My DIY sliding MTB tray

[Taylorm]

Decided to build my own sliding tray to carry 3 MTB's in the back of my SWB Kombi, as didn't want to fork out £700-900+ for the ones sold online.

Mine is made up from 18mm hardwood ply and a mixture of fixings from B&Q and Toolstation approx £60. Heavy duty 1400mm lockable Vadania sliders (250kg rated not that I'll need that) from Amazon £160.

I already had the bike fork mount rail from Blok Pod, so wanted to use that as part of the tray. I wanted to built the tray so that it can be removed quickly if needed, it does need two people to remove as it is quite heavy once together.

Here are some pics for anyone interested.

Made two support bases from scrap ply, which fix down to the lashing points on my kombi with M10 handles (front will be replaced with bolts to allow tray to slide)


Then bolted these Heavy Duty Angle 90 x 90 x 40mm wide / 3mm thick brackets from Toolstation to the sliders


Built the tray using 18mm hard wood and 70mm batten for the sides and fixed the sliders to the tray. Also measured up the fork mount rail which sits on the end in front of the side batten.

Next job was to fit the tray to the base. I didn't want to drill any holes in the van ( I didn't trust myself TBH)
So my only option was to use 15mm screws and lots of them through the tiny bracket holes. I wasn't sure if they would be enough to support the weight, but it does... for now at least
Kept the Rhino boot liner in to stop the van being caked in mud from the bikes and everything else.

Painted the tray over the weekend in MSP, all I'm waiting on is the rubber flooring and some aluminium edges to tidy up the tray.


I may need to strengthen the base as some point. I only needed it to support around 130kgs of Ebikes and kit. So should do the job.

I will add lashing rails to secure the front wheels and may even make a stand for the bike jet washer.

 

[Village]

Nice set-up! Have you figured out how you're going to sleep in there at the same time yet?

 

[Taylorm]

@Village That's for the 2nd version I wanted to get this built first just to make it easier loading bikes.

I will start to think about the bed in next couple of months. I think the tray will stay, but bikes will be on their side and the bed will set up above it. It will only be me and the wife's bike so should be enough space (hopefully).

 

[Taylorm]

Finished

 

[JOG]

Excellent job! Well done

 

[Village]

Top work! Like that a lot

 

[Texxaco]

That looks like you have paid serious money for it @Taylorm.
Well done Mate, superb effort indeed.

 

[Taylorm]

Thanks guy’s

 

[Texxaco]

Thanks guy’s

Credit where credits due mate. You could easily sell that design on eBay.

 

[Dansporter]

Looks great. Is the rubber floor bonded in or can it be taken out for cleaning?

 

[Taylorm]

I’ve glued it down to stop it moving about when we the load bikes in and out. Should be easy enough to hoover and wipe over from outside of the van

 

[tintim]

Top marks and great work, I'm considering doing something similar for my van to work with my Vanking bed (when its ready). Very inspiring work.

 

[Taylorm]

Thanks Decided I'm going to build the bed around my tray using 25mm black square tubing with a foldable ply top. Should allow me to leave the side frame of the bed in at all times and when bed is in use, the bikes should fit on the tray. I just need to see if I can still keep the bikes upright and have enough bed space or whether they need to go on their side when the bed is constructed. I'll post some pics when I get round to it.

 

[JOG]

Thanks Decided I'm going to build the bed around my tray using 25mm black square tubing with a foldable ply top. Should allow me to leave the side frame of the bed in at all times and when bed is in use, the bikes should fit on the tray. I just need to see if I can still keep the bikes upright and have enough bed space or whether they need to go on their side when the bed is constructed. I'll post some pics when I get round to it.

Maybe get some of the frame to hinge too? Stunning work you’re doing - very professional finish. (Kicks my DIY into the shade, that’s for sure!!!)

 

[Bestie Camper]

@Taylorm This looks awesome! ESP love the lashings on the side for wheels. And thanks for guiding me here from my previous post on a different thread. If I remember correctly you have a. SWB? I have SWB California and the issue I can see is the tailgate has 2 camping chairs attached which take a good 5 inches or so of crucial space, which then means getting an adult on the rear bench is Tough. What size is the final tray? Ideally external but also internal would be good to know. Did you copy BlokPods dimensions?

And the Rhino cover looks good too. Not sure how I would attach the sides in my van as mine is all plastic. Are those pouches included with it?

 

[Taylorm]

Thanks @Bestie Camper I would probably move the camping chairs if that's the case. I built the tray to utilise all of the available space, so arch to arch and rear seat to tailgate. I'll send over later the sizes when I'm at the van. I think it's a bit bigger that the block pod tray. Certainly a lot cheaper lol

For the rhino cover, I had VW caddy lashing points riveted to the metal side support bars of the van when the conversion company kitted it out. So I put eyelets in the rhino and bungee them to the lashing points. Just saves the van getting filthy. The pouches are from vango, handy for tools and MTB gloves, pads etc They can bungee on to the rear seat head rests as well.

 

[Bestie Camper]

Thanks @Taylorm unfortunately the chairs are not removable and the cover they are in is a hard shell, so no ability to takes chairs out and squash it flat. Great for when we are camping. Not so great for bikes!

 

[moodsterT6]

Hi, Have you found the 18mm hardwood to be suitably strong with no sagging over time? I’m currently working out how to build 1M full extension load tray and considering 18mm structural grade plywood but not sure if the span 1.2M wide is too much without supports. Cheers.

 

[Dogs Dung]

That’s class, make me one please, il be over Friday for it, don’t worry about painting it for now , seriously, nice job

 

[Scruffy]

It is seriously a great job. I want to build a pull out box, about half the width but just as deep, but I'm not sure how to fix it to the floor. Any thoughts?