Sean, excellent!

This is what i am thinking as well, because you lose almost 4 inch when said and done..

Shaun, it has only been a few months but no tracks yet. I did leave space for a metal strip if needed

Do you have a link to the rollers you suggest? I was worried about the waterproofing while watching this

Let me know how the c channel works... good idea. We just returned from a 2800 mile trip down to Key West and back. We used the bed slide at least once daily, and most days many times. It is the best add-on I have ever added to a truck. It makes life so much easier. We rarely rolled up the tonneau cover and never had to climb into the bed to get something. The bed was packed full and the slide worked great.

@@davehubley5218 I will indeed and I'm glad to hear it worked well for you in fla. You passed right by me when you went through Central fla. I can't wait to get my slide built its got to be better than nothing which is what I've got now....truck bed bedlam

@full throttle service: so, didjya build it? One option i considered doing was what u mentioned, w/aluminum c-channels on the underside, using those HFT bearings. Idk though, since they arent rated for high weight capacity loads. I often have loads of copper ranging anywhere between 250-750lbs, and am skeptical that those will be adequate.

No rattling that I have noticed. The slide is heavy enough to minimize noise and there isn't much room for the slide to shift around. I did add a 1/8" rubber mat on top of the slide which I really like. Things did not shift too much without the mat but nothing moves now. www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005SUIX4W/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I dont think there is any other way to mount this other than drilling directly into the bed. Unfortunate, because I would rather not do that.

That would be awesome

Simon, the slide actually just sits in the bed at this point. I can easily add tiedowns to lock it in place but with over 4000 miles since adding the slide it has not wandered at all. With that said, it is pretty much locked in place between the wheel wells and the front and back of the bed. Not much room for it to roam.

@@dnasadventures8681 thanks Dave I’m going to follow you design as it’s within my scope and budget. I think I’ll secure it to the bed as we go off road and wondering about it lifting when going over sand and stuff. Thanks fir the j do. It’s great!

Good question I don't see answer 🤔?

He didn’t.

Awesome question

Iwen, the bottom plywood with the 1x4s together result in 49.5” of width between the wheel wells and the overall length covers the entire length available. There really isn’t a lot of room for the slide to move. I also have a spray on bedliner which doesn’t let things slide easily. I currently do not have it mounted but a lot of folks use an eye hook mounted to the 1x4 with a turn buckle to factory tie downs in the bed. So far I have about 1000 miles since adding the slide at it has not moved. I also have not had the bottom plywood slide when using the slide to load and unload. I think the “roughness” of the spray on bedliner helps hold it in place. We will put about 3000 miles on in the next 3 weeks and I will see if I need to add anything.

No, I have never heard any noise from the slide

Gary, 560 lbs - fourteen 40 lb bags of wood pellets. I only did the build a couple weeks ago so no warping. The biggest question I have is will the bearings create dimples over time on the bottom side of the slide. If I left a load in the truck I could see that happening resulting in a less smooth slide. If that happens I will install 1.5” aluminum strips on the bottom of the slide where the bearing ride. I thought about doing that during the build but that would have added almost $80 to the cost so I decided to wait and see. If I need to do that I just need to slide out the top piece of plywood to get to the bottom to add the strips. I left enough space of clearance on top of the slide to accommodate an 1/4” of additional height if I need to add aluminum strips so no other modifications should be needed.

What spacing between the bearings? Is the base piece bolted to the truck bed?

@@MJPeddler The spacing between the bearings is 8” with spacing at each end slightly less. There are four rows of bearings with nine bearings in each row. The load rating for each bearing is 110 lbs so with a total of 36 bearings the overall capacity of the bearings greatly exceeds possible payload on a half ton truck. I added more bearings to minimize the risk of dimpling the bottom of the slide overtime. That is my theory, time will tell. Currently the unit is not mounted in anyway to the truck. The unit has not moved at all but over the Holidays I will add a hook and eye turnbuckle near each corner on the bottom section and connect each to a factory tie down on the side of bed to make certain it is secure.

@@davehubley5218 thanks!!

@@davehubley5218 thats why I plan on using c channel on the bottom of top plywood just 2 inch channel one eight inch thick or maybe 14ga not sure yet

zaxter, At most there is about a 1/4” of play on each side so the slide doesn’t bind on the sides. With that said, the slide just lays on the bearings so there is nothing to force equal clearance on both sides. I have not had any issues with binding. The slide stays dry since I have a tonneau cover and since it is winter here in the Northeast humidity is relatively low. There has not been an issue with the wood swelling. If it does swell at some point I should have plenty of clearance.

Richard, the first thing I decided was to put the bearings in rows in the event that the plywood used for the slide would get dimples over time where each bearing was located. If that happens I can add an aluminum strip mounted to the bottom of the slide for each row. I have enough clearance to add a 1/4” thick aluminum strip if needed. So far dimpling has not been an issue but in a year and several heavy loads it may be. I then decided to have 4 rows with the outside rows 2” in from the edge of the plywood. The two inner rows are at 17” in from each edge. My goal was to try to provide solid support across the entire sheet. Each row has 9 bearings with the bearings closet to the edge in about 3” and the remaining 7 bearings separated about 8”s. Each bearing is rated for 110 lbs so with 36 bearings the capacity of nearly 4000 lbs is serious overkill for my half ton pickup. My objective with all the bearings was to improve slide performance and reduce dimpling by spreading the load across more bearings. So far I couldn’t be happier. We just returned from a 2800 mile trip and the bed was loaded with camping and fishing gear. We used it several times each day and we only rolled up the tonneau cover twice in 16 days.

@@davehubley5218 Thanks, I have an 8 ft bed, will add more bearings,

@@davehubley5218 would you be able to add a row of rollers to your tailgate itself for those times that it would collapse into the tailgate under load?

George, each bearing is held in place by two 3/4” stainless screws. Even though the plywood is also 3/4” thick, the additional thickness of the mounting tabs on the bearings added enough thickness for the screws to work without going through the plywood. I had those screws on hand and was happy they worked. If they were too long I would have purchased 5/8” screws.

1" Roller Ball Transfer Bearings is what I used. They are readily available on Amazon. They are also available at Harbor Freight.

@@davehubley5218 do you need 36 in 4 rows or could you use less in 3 rows?

@@mikewestenberger7029 Here is my logic... The more rows of bearings you have the more you will spread the weight load. The heavier the load the more dimples you will get on the slide over time. Dimples will make the slide more difficult to slide. I went with 4 rows to spread the load to minimize dimpling where the slide sits on the bearings. So far (only a few months) I do not have any significant dimpling. If I do start to see that I will add aluminum strips for the length of each row so the bearings would ride on the aluminum and not the wood. Here is the good news, you can always add more rows and aluminum strips if needed. That would be an easy modification.

Debra, here is what I used. www.amazon.com/gp/product/B088LMJNH7/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Mitch, here is the link to what I used: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B088LMJNH7/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

@@dnasadventures8681 what’s the layout of the 36 bearing you mentioned? Are they like 8” on center?

Hi Mike, no plans... customized to the size of my bed. The slide fits between the wheel wells and from front to back with only about 1/4" of play. So the slide does not want to move around as I drive.

@@dnasadventures8681 thanks. I tackle my drawer next week. Thanks for the video, it’s been part of the process.