DIY Bed Tray for 12v Fridge + Power Station

[Deleted member 37952]

I took some time of this last weekend to build out a simple tray system for my 12v fridge and power station for when I take my Mav out for some road trips or camping. In short, I wanted a basic tray that would keep the fridge and power station together in the bed since they will be connected by power cords and allow me to easily slide it in and out for access. I didn't want to permanently mount anything yet as I am not sure I want to keep this exact configuration and I also plan to occasionally use the bed for other things so this will need to easily be removed when it is not needed.

I used some 1/2" plywood as the bottom and 2x6 board as the sides. I opted for 2x6 to have extra height when I might use the tray to carry other things, such as my water jugs for homebrewing but otherwise, 2x4 probably would have gotten the job done just as well with less overall weight. I did have to cut a notch in the 2x6 so that I could easily access the front of the power station which is where the power button and various power ports are. I used a folding handle on the front as my pull/push handle and two screen door handles as tie-down points to secure the fridge while in transit.

The basic power flow on this setup is: 12v Power Port from the Flex Bed -> Power Station -> 12v Fridge. This allows the fridge to run even while the truck is off while parked and I can recharge the power station while driving. Big thanks to @Maverick_Innovation_Designs for the Plug-andPlay 12v adapter which made that part of the project super simple!

It's super cold here in the Midwest right now and my only workspace is in the garage so I am still waiting to paint and seal the tray but I will update this thread once that is done!

Future Wish List

• Paint!
• Cable management for power cords
• Maybe add some casters or skids to the bottom for easier sliding.
• Find a way to fill the headspace above the power station with more storage or another utilization.
• In the not-so-near future and when I am comfortable with how it all works... Rebuild out of some aluminum extrusion for a lighter design.

Anyone else built any customer organization or gear-holding solutions for your Maverick?

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[BeardedMarine]

Very cool!

 

[Don806]

I have large furniture sliders, held on with gorilla wood glue on the bottom of my DIY bed tray. Left them clamped on for 24 hours, foam on the pads glued to the plywood bottom. Slide easy without moving during starts and stops

 

[Deleted member 37952]

I have large furniture sliders, held on with gorilla wood glue on the bottom of my DIY bed tray. Left them clamped on for 24 hours, foam on the pads glued to the plywood bottom. Slide easy without moving during starts and stops

Good to know! I was planning to add some sliders at first but I was worried about longitudinal movement if I accidentally made it too easy to slide so I held off for the meantime. Some locking casters were considered but I couldn't find any small enough for what I wanted.

 

[Don806]

Good to know! I was planning to add some sliders at first but I was worried about longitudinal movement if I accidentally made it too easy to slide so I held off for the meantime. Some locking casters were considered but I couldn't find any small enough for what I wanted.

At first I had some rolling furniture movers front and back, but it banged around. Then went to the casters from an old fridge on the back with rubber door stops on the front, but sat too high when I wanted to put stuff in without opening the tonneau. I wasnt sure the wood glue would work, but they’ve been on there so no be the spring without issue.

 

[Maverick_Innovation_Designs]

Oh it is so incredibly satisfying to see it in the works, thank you @EvilBeans !

 

[bgn]

Love the setup. And I'll toss out another recommendation for the @Maverick_Innovation_Designs 12v plug solution!

 

[Deleted member 37952]

Took my tray set up for an initial shakedown trip this last weekend! A friend and I did some cold weather camping in Northwest Arkansas and while we didn’t utilize the fridge to its full potential we did use it to keep water and sodas cold on the way down and keep our souvenir beer chilled on the way back home!

Obviously in cold weather, the fridge didn’t have much of a challenge. It held temps just fine and the battery rarely dipped below 60% and was charged up quickly by the FlexBed 12v power.

Good Notes:

• The tray did not slide around in the bed while driving. Had concerns of this for tight cornering and accelerating but it stayed put!
• It was easy enough to pull out if the bed when needed and push back in for storage. Mission accomplished! Still might consider adding pads or something to the base to make it a bit less effort to slide in and out.

Room for Improvement:

• Need to figure out cable management. The power cord connecting the power station to the FlexBed outlet kept wanting to hang up on the back corner of the tray and could snag and cause damage if you pushed the tray back without adjusting the cable.
• The 12v plug for the power station isn’t super secure and it sticks out like a sore thumb so I worry about it getting damaged at some point. I may have to reach out to @Maverick_Innovation_Designs and see if I could get a version of the Plug and Play adapter with an XT60 plug and try to find a XT60 cord with a 90 degree connected to make that power connection more low profile. USB-C may also be a decent option but I’d want to doublecheck wattage.
• The tray took up a lot more space in the bed than expected meaning I couldn’t fit as many totes full of camping gear as hoped. Definitely highlights a need to consider rethinking the design and help recover dead space and use available space better.
• I kind of want to add a slide out table surface to the front of the tray. This would give me a nice place to cook or prep food/coffee. If I made it a part of a drawer, I could gain some storage as well!

I’ll keep posting updates to this thread as I make changes or improvements. It’s not exactly a super complicated or exciting project but maybe this will help someone else down the road who enjoys taking their Maverick out on camping adventures.

 

[Maverick_Innovation_Designs]

Took my tray set up for an initial shakedown trip this last weekend! A friend and I did some cold weather camping in Northwest Arkansas and while we didn’t utilize the fridge to its full potential we did use it to keep water and sodas cold on the way down and keep our souvenir beer chilled on the way back home!

Obviously in cold weather, the fridge didn’t have much of a challenge. It held temps just fine and the battery rarely dipped below 60% and was charged up quickly by the FlexBed 12v power.

Good Notes:

• The tray did not slide around in the bed while driving. Had concerns of this for tight cornering and accelerating but it stayed put!
• It was easy enough to pull out if the bed when needed and push back in for storage. Mission accomplished! Still might consider adding pads or something to the base to make it a bit less effort to slide in and out.

Room for Improvement:

• Need to figure out cable management. The power cord connecting the power station to the FlexBed outlet kept wanting to hang up on the back corner of the tray and could snag and cause damage if you pushed the tray back without adjusting the cable.
• The 12v plug for the power station isn’t super secure and it sticks out like a sore thumb so I worry about it getting damaged at some point. I may have to reach out to @Maverick_Innovation_Designs and see if I could get a version of the Plug and Play adapter with an XT60 plug and try to find a XT60 cord with a 90 degree connected to make that power connection more low profile. USB-C may also be a decent option but I’d want to doublecheck wattage.
• The tray took up a lot more space in the bed than expected meaning I couldn’t fit as many totes full of camping gear as hoped. Definitely highlights a need to consider rethinking the design and help recover dead space and use available space better.
• I kind of want to add a slide out table surface to the front of the tray. This would give me a nice place to cook or prep food/coffee. If I made it a part of a drawer, I could gain some storage as well!

I’ll keep posting updates to this thread as I make changes or improvements. It’s not exactly a super complicated or exciting project but maybe this will help someone else down the road who enjoys taking their Maverick out on camping adventures.

One of the main things I wanted to do was recessed/sub-flush connectors. It's difficult to do with the cigarette sockets since they are the same size or just slightly larger than the actual cutout. XT60 should definitely be doable, I'll order some of the panel mounts and see what I can do.

 

[Mavl-ous]

One of the main things I wanted to do was recessed/sub-flush connectors. It's difficult to do with the cigarette sockets since they are the same size or just slightly larger than the actual cutout. XT60 should definitely be doable, I'll order some of the panel mounts and see what I can do.

I know this is an older thread. Wondered if you had luck with the XT60 trials.

 

[Mavl-ous]

• The tray took up a lot more space in the bed than expected meaning I couldn’t fit as many totes full of camping gear as hoped. Definitely highlights a need to consider rethinking the design and help recover dead space and use available space better.

I think the long sides could be made with 1/2" or 3/4" plywood (obviously the short side 2-bys would be wider) to save weight but still have loads of strength.

 

[Maverick_Innovation_Designs]

I know this is an older thread. Wondered if you had luck with the XT60 trials.

I have the design. I haven't published it yet but they are available, go ahead and reach out to me over DM so I can get your shipping information.

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