Sleeping platform: How to get started?

[Martinjmpr]

I've been wanting to do a sleeping platform in the back of my 4runner for years but I'm having difficulty figuring out how to start. My woodworking skills are fairly basic, though I do have a table saw, a small band saw, a circular saw and the usual drills, dremel tools and a belt sander.

What I'm having difficulty with is figuring out how to make the platform work and still be fully removable. Obviously the top portion can be plywood, that's easy. The tough part is: how should I construct this? A full box with the plywood platform on top would be stronger, but would also weigh more. I will most likely figure on the outer edges of the platform resting on the fender wells but supporting it in the front is problematic because of the way the back of the back seat angles up, even when it's in the "down" position. Ideally I'd like to have something I can slide in and then slide back out when I don't need it, but obviously it's also got to be sturdy enough not to bounce itself to pieces when I'm on a rough or washboard road.

I'm sure others have had this problem and have come up with a solution. I'd like to hear what others did and how you did it. I hate reinventing the wheel and what I hate even more is working up some incredibly difficult and complex solution to a problem and then having someone else look at it and say "why didn't you do [much simpler and easier solution] instead?"

I would especially like to see how anyone has made a platform in a 4th gen 4runner.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Scott B.]

Come on over!

We can knock one out in a couple of hours! :sombrero:

 

[Desert Dan]

First you have to decide on the height of the platform and if you are going to want built in drawers etc. or use other containers/boxes (Action Packer/Pelican Cases Rubbermaid Totes) for storage.

Make a mock-up with a piece of plywood to see how much head-room you need. Try it out with a rough built prototype version to see if you like it first. Try climbing in and out of the truck to see how it works.
Experiment with the length of the sleeping platform as a raised platform limits how much you can recline the front seats.

Are you going to leave the back seat in or remove it completely? If you are leaving the back seat in you could build a removeable "box' type of platform with a separate piece that covers the back seat when sleeping. You can cover the top with carpet padding and indoor outdoor carpet.

I have my back seat out and have a 6-foot long flat floor to work with. I have experimented with several platforms and it is nice to be able to sleep inside with out unloading everything.

Here is a photo Lower Profile (from the forum) and my 4R with the flat floor.

 

[Martinjmpr]

Come on over!

We can knock one out in a couple of hours! :sombrero:

Soon as you come to your senses and move back out West!

 

[Martinjmpr]

Experiment with the length of the sleeping platform as a raised platform limits how much you can recline the front seats.

As far as height goes, I'm going no higher than the top of the fender wells, the idea being that will maximize my floor space (by being above the wheel wells) and also maximize headroom as I'm rather tall (6'1".) Storage underneath will either be plastic boxes or I may make my own drawer or boxes to slide in and out. No sliders, though, if I make drawers they'll slide on the carpet. I'm trying to stay simple here. Later on, as I get better at this, I can make it fancier but for now I just need something that is functional.

Are you going to leave the back seat in or remove it completely? If you are leaving the back seat in you could build a removeable "box' type of platform with a separate piece that covers the back seat when sleeping. You can cover the top with carpet padding and indoor outdoor carpet
I have my back seat out and have a 6-foot long flat floor to work with. I have experimented with several platforms and it is nice to be able to sleep inside with out unloading everything..

On my 4runner the back seats are in two components: The seat bottom cushions flip forward to rest vertically against the back of the front seats. These are easily removed and I will take them out. The seat backs, OTOH, are covered in carpet and I would think are more difficult to remove. They flip forward into the well vacated by the seat bottom, the problem here is they don't lay flat - they angle upward toward the front of the truck. This makes designing a support for the forward portion of the platform a problem because of the angle. (I'll try to shoot a picture and show you what I'm talking about.)

Here is a photo Lower Profile (from the forum) and my 4R with the flat floor.

So on your 4th gen, you didn't go for a platform, just a flat floor? See, what I'm trying to do is twofold: (1) Use the entire width of the interior by getting above the wheelwells, and (2) make room for storage underneath the platform. Right now I've got a bunch of boxes that take up space inside the back of the 4runner that make it difficult to sleep back there (I can do it, it's just not easy nor is it comfortable.)

Thanks for all the tips and keep 'em coming!

 

[bat]

This is as simple as it gets the plywood box slides in the channel made by 2x2. One lays flat on the floor the other one goes vertical the flat one is also the base to build the side boxes. When building the box just bring your side panels in a 1/2 inch to slide in the channel, wax the channel and good to go.

 

[fourstringfletch]

Nice work bat! Love the simplicity.

How do your sides open?

 

[Desert Dan]

Right now I just have the flat floor in my 4R.


Here are a few other 4R Platform ideas from the portal (not my truck)

http://www.expeditionportal.com/for...s-your-Toyota-4runner-tacoma-or-truck/page265

 

[bat]

How do your sides open?

 

[Uglyduck]

You could cut long ovals with a jig saw in the bottom and sides of the carcass to reduce the weight. Since its in the passenger compartment you don't have to worry about dust. Two separate boxes that slide in side by side (or front and rear) would make it easier to install and remove. I've been mulling over a design that will transfer from my Tacoma bed to the trailer.

 

[Martinjmpr]

Bat: That's a nice simple design, but a pickup naturally lends itself to a simple design. You have a flat deck and straight edges to work with.
On the inside of an SUV, there are lots of curves to go around and the back portion of the seat isn't quite flat, even when folded down, so I have to account for that.

What I'm mulling over right now is if I want to go with a "frame-less" design (where the structure is basically in the plywood) or whether I want to build a frame out of 2 x 2 or 2 x 3 boards and then put the plywood over that.

Frameless would be simpler but since I don't have a router, it would be more difficult to cut 'access holes' to acces underneath the platform. The benefit of a separate rigid frame structure is that then the plywood could be put on in individual panels, some of which could be hinged to allow access...

Anybody know of a good example of a "Framed" platform?

 

[ebg18t]

In the storage solutions section there were a few nice sleeping platforms.

 

[bat]

On the inside of an SUV, there are lots of curves to go around and the back portion of the seat isn't quite flat

You are right about it being different in a truck but easier is depending on the design for the 4runner. If it was me I would think of it as 2 sections from the front of the wheel wells back one section could be very close to my setup with the box in the middle and storage on the side back. You would have to scribe the plywood to follow the walls to be clean. I would make the front section to fold over or slide into the back section so you could use that section for bigger storage items and fold over when ready to sleep.

 

[Scott B.]

I suggest you build it frameless. The frame takes up a lot of space, weights a lot, and adds unnecessary strength.

Use your router to cut dados in the plywood. I cut 1/8" deep dados in 1/2" plywood for my platform. Since you don't have a router, $100 will buy you a nice Porter Cable router.

Look through my build thread for pictures on how I built my platform. I built it just before the last Mojave Road/Death Valley trip.

 

[smiper]

I love my 4th gen sleeping platform. I used 3/4" ply in a half hour glass shape to conform to the wheel wells- it sits a fraction of an inch above where the double-decker thing sat. I used 4 1x10 boards running front to back as vertical supports joined across the back by a 1x6. I did not taper for the sloped floor. There is no bottom. Rubbermade tubs slide freely in the 3 channels created by the vertical supports. This stays in the truck full time with recovery gear and a cooler stored underneath. For camping trips, the back seats fold down, and additional boards rest on a lip on the back of the storage platform and the folded down seat bottoms I made 2 boards- one wider than the other, so I can sleep 1 while still keeping half the seats up. The sleeping surface is not flat, but it's close enough for me. I'm 6'4" and mostly fit, even with my girlfriend and a 60 lb dog (front seat).