deniz merdano
New member
So here I am, in the frozen city streets of Montreal. Aching for spring to arrive so I can comfortably get into trouble in my Jeep. Winter is long... about 5 months long.Montreal is tough, living in the Plateau area is even harder if you want to work on your expedition vehicle.
I wanted to build a storage/sleeping platform for my Cherokee since the day we bought it. She is primitive, but being 16 years old and only bearing 170K on the clock, lots of life left in her to take me, my woman and my dog across the continent.
We love the outdoors and sleep in the tent whenever possible. But having a sleeping platform inside the vehicle was crucial for us for those times when 'pitching a tent' means far more interesting past time.
Bearing in mind that when it is -30C outside for weeks at end, designing, measuring and fabbing these kinds of things take alot longer than one thinks. Throw in the mix of living on the most narrow street in town and 40+cm of snow. It is amazing I even got this much done.
A power drill
Jigsaw
Staple-gun
Glue
Hardware
Automotive Vinyl
were my humble tools.
It all started as a sketch, where I would establish the over all design of the platform.
I did not want any removable pieces for I have no storage to keep stuff in. Keeping the rear seat is crucial for me as I wanted to keep the jeep as functional as a DD as possible.
The platform is self contained and secured to the tie down points in the trunk.
All the hardware is from Home-Depot/My studio and Car Upholstery Shops(took alot of sweet talking to get them to sell me 3 yards of vinyl)
The reason for Vinyl was simple. I have a dog. a rescue Pitbull named Allegro who as his name suggests is a ball of energy. He gets dirty and vinyl is far easier to clean than auto carpeting.
Ok fine, I get pretty dirty myself. Forgetting to take my boots of after playing in mud or leaning on to a greasy pole is a daily routine for me. So a removable platform covered in vinyl can be hosed of quite easily.
After putting the unit mostly together. I did a few test fits and found that a single hinge design does not clear the roof and create a long enough platform for my 5'11" carcass to sleep on.
also Allegro and my lady like to 'starfish' a lot through the night.
Double hinge design was the only way to deal with this idea and worked out quite well I might add. There are even 2x13" poles screw right into the bed platform for added pillar support when folded out completely.
The black trim is a painted drywall corner piece that made hiding the vinyl staple joints easy and provides added protection from things snagging on it.
Next is to come up with lockable drawer/camping table solution for this setup. There are plenty of storage space on the sides and between the platform and the rear seat.
Many upgrades will be done to this setup as March rolls on and sun starts shining.
Comments and suggestions are very welcome.
I wanted to build a storage/sleeping platform for my Cherokee since the day we bought it. She is primitive, but being 16 years old and only bearing 170K on the clock, lots of life left in her to take me, my woman and my dog across the continent.
We love the outdoors and sleep in the tent whenever possible. But having a sleeping platform inside the vehicle was crucial for us for those times when 'pitching a tent' means far more interesting past time.
Bearing in mind that when it is -30C outside for weeks at end, designing, measuring and fabbing these kinds of things take alot longer than one thinks. Throw in the mix of living on the most narrow street in town and 40+cm of snow. It is amazing I even got this much done.
A power drill
Jigsaw
Staple-gun
Glue
Hardware
Automotive Vinyl
were my humble tools.
It all started as a sketch, where I would establish the over all design of the platform.
I did not want any removable pieces for I have no storage to keep stuff in. Keeping the rear seat is crucial for me as I wanted to keep the jeep as functional as a DD as possible.
The platform is self contained and secured to the tie down points in the trunk.
All the hardware is from Home-Depot/My studio and Car Upholstery Shops(took alot of sweet talking to get them to sell me 3 yards of vinyl)
The reason for Vinyl was simple. I have a dog. a rescue Pitbull named Allegro who as his name suggests is a ball of energy. He gets dirty and vinyl is far easier to clean than auto carpeting.
Ok fine, I get pretty dirty myself. Forgetting to take my boots of after playing in mud or leaning on to a greasy pole is a daily routine for me. So a removable platform covered in vinyl can be hosed of quite easily.
After putting the unit mostly together. I did a few test fits and found that a single hinge design does not clear the roof and create a long enough platform for my 5'11" carcass to sleep on.
also Allegro and my lady like to 'starfish' a lot through the night.
Double hinge design was the only way to deal with this idea and worked out quite well I might add. There are even 2x13" poles screw right into the bed platform for added pillar support when folded out completely.
The black trim is a painted drywall corner piece that made hiding the vinyl staple joints easy and provides added protection from things snagging on it.
Next is to come up with lockable drawer/camping table solution for this setup. There are plenty of storage space on the sides and between the platform and the rear seat.
Many upgrades will be done to this setup as March rolls on and sun starts shining.
Comments and suggestions are very welcome.
