Sliding Tray for Truck Tool Box | Keep All Truck Accessories in One Place
Most handymen and repairmen carry a wide range of tools, from small, handy tools such as screwdrivers, wrenches, or hammers to larger equipment such as heavy machinery in the back of their pickup truck. Even with regular cleaning, the cargo bed can quickly look messy and disorganized. How do you keep your pickup truck’s cargo bed clean and organized if you have to store multiple tools and equipment in it?
Getting a sliding tray truck toolbox for your truck is a great way to keep the cargo bed organized. If you only need to carry small tools, opt for one-layer compartments, while those whose jobs require them to bring big, specialized equipment and machines can get larger, four-layer options.
Are you interested in turning the back of your pickup truck into an organized, all-around workshed? Keep reading as we explain the best sliding tray toolboxes, how to use them, and what options DIY handymen have if they want to make their own compartments.
What Is a Sliding Tray Toolbox?
A sliding tray toolbox is a compartment you can attach to the back of your truck. Having one inside your cargo bed gives you a place to store all your tools and equipment in. That way, they don’t clunk around while you’re driving.
On-the-go handymen and truckers have plenty of options online. They range from small, one-layer options ideal for handymen that take on odd jobs to large, multi-layer compartments built for the everyday use of specialized construction teams. It’s all about finding what suits your lifestyle.
Best Sliding Tray Toolbox for Pickup Truck Cargo Bed
| Olympia Tools 90-806 4-Drawer Hardware Organizer | DECKED Toyota Truck Bed Storage System Includes System Accessories | UWS DS22 Drawer Slide Box | |
| Brand | Olympia | Decked | UWS |
| Material | Steel | Polyethylene, Alloy Steel | Plastic |
| Color | Black/Red | Tan | Aluminium |
| Dimensions | 18.7-inch length, 15.8-inch | 18″L x 7″W x 8.5″H | 23 x 19.25 x 9 inches |
| Check on Amazon | Check on Amazon | Check on Amazon |
Best for Beginner Handymen: Olympia Tools 90-806 4-Drawer Hardware Organizer includes 2500-pieces Small Hardware, black/red
An issue most newbie handymen encounter with sliding tray toolbox compartments is most options are too large. A spacious organizer is great. However, it wouldn’t make sense for a handyman to invest in a large drawer if they don’t need it. After all, bigger toolboxes are often more expensive.
If you’re a newbie handyman looking for a simple, cost-efficient solution to organizing your cargo bed, try the 4-layer 90-806 Hardware Organizer by Olympia Tools. It’s large enough to carry all the essential handheld tools and equipment, but the entire box itself isn’t space-consuming. You’ll have plenty of room left in your cargo bed.
Key Features
The 90-805 Hardware Organizer is a 44-pound (29.9-kilogram) unit capable of carrying various tools and equipment. What makes it an ideal option for newbie handymen is the set comes with 2,500 small pieces of tools and hardware for basic repairs and various odd jobs.
Each tray comes reinforced with durable, heavy-duty stool resistant against all types of wear and tear damages, so you don’t have to worry about any dents or dings. Plus, the exterior is weather resistant. Not even years’ worth of exposure to harsh sunlight and heavy rains would be enough to make the hinges corrode.
Perhaps the only issue with the units’ durability is its paint. Admittedly, the paint on the 90-800 Hardware Organizer isn’t the best, and it chips off after quite a while. Although, you can easily put on a new layer of paint.
Best for Toyota Trucks: DECKED iPckup Truck Cargo Bed Storage
Toyota remains the most popular mass-market vehicle brand in the country. Statistics show that nearly two million new Toyota vehicles were assembled last year in North America. If you’re one of the millions of proud Toyota truck drivers in the country, check out the Pickup Truck Cargo Bed Storage compartment by DECKED.
These are tool organizers specially made to fit the cargo beds of a Toyota truck. It features two full-length, side-by-side drawers that smoothly slide inside and outside of the compartment. Not only can you store tools inside the drawers, but you can also place all kinds of machinery, equipment, and goods on the space on top of the compartment.
Key Features
What sets this sliding toolbox compartment by DECKED apart from any other option on the market is it’s built specifically for Toyota trucks. You can even choose specific variants. DECKED offers respective compartments for the most popular Toyota trucks on the U.S. market: Tundra and Tacoma.
When it comes to durability, this cargo bed compartment is no lightweight. It measures nearly seven feet long and weighs more than 240 pounds (108.9 kilograms), so you don’t have to worry about stored tools or equipment damaging or denting the unit’s body.
Plus, since the compartment takes up the entire cargo bed, you can opt to place large, heavy equipment and machinery on top of the compartment itself. The unit has a maximum payload of 2,000 pounds or 900 kilograms. Rest assured, it can safely carry anything from multiple sacks of cement to large specialized handyman machinery.
Best Compact Option: UWS DS22 Drawer Slide Box
Spacious sliding tray compartments are great. However, not every handyman needs that much storage space in the back of their pickup truck. Some need to allot more cargo bed space for large, heavy equipment, while others simply don’t require too many drawers since they don’t use too many tools.
Whatever the case, if you’re looking for a compact, portable sliding toolbox tray, try UWS DS22 Drawer Slide Box. It’s a compact storage compartment that consists of five commercial-grade, heavy-duty plastic drawers stacked on top of each other. They’re ideal for storing small tools such as wrenches, screwdrivers, and hammers.
Key Features
The DS22 Drawer Slide Box by UWS is a compartment that measures 23” (58.42cm) x 19.25” (48.9cm) x 9” (22.86cm) and weighs less than nine pounds (4.1 kilograms). Its lightweight frame offers multiple benefits, including the following:
- Less Gas Consumption: Large compartments that weigh hundreds of pounds add a heavy load to your pickup truck, thus, forcing the vehicle to consume more gas just to run normally.
- More Cargo Bed Space: Make room for larger equipment by keeping all your small tools and hardware in a small 20-inch (50.8-kilogram) corner of your cargo bed.
- Easy Installation: We can confidently say that this is one of the easiest sliding tray toolbox compartments to install. You can have it set up by yourself in just a matter of minutes.
Should You Make Your Own Sliding Tray Toolbox Compartment?
There are plenty of sliding tray toolbox compartments available online. However, some handymen might prefer to make their own. Should you do the same? There’s nothing wrong with deciding to take a more hands-on approach to the task, but you need to be careful. Remember that quality is the top priority.
Here are the pros and cons of making your own sliding tray toolbox compartment:
Pros
- Cost-Efficient: In most cases, making your own sliding tray toolbox is much more cost-efficient than buying one off the internet—especially if you have the necessary tools on hand.
- Customized Design: Another perk of building your own sliding tray toolbox is the freedom to customize its overall design and aesthetic. If you want a tough, rugged look, opt to use wood. Just make sure to waterproof it with marine varnish before attaching it to your truck.
- Exact Measurements and Specs: Worried that the toolboxes online might not match your truck? By making your own compartment, you can adjust the length, width, and height to perfectly match your truck’s cargo bed.
Cons
- Time-Consuming: Building a full-scale compartment for your truck will be time-consuming. Allot at least a week or two for the entire project.
- Compromised Quality: Unless you’re a skilled craftsman that specializes in making sliding tray toolbox compartments, there’s little chance that you can match the level of quality big brands and manufacturers provide.
Final Thoughts
Having a sliding tray toolbox on your pickup truck is a solid way to keep the cargo bed organized. On-the-go handymen know just how annoying a messy, disorganized trunk can be—especially if the tools keep clunking while you’re driving. Plus, looking for small items in a pile of messy tools is a hassle.
Whether you choose to buy a sliding tray toolbox or build your own, proper measurements are crucial. You need a compartment that fits your cargo bed, is large enough to carry all your tools and matches your pickup truck’s overall aesthetic.
