#sleepingplatform

[truckcamping-blog]

Nicely done #diybuild #gearstorage and #sleepingplatform by @solidwoodworx. #truckcamping #vancamping #carcamping #camping #diycamper #campinglife https://www.instagram.com/p/BqOAgPFh1td/?igshid=tgwkg3hckvoa

[truckcamping-blog]

#diy #gearstorage and #sleepingplatform in a #campershell by @yosemitejonathan. #truckcamping #carcamping #vancamping #camping #campinglife https://www.instagram.com/p/BxTYwe4gx-E/?igshid=1r8pz2ktz3i5h

[goosegear]

Two questions for the upcoming thanksgiving weekend!!! /// Where are you heading for Thanksgiving? (It better involve some trails) AND Are you sleeping IN your rig, ON your rig or in a ground tent? /// #sleepingplatform #rtt #groundtent https://www.instagram.com/p/B5I7NBxpkZH/?igshid=xnk6q4w1zun2

[goosegear]

On the way to @rockymountainoverlandrally camping with the herd. #80series #landcruiser #sleepingplatform #campkitchen camping https://www.instagram.com/p/B0hfuC_JRyj/?igshid=7nik3sag5psn

[goosegear]

Seat delete week. Toyota FJ Cruiser #fjcruiser #toyota #sleepingplatform #camping (at Goose-Gear) https://www.instagram.com/p/BzOOJghpQNU/?igshid=1a2gd10i7y3ai

[avhphoto]

Fall Into a Jeep Sleep

Hey, everyone! Well, I'm back after a long time not writing. I meant to keep a regular blog this year, posting at least once a week, but that didn't work out. I got caught up in the "winter blues" and wasn't feeling very inspired to write anything. I did read a lot, though, so that has to count for something. But here I am, and today's topic is the sleeping platform my dad and I recently put in my Jeep. I suppose I should start off with what brought me to want to build this sleeping platform in the first place. I bought my Jeep Grand Cherokee back in 2016. I needed a vehicle that would allow me access and clearance to roads that would have been inaccessible in the Acura I owned before. I wanted more space for both myself and passengers, as well as more cargo space to haul all the stuff I'd need for camping and photography ventures. Prior to the build, I would put one of the back seats down, put an air mattress along the side with a sleeping bag and cuddle up next to all the camping and photo gear. It was a tight squeeze, but it worked. Although I'm fully equipped for "regular" camping (ie with a tent), I often end up shooting in places where I don't have the ability to set up a tent or don't want to take the time to do it. So car camping has always been the obvious choice for my needs. I had looked into rooftop tents, but with the high price tag and not being able to fit into my downtown Vancouver parkade, sleeping in the back of my Jeep really did make for the best of both worlds. I just needed to make it more efficient. Earlier this year, I started doing some research on what others had done to make their vehicles more car-camping friendly. It was then that I discovered a lot of people had made sleeping platforms for their vehicles. I don't know why I hadn't thought of anything like that sooner, but better late than never! My parents recently moved to Victoria after ten years overseas, and having them close (but not THAT close, hey mom?) is a great thing. I knew my parents had a garage and my dad had tools that we could use to make a sleeping platform for my Jeep, and I asked my dad if he'd be willing to help me with it. I won't lie; I'm not mechanically inclined. I'm not good at building things from scratch. Hell, I'm not good at building things at all. I get frustrated and end up making more of a mess than was even necessary. I'm a solid three out of ten on the "Mr. FixIt Scale," which is a term I'm going to trademark. I knew my dad has had a lot of experience building things over the years and thought this would be a great project for us. I also thought it would be a great idea for my dad to spend some time with someone other than my mother for a little bit, although I'm not sure who needed the distraction more. My parents are lovely people, for those that don't know, but they've been overseas with mostly just themselves for the last ten years, plus the stresses of moving and setting up a new house upon their return to Canada. I digress. https://youtu.be/J4bLKkBWrQE During a work stint, I told my friend Jared about my plans to build this platform, and he got pretty excited. We had done some measurements during a lunch hour on set and built a preliminary sketch of what it was I wanted to create. I sent these off to my dad, and we messaged back and forth about what we'd need. My girlfriend and I headed to Victoria to "meet the family" as well as get this sleeping platform built. We arrived early in the morning, and after a quick visit, my dad and I got to work. He had found some YouTube videos where a guy built a sleeping platform in his JGC, and had the plans for his build on the Internet. We took his plans, made some measurements of our own, and changed them slightly so they'd work for my Jeep, as his was a few years older and had different specifications. https://youtu.be/D1tiszHNIjE One of the main purposes of the sleeping platform, aside from having a firm resting place, was to allow for convenient storage of a lot of the camping essentials that would have otherwise taken up a lot of space in the trunk. One of the things I didn't like was having to take certain camping gear and move it up to the front seats or stack it to the side in the trunk when I wanted to go to sleep. With the platform, you still have to move some things around when you want to sleep, but the work is minimal and most of the main components are tucked underneath the platform. Originally I had wanted to put in sliding drawers, but this would have added more height to the platform, decreasing the amount of headroom so I decided against this option. The plastic containers slide out easily enough. https://youtu.be/oLZxKJjFWSs My dad and I headed to Home Depot with our plans in hand. We knew what sizes of plywood and beams we'd need, and to cut down on time, we got everything pre-cut for us at Home Depot. I wanted to put down some sort of rubber mat to help keep the mattress from sliding, which would also aid in keeping gear from moving around when in travel mode. After purchasing the custom cut wood, the rubber mats, and the containers, I was sitting at a total cost of $250. Not too bad for a mobile hotel room!

Building materials. The first thing we did was build the support and make sure that it fit. We had to make some minor adjustments as things came up, but for the most part, everything fit quite well. I didn't want to have to take the back seats out of my Jeep, so we decided to build the platform in two separate parts. Originally, we thought it might work well with hinges but due to the size/shape of my trunk, it wasn't a plausible scenario. After getting the rear platform finished, it was time to build the front platform. This was a little more tricky as the support beams on the middle and side had to be trimmed at a very slight angle. My back seats don't fold down completely flat, and I wanted to negate the angle that the platform would be on for a more comfortable lying position. We also had to have some 2x4s vertically attached to the platform base so that it would reach the floor of the Jeep to support the weight on the platform. Once the main platform was built, it was time to fit the rubber matting onto the plywood. It fit with just a few minor alterations to the rubber to make sure that it was snug. My parents had this mattress they purchased in Namibia, and we thought it might fit well and I'd get to avoid having to spend more money on a mattress or airbed. It fit perfectly! The platform was built! Minus a few more additions like lighting and more storage, we had everything we needed complete and it only took us about 6-8 hours over two days. Now the only thing left to do was give it a test run. This, unfortunately, didn't happen until a couple weeks ago due to a busy schedule, but we headed out to Alice Lake in Squamish to give it a go and couldn't have been happier with the results. The mattress folds up in three parts, which makes storage of items on the rubber matting easy and less likely to move around during transport. A lot of the gear you see in the following photos gets taken out of the truck and set up, ie the camping chairs, stove etc. And two of the large bags on the right are the sleeping bags (two zipped into one big one) as well as pillows. Most of the stuff can be left out at night, but things like the cooler and stove had to be stored indoors for wildlife safety. Since this was only a one-night excursion, our personal bags weren't too full which made storage easier, but on a long haul and with a larger cooler, there is still a question of adequate storage. I also bought a five-piece window covering kit for added privacy, which I recommend installing prior to setting up anything else first. It's hard to do when you move the front seats forward to set up the bed. I am so happy with the results! My dad was so awesome in his willingness to help me with this project, and I thank him immensely for his time and hard work. I'm excited for adventure's this summer, even if they are just short hauls or taking a nap on the side of the road after a night of shooting stars. Read the full article

[goosegear]

Land Cruiser 100 Second Row Seat Deletes. Another view showing the side infill panels, by adding side infill panels we created a secure, lockable storage compartment for your valuables. ... #sleepingplatform #secondrowdelete #goosegear #goosegearplatesystem #carcamping #overland #stealthcamping #landcruiser #landcruiser100 #100series #100serieslandcruiser (at Goose-Gear) https://www.instagram.com/p/BvlFVG7pSl0/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=10r95zokyczg7

[goosegear]

100 Series Land Cruiser rear plate and both 40% and 60% second row seat deletes shown. Overall length with both front seats in the full back position is 75”. As always, the rear plate has anchor points for various Goose Gear modules as well. #sleepingplatform #sleepplatform #campingincars #sleepingincars #carcamping #landcruiser #100series #100serieslandcruiser (at Goose-Gear) https://www.instagram.com/p/BveW8w-ppMl/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=11aa2i5h3xwpb