DIY Cooler slide

gps4

Member
I picked up 2 90qt rotomolded coolers for less than one yeti tundra 75 to use on long road trips. problem is the distance between my tent rails and the floor of the trailer is too short to open the cooler. and a fully loaded cooler is too heavy to take out of the trailer every time we need something out of it. The measurements of the coolers are 33" x 20" x 17.5" and I'm too cheap to but a factory made fridge slide. my research on this site and several others convinced me i could make my own.

i ordered a pair of 36" locking slides off amazon, bought an 8ft length 2.5x2.5x1/8 angle aluminum, 2 4ft length 1.5x1.5x1/8 angle aluminum, a 4'x2' piece of 1/2 pressure treated plywood cut down to 36"x 18", stainless nuts and bolts, and used leftover boat carpet to wrap the plywood. got it knocked out in about 2 hours.

its been raining for two days, so i had to do all the fabrication and installation in my garage, hence the poor photo quality.

i'm sure i will modify the design if something doesn't work quite right in the field.

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Mfitz

Active member
Nice job!
It’s crazy how much a new fridge slide sells for when you can do it yourself!
I picked up 2 90qt rotomolded coolers for less than one yeti tundra 75 to use on long road trips. problem is the distance between my tent rails and the floor of the trailer is too short to open the cooler. and a fully loaded cooler is too heavy to take out of the trailer every time we need something out of it. The measurements of the coolers are 33" x 20" x 17.5" and I'm too cheap to but a factory made fridge slide. my research on this site and several others convinced me i could make my own.

i ordered a pair of 36" locking slides off amazon, bought an 8ft length 2.5x2.5x1/8 angle aluminum, 2 4ft length 1.5x1.5x1/8 angle aluminum, a 4'x2' piece of 1/2 pressure treated plywood cut down to 36"x 18", stainless nuts and bolts, and used leftover boat carpet to wrap the plywood. got it knocked out in about 2 hours.

its been raining for two days, so i had to do all the fabrication and installation in my garage, hence the poor photo quality.

i'm sure i will modify the design if something doesn't work quite right in the field.

640x854.jpeg.296e3667ec464ac6a2c9304885e92076


2050x1536.jpeg.abd4d04c2ee043d9aed0e3602cceb923


640x854.jpeg.f174da15eded41e098f7f1d1c530e350


640x854.jpeg.a87aae81faa44896b7cc7a08846a22cc


854x640.jpeg.8851a2cc2ac7436985a58356b96ff798


854x640.jpeg.af4aea26ddbf4301ac70bcf36b9d755b


854x640.jpeg.800bc2c414fb43cf94d38235168b5072
I really like this. Did you attach the cooler to the slide, or will you strap it down while driving?
 

gps4

Member
I really like this. Did you attach the cooler to the slide, or will you strap it down while driving?

I plan to strap it down to the board when loaded down and on the road. I think I need to move the tent forward a little bit and fine tune positioning on the board.
 
D

Deleted member 9101

Guest
I plan to strap it down to the board when loaded down and on the road. I think I need to move the tent forward a little bit and fine tune positioning on the board.

While strapping it will work, I'd build small wooden cleats at each corner. That way thr strap can hold it down and the cleats can keep it from sliding.
 

mep1811

Gentleman Adventurer
Great work.

I did a similar slide. If you drive in very dusty areas flush out the slides when you are home and spray with silicone or WD40.
 

mep1811

Gentleman Adventurer
That’s a great idea! I’ll be sure to stow a can on board just to be in the safe side !

If they feel gritty while on the trail flush with a water bottle while moving the slide back and forth . You don't want grit building up and getting solid.
Those coolers are perfect for using with dry ice to extend the ice.

Happy Trails
 

Mark2457

Member
I picked up 2 90qt rotomolded coolers for less than one yeti tundra 75 to use on long road trips. problem is the distance between my tent rails and the floor of the trailer is too short to open the cooler. and a fully loaded cooler is too heavy to take out of the trailer every time we need something out of it. The measurements of the coolers are 33" x 20" x 17.5" and I'm too cheap to but a factory made fridge slide. my research on this site and several others convinced me i could make my own.

i ordered a pair of 36" locking slides off amazon, bought an 8ft length 2.5x2.5x1/8 angle aluminum, 2 4ft length 1.5x1.5x1/8 angle aluminum, a 4'x2' piece of 1/2 pressure treated plywood cut down to 36"x 18", stainless nuts and bolts, and used leftover boat carpet to wrap the plywood. got it knocked out in about 2 hours.

its been raining for two days, so i had to do all the fabrication and installation in my garage, hence the poor photo quality.

i'm sure i will modify the design if something doesn't work quite right in the field.

640x854.jpeg.296e3667ec464ac6a2c9304885e92076


2050x1536.jpeg.abd4d04c2ee043d9aed0e3602cceb923


640x854.jpeg.f174da15eded41e098f7f1d1c530e350


640x854.jpeg.a87aae81faa44896b7cc7a08846a22cc


854x640.jpeg.8851a2cc2ac7436985a58356b96ff798


854x640.jpeg.af4aea26ddbf4301ac70bcf36b9d755b


854x640.jpeg.800bc2c414fb43cf94d38235168b5072

Nice. How did you attach to trailer so it doesn't tip over
 

ShoxX

Observer
I had the same design in my head after buying an Rtic 60l. Care to share a link to the slide on amazon?
 

gps4

Member
@ ShoxX- my first attempt with the least expensive slides i could find on amazon failed miserably on the first trip i took with the cooler loaded down. the slide bearings fell apart. so, when i got back home, i ordered replacement heavy duty slides from ovis.


@Mark2457 - I bolted the bottom rail to the floor of the trailer so it would not move or tip up when the slides are extended.
 

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