I have looked at others sleep platforms and decided to build one myself. I want to post the exact dimensions and major supplies, to save others some of the leg work for a 5th gen 4Runner. This will make an 80" (6'8") long Sleeping Deck with front seats all the way up, rear seat back folded down, and rear seat bottom folded forward.



MATERIALS
(1) 4'X8' sheet 3/4" thick Plywood
(1) 6'X8' Carpet and Carpet Padding
(4) 3/4"dia x 12"L Galvanized Pipe
(2) 3/4"dia x 24"L Galvanized Pipe
(6) Pipe Flanges and Rubber Feet
(1 of ea) 54"L and 48"L 2"x6" Lumber
(2) Hinges
(4) 5/16"dia thread Turn Buckle
(4) 5/16"dia x 3"L carriage Bolts, Washers, Wing Nuts
(and) Bunch of wood screws and staples

TOOLS
Circular blade style pipe cutter. Cordless driver to pre-drill and drive screws. Staple gun. Saw horses. I did everything with circular saw and jig saw. Table saw would be better.

CONSTRUCTION
Basically there are three pieces: Rear-Base-Section, Mid-Section, and Front-Support

(a) Rear-Base-Section 48"w x 37"L. Has (4) 12" legs and secured by turn buckles. 2"x6" Flange on forward leading edge sticking out 1-1/2" has bolt holes to secure Mid-Section with carriage bolts. Cut rear end to custom fit rear hatch contour with back seat up.



(b) Mid-Section 54"w x 29"L with 3"w x 8"L triangles cut out of rearward corners. Has bolt holes for carriage bolts all four corners. Rests on Base Flange and Front-Support. Has hinged Front-Section 54"w x 14"L with 4"w x 10"L triangles cut out of forward corners.



(c) Front-Support is a 52" long 2"x"6 with two 21-1/2" legs. It has relief cuts to contour to seat bottoms in folded position. It supports 1" of Mid-Section secured by carriage bolts and 5" of Front-Section to prevent over rotation of hinges.



BUILD
You can get all the pieces out of one sheet of plywood, with the proper layout. I painted the exposed plywood and pipe legs. The carpet has 1-2 layers of carpet pad under it and a flap to cover the hinge. I used the biggest dia / longest length possiple wood screws for attaching pipe flanges and 2"x6" flange on Base-Section and Front Support. I pre-drilled pilot holes for all wood screws. I put thin boards under leg supports to spread the load and level the components to each other. The Base-Section clears the wheel humps and the Front-Support clears the folded seat bottoms.

USE
The Base-Section can remain in the back of the vehicle with rear seats in-use. It needs to be tied down to the cargo latch points to stay balanced and stabilize the system when Mid-Section is attached. The Front-Section is hinged, to allow for maximum sleeping length with front seats all the way up, and front seats all the way back for driving. Mid-Section and Front-Support can be removed and placed in back to use all five seats. The whole thing can be removed and legs unscrewed for flat storage.

OPTIONS
This is just the basic outline of what you need. The platform height can be lowered to gain more head room by taking out rear seat bottoms and narrowing the Base-Section to fit between wheel humps. This write up is for leaving seat bottoms in vehicle.

WOW..Antman and Titan Pat are going to love this

Extremely well written and thought out. Good job!

I agree..great job...and it's long enough to fit a 6 footer....awesome!!


Plus it's "Engineer" approved!

Well thought out and written! Bravo!

Thanks. I used this forum to formulate the idea. This 3rd gen thread has a lot going on in it. There were some other good threads but pics links don't work anymore.

This is ingenious - I'm definitely stealing ideas from you, haha. My plan is to incorporate a tri-fold platform onto the top of my drawers when I finally get around to fabbing them.

Nicely done!

i just inflated a twin air mattress and it fit perfectly snug back there and was very comfortable to sleep on.. i would say to definitely try that first! but your build looks great!

I bought two of these and laid them side by side in the back.

Future Foam 3 in. Thick Multipurpose Foam-10030BULK3 - The Home Depot

Mine doesnt have a 3rd row and I took the 2nd row seat cushions out so I'd have additional headroom. I only had to cut one of the foam pads sides down a little for a snug side to side fit. It was very comfortable.

The construction is really good. I like how you cut it all out of one sheet of plywood. It reminds me of a bed platform I made for my 1976 Toyota long bed pickup. I had a shell on that truck. The bed on top of the truck and camper shell rails allowed storage underneath and the bed was an always ready platform for sleeping. Your design allows some storage underneath too.

The carpet is great. I would have used just flat carpeting with a sleeping pad on top, since the foam pad can degrade over time and use. I would like to see the feet placed wider, maybe in the rear trays and on the floor more forward of the wheel wells with rails in the long direction over the wheel wells. I would have sacrificed two sheets of 1/2 inch plywood and made the back wider with transverse boards for support. I like the turnbuckle bracing. I don't understand why the front piece needs to fold. Maybe if I read your post again...

For my first and latest camping trip to the White Mountains, CA I removed the back seats entirely. It gave me lots of extra storage for water and an ice chest where the seats normally fold up. The heavy water and ice chest got placed forward and low in the vehicle where it improves the ride. We had to take 15 gallons of water for that trip. Most places in Southern and Eastern California have no water available. I left the seats out this week so I could help my daughter move. The extra space provided by removing the seats is invaluable.

Now that the seats are out I hope to build a platform much like yours but placed directly on the rear deck and supported up front about 6" off the floor area. It will provide either a big bed or lots of flat storage space. The thing that's better about your design than my idea is it allows lots of gear to remain under the bed.

I think the fold is so that they can move the front seats back into position to drive

Here is another option. This cot fits like a glove and almost seems like it was built for this reason. Legs could be a little more sturdy, but other than that it's a solid design. This is made by TETON Sports, and it's their Somnia Lightweight Camp Cot.

Attached Images

     

I've been looking for cots that fit for a while now, thanks for sharing!

Well thought out and looks super simple/light weight. I'd like to see if I can do something similar to a 3rd gen

Thanks for this thread. I'm feeling lazy and have a few trips coming up. How tall are you, VA_Lee? I am 6'2" and want to be sure I'll fit on the cot solution you presented, since it is so simple for me.