Sleeping in an LJ

Reboot11133

Reboot11133

Observer
i have been thinking of building a foldable platform for my LJ. The plan is to be able to sleep two adults with the heads pointed towards the driver and passenger seats. I will have a bumper mounted tire carrier that can be swung wide to allow the platform to extend out past the rear door. To enclose the extended area I would make a pocket that would attach to the soft top in some way or maybe to the roll bars. I have not seen any set up similar to what I am visualizing. Has anyone done anything like this or have any suggestions? It just seems like an easy and lightweight alternative to a roof top tent. I realize I will only have 4 ft between the roll bars but it's wider between the verticals so it should be reasonably comfortable. The platform will need to fold in for travelling and needs to be easily opened to access the storage underneath. I am looking forward to some feedback.
 
Lucky j

Lucky j

Explorer
I have my LJ here outside, but as we speak, it is cold as crazy (well below frezing and it is dark) with that said, I do not have mesures in my head, but what about a fold down tail gate conversion and maybe an extra panel from the tailgate. Would'nt it be long enough? Would just need to fab some kind of tent to attach to the soft top.

I do have an idea to put that on a drawer style roll out platform, but do not know out to make an understandable quick drawing here.
 
Reboot11133

Reboot11133

Observer
Reboot11133 said:
i have been thinking of building a foldable platform for my LJ. The plan is to be able to sleep two adults with the heads pointed towards the driver and passenger seats. I will have a bumper mounted tire carrier that can be swung wide to allow the platform to extend out past the rear door. To enclose the extended area I would make a pocket that would attach to the soft top in some way or maybe to the roll bars. I have not seen any set up similar to what I am visualizing. Has anyone done anything like this or have any suggestions? It just seems like an easy and lightweight alternative to a roof top tent. I realize I will only have 4 ft between the roll bars but it's wider between the verticals so it should be reasonably comfortable. The platform will need to fold in for travelling and needs to be easily opened to access the storage underneath. I am looking forward to some feedback.
Click to expand...

fgtex said:
http://http://crewbed.com
Click to expand...

That is sort of what I had in mind. The problem with that is the bed is only about 3' wide. If the platform is above the tailgate you gain another foot in width. I like what they did with the soft top, it is sort of what I was thinking. Thanks for the link.
 
Reboot11133

Reboot11133

Observer
Lucky j said:
I have my LJ here outside, but as we speak, it is cold as crazy (well below frezing and it is dark) with that said, I do not have mesures in my head, but what about a fold down tail gate conversion and maybe an extra panel from the tailgate. Would'nt it be long enough? Would just need to fab some kind of tent to attach to the soft top.

I do have an idea to put that on a drawer style roll out platform, but do not know out to make an understandable quick drawing here.
Click to expand...


Another advantage of being above the tailgate is you get to keep storage underneath.
 
Reboot11133

Reboot11133

Observer
It's not something I will leave in all the time. I like to keep my back seat accessible for running around. I will just be putting this in for long road trips. In October my wife and I will be travelling to Moab and we have an extra week for going down there. The plan is to do some exploring and take our time going to Moab. I could always bring a tent but you never know I might end up spending a night in a Wally world parking lot. Maybe do a bit of camping and check out the north rim, I haven't been there before. Once there we have a condo booked.
 
libarata

libarata

Expedition Leader
The price for this sure beats those pup-up tops I have seen for Jeeps. Hey, if it works, make sure we get pictures and stuff. My biggest complaint for these Jeeps is limited storage for bulky stuff.
 
Reboot11133

Reboot11133

Observer
libarata said:
The price for this sure beats those pup-up tops I have seen for Jeeps. Hey, if it works, make sure we get pictures and stuff. My biggest complaint for these Jeeps is limited storage for bulky stuff.
Click to expand...

I hear you there is no room in the budget for a RTT or a pop up unit. I am not really keen on wheeling with a RTT due to the high center of gravity. Most of the trails we run in BC are very tight with plenty of low branches to deal with. When I build it I will be sure to share the pics.
 
libarata

libarata

Expedition Leader
Reboot11133 said:
I hear you there is no room in the budget for a RTT or a pop up unit. I am not really keen on wheeling with a RTT due to the high center of gravity. Most of the trails we run in BC are very tight with plenty of low branches to deal with. When I build it I will be sure to share the pics.
Click to expand...

I know branches are low when I start scraping them in my Forester. I though for sure my rack was going to be ripped off one day. I can only imagine the fear and clenching with a two-six thousand dollar RTT on rails. You would almost need to fabricate some sort of fairing to keep things from getting underneath.

I could have sworn I saw a 2-door version... http://www.ursaminorvehicles.com/jeep.htm
 
Reboot11133

Reboot11133

Observer
DucRyder said:
I have an LJ and have considered one of these along with a platform. The manufacturer says they can't be used with external tire carriers but I think that's only if you plan to use it for ingress/egress. You could always come in the passenger door.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-DAC-Mid...207?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4aae58e0cf
Click to expand...

That is pretty much what I was thinking! It would work fine as long as the tire carrier is not on the tailgate. External tire carrier just needs to be left open. Nice find!
 
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