JoeyBed modification to accommodate tool box

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JoeyBed modification to accommodate tool box

April 17, 2015, 12:20:26 am

I decided that having 3 to 5 of any given tool with us but not being able to find even one is not tolerable anymore. I have been holding out for a tool box that would fill the compartment behind the driver's side dually but haven't found anything that would make good use of that space. I could make drawers with full extension slides and fill out the space, but too many other projects to contemplate doing it just now, though I may do it in the future. Anyway, enough is enough and I have had my fill of looking for my tools while just trying to get something done. Having 5 or 6 open top tool totes wasn't working for me. Whatever I needed was always invisibly buried beneath a potpourri of parts and tools that may have started out making sense but inevitably turned into chaos in fairly short order. So I decided to get a largish tool box with as many drawers as possible to fit in the JoeyBed and still clear the obstruction of the cable and fuel line channel that runs down the center of the storage bay. All of the tool boxes that had a decent capacity were too tall to sit on top of the JoeyBed and if sitting down in it, one or more drawers would be unusable. Our JoeyBed is one that had metal sides, but plywood ends and bottom. The ends are 6 ½" tall and with steel angle joining the ends to the bottom and sides, an important part of the structural integrity.
I decided to modify the end on the patio side as that would be the preferred place to access tools in a break down situation, and more pleasant under the awning if camped and the weather is hot or rainy. I got some 2"x3"X¼" aluminum angel to replace the plywood. It took some doing, but I am confident that the JoeyBed is stronger than before and the tool box looks like it belongs there. Now I have to decide what goes in it

The box I chose is a tool cart from Harbor Frieght. I modified it slightly by cutting the legs off. I considered leaving them off altogether, but they provide a significant amount of rigidity and made it easier fit the space available. I will secure it to the Joey bed by screwing down some aluminum angle to the bottom of the JoeyBed to keep it from sliding on sudden stops. I will also secure it to the angle with something as yet undetermined, but easy to undo. I have ordered the replacement bearings (the heavy duty smith cam followers referenced in other threads). In addition, I used a low profile bent steel brace (shaped like a 'V' with wings) that spans from one side rail to the other directly under the tool box to add support for the weight. I got all of the metal from the scrap pile at IMS here locally. I have enough aluminum angle to do the other end of the JoeyBed which I will do later, just because I like the lower lift over height that the lowered end gives.
Don

Re: JoeyBed modification to accommodate tool box

Reply #1 – April 17, 2015, 07:48:38 am

Don, I have a stack of US General boxes , the bottom one rolls, that came from Harbor Freight. They are OK but after several years use the drawers are getting harder and harder to open. Don't think its lubrication but I have not been able to figure out why they are binding.
Gary B

Re: JoeyBed modification to accommodate tool box

Reply #2 – April 17, 2015, 08:38:34 am

Now is the time to upgrade the bed bearings. With that overhung load the originals are sure to break.
Joey Bed

Good luck,

Re: JoeyBed modification to accommodate tool box

Reply #3 – April 17, 2015, 09:09:01 am

Just waiting for them to get here! Ordered them a week ago... changing all 14!
Don

Quote from: Rick – April 17, 2015, 08:38:34 am

Now is the time to upgrade the bed bearings. With that overhung load the originals are sure to break.
Joey Bed

Good luck,

Re: JoeyBed modification to accommodate tool box

Reply #4 – April 17, 2015, 11:00:57 am

Good looking job Don

First class as usual.................

Re: JoeyBed modification to accommodate tool box

Reply #5 – April 19, 2015, 03:53:23 am

Don, I'm not sure we've got the same Joey bed (ours has metal sides and ends, and plywood bottom), but I have two really heavy toolboxes on the passenger side slide. It's heavy enough that if the coach is tilted toward the passenger side, I have a hard time getting the slide in. So far (digits crossed) the bearings have been OK (7 years) even with the major overhang. I spray lithium grease on all the bearings at least every couple of weeks, and that improves the sliding immensely.

with all the weight on the slide, I had an issue with the plywood floor bending down in the middle and rubbing on the bottom of the Joey bed frame, so last year I went looking for low-profile casters to mount upside down under the plywood. I found a light duty triple caster unit at a local ACE that was just the right height and mounted three of them upside down under each Joey bed. Problem solved!

Re: JoeyBed modification to accommodate tool box

Reply #6 – April 19, 2015, 12:05:08 pm

Quote

from Dave K.
Don, I'm not sure we've got the same Joey bed (ours has metal sides and ends, and plywood bottom), but I have two really heavy toolboxes on the passenger side slide. It's heavy enough that if the coach is tilted toward the passenger side, I have a hard time getting the slide in. So far (digits crossed) the bearings have been OK (7 years) even with the major overhang. I spray lithium grease on all the bearings at least every couple of weeks, and that improves the sliding immensely.

with all the weight on the slide, I had an issue with the plywood floor bending down in the middle and rubbing on the bottom of the Joey bed frame, so last year I went looking for low-profile casters to mount upside down under the plywood. I found a light duty triple caster unit at a local ACE that was just the right height and mounted three of them upside down under each Joey bed. Problem solved!

Dave, was yours made by JoeyBed? I remember seeing yours and thinking how I liked the latch being in the middle rather than on the rear corner. Ours was obviously made to accommodate different width compartments as the plywood could have been cut shorter and the sides move closer together. The caster idea wouldn't work on ours because the side frames are tied together by ¼" flat stock that overlaps the the welded bracket that elevates the sides to clear the trim. Also the fact that it slides out 75% of its depth in both directions. If I ever end up pulling it all the way out, I may rebuild it with a 16ga. steel floor or maybe ⅛" aluminum, braced every couple of feet.
Here is a picture of FOT putting in the fuel lines where you can see that cross piece. To combat the plywood belly bulge, I put a support across the bottom of the JoeyBed under neath the area where the rear of the toolbox sits. It doesn't cure it completely, but it reduced it considerably and feels much less spongy now. Before I put that brace in, I would have had to shim up the right rear corner of the tool box by about about ⅞". As it is, I just used a short piece of scrap of the ¼" angle left from the end piece, which also gives me an easy anchoring point for that corner.
Don

Re: JoeyBed modification to accommodate tool box

Reply #7 – April 22, 2015, 03:22:04 am

I'm assuming ours were made by Joey beds, but don't really know (is there a mfr's ID on yours?). We have two separate slideouts, rather than one that slides out both directions. The frame is quite sturdy, and the supporting frame attached to the floor seems to distribute weight quite well, since no distortion of the floor structure is observable from under the coach. Definitely some advantages to a single slide, though, since I'm guessing it allows easy access to the sides and center of the compartment (I have to remove stuff from the non-toolbox slide and crawl over the back of the slide to get access.)

Re: JoeyBed modification to accommodate tool box

Reply #8 – April 22, 2015, 01:24:17 pm

Don, where and what did you buy to replace your Joey Bed bearings?

I thought that Joey Bed is out of business and wondered if parts are available.

Re: JoeyBed modification to accommodate tool box

Reply #9 – April 22, 2015, 01:51:21 pm

We also carry a fairly large tool box in our basement. However ours is a 'journeyman' two piece unit made originally in Elkhart, IN. I would've preferred a one piece unit for easier storage of longer items and better weight distribution.

One question I have for the more experienced FTers is the weight placed on the slide out beds in relation to the overall coach. I've been keeping the heavier items re: tool box/oil/antifreeze etc as far forward as possible in case of an emergency stop or worse. But after looking at the results of weighing the four corners of the coach, I could use more weight in the rear.

Re: JoeyBed modification to accommodate tool box

Reply #10 – April 22, 2015, 01:51:46 pm

Barry,
I am using the Smith Cam Follower referenced in an earlier Forum thread, though I bought them from MRO supply because Zoro only showed 5 in stock. Oddly enough, though I ordered 14, they shorted me one so I have been trying to get customer service to respond. I will try again today. The old bearings seem good, they roll smoothly and don't seem to have excessive clearance. They are obviously nowhere near as robust as the ones I put in, but I will use the old bearings in some of the extra holes. Our JoeyBed had 14 bearings but holes to allow for 20! They are on the same plane as the other low bearings and there are no extra holes for the bearings that ride on top of the load bearing square bar stock which is welded to the side of the slide out frame.
Smith Bearing 1 ⅜" Cam follower MRO Supply

Don

Quote from: Barry & Cindy – April 22, 2015, 01:24:17 pm

Don, where and what did you buy to replace your Joey Bed bearings?

I thought that Joey Bed is out of business and wondered if parts are available.

Re: JoeyBed modification to accommodate tool box

Reply #11 – April 22, 2015, 11:59:01 pm

Today I was thinking of ordering some of the new Brgs but then decided to remove all of the original ones and clean them in thinners, blow out clean then put some 30wt sythetic oil in them and WOW the difference is night and day. The bed flies thru coach now!! I will not bother with getting those new ones now.
JohnH

Re: JoeyBed modification to accommodate tool box

Reply #12 – April 23, 2015, 02:08:47 am

John,
The reason I replaced the ones in ours was to preempt possible failure of the race which can crack when loaded beyond their design parameters. The old bearings were sealed (and still are

) and still rolled smoothly in spite of the load. Fearing a catastrophic failure while the joeybed was all the way out, I was always careful to bring it to a soft stop. That I will continue to do even though the new bearings are much beefier and have a static load rating of more than four times the originals. Since the old ones are the same diameter and still seemed to roll smoothly without any feeling of grit, I reused 8 of them in holes already provided on the joeybed frame that weren't previously populated and now have 22 bearings instead of 14. I am waiting for the one I was shorted on my order and then there will be 8 of the old ones and 14 of the super heavy duty ones. Still when the joeybed is all the way out on one side or the other, there are only 8 bearings carrying the load whereas before there were 6. The outer ones are under a lot of stress, so I feel much better with the heavy duty ones there now. Strangely enough, of the original bearings, some were made in China and some were made in Japan. They appear to be identical and the first 6 or so digits of the part number are the same. The originals were also ball bearing whereas the new ones are roller and the outer race appears to be much thicker. Time will tell, but I will at least feel better about loading up my tool chest!
Don

Quote from: John Haygarth – April 22, 2015, 11:59:01 pm

Today I was thinking of ordering some of the new Brgs but then decided to remove all of the original ones and clean them in thinners, blow out clean then put some 30wt sythetic oil in them and WOW the difference is night and day. The bed flies thru coach now!! I will not bother with getting those new ones now.
JohnH

Re: JoeyBed modification to accommodate tool box

Reply #13 – April 23, 2015, 06:53:23 pm

Don,

How does one go about buying your bearings and do they come with the short bolt pressed in?

Re: JoeyBed modification to accommodate tool box

Reply #14 – April 23, 2015, 08:05:48 pm

I gather that those of you that full time carry a lot more weight than I do as my bed only has 5 on each side and even at full extention it goes back easy now. It is made by "Journeyman" as is the one that Veltings have and must be many more of the 2000 circa. Ours is a full width too. Mine seems fine for now so I will leave as is, but I understand your reasons for the change made.
JohnH

Re: JoeyBed modification to accommodate tool box

Reply #15 – April 23, 2015, 10:49:03 pm

Barry,
I just created an account at this link:1 ⅜" Cam Follower at MRO Supply
They come mounted on a stud and the stud appears to be the inner race. The only issue is the length of the stud and the fact that it as an unthreaded shoulder, though the shoulder is just a hair larger diameter than the threaded area and required wiggling a ½" drill bit in the hole to be able to insert it all the way into the hole without a hammer. Since the non-threaded area extends past the thin frame of the JoeyBed, a spacer is necessary. Also, the four bearings on the end and another four that were very close to the vertical support don't have much clearance. I found that a heavy duty ½" split ring lock washer next to the frame and ½" collars that I found at a local True Value hardware store along with a nylock locknut worked well. This combination allowed the nylock nut to be flush with the end of the stud when tightened up, creating a finger friendly rounded profile. It does protrude into the margin along side the JoeyBed, but no further than the vertical support welded to the ends of the JoeyBed frame.
Don

Quote from: Barry & Cindy – April 23, 2015, 06:53:23 pm

Don,
How does one go about buying your bearings and do they come with the short bolt pressed in?

Re: JoeyBed modification to accommodate tool box

Reply #16 – August 20, 2017, 09:31:44 pm

Quote from: Don & Tys (AKA acousticart) – April 23, 2015, 10:49:03 pm

Barry,
I just created an account at this link:1 ⅜" Cam Follower at MRO Supply
They come mounted on a stud and the stud appears to be the inner race. The only issue is the length of the stud and the fact that it as an unthreaded shoulder, though the shoulder is just a hair larger diameter than the threaded area and required wiggling a ½" drill bit in the hole to be able to insert it all the way into the hole without a hammer. Since the non-threaded area extends past the thin frame of the JoeyBed, a spacer is necessary.
...
I found that a heavy duty ½" split ring lock washer next to the frame and ½" collars that I found at a local True Value hardware store along with a nylock locknut worked well. This combination allowed the nylock nut to be flush with the end of the stud when tightened up, creating a finger friendly rounded profile. It does protrude into the margin along side the JoeyBed, but no further than the vertical support welded to the ends of the JoeyBed frame.
Don

Thanks to this set of posts and a few others I had a good idea what to do when my outer Joey Bed bearing gave up the ghost.
I too purchased the Smith Bearings cr-1-38-xbc Cam Follower.
The reason for the late post is to suggest an alternate spacer to cover the unthreaded shoulder.
I used three heavy duty ½" split ring lock washers and then the 1/2 nylock locknut.
Had to get the nuts at Tractor Supply. Neither H.D nor ACE had 1/2-20 . That is the normal lugnut size by the way.

Re: JoeyBed modification to accommodate tool box

Reply #17 – August 21, 2017, 11:02:22 am

Yup, you have an RV, so you have a problem, you just don't know what it is yet! Man just can't have enough tools with him, especially if your a hands on kind of guy!
I added a small wheel in the center to help support all this. Works awesome.
Chris

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JoeyBed modification to accommodate tool box

April 17, 2015, 12:20:26 am

Re: JoeyBed modification to accommodate tool box

Reply #1 – April 17, 2015, 07:48:38 am

Re: JoeyBed modification to accommodate tool box

Reply #2 – April 17, 2015, 08:38:34 am

Re: JoeyBed modification to accommodate tool box

Reply #3 – April 17, 2015, 09:09:01 am

Re: JoeyBed modification to accommodate tool box

Reply #4 – April 17, 2015, 11:00:57 am

Re: JoeyBed modification to accommodate tool box

Reply #5 – April 19, 2015, 03:53:23 am

Re: JoeyBed modification to accommodate tool box

Reply #6 – April 19, 2015, 12:05:08 pm

Re: JoeyBed modification to accommodate tool box

Reply #7 – April 22, 2015, 03:22:04 am

Re: JoeyBed modification to accommodate tool box

Reply #8 – April 22, 2015, 01:24:17 pm

Re: JoeyBed modification to accommodate tool box

Reply #9 – April 22, 2015, 01:51:21 pm

Re: JoeyBed modification to accommodate tool box

Reply #10 – April 22, 2015, 01:51:46 pm

Re: JoeyBed modification to accommodate tool box

Reply #11 – April 22, 2015, 11:59:01 pm

Re: JoeyBed modification to accommodate tool box

Reply #12 – April 23, 2015, 02:08:47 am

Re: JoeyBed modification to accommodate tool box

Reply #13 – April 23, 2015, 06:53:23 pm

Re: JoeyBed modification to accommodate tool box

Reply #14 – April 23, 2015, 08:05:48 pm

Re: JoeyBed modification to accommodate tool box

Reply #15 – April 23, 2015, 10:49:03 pm

Re: JoeyBed modification to accommodate tool box

Reply #16 – August 20, 2017, 09:31:44 pm

Re: JoeyBed modification to accommodate tool box

Reply #17 – August 21, 2017, 11:02:22 am

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