Building a Bed for the 5G T4R

[Farzad_K]

Hello folks.

I already have a bed I made of a 2'x6' plywood and a 4-inch firm foam, etc. I have used it three times and on the floor of my T4R. I am now building a base for it to lift it up a bit and also make space available below it for stuff.

The box is made of 3/4" PW. Rather than painting the sides of it I would like to use something like carpeting or more suitable material. I want to use the material to also cover the bottom of the bed so that it's interface with the vehicle's carpet is softer.

You can fund the schematics here: Microsoft OneDrive - Access files anywhere. Create docs with free Office Online.

I appreciate any thoughts and ideas.

Farzad

 

[spartacus]

You got a good plan but are you going to use a hinge or use a,slide out to utilize the back passenger seats when you are not using the sleeping platform.

 

[Farzad_K]

You got a good plan but are you going to use a hinge or use a,slide out to utilize the back passenger seats when you are not using the sleeping platform.

The bottom part of the right rear seat has to be removed for better bed-headroom.

Microsoft OneDrive - Access files anywhere. Create docs with free Office Online.

There are no hinges or slide outs. I go out a few times a year and I can bring the box out of the storage and set it there and load it with things, then put the bed on top of it. I can lift the bed by hand to access inside of the box.

I am 5-9 and with the seat being there I loose about 10 inches of valuable space.

I am getting ready for my first overlanding trip and am even thinking about taking the bottom of the rear left seat off to gain additional space.

 

[spartacus]

The bottom part of the right rear seat has to be removed for better bed-headroom.

Microsoft OneDrive - Access files anywhere. Create docs with free Office Online.

There are no hinges or slide outs. I go out a few times a year and I can bring the box out of the storage and set it there and load it with things, then put the bed on top of it. I can lift the bed by hand to access inside of the box.

I am 5-9 and with the seat being there I loose about 10 inches of valuable space.

I am getting ready for my first overlanding trip and am even thinking about taking the bottom of the rear left seat off to gain additional space.

It's good that you are building it the way you intend to use it.

 

[Farzad_K]

I have built the bed box. You can see the pictures here:
Microsoft OneDrive - Access files anywhere. Create docs with free Office Online.

The box is 20-inches wide out-to-out. The bed is 24-inched wide.

The front space is accessible only from the top. The rear space could be accessed from the open end or the top. But, accidentally it looks like a plastic container can also fit right in.

The drawings are good but I had to make a few modifications as I started cutting the boards. My neighbor used his router and rounded all the edges for me (thanks, neighbor). The design can be improved, and the box can be made lighter by removing material from areas that are not needed.

Even though the edges are rounded up I still want to adhere a carpet-like strip to the bottom where the plywood interfaces the carpet inside the car. I also would like to cover the sides of this box with automotive grade carpeting/liner of some sorts. I have not found a good source for that yet.

For the two bulkheads, it turned out because the routing slot was made too big, that I needed to use right angle brackets to attach them to the sides. This means the design could have been much simpler and routing could have been eliminated from process - just straight cuts. But if routing is done properly, and the bulkheads could fit right, the steel brackets would not be needed; the brackets are difficult to screw in because of their size and position, but I am sure a good way can be found.

If and when I build another one of these I intend to design it so that the box can be used inside a tent as well. For that a pair of feet at the narrower part of the frame would be needed.

If you have any comment or suggestion I am all ears.