Sleeping platforms?
- Thread starter CSG
- Start date
Yeah.. That can be an issue. I really wanted the Engel under the deck and that was the only way to make it work. Once you get in and settle down it's all good.
It's all about the compromise.
Engineer Guy
New member
CSG ~ In just finishing our House, I derived some straight cut tricks.
For short cuts, I use a very old metal Square held against the long edge of a Board. I use the other Square side as a stop against which the Saw Guide butts to the left during the cut.
For longer cuts, I select a piece of Lumber by eye with one 'good' side. I use 2 $0.99 Clamps [or Vice Clamps] to hold that Lumber to, say, a piece of Plywood. The Saw Guide butts up against the Lumber and long, straight cuts are possible. The final trick is to have a decent, sharp Blade on the Saw with the 'right' number of teeth for the material being cut. Then, the Saw won't buck or wander off line.
For short cuts, I use a very old metal Square held against the long edge of a Board. I use the other Square side as a stop against which the Saw Guide butts to the left during the cut.
For longer cuts, I select a piece of Lumber by eye with one 'good' side. I use 2 $0.99 Clamps [or Vice Clamps] to hold that Lumber to, say, a piece of Plywood. The Saw Guide butts up against the Lumber and long, straight cuts are possible. The final trick is to have a decent, sharp Blade on the Saw with the 'right' number of teeth for the material being cut. Then, the Saw won't buck or wander off line.
greentruck
Adventurer
Here's a link to the camper conversion I built for our 80.
http://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/412084-camper-conversion-drawer-system.html
The top of the sleeping platform floor is 9.5" above the floor of the truck. I made a drawer to allow the fridge to slide back onto the tailgate, then a panel fills the gap, giving you whole back of the truck to sleep on.
A DAC tailgate tent encloses the rear of the truck, but I'm going to modify it by adding a floor panel to fit the back of the 80 better. As it is, it doesn't allow the top of the tailgate to rise to its open position. It worked on our shakedown trip, but I'm going to play Betsy Ross and improve things on it after the holidays.
The wood-working involved is pretty basic. The front half of it can be removed so that the second row seats can be installed with the drawers still in back. HTH
http://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/412084-camper-conversion-drawer-system.html
The top of the sleeping platform floor is 9.5" above the floor of the truck. I made a drawer to allow the fridge to slide back onto the tailgate, then a panel fills the gap, giving you whole back of the truck to sleep on.
A DAC tailgate tent encloses the rear of the truck, but I'm going to modify it by adding a floor panel to fit the back of the 80 better. As it is, it doesn't allow the top of the tailgate to rise to its open position. It worked on our shakedown trip, but I'm going to play Betsy Ross and improve things on it after the holidays.
The wood-working involved is pretty basic. The front half of it can be removed so that the second row seats can be installed with the drawers still in back. HTH
paulj
Expedition Leader
http://www.pbase.com/paulj3/ecampcampertop
has some images of my modification to the DAK pickup tent to fit my Element. The Element's opening is taller than a compact pickup, and bit narrower. The extension that I added is made from a poly tarp, and attached with a couple of types of tarp clamp. Other have found that the DAK van model fits the Element better, even though the typical van does not have a lower tailgate.
has some images of my modification to the DAK pickup tent to fit my Element. The Element's opening is taller than a compact pickup, and bit narrower. The extension that I added is made from a poly tarp, and attached with a couple of types of tarp clamp. Other have found that the DAK van model fits the Element better, even though the typical van does not have a lower tailgate.
greentruck
Adventurer
Paul,
Yeah, something like that. The same issue -- the tailgate needs to rise higher -- but less extreme solution, I hope.
It's actually less complex on the 80, because of the tailgate. What was originally what wraps under the tailgate will become part of the side of the tent once I've sewed a panel to fill the space under the tailgate and allow the walls to be longer. That should give me the wall height I need.
But we usually use it with 8x10 awning that encloses the rear of the truck. I'm going to also add a flap that hangs down to close off where the air comes under the truck and into our otherwise enclosed awning area. It will also be long enough to cover the ground directly under the tailgate, making a place that we can store stuff under there, too.
Yeah, something like that. The same issue -- the tailgate needs to rise higher -- but less extreme solution, I hope.
It's actually less complex on the 80, because of the tailgate. What was originally what wraps under the tailgate will become part of the side of the tent once I've sewed a panel to fill the space under the tailgate and allow the walls to be longer. That should give me the wall height I need.
But we usually use it with 8x10 awning that encloses the rear of the truck. I'm going to also add a flap that hangs down to close off where the air comes under the truck and into our otherwise enclosed awning area. It will also be long enough to cover the ground directly under the tailgate, making a place that we can store stuff under there, too.
I finished my sleeping platform a couple weeks ago and finally got around to getting pictures online. I went with a pretty simple design, but I'm really happy with the way it looks and functions.
More pictures here: http://onroadslesstraveled.com/2012/02/07/my-land-cruiser-gets-a-new-bed/
More pictures here: http://onroadslesstraveled.com/2012/02/07/my-land-cruiser-gets-a-new-bed/
NM-Frontier
Explorer
That looks great. Are you using any thing else for a mattress or just the egg crate? Looks like you got some good head room too. Let us know how it works out after your first night.
For now, I just have the egg foam. I'm looking for a good deal on a 2-3 inch memory foam topper to put on top of the egg foam. I'm hoping that will be a good compromise between comfort and headroom.
I think my dog is going to really like it on road trips. She can lay down and still look out the window.
I think my dog is going to really like it on road trips. She can lay down and still look out the window.
meafordmike
Adventurer
I have one I built for my Taco, then just made fit in my 80. works great and cheap. I will look to find some pictures, and I do have a thread somewhere how to build for Taco.
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/57002-i-built-new-seeping-platform.html
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/57002-i-built-new-seeping-platform.html
upcruiser
Perpetual Transient
Here is a poor shot of my solution. I designed this for traveling solo on long trips with the need to be able to haul two bikes inside and still be able to get in and out of the bed without exiting the car. In this shot there is one mountain bike inside and you can see the amount of space still. The platform was just short of window height and allowed me great space to store tool rolls, my kitchen, duffels, etc under it. I used a basket on the roof for extra gear in order to keep the inside clutter free. This worked great and allowed easy stealth camping and required no setup for sleeping at night. The screens I made for the sliding windows was key for ventilation and bug ingress in the summer months. If I did need to sleep two one person would just sleep on the floor and the other on the birth, worked quite well but not totally ideal.
CSG
Explorer
Nice thread necro! I never did anything with mine. I decided, so far, that I preferred the comfort of the van even though it's far more limited in where it can go. Real bed, onboard water/sink, proper two-way fridge, plenty of room, etc. It's just not any good on more than moderate dirt roads.