Your 4runner looks great! I am interested in the GG sleeping platform. Which drawer module you have (8, 10 or 12 inch)? Having lived with it for a year, would you change anything ?
Thanks!
Such a great question. There's a lot I would change...I think.
I probably wouldn't do the sleeping platform -- not the same at least. Largely because I now have a roof top tent and never sleep inside the rig anymore. Also, when you have it set up, you can't really lean back the front seats, which is more of an issue for my wife on road trips with me -- but that's a pretty big issue.
I got the 10" drawers, figured I'd maximize and have them about as high as the wheel wells. Frankly, lower might be better, largely because I now also have a refrigerator back there, and my view out the rear is shot. [But I now have a switch that allows me to turn on the rear view camera whenever I want, so I figured that out.] So I guess the 10" drawers are great -- I have a lot of gear in one and my camp kitchen in the other. I really like the drawers.
Both of these though could go the other way. Sleeping platform was great before RTT. However, in that case, I'd definitely would have gone with lower for more hear room.
If I never had anyone in the passenger seat, the sleeping platform would be great. Largely because it allows for a couple discreet layers of gear storage. Especially when I took out the rear seats, which was super easy and suddenly allowed for so much storage. I still used the platform when one of my buddies is coming camping/climbing/wheeling with me and we will be making fast tracks and don't want to be messing with tents. I sleep in the RTT and he sleeps on the platform. Given how easy the platform is to take in and out -- it's not really a problem. Perhaps making it a little shorter to allow for the front seat to lean back more would have been better.
I've done a lot of stuff to the rig at this point, everything from all of this to have the front passenger outfitted with electronic lumbar support (again, Happy wife -- happy life). It's been a learning process. Most of this stuff, I'm happy with. Have had more issues with the rear CBI bumper than anything. As you can see, I can begin to extol my second thoughts about the efficacy of certain aspects only to then reconsider and be glad it's there or can be easily. I knew getting into this hobby that it wouldn't be cheap, and also since this was my first build I have a lot to learn. But man -- we've had some amazing adventures and I'd like to believe it was all worth it.
