making the trucks bed more useful

[RamRodRic]

recently, i've been thinking of ways to better utilize the trucks bed when the camper is in tow. with our last camper i just threw all the water hoses, power cords, chocks, sewer hoses, leveling blocks and misc. crap in the front pass through storage area of the trailer. it created quite a mess even though i tried to keep things organized. it also used space i'd rather use for more important things of the liquid refreshment type.
i was thinking of a truck box but don't like the idea of drilling holes through the bed (btdt). i also thought about welding a 2" square receiver to the rear bumper of the trailer, buying a rack for it, and a box of some sort to mount to the rack. but being the cheap-ass that i am, i came up with the $15 solution. the 2x8's are simple to remove but stay in place because of the indentations in the bed sidewalls. you can see the additional indentations on the wheel well humps. these are used to make a platform in the bed.





i used 1ea 2"x8"x12' and a quart of black semi-gloss latex. still have a pint of it left over. you could use a 2x10 or a 2x12 if you want to. rounding of the bottom corners makes it fit flat to the floor.

 

[jeepguy_1980]

That's what those grooves are for (2x4's or wider). But they rarely get used as such

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[RamRodRic]

double decker truck bed

That's what those grooves are for (2x4's or wider). But they rarely get used as such

exactly! eventually i plan on using the slots on the wheel wells for a cross brace and creating a deck with 3/4" plywood. then i'll have the full length useable w/o having to remove any of the stuff under it.
$$bye bye old fashioned truck boxes$$

 

[jbr]

recently, i've been thinking of ways to better utilize the trucks bed when the camper is in tow. with our last camper i just threw all the water hoses, power cords, chocks, sewer hoses, leveling blocks and misc. crap in the front pass through storage area of the trailer. it created quite a mess even though i tried to keep things organized. it also used space i'd rather use for more important things of the liquid refreshment type.
i was thinking of a truck box but don't like the idea of drilling holes through the bed (btdt). i also thought about welding a 2" square receiver to the rear bumper of the trailer, buying a rack for it, and a box of some sort to mount to the rack. but being the cheap-ass that i am, i came up with the $15 solution. the 2x8's are simple to remove but stay in place because of the indentations in the bed sidewalls. you can see the additional indentations on the wheel well humps. these are used to make a platform in the bed.





i used 1ea 2"x8"x12' and a quart of black semi-gloss latex. still have a pint of it left over. you could use a 2x10 or a 2x12 if you want to. rounding of the bottom corners makes it fit flat to the floor.

Nice job. I did the same thing. I may plan on making an adjustable divider out of pvc pipe this summer.

 

[jcat]

I put a pendaliner in my truck and it's got the 2x4 cutouts but I don't know if they'd fit vertically like yours...have to check. That's a hell of an idea though, particularly segmenting that nose-end of the bed like that is key.

 

[moparbay]

Those pockets come in handy, have used mine several times

 

[Crescent1101]

I wonder if this would work with a spray in bedliner.