Rear Sliding Tray

[Old Sid]

The way forward...
Think mine cost about £200, but had it powder coated too.

View attachment 64199

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This looks really good. How have you fastened it to the floor?

 

[soulstyledevon]

This looks really good. How have you fastened it to the floor?

You can buy the sliding rail floor mounts off eBay.

 

[Jon Banks]

I have Calicap one and it’s probably the best thing I have purchased for the van.

View attachment 64008

Hi. I have the same. Great bit of kit. Where are your boxes from - look like a perfect fit for the Beach

 

[Old Sid]

You can buy the sliding rail floor mounts off eBay.

Thanks. I looked at the sliding tray on the California shop. I saw they use ‘T’ shaped things that fit into the slider grooves on the floor but that method appears to prevent the tray occupying the full width of the rear floor which renders it pretty useless. I could overcome this on the right side by placing the fixing under the tray but there’s no slider on the left.

 

[WelshGas]

+++++++

The software disables typed email addresses as a safety feature. You could post a photo of your email address.

 

[soulstyledevon]

Thanks. I looked at the sliding tray on the California shop. I saw they use ‘T’ shaped things that fit into the slider grooves on the floor but that method appears to prevent the tray occupying the full width of the rear floor which renders it pretty useless. I could overcome this on the right side by placing the fixing under the tray but there’s no slider on the left.

That’s what I’ve used.
I’ve set the mounting bracket just behind the trays closed position.
Therefore allowing a full width tray. It’s pointless not utilising the full width of that area.

 

[soulstyledevon]

This pic might help in explaining what I mean. You can see the fixing holes for the T-Bolts on the cross bar

 

[Old Sid]

Ah, superb. Thanks for the photo. So, the left side runner is held in place by the transverse bar only? Once the tray is inserted, the whole thing becomes rigid. Yes, I can see how that works. We put two folding bikes into that space and I need the absolute full width. Your system would work perfectly.
- Does the box with the jack come out okay with the frame in place?
- is that 3mm aluminium angle you have used?
- tray base 13mm ply?

 

[Paulfwb]

What's the forums view on the rear boot tray sliders? I am looking at one for my T6.1 on order, but its about £550 or so from Calicap.de for the specific lounge bed function version...

Is it a nice to have or an essential?

My WIFE and have been considering a sliding tray for our T6. Apart from the obvious utility there are other considerations.

• Anything that you build in will permanently consume space
• Consider how much weight it will bare when fully extended (water is 1 kg per liter)
• If it fails and may not be able to legally drive anywhere.

 

[Punchy England]

I’m in the process of making my own following Tim’s posting about making his. Two 80cm pull out runners some aluminium angle a few rail fittings and a tray should be around £150ish by the time I’m done

Hello do you have any plans please and or details of the runners

 

[Shuftie]

I think one of the best resources on this forum is Mike's post here. It gives details of all the parts and materials you need if you're building your own, I used it to make my pull out drawer and it's been excellent! So pleased with it. Along with Boris's suggestion of Euroboxes for storage, it's been a game changer for me. Here's a shot of my drawer in action from this week.

 

[X77]

I have Calicap one and it’s probably the best thing I have purchased for the van.

View attachment 64008

Nice, I like your set up. What do people mean by "lounge function"?

 

[Agnes]

What's the forums view on the rear boot tray sliders? I am looking at one for my T6.1 on order, but its about £550 or so from Calicap.de for the specific lounge bed function version...

Is it a nice to have or an essential?

Depends how much you like bending and poking around in the back. We have one and for us its the best add on we have I think. Makes getting at stuff so much easier. The other must have for us (less agile folk) is the small foldable kampa step - so useful and also doubles as a mini table for balancing the coffee cups on grass when you dont want to get the table out. Third most useful extra is the shelf over the kitchen unit - so much stuff goes on there while parked up. Makes cooking a lot easier too - keep your kitchen roll, salt, and all manner of bits and pieces up there while cooking. Number 4 is the pockets that attach to the back of the passenger seat - so convenient for all manner of stuff, and the one we have includes a pouch that has insulation. I realise you only asked about the rear boot slider - but thought I'd throw this lot in! Enjoy.

 

[smikei]

My own drawings were rudimentary.

I got my inspiration from a Dutch forum member who had a webpage In English devoted to their build. However I have just checked the page and in the last month it appears the domain has expired. This is the link in case they renew it:

http://www.knusineenvolkswagenbus.n...out-drawer-for-the-vw-t5-t6-california-ocean/

I’m sorry I can’t recall which member it was.

Essentially, I bought about 5m of 50x50mm aluminium angle and a couple of metres of 50mm flat bar from Aluminium Warehouse:

Aluminium Warehouse > Aluminium Angle

Buy Aluminium Angle online now or call 0800 520 0729 FREE. Order Cut to Size. Earn Trade Points with every order. Top rated supplier to Trade and DIY.

www.aluminiumwarehouse.co.uk

.

These drawer slides, I think 850mm, from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0859B1RC1/?tag=vwcalifornia-21

And rather than go hunting for specialist T bolts, I used M8 threaded dowels and threaded rod to make the securing bolts to the van’s rails.

Fabricate the tray out of angle with a simple overlapping joint pop riveted together. Then make an open-ended frame wider than the box and secure its open width with the flat bar to provide support across the open end and to supply a fourth hold down point. The frame has to be 38mm wider internally than the tray. I used 13mm ply for the base.

I made mine wide enough to take 2 x 600x400 and 2 400x300 Eurocrates. They fit snugly in the tray.

At the dimensions I made the tray the bench seat has to be about 5cm further forward than its usual position. this has had no adverse effect on our set up, but others made need that space.

All in all, it works beautifully and is not beyond the average DIYer’s ability. It has vastly improved our arrival and departure experiences on sites and generally made everything more accessible. Another benefit I hadn’t considered but has become apparent is that you don’t have to put anything down on wet grass to access what’s behind or below it anymore, thereby keeping the boot and its contents cleaner.

The finished product minus a couple of 600x400 crates in the front corner:
View attachment 64146

Made your own ?
Now that does sound appealing
Are there plans available?

Here's another example of DIY slide tray. All parts are obtainable; TUMA sliders, Alloy Angle, Alloy Profiles (KJN) and fixings plus a base, I used 3mm alloy sheet for the base. Overall I did spend around £350 all in but for that have a 914mm tray that maximised space beneath the seat when deployed as a bed and still retains easy full depth access. I also only used the two side rails for mounting and incorporated the MFB lock using bespoke alloy angle brackets and still retain access to the 12v socket (Beach). T-bars etc can be obtained through Amazon. There is a trade off to consider; commercially available trays are often 720mm deep to allow the seat to still be pushed back against the MFB. Every additional 100mm of tray depth reduces the position of bench seat hence reduces 'living' space. Notes: Shorter sliders may not need to be as substantial so would cost less to make (but still ensure they can take enough weight). Some of the newer fridge freezers are now deeper than the MFB so may interfere with the bench sets when in bed mode. A mixture of Euro-crates provide great storage options. Ensure there is a pad/bumper behind the slides to prevent damage to the bench seat when pushed back. Overall a definite bonus with tremendous flexibility. If I made another I'd probably go more in the 800-850mm range to just give a little more living area space.

 

[smikei]

They’re known as Eurocrates or Euro containers and widely available. Big Dug is where I got mine I think:

https://www.bigdug.co.uk/storage-bo...ro-containers-c418/euro-stacking-boxes-p16602

Also try Solent Plastics to compare: https://www.solentplastics.co.uk/stacking-plastic-containers-boxes/

 

[Old Sid]

Here's another example of DIY slide tray. All parts are obtainable; TUMA sliders, Alloy Angle, Alloy Profiles (KJN) and fixings plus a base, I used 3mm alloy sheet for the base. Overall I did spend around £350 all in but for that have a 914mm tray that maximised space beneath the seat when deployed as a bed and still retains easy full depth access. I also only used the two side rails for mounting and incorporated the MFB lock using bespoke alloy angle brackets and still retain access to the 12v socket (Beach). T-bars etc can be obtained through Amazon. There is a trade off to consider; commercially available trays are often 720mm deep to allow the seat to still be pushed back against the MFB. Every additional 100mm of tray depth reduces the position of bench seat hence reduces 'living' space. Notes: Shorter sliders may not need to be as substantial so would cost less to make (but still ensure they can take enough weight)View attachment 64226View attachment 64227View attachment 64229View attachment 64230View attachment 64231View attachment 64232. Some of the newer fridge freezers are now deeper than the MFB so may interfere with the bench sets when in bed mode. A mixture of Euro-crates provide great storage options. Ensure there is a pad/bumper behind the slides to prevent damage to the bench seat when pushed back. Overall a definite bonus with tremendous flexibility. If I made another I'd probably go more in the 800-850mm range to just give a little more living area space.

Brilliant. Very useful. Thanks.

 

[BeagleMum]

Your profile says you’re on The Wirral, we have one in our Beach, you’re welcome to have a look at it.

@Scottedog

 

[Ameanlad]

I have Calicap one and it’s probably the best thing I have purchased for the van.

View attachment 64008

Hiya. A little question before I take the plunge. I have a T6. I'm just about to buy the 810mm Calicap sliding tray because I want to take advantage of using Eurocrates. I see from the Calicap website that it means the rear seat must be pushed a little forward. Do you find that obstructs access to the rear cupboard or cool box much? Thanks.

 

[Romke]

Hiya. A little question before I take the plunge. I have a T6. I'm just about to buy the 810mm Calicap sliding tray because I want to take advantage of using Eurocrates. I see from the Calicap website that it means the rear seat must be pushed a little forward. Do you find that obstructs access to the rear cupboard or cool box much? Thanks.

Nope. It's only a few cm - hardly noticeable.

 

[andyrob]

I have Calicap one and it’s probably the best thing I have purchased for the van.

View attachment 64008

Hi Howie dog, Look ideal, but if looked at the website and can see it’s your storage boxes that make it work so, quick q where did you get he boxes and what sizes are you using. Cheers Andy

 

[Loz]

Euro Containers also fit well, available from Big Dug and Plastor

 

[Pixcels]

Here's another example of DIY slide tray. All parts are obtainable; TUMA sliders, Alloy Angle, Alloy Profiles (KJN) and fixings plus a base, I used 3mm alloy sheet for the base. Overall I did spend around £350 all in but for that have a 914mm tray that maximised space beneath the seat when deployed as a bed and still retains easy full depth access. I also only used the two side rails for mounting and incorporated the MFB lock using bespoke alloy angle brackets and still retain access to the 12v socket (Beach). T-bars etc can be obtained through Amazon. There is a trade off to consider; commercially available trays are often 720mm deep to allow the seat to still be pushed back against the MFB. Every additional 100mm of tray depth reduces the position of bench seat hence reduces 'living' space. Notes: Shorter sliders may not need to be as substantial so would cost less to make (but still ensure they can take enough weight)View attachment 64226View attachment 64227View attachment 64229View attachment 64230View attachment 64231View attachment 64232. Some of the newer fridge freezers are now deeper than the MFB so may interfere with the bench sets when in bed mode. A mixture of Euro-crates provide great storage options. Ensure there is a pad/bumper behind the slides to prevent damage to the bench seat when pushed back. Overall a definite bonus with tremendous flexibility. If I made another I'd probably go more in the 800-850mm range to just give a little more living area space.

Very interesting—- a good project for this autumn- thanks for all the info

 

[Dave bee]

BeagleMum,
How do you find the flexbag? Just recently sorted a sliding tray and eurocrates out but haven’t seen anyone with the bag to ask before.
Thanks Dave

 

[GrumpyGranddad]

For those interested, I’m advised by the Club Shop that new versions of slide out trays for Ocean & Beach 6.1’s with the lounge function are likely to be available by the end of this year.

 

[BeagleMum]

BeagleMum,
How do you find the flexbag? Just recently sorted a sliding tray and eurocrates out but haven’t seen anyone with the bag to ask before.
Thanks Dave

As always it’s expensive but it is good quality. As with the Vanessa bags it swallows massive of stuff. To access the sliding drawer we just flip the flexibag up Out of the way, it won’t suit everyone but we are very happy with it