Pinnacle Campers
Chateau spotter
Soon after the bed panels were done I started work on the Vanslide.
I wanted a bedslide pretty bad. I even bought one off of Craigslist for "cheap" before I even had my van. Then I had read in Brad's Vandiana thread about his making a ton of noise when unloaded, he didn't have it long. Additionally all of the bedslides out there waist precious height, the one I had was 3" high.
So I set out to build one 1" high.
Using the same construction as the bed frames, utilizing 22mm skateboard bearings, the weldmount studs from the window block off panel project for the "headless fasteners", and some modified 1/2"x1/2"x1/4" steel angle for a track.
The pivoted/spun piece of 1/2"x1" tubing is the unlock handle. This is attached to a simple braided steel cable/pulley system and two 1/2" steel spring loaded locking pins. Pull to unlock, push back in and the pins find the holes and lock automatically.
The tolerances are super tight, I even cut the pinch weld at the door jamb on the passenger side rear door area. Also in this pic, you can see the sleeve in the tubing for the lock pins.
I tested my system with some camping but ultimately The Maze area of Canyonlands National Park took its toll and was a great learning experience. First of all, I didn't locktite any of the bolts as I had planned on taking it all back apart for paint/upholstery.
This resulted in loose and eventually bent bearing bolts, (have I mentioned there are 24 of them....per side!) noise, jamming, etc. Also, I had used angle aluminum for the side rails and they were carrying all the load of our gear, cooler, food, potty, etc.
On return I changed the side rails to steel and decided some full contact roller bearings under the frame center would be a good idea.
In this pic you can see 4 of the 6 full contact roller bearings. They line up with the center longitudinal 1x frame menbers. You can also see them poking through the black coin flooring in the "fully upright" pic.
With the temporary plywood, this is inset, so the total frame thickness is 1", its about 1" off the floor. The plywood panels are screwed in from the bottom of the 1/2"x1" steel tube running perpendicular to travel.
You can also see that I put vertical plywood on the "brackets" creating cubbies behind.
To replace the plywood I wanted something that was abrasion resistant/durable, and waterproof/resistant. From prior research, and after seeing MG use the Starboard type products on the Optima van I thought that or its HDPE equivalents would work great.
These materials and their brand names are mostly marine products, well there isn't much of that in Boise Idaho. Getting just one sheet shipped here wasn't very cost effective either. Then doing some internet research I realized they use these HDPE boards to line dump trucks for damage resistance and also so materials slide out easier. A quick call to a local distributer and I found 5 sheets in stock for $80ish a piece. I went and got 2 then realized I should have bought it all then went back and bought the rest just so I can have it "in stock".
I cut pieces to replace the plywood in the Vanslide, the vertical walls on the sides of the bedslide and for the panel dividers in the cubbies. The panels are attached in a number of ways, rivnuts, threaded holes in the steel, all with 8mm countersunk allen heads.
The bottom of the bed panels are still plywood with black exterior latex paint. I painted the underside of the stationary side panels a light tan just so it would reflect the light of my cubby LED's.
The top of the "track" is the HDPE itself. When the slide is out, the bearings at the van side end are pushing up against it here. You can also see the locking pin here.
With the cubby LED's on. These are 3-way switched from the back, or the front behind the second row seat.
In this pic you can see the track itself a little better. I added flanges made out of washers for the 8mm countersunk bolts. Just in front of it is the notch that would be its furthest out locked position.
In the foreground you can see one of the full contact bearings and its ABS sheet eschuteon (trim ring). Its always dirty under the slide as all of the dirt sifts through it.
Here is a better shot of the cable/pulley/lock pin spring system. The full contact bearing alignment with the 1x's.
I wanted a bedslide pretty bad. I even bought one off of Craigslist for "cheap" before I even had my van. Then I had read in Brad's Vandiana thread about his making a ton of noise when unloaded, he didn't have it long. Additionally all of the bedslides out there waist precious height, the one I had was 3" high.
So I set out to build one 1" high.
Using the same construction as the bed frames, utilizing 22mm skateboard bearings, the weldmount studs from the window block off panel project for the "headless fasteners", and some modified 1/2"x1/2"x1/4" steel angle for a track.
The pivoted/spun piece of 1/2"x1" tubing is the unlock handle. This is attached to a simple braided steel cable/pulley system and two 1/2" steel spring loaded locking pins. Pull to unlock, push back in and the pins find the holes and lock automatically.
The tolerances are super tight, I even cut the pinch weld at the door jamb on the passenger side rear door area. Also in this pic, you can see the sleeve in the tubing for the lock pins.
I tested my system with some camping but ultimately The Maze area of Canyonlands National Park took its toll and was a great learning experience. First of all, I didn't locktite any of the bolts as I had planned on taking it all back apart for paint/upholstery.
This resulted in loose and eventually bent bearing bolts, (have I mentioned there are 24 of them....per side!) noise, jamming, etc. Also, I had used angle aluminum for the side rails and they were carrying all the load of our gear, cooler, food, potty, etc.
On return I changed the side rails to steel and decided some full contact roller bearings under the frame center would be a good idea.
In this pic you can see 4 of the 6 full contact roller bearings. They line up with the center longitudinal 1x frame menbers. You can also see them poking through the black coin flooring in the "fully upright" pic.
With the temporary plywood, this is inset, so the total frame thickness is 1", its about 1" off the floor. The plywood panels are screwed in from the bottom of the 1/2"x1" steel tube running perpendicular to travel.
You can also see that I put vertical plywood on the "brackets" creating cubbies behind.
To replace the plywood I wanted something that was abrasion resistant/durable, and waterproof/resistant. From prior research, and after seeing MG use the Starboard type products on the Optima van I thought that or its HDPE equivalents would work great.
These materials and their brand names are mostly marine products, well there isn't much of that in Boise Idaho. Getting just one sheet shipped here wasn't very cost effective either. Then doing some internet research I realized they use these HDPE boards to line dump trucks for damage resistance and also so materials slide out easier. A quick call to a local distributer and I found 5 sheets in stock for $80ish a piece. I went and got 2 then realized I should have bought it all then went back and bought the rest just so I can have it "in stock".
I cut pieces to replace the plywood in the Vanslide, the vertical walls on the sides of the bedslide and for the panel dividers in the cubbies. The panels are attached in a number of ways, rivnuts, threaded holes in the steel, all with 8mm countersunk allen heads.
The bottom of the bed panels are still plywood with black exterior latex paint. I painted the underside of the stationary side panels a light tan just so it would reflect the light of my cubby LED's.
The top of the "track" is the HDPE itself. When the slide is out, the bearings at the van side end are pushing up against it here. You can also see the locking pin here.
With the cubby LED's on. These are 3-way switched from the back, or the front behind the second row seat.
In this pic you can see the track itself a little better. I added flanges made out of washers for the 8mm countersunk bolts. Just in front of it is the notch that would be its furthest out locked position.
In the foreground you can see one of the full contact bearings and its ABS sheet eschuteon (trim ring). Its always dirty under the slide as all of the dirt sifts through it.
Here is a better shot of the cable/pulley/lock pin spring system. The full contact bearing alignment with the 1x's.
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