started my "Hide-A-Bed" build

[Stick Figure]

Figured I would share some progress pics of my 4Runner Hide-A-Bed.

First off the criteria for this:

Sleep two reasonable comfortably

Keep the fridge inside the vehicle (preferably with out moving it)

I wanted it in time to hopefully have a little bit more adventure possibility on our x-mas trip

Needed to be able to arrive at our destination and be able to use the rear seat again.

That being said:

Borrowing a photo of my truck from SantaCruzRunner ... the previous set up:

Tools and recovery gear on the drivers side, and the fridge on the right.


on to the new set up:


Fully closed up:

No fridge blocking the view:

Step one: unbolt and remove the rear seat bottoms. (Hey I only said they had to stay, not stay in place!) Place seat bottoms under rear storage.

Step two: Screw the 6 1" legs into place

Step three: flip platform out

Step four SHOULD be the same as 2, but I haven't gotten that far yet, so anything can change.

Step five: front seats need moved forward and flipped forward


Step six: flip final platform out.

Again I am planning on using more screw in dowel legs, as long as they work for that position too.

and a couple other angles.....

Wood is all MDF Other than the 1" dowels. Yes MDF is heavier than plywood. I still used it for a couple of reasons.

Easy to work with and shape.
Nicer finish on ends than plywood.
LOTS more experience working with it.
Can be strengthened by impregnating it with fiberglass resin.

Overall length of just the platform is right at 67" and width is at 48". I would have liked longer, but the fridge is too damn big and this is a 4Runner not a Land Cruiser.

Absolutely open to all questions and comments. This was a design as you build proposition so i'm sure there are some things I haven't thought of.

a few more pics http://www.mostdesigns.com/zgallery/Personal Vehicles/4Runner/Sleeping platform/build pics/

 

[SantaCruzRunner]

awesome man, i cant wait to do one myself. im sure ill have some questions in the process.

 

[etc.]

Is there any support in the front, near the front seats?

 

[Stick Figure]

awesome man, i cant wait to do one myself. im sure ill have some questions in the process.

Thanks, and ask away when the time comes.

Is there any support in the front, near the front seats?

In the pics there is not. The current intention is to use the same screw in peg leg design that the middle has. Keep in mind this is far from finished. I just figured I would share the progress pics.

In order to put those braces in, I still need to put the recovery gear and tool box in the rear passenger foot well and get those strapped down. That will tell me where I have room for legs on the floor side. Then I need to add some weight to the middle section to simulate body mass on it and push the rear seat backs into position. THEN I can get a final good measurement and start threading dowels again.

 

[theizzardking]

nice double hinge on the front flip, that's where i was going with my original one, makes it pack down much smaller , i also noticed you have the seat all the way forward to account for the lost room taken by the cooler that seems to be a pretty good idea, i think most people went the opposite way, but you have the cooler.. any idea of total covered length, what do you plan to do with the dead/drop space at the rear hatch opening? backpacks and clothes maybe? that seems like a pretty good setup to have a few beers and a turkey sandwich in bed while camping, haha,


can't wait to see the finished product, we should get a thread of all of these builds people have done together, some of them are really great!

 

[Stick Figure]

T

nice double hinge on the front flip, that's where i was going with my original one, makes it pack down much smaller , i also noticed you have the seat all the way forward to account for the lost room taken by the cooler that seems to be a pretty good idea, i think most people went the opposite way, but you have the cooler.. any idea of total covered length, what do you plan to do with the dead/drop space at the rear hatch opening? backpacks and clothes maybe? that seems like a pretty good setup to have a few beers and a turkey sandwich in bed while camping, haha,


can't wait to see the finished product, we should get a thread of all of these builds people have done together, some of them are really great!

The double hinge is actually two normal hinges screwed together at a couple points right now. I just picked up some more material to finish that piece off properly.

I thought about putting the fridge in the forward spot, but it would still have to be moved back again when we need the rear seats which I didn't want to mess with. I was going to try to put it on top of the platform and slide forward (after moving the passengers side seat) but it was too tall for that.

Rear space isn't 100% accounted for, but I'm sure we will think of something.

 

[Stick Figure]

Got the front pegs installed tonight and got to give it a quick test. I've discovered that the angle from the front seat allows just enough extra head room that I fit even on the fridge side. I'm 6' for anyone curious. I was also pleasantly surprised to find that the front map lights are right with in reach and I should have a hell of a view out of the skylight at night.

Now i just need to figure out exactly how to mount the rear section down permanently.

 

[Stick Figure]

Got a bit more work done it over the holiday:

Finished the entire rear section (or so I thought) and got it prepped for stain.

After getting the first coat of stain down I remembered I needed to drill some holes for actually mounting this thing to the truck:

Insert going in

Test fitting a screw. These are 1/4-20 holes, and will probably have something a bit nicer than these in the end. I figured with the insert I could install and remove this thing plent of times before I ever have problems with the threads.

On all of the pegs I installed stops to make sure they screw in to the same spot every time. This also adds more stability to them if they get pushed side to side at all

Then it was time to start staining and sealing it all up.

The stain won't be the end finish on it, but it soaks into the wood well enough that when it gets scratched and beat up it stays black. Hopefully between that and the bed liner it will keep it sealed up and looking as little like wood as possible.

 

[farmerjon]

I don't know why I haven't seen this until now, but I really like this! It looks professionally done, I wish mine looked that good!

Mine is rough and unfinished and ugly, if I had the patience, knowledge, and tools, it would be fun to build one like yours. Keep it up man! You do good work!

 

[Stick Figure]

Thanks, and trust me I haven't always been fortunate enough to have all of the tools to do things like this and have it be the way I want. Right now I'm just hoping it all works well when its done.

 

[Stick Figure]

finally the FINAL update for this project. :bluejump:


To finish off the double hinge I grabbed a 1/4" thick piece of aluminum

Marked it with the 24 matching holes and got to drilling

Final step was to tap them all which I have zero pics of, but they are are all 1/4-20 threaded holes now. and yes it was about as fun as it looks.


For mounting I made some brackets that attached to the front cargo tie down points.

For the rear I had to actually add some holes.

I know exciting stuff here, so we'll skip ahead to the captive nut installed...

If you haven't seen a thread setter or captive nut installation tool, highly recommended if you are installing a lot of accessories. Much stronger and cleaner than any sheet metal screws, and the bolts can be installed and removed several times with out issue.

the finished product ... I borrowed the front seat headrests for pillows for our test. We used some yoga mats for added comfort, but are still looking for a permanent solution.

Still working on some fridge mounting ideas, but I wanted a full test run, so back to the ratchet straps through the handles.

ready to put it away...

first fold

bought a cheapy HF bag to hold the pegs when its folded up.

Yes I burned #'s into all of the pegs to keep them in the same locations to make sure we don't run into any issues with height.


second fold

and start stacking it full of gear...

overall I am super happy with the results and can't wait to actually put it to use.

 

[99 sr5 highlander]

That's freaking cool. I love that it folds up to be so small

 

[Stick Figure]

That's freaking cool. I love that it folds up to be so small

Last night I found the added bonus of it folded up with tools and other gear on it that it puts enough weight right on top of the 890 springs to make them ride good again. It hasn't felt that smooth in a long time.

 

[ranbar02]

That looks great. I love the way it folds away and you can still use the cargo area.

 

[Stick Figure]

That looks great. I love the way it folds away and you can still use the cargo area.

Thanks

I think the next idea would be a second build to completely remove the rear seats and utilize the middle section as a lid to have huge storage ability when we don't need the back seat mid trip.

 

[theizzardking]

nice! glad to see someone actually use the double fold design properly and make it look good! you got me shaking my head at the state of my tools and shop/garage...i really need to get a few of the things i see you got laying around in your garage, haha, such a pita to drop 25 holes in by hand!:redbrick:

good, clean install there, more along the lines of what i'm trying to do eventually.

 

[Stick Figure]

nice! glad to see someone actually use the double fold design properly and make it look good! you got me shaking my head at the state of my tools and shop/garage...i really need to get a few of the things i see you got laying around in your garage, haha, such a pita to drop 25 holes in by hand!:redbrick:

good, clean install there, more along the lines of what i'm trying to do eventually.

Thank you, this wasn't a quick design/build by any means, and its nice to hear some comments on it. especially before I can get out and actually use it and benefit from it.

Yes, my tool obsession may out do the 4Runner one even!

Keep in mind though I ran my own shop for 5 years and then spent another 5 years working for a jackass that wouldn't let me use my tools in his shop so I basically bought another set of hand tools for home which is what you see in those pics.

The trick is to spend the money to buy tools you need to make something rather than just buy the part. The biggest reason I don't have sliders yet is that I want to buy the JD2 bender to build them myself. lol It would be cheaper to buy sliders, but my Spyder could use a roll bar, and I know I will find other uses for it beyond those projects.

and yes i'm fully aware I have a problem but what can you do :shrug: