I'm Kevin
New member
Well I finally finished uploading the pictures of my Sleep / Cargo platform. I took a lot of inspiration from all the great projects here. I originally planned to go with a quick set up of roof top tent and a drawer storage system in the back but after some sticker shock seeing what the tents go for I chose to try to figure out how to sleep inside the vehicle!
I am 6'5" tall and wanted to have enough room for me, my wife, dog, plus all our stuff and not have to pull a trailer to do it.
I was leaning towards a drawer system for storage but I did not want to remove the factory sliding tray and give up the flat loading floor. After a lot of searching and doodles I eventually settled on a platform with rubber bins for storage.
I was inspired by several builds here but, the core of the design is stolen from [MENTION=97413]AuH2O-64[/MENTION] 's build ( http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/146305-4runner-5th-gen-sleep-platform.html ). I realized that I would need to change modify the plan due to my 4runner having the factory sliding tray.
After getting a 4'x8' sheet of 3/4" plywood I figured I should get to work. I quickly found out that my limited carpentry skills were being seriously challenged because nothing was level and the "flat cargo floor" Has many small humps and dips, not to mention changes height when weight is put on the seat backs!
Enough talk the pictures are below, or you can follow the link to see a time lapse of the build.
Time lapse: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EOcJDiqcLU&feature=youtu.be
T
The photo below shows my first issue working around the cargo tray. With a 3/4" pipe flange there was not enough space to squeeze the flange between the side of the tray and the curve of the rear tailgate :ybrick:.
I did not want to remove the flange and put all the weight on a small area of the factory plastic. After a beer storming session I came up with an idea.
I figured if I made a spacer for under the flange I could put the leg half on the plastic trim and half of the flat floor. This solution just barely cleared when trying to slide it out past the tailgate curved trim.
I chose to make the platform so that the front section would rest on the back of the folded rear seats. This dictated my overall height and I tried my best to keep parallel (nothing is level when working on a car!!!!) relative to the floor. I found that I needed two 12" and two 15" lengths of 3/4" iron pipe to make the height of the platform line up with the folded seat bottoms.
I then found that I needed a 36"x48" piece of plywood for the rear section of the cargo area as well as a 6"x48" strip of plywood. These pieces would creat a platform from the rear tailgate to the rear seat-backs. The 6" strip would be used to support the front platform section. Here is my KAD (Kevin's Actual Drawing) and a couple pictures.
The front section was simple by comparison. I cut another 36"x48" section and tapered the sides to make it a little easier to get in and out. Finally the whole thing was coated in Rustolem 10x that is used to cover decks and concrete with a non-slip texture.
It is a tight squeeze for me but I can hang my feet off between the front seats if I am sleeping on my back but typically sleep on my side. I thought about moving the front seats forward and having a longer platform, but I will need the front seats for packing with gear when going to bed plus the front floorboard is my dogs spot to sleep.
Overall I am happy with it. I am still thinking of going with a foam mattress topper or a thin inflatable camp pad; any ideas? I am trying to keep the little headroom I still have while being somewhat comfy. If the overall height with bedding becomes too tall I could always lower the platform by throwing in some shorter legs.
Let me know if you all have any questions or suggestions for how it can be improved.
I am 6'5" tall and wanted to have enough room for me, my wife, dog, plus all our stuff and not have to pull a trailer to do it.
I was leaning towards a drawer system for storage but I did not want to remove the factory sliding tray and give up the flat loading floor. After a lot of searching and doodles I eventually settled on a platform with rubber bins for storage.
I was inspired by several builds here but, the core of the design is stolen from [MENTION=97413]AuH2O-64[/MENTION] 's build ( http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/146305-4runner-5th-gen-sleep-platform.html ). I realized that I would need to change modify the plan due to my 4runner having the factory sliding tray.
After getting a 4'x8' sheet of 3/4" plywood I figured I should get to work. I quickly found out that my limited carpentry skills were being seriously challenged because nothing was level and the "flat cargo floor" Has many small humps and dips, not to mention changes height when weight is put on the seat backs!
Enough talk the pictures are below, or you can follow the link to see a time lapse of the build.
Time lapse: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EOcJDiqcLU&feature=youtu.be
T
The photo below shows my first issue working around the cargo tray. With a 3/4" pipe flange there was not enough space to squeeze the flange between the side of the tray and the curve of the rear tailgate :ybrick:.
I did not want to remove the flange and put all the weight on a small area of the factory plastic. After a beer storming session I came up with an idea.
I figured if I made a spacer for under the flange I could put the leg half on the plastic trim and half of the flat floor. This solution just barely cleared when trying to slide it out past the tailgate curved trim.
I chose to make the platform so that the front section would rest on the back of the folded rear seats. This dictated my overall height and I tried my best to keep parallel (nothing is level when working on a car!!!!) relative to the floor. I found that I needed two 12" and two 15" lengths of 3/4" iron pipe to make the height of the platform line up with the folded seat bottoms.
I then found that I needed a 36"x48" piece of plywood for the rear section of the cargo area as well as a 6"x48" strip of plywood. These pieces would creat a platform from the rear tailgate to the rear seat-backs. The 6" strip would be used to support the front platform section. Here is my KAD (Kevin's Actual Drawing) and a couple pictures.
The front section was simple by comparison. I cut another 36"x48" section and tapered the sides to make it a little easier to get in and out. Finally the whole thing was coated in Rustolem 10x that is used to cover decks and concrete with a non-slip texture.
It is a tight squeeze for me but I can hang my feet off between the front seats if I am sleeping on my back but typically sleep on my side. I thought about moving the front seats forward and having a longer platform, but I will need the front seats for packing with gear when going to bed plus the front floorboard is my dogs spot to sleep.
Overall I am happy with it. I am still thinking of going with a foam mattress topper or a thin inflatable camp pad; any ideas? I am trying to keep the little headroom I still have while being somewhat comfy. If the overall height with bedding becomes too tall I could always lower the platform by throwing in some shorter legs.
Let me know if you all have any questions or suggestions for how it can be improved.
