideration on the American Van drawers... they are not as tall as the Decked ones (which will give you more headroom)

I have one gripe about Decked.. the drawer bottoms are tapered. The are significantly narrower at the bottom than at the top. It becomes a problem with tools (LOTS of tools need to store front to back instead of side to side- it wastes a lot of space). Not a problem with the AV drawers (they are square). 
 

If you build them, you could easily have 3 drawers wide (Decked is only 2 because of their support beam in the middle)

Way back in the 70s when I was an active participant in "Van Life".   An arrangement like those was the first thing we built, before we put up the fancy wood paneling.   To keep the drawers from going too far out the rear, we split the difference.  Drawers opened into the inside as well as ou the back.  Some nights when its 45 degrees and raining it was nice to be able to get stuff out of the inside drawers.  Plus it cut down on the need for super strong hardware.  Smaller cubbies can be designed ahead and behind the inside wheelwells under the deck.  Mattress on top and away you go.

Next you need to figure out how to make the whole contraption quick release from the van and come out somehow with fold down legs, (think ambulance gurney).  AND make it strong enough to withstand a high speed car wreck.  Also, shag carpet

Used decked systems seem to sell for $500 on marketplace if you can find one long enough, might be worth considering. 

In reply to Steve_Jones :

I am wondering how proprietary they are, like if I got one for a 6.5' Dodge bed, then seeing if I could adapt it to the van.

VolvoHeretic said:

Next you need to figure out how to make the whole contraption quick release from the van and come out somehow with fold down legs, (think ambulance gurney).  AND make it strong enough to withstand a high speed car wreck.  Also, shag carpet

Shag carpet is a must, because shag is what you do in a van with a bed.  Maybe I should replace my windows with those little fishbowl jobbies.  Big orange and brown stripes down the side with an airbrushed cowboy on a rearing horse?

Purple Frog (Forum Supporter) said:

Way back in the 70s when I was an active participant in "Van Life".   An arrangement like those was the first thing we built, before we put up the fancy wood paneling.   To keep the drawers from going too far out the rear, we split the difference.  Drawers opened into the inside as well as ou the back.  Some nights when its 45 degrees and raining it was nice to be able to get stuff out of the inside drawers.  Plus it cut down on the need for super strong hardware.  Smaller cubbies can be designed ahead and behind the inside wheelwells under the deck.  Mattress on top and away you go.

My main concern is that it won't be easily removable and occupies cargo space.  If I had a couple cross bars and a luan platform, it would be a bit more effort to go camping, but it totally disappears when not camping... the downside being that I have to store a platform somewhere.

Just wondering where the crossover is between the drawers being helpful vs the drawers being in the way.  I'm looking at the engine sitting in front of the garage.  Could it (and the engine hoist arm and chain) fit between the raised deck and the ceiling?  I don't want to shoot myself in the foot and remove 2 functions while trying to add 1 function.

Looks like you need yourself a fork lift...

In reply to VolvoHeretic :

That's first-class enabling right there.

VEVOR Drawer Slides, 1 Pair 60inch Locking Drawer Slides, 500lbs Load Capacity, Side Mount Ball Bearing Drawer Glides, Long Full Extension Drawer Slide - Amazon.com

Those lock both open and closed, if it matters.

Also something to note, if you end up pulling the drawers all the way out, you could run a couple bolts through the bottom of the drawer onto a table or motorcycle lift. Lift the table a bit and it'll lift the inside platform on the van too. Then just sliiiiiiiide the platform back out of the van. Slides work both ways.

Consider beds that fold up to the side Murphy style, then the floor is always open.  

Unless you need mega power for something, use a Goal Zero or similar and charge it off the alternator when you drive.  The good ones are all-in-one with 1000+ watt inverters and will run anything you need at camp.  If you want distributed power off the goal zero inside your van, just wire in a separate fuse box with a transfer switch to go from starter power to goal zero power. 

For items like recovery gear, tools, spares, etc that you want available but not in the way get a rear bumper with swingouts and put a case/box on the swingouts or get in-floor storage if you have room.  Depends on where your spare tire is mounted.  My spare is on the swingout so I have a huge space under the rear floor where the spare used to be.  

If you are not living in this van full time (which you are not, since you want it to come apart easy) use plastic bins instead of drawers.  

We have two plastic "camping bins", one is just a grab ass free-for-all with the cast iron, extra fuel for the coleman, french press, a saw, some candles, fire starters, thermacell, etc.

One I build some little organizer shelves and its a complete mess kit, spices, plates, cooking utensils, aluminum foil, paper towel, etc.

Then we have a food bin, same style, just kept empty.  

To go camping, we go get the cast iron bin, the cookware bin, and the empty food bin, load the food bin, load the fridge, load the clothes, hit the bricks.

When we come home, top off and do maintenance on the camping bins so they are ready to go for next time.  

Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:

I'm in the process of designing a camper van (06 Express).  I have multiple ideas.  The first requirement is that it needs to be able to turn into a not-camper when it's not the weekend.  

My first design involved removing the rear side trim and putting vertical plywood up to the windows with a little shelf under the window.  Behind those panels I could hide an inverter, maybe a couple batteries, and some tools/jumper cables/jack/etc.  I could put some e-track on the plywood, then put some load bars and a platform across to lay a mattress.

My second idea was to install some of those drawers like this:

I would actually probably build them out of plywood.  The system pictured above is A) not really long enough to be a bed at 62", and B) it's $1600.  It's a lovely system, but I can buy the drawer slides for $80 and likely build it for 1/10th the cost of buying it.

Pros?  Cons?  The only big con I can think of is that it would remove about 12" of height from the cargo area.  It's rare that I need to transport something a full 4' tall, but it is nice to know that right now I could put a riding lawn mower in there if needed.

Tell me why I should (or shouldn't) put big honkin drawers in my van.

Yep, Tom put the Decked system in the GRM van sometime before I bought it. The only real cons are:

1. Obviously you lose interior height. I've learned that most furniture like chairs, sofas, mattresses, etc. don't fit now. 
2. Things in the very front of the drawers can be hard to reach, even with them fully extended.
3. They're looong, so if you're backed in close to a structure or vehicle you might not be able to access everything.
4. There are some small gaps along the sides where stuff could fall into & likely not be fished back out.

Despite all that I really like having them. They're great for holding tools(a Harbor Freight 301pc tool kit fits perfectly), towing stuff, straps, bottles of fluid, jumper cables, air pump, etc. without them bouncing all over, or having to search the entire back of the van to find something. 

In reply to 93gsxturbo :

93gsxturbo makes a great point.  If all you want to store is underpants and a few spare tee shirts, bins are far better (and drawers are overdone). They are super simple to remove so the van can function as a van again. 
 

I use my drawers for TOOLS. I use them most every day, and I never remove them. I ALWAYS have them with me so I can respond to anything that needs tools for fixin. 
 

Drawers are a great permanent setup. Bins are much better to swap out.  
 

You could have a simple platform that sat over the bins for sleeping on. 

I put a Bed Slide in the last work truck I bought and ordered one for the H3T. It's basically a bed-size drawer without a top. They work well. I didn't do a drawer system like Decked because I didn't want to lose the space under the tonneau cover. I would probably have used it in a van though. 

In reply to Toyman! :

I have one of those stacked on top of my Decked drawers