makeing a bed slide for the truck

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Bed slides are generally $1,000 and up in price. I decided, that would like to make my own bed slide. I have two sheets of aluminum that can be used as the base and may have them bent on the sides, to accommodate a track. The issue is, finding a track that would accommodate these cam follower stud bearings http://www.mcmaster.com/#stud-mount-...ollers/=ne441nIf non can be found, would it be reasonable to find a shop to cut to with, three 3/8 thickness bars of steel, then make them into a c channel? The outside edges would have to be welded and leave the inside edges untouched as the cams could hit those welded as the platform is rolled in and out. I would also have to send the bars to a cnc water jet or plasma jet shop, to cut out the notches where the locking mechanism would make contact so the drawer would lock when the handle is retracted. I am also looking for a good prices cnc/plasma shop, that can do small projects at a fair price and ship to Vancouver bc Canadaif, the price beats out local shops.  It can be Washington or Oregon.I may have to make this in autocad "I am so new, I only touched it a couple times" so may need some help with the design. Here are some sample web slide designs. I would weld this with steel do not have a spool gun for aluminum and my Lincoln is a home welder not hot enough for aluminum. http://www.joeybed.com/index.htmLast edited by lortech; 06-28-2013 at 02:55 PM.
Reply:Why not several small casters and a standard C channel?  I would think some 1" fixed casters spaced every 12" or so would work.  Run them in a C channel so that the slides can't tip up when pulled out and rig up some stops.  Not sure of the weight you're going to be pulling out and how often you will use it but around here at least when you start talking cnc work and so on $1000 doesn't seem to bad.Hobart 210 MVPEverlast Power Pro 256Best money I ever spent was on a welding class  MTEC
Reply:Use a piece of hot rolled flat bar turned on edge, maybe 1/2x3". Then take some other flat bar, say 1/2x1", and mount it on the  first flat bar near the top and bottom with the gap you want for your cam followers. You can tack the smaller flat bars to the bigger one, then mark the center line of the smaller one, center punch every 6" or so and drill through both with the right drill bit to tap a 1/4-20, or 3/8-18 countersunk bolt. Then remove the smaller bar and drill through with bit slightly larger than the bolt you want to use. Tap the bigger flat bar and bolt the two together. Buy good quality, graded bolts, use lock tight on final assembly. Fairly precise, cheap, and you built it yourself.
Reply:That is the idea. The issue with I beam and rectanuglar tube, is they are either bevlved in the web or have a corner radius. Both are not ideal for a cam follower bearing with its sharp radiius bend in the shape of the ridding surface. The other option is aluminum square tube. This if coarse, is much more expensive. The bed slide will accommodate a top box tool box pointing out the side so, it wont be on the end where the tong weight will be at its greatest. This will keep material cost down as well as cam follower roller bearing cost down. Now, if there is a alternative to mcmaster, to find these bearings that cost less then 25 dollars each. I think I will at a minimum, need 12 of these bearings. four at each rear corner top/bottom to support the platform, and the four more, to support the rest of the platform when it is rolled into the truck.
Reply:Could you use these:  Would get you above the radius of angle or I beam/C channel.http://www.surpluscenter.com/item.as...catname=wheelsHobart 210 MVPEverlast Power Pro 256Best money I ever spent was on a welding class  MTEC
Reply:I looked into this a few yrs ago, as you don't see these sliding beds in the UK.I found that heavy full extension duty draw runners* are available to the job, at a decent price. Not worth fartin about with anything else*God knows what type of draw they were for. They are available in insane lengths and weights