Our top pick: the DECKED DECKED Drawer System — Ford F-150 (2015-current) 5'6" bed.
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A bed drawer system replaces the floor of your bed with two full-length drawers under a load-bearing deck. You reach the drawers from the tailgate without climbing in, the deck above them still carries cargo, and on the good systems the drawers are weather-sealed so tools stay dry in an open bed.
It is also the most expensive single thing in this category, it is heavy, and it permanently raises your bed floor. Those are not objections — they are the specification. Anyone telling you a drawer system has no downside has not carried a full-height pallet since they fitted one.
If you carry tools, a drawer system is the best money in this entire category. If you carry material more than tools, it is the wrong purchase and a bed slide or a cargo bar will serve you better for a tenth of the price.
How we ranked these
Build. Drawer sealing, deck load capability, and whether the slides still roll smoothly loaded after a year.
Capacity. Published drawer capacity and deck rating where the manufacturer states them. Where they do not, the row says so.
Install. Whether it mounts to factory cleats without drilling, and how many people it takes.
Day-to-day access. The whole reason to buy one. Reach from the tailgate, drawer travel, and what happens with the tailgate down.
Value. Against the live Amazon price. This is where the budget roll-out trays score well and the premium systems do not.
The picks, ranked
No. 1DECKEDSpec-verified
DECKED Drawer System — Ford F-150 (2015-current) 5'6" bed
Two full-length weather-sealed drawers under a load-bearing deck. You keep the whole bed floor on top and gain two drawers you can reach from the tailgate without climbing in, which is the single biggest day-to-day change you can make to a work truck.
Who should skip it. It raises your bed floor by the height of the drawer module, so you lose vertical space and the ability to carry a full-height pallet. If you haul bulk more than tools, this is the wrong buy.
Build
9.4
Capacity
8.2
Install
8.8
Day-to-day access
9.8
Value
7.0
What works
+Drawers are reachable from the tailgate — no climbing into the bed
+Deck surface stays usable for cargo on top
+Weather-sealed drawers keep tools dry in an open bed
+No-drill installation on the factory cleat system
What does not
−The most expensive item in this category by a wide margin
−Raises the bed floor and costs you vertical capacity
−Very heavy — payload matters if you also tow
−Sold per bed length; ordering the wrong one means a return freight bill
Identical design and identical reasoning, cut for the 5'9" next-generation Silverado and Sierra 1500 bed. If you run a GM half-ton, this is the listing to order rather than the Ford one.
Who should skip it. Same caveat as every DECKED unit: you are trading vertical bed space and payload for drawers. Know which of those you need before you spend.
Build
9.4
Capacity
8.2
Install
8.8
Day-to-day access
9.8
Value
7.0
What works
+Correct fitment for the next-gen GM half-ton bed
+Same sealed drawers and load-bearing deck as the Ford unit
+Includes the system accessories in the listing
What does not
−Premium price
−Payload and vertical space cost
−Will not fit the 2019+ 6'6" bed — that is a separate listing
Published specifications
Fitment
Chevy Silverado / GMC Sierra 1500, 2019-current, 5'9" bed
Two lockable roll-out aluminum drawers in a 54 x 40 in module rated to 1000 lb, with side extensions. The smaller footprint is the point — it fits beds where a full-length drawer system does not.
Who should skip it. 54 inches does not fill a long bed, so you end up with a module and a gap. On an 8 ft bed, buy the full-length system.
A 65 x 48 in slide-out tray rated to 1000 lb with six movable tie-down rings and a two-position slide. It does the one thing a drawer system does not: it brings the whole load out to you rather than opening drawers.
Who should skip it. It is a tray, not drawers — nothing is sealed and nothing locks. If the gear needs to be dry and secure, this is not it.
Build
7.8
Capacity
9.4
Install
6.8
Day-to-day access
9.0
Value
9.0
What works
+Published 1000 lb rating at a fraction of branded slide money
+Six movable rings let you secure odd loads properly
+Two-position stop means you are not always pulling it fully out
The Ram fitment. Worth calling out because Ram's RamBox option changes the usable bed width, and a drawer system that does not account for it will not drop in — check which bed you have before ordering.
Who should skip it. Not compatible with a RamBox bed. That is a genuinely different bed, not a trim difference.
Build
9.4
Capacity
8.4
Install
8.6
Day-to-day access
9.8
Value
7.0
What works
+Covers the long-serving Ram 6'6" bed
+Same sealed-drawer design as the rest of the range
Ram 1500, 2500 and 3500 with the 6'6" bed, Classic Edition
✗ Does not fit
RamBox-equipped beds
5'7" Ram beds — separate listing
What it actually costs you: height, weight, and tall cargo
The drawer module raises the bed floor by its own height. That is permanent while the system is fitted, and it has three consequences people discover afterwards rather than before.
Tall cargo stops fitting. A load that used to sit below the bed rails now stands above them. Appliance boxes, full-height pallets and plywood on edge are the usual casualties.
The tailgate is no longer level with the floor. You are lifting over a step, which matters when the thing you are lifting is heavy.
A tonneau cover gets complicated. The clearance between the raised deck and a flush-mounted cover is often not enough for anything on top.
None of that is a reason not to buy one. It is a reason to know what the truck is for first. The comparison with the cheaper, less invasive option is tool box vs drawer system.
Sealed drawers versus open trays
This is the real dividing line in this category, and it is not obvious from a listing photo. A sealed drawer keeps water and dust out of the contents in an open bed. An open roll-out tray does not — it brings the load out to you and that is all it does.
Sealed drawer system
Open roll-out tray
Weather
Contents stay dry in an open bed
Exposed — needs a cover above it
Lockable
Usually yes
No
Deck above
Load-bearing, still usable
Usually the tray surface itself
Price
The most expensive thing here
A fraction of it
Install
Factory cleats, no drilling on the main brands
Varies; generally simpler
Right for
Tools that must stay dry and secure
Heavy items you need to reach
If the truck already has a tonneau cover, the calculation changes significantly: under a closed cover an open tray is nearly as dry as a sealed drawer, and the money saved is substantial. Bed slides and trays covers that route.
Fitment: ordering the wrong one is expensive
Drawer systems are sold per truck and per bed length, and the freight on a returned one is not trivial. Three things to confirm before you click:
Your exact bed length. Measure it. Trim names and brochure figures both lie by a couple of inches, and a couple of inches is the whole tolerance.
Body-style splits. The 2019 Silverado sold as both “new body” and “Classic”, and they take different units. Check which you have.
Factory bed options. RamBox changes the usable bed width. Ford's Pro tailgate and factory bed steps exclude specific parts. These exclusions are in the listing fine print.
The bed dimensions for all four trucks this site covers, cited to the manufacturer, are in the truck bed dimensions chart.
No-drill install, and why it matters at resale
The major systems mount to the factory bed cleat or stake-pocket system with no holes drilled. That is worth more than convenience: the unit comes out cleanly, the truck is unmodified, and the system has resale value of its own. A drilled bed does not get that back.
What we would actually buy
On a trade truck that carries tools and is kept for years: a DECKED unit in the correct bed length, and we would pay the premium specifically for the sealed drawers rather than for the brand. The sealing is what makes it work in an open bed, and it is the thing the cheaper systems do not do.
On a truck where the budget will not stretch and a cover is already fitted: a 1,000 lb roll-out tray and the money saved spent on a lockable tool box. That combination gets you reach and security for a fraction of the price, at the cost of organization.
On a short bed where a full-length system leaves nothing behind it: a 54-inch lockable drawer module, accepting the unused length.
Questions people actually ask
How much does a truck bed drawer system cost?
The full-length sealed systems are the most expensive single item in truck bed storage, and the roll-out alternatives are a fraction of that. Every price on this page is pulled live from Amazon when you load it, so the current figures are in the table above rather than in this answer — we do not print remembered numbers.
Does a drawer system fit under a tonneau cover?
The drawer module raises your bed floor, so the answer depends on the clearance left under your specific closed cover. Low-profile under-tonneau drawers exist for this case. A full-height module plus a flush-mounted cover generally leaves no usable space on the deck. Measure floor to closed-cover underside before ordering.
Can I install a drawer system myself?
Yes on the main brands — they mount to the factory bed cleat or stake-pocket system with no drilling. It is a two-person job because of the weight of the module rather than because of complexity, and the no-drill mounting is also what lets you take it out cleanly when you sell the truck.
How much weight can you put on top of a drawer system?
The main systems publish a deck load capability and we print the figure where they do; where a manufacturer does not publish one, the spec row says so rather than carrying an estimate. The practical limit on any truck is usually its payload rating rather than the deck.
Will a drawer system fit a short bed?
Yes — the systems are sold per bed length including the short beds, and there are also 54 in modules that leave some bed length unused. What matters is ordering the exact length for your truck, because a drawer system two inches too long simply does not go in.
Are drawer systems weatherproof?
The sealed systems keep water and dust out of the drawers in an open bed, which is the main reason to buy one rather than a tray. Open roll-out trays are not sealed at all and need a cover above them to keep the contents dry. The distinction is not obvious from listing photos, so check the description.
Last reviewed October 5, 2026. Think a figure here is wrong? Tell us at contact@toolboxandtruck.com and we will check it, fix it and date the correction — see our editorial policy.
