sleeping platform finished! many pix

photoleif · 04-15-2006, 09:26 PM

Here's my most recent mod -- a sturdy sleeping platform suitable for two plus gear. The structure is out of 3/4" CDX plywood, and the carpet is boat carpet that is glued and stapled down (staples for the large areas, and glued around the edges). The platform top is screwed to its supports with pre-tapped 3" gold deck screws. The vertical supports are bracketed together at most 90° junctures using 4" steel brackets. At each corner the platform has a smaller compartment with a removeable lid, and in the middle close to the cab, I did one larger lid on a piano hinge. All use spray-painted 2" flush-mount barn door-style rings for pulls. I painted three coats of polyurethane on the bottom exposed faces and edges of all the wood, in case of an inadvertent flood. I tested it out last night (just sleeping, no flood) and everything worked like a champ. On to the pictures.

Full rear view showing tub storage and two side compartments suitable for 7-gal water jugs or a stove and other gear in the absence of a lot of water.

A closer view. I used spring-loaded closures to hold the lids down. It looked a little unfinished with unpainted edges, so I used black acrylic paint on the cut edges and undersides of the lids. The hardware arrived as bright zinc so I spray-painted it matte black.

A view showing the rear half of the underside. The larger middle compartments are about 36" deep, and due to the rear humps the rear side compartments are in the 22" range.

The cab-side center compartment with the piano hinge spans the center support; one half provides ample room for two ammo boxes in front, and about the same amount aft of them. I stuffed a sleeping bag in there yesterday.

The other side holds the 800-Watt inverter and provides over two cubic feet of volume for goodies. And next to that is the Optima d34M battery in its own compartment. At the other front corner is a similar compartment which I sealed with clear caulk to protect the contents from water.

The deep-cycle battery powers a pair of aux 12V sockets (one on the platform, the other mounted in the driver-side stow compartment which makes it convenient for the Peltier fridge). The deep-cycle powers the inverter, and that is wired to a pair of flush-mount 120V outlets.

The deep-cycle is bridged to the Optima Red-Top starter battery via a Painless brand dual battery control system, which I mounted under the hood near the charcoal canister. Here's the switch for it. Now is a good opportunity to rework ugly switches. I moved my fog light switch, which previously lived lower down, got in the way, and looked ill-conceived.

I needed some more tie-downs, so I installed two self-stowing flush-mount tie-downs designed for rail-top mounting. I had to bend the wings out in a vise to fit under the platform top, but they work great.

So, how's all this make me feel? Great! I used it last night in the wind, rain, ice and snow at 9,500 feet and it worked quite well. I definitely will be getting a 3" memory-foam mattress to put on top, but for now it did OK with a thermarest.

Finally, here's a simplified version of the drawing I did for guidance. I'm happy to say that with one exception I had no serious DOH moments, so I'm pleased.

Here's a parts list.

3 - 4x8 CDX 3/4" plywood (or buy higher grade and not have to sand as much)
1 - 1x2 #1 pine (8' length)
20 - 4" steel brackets
1 - box (100 pcs or so) of 1.75" 1/4-20 bolts, with nuts to match
40~50 3" deck screws
1 - pt polyurethane sealer
1 - qt black acrylic paint
1 - 5x6 feet boat carpet (i chose gray to match the cab interior)
1 - can 3M "90" spray adhesive
1 - 30" piano hinge (should have screws, but consider replacing with larger)
8 - spring latches (should come with screws)
2 - medium plastic tubs (appx dims 16w x 34d x 6h)
2 - large screw eyes to bungee in the plastic tubs
1 - adjustable bungee
1 - flush-mount 120V outlet
2 - flush-mount 12V sockets
various 10ga wires

A few gotchas you may want to keep in mind:
1) Putting in the larger top piece of plywood necessitated lifting the topper off the rail a bit to slide it in. The smaller top piece went in fine and could rotate.

2) Paint the edges of the lids, at a minimum, and consider painting the top as at least an outline so that once you cut the carpet, the seam won't show bright new plywood.

3) Ventilate very well when you use the spray adhesive, and if you get the 3M "90" adhesive, be aware it has a line-shaped dispersion pattern, which you can adjust at 90° or 0° depending on your needs.

4) If you'll be adding an aux battery, don't just measure the battery itself, but consider the bracketry and cables as well. I had to expand the compartment an inch after discovering that.

5) I used large cardboard pieces to pattern the wheel well humps prior to cutting out the far right and left edge supports. You may want to do straighter cuts to save wood. I used a jigsaw and cut them out fairly accurately.

6) Diagram out your bed corrugations or suffer the wrath of a creaking foundation. It turns out that half of my supports were 1/4" longer than the others due to resting on the actual bed rather than on top of a corrugation.

7) I had to remove two of the four cabside tie-downs. The platform simply wouldn't go in with the lower ones present.

If anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask. There are other pages to the machine drawing, so if anyone has this same model year and wants more detail, just ask and I'll send the Visio.

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SnoViking · 04-15-2006, 09:33 PM

i really like the removable panel idea. Plus the invertor and battery are super slick. Its a nice clean look. keep up the good work

photoleif · 04-15-2006, 09:36 PM

thanks! i still have to figure out where to put the tie-down anchors for the water jugs to maximize the mechanical advantage, but largely it's done. i'll finish the dual-batt setup shortly, though the platform has juice now.

***Corey*** · 04-15-2006, 09:43 PM

Pics are a no show for me.

photoleif · 04-15-2006, 09:50 PM

sorry corey. my website burped. check back for pix in a few.....

91_4x4runner · 04-15-2006, 10:07 PM

2nd that on the pictures.

photoleif · 04-15-2006, 10:19 PM

sorry. my host is REALLY frustrating me at the moment. i'll bump the thread back up when my host gets their $#!^ straight.

AH64ID · 04-15-2006, 10:21 PM

Looking foreword to it.....

photoleif · 04-16-2006, 02:16 AM

ok thanks for your patience folks. my host has completed the work on their backbone connection, and i think the pix are fine now.

Rather Diesel · 04-16-2006, 03:53 AM

Nice work. I like it.

Roy

***Corey*** · 04-16-2006, 04:14 AM

Pics are here!
Looks great man.

Should be very nice for getting away for the weekend and having an area to retire to at the end of the night.

YotaJunky · 04-16-2006, 05:43 AM

Great job. It makes me want to add carpeting to my platform.

Troy

leebee · 04-16-2006, 08:38 AM

very nice work, neat and tidy! im in the process of designing and building mine presently. unfortunately, i dont have the luxury of a full bed as i require the rear seats from time to time. i may have to 'borrow' a couple of your ideas to suit my applications!

lee

photoleif · 04-16-2006, 09:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by troy65

It makes me want to add carpeting to my platform.

i used boat carpet from lowe's. it comes in a perfect 6-foot width and i hardly trimmed anything. if you do go this route, 3M type "90" spray adhesive is da bomb. it's a bit more expensive but really sticks. i tried some dap general-use spray adhesive initially and already had some peel-back in certain areas. just go with the good stuff.

Quote:

Originally Posted by leebee

very nice work, neat and tidy! im in the process of designing and building mine presently. unfortunately, i dont have the luxury of a full bed as i require the rear seats from time to time. i may have to 'borrow' a couple of your ideas to suit my applications!

if you need more detail in any areas just let me know. the one drawing was one page of five that i had info on -- since i don't yet have a table saw, i went to HD with a list of cuts and cut diagrams for the guy. we just ripped and cross-cut for half an hour and it all turned out exactly right. it was dang slick.

Tanto · 04-16-2006, 09:24 AM

Looks good!

AH64ID · 04-16-2006, 11:22 AM

Looks great. I wish I had done carpet on the platform we built in the back of my 95 runner. Looked ugly after a while.

Couple of things... Next time how about a blond camo bikini clad model???

Is the painless system setup to charge a starting and a deep cycle at the same time? I only ask because we had a starting and a deep cycle in our chevy P/U and one of them, dont remember which, kept boiling over from over charge due to differnent rates. I know optimas cant boil over but not sure about the side affects of overcharging them? We didn't have a kit like the painless on though, they were simply tied together with a HD contunious duty solenoid hooked to an oil pressure switch.

spindleshanks · 04-16-2006, 11:30 AM

Looks cozy! It's encouraging to see how functional the bed of a Toyota can be...mine is still just bare, and it's largely useless to me unless I'm hauling something large.

photoleif · 04-16-2006, 11:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4x4nala

Couple of things... Next time how about a blond camo bikini clad model???

haha don't think my wife would go for either (being, or allowing), but i'll see what we can do.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4x4nala

Is the painless system setup to charge a starting and a deep cycle at the same time? I know optimas cant boil over but not sure about the side affects of overcharging them? We didn't have a kit like the painless on though, they were simply tied together with a HD contunious duty solenoid hooked to an oil pressure switch.

they do look like they have different charging rates, but that they were pretty robust in terms of taking that. there is some mention in the painless instructions about balancing. if anyone has more info please feel free to chime in. i wouldn't want to risk damage to the battery, or to my junk if i made a poor choice in these two batteries.

AH64ID · 04-16-2006, 12:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by photoleif

haha don't think my wife would go for either (being, or allowing), but i'll see what we can do.

ya, I could get my wife to pose, but would be sleeping in the truck for a LONG time if they got posted :pat:

YotaJunky · 04-16-2006, 05:03 PM

Photleif,

Great job! Please email me your diagrams. I would like to do the same for my 88 longbox. I think the dimensions may be different from yours, but I'm interested in the overall plan.

TIA,

Troy

Swissdrums · 04-16-2006, 07:07 PM

Awsome! I'm gonna get a tacoma...just to do this, awsome job, looks great

photoleif · 04-16-2006, 07:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by troy65

Photleif,

Great job! Please email me your diagrams.

TIA,

Troy

thx bud. e-mail sent.

JML · 04-16-2006, 08:47 PM

Could you give a brief rundown on the cost of all of that?
I am thinking of doing the same. Been looking for free plywood. Can't find any, so I guess I'll just buy it all.

photoleif · 04-17-2006, 12:01 AM

ply: $22 a sheet x 3 for $66
1x2 is cheap -- i think $2, but hard to find a clear and straight one
4" brackets 10 pkgs @ 2.39/pr = $24ish for 20
bolts, nuts and screws were in the $20 range, and i have leftovers
carpet $4.27/linear foot, so around $21 since it's 6 wide cut to 5 long
spring catches are a buck each, so $10
recessed door rings are $5 each, ouch, but they look great
12v sockets were $5.75 each, so $12ish
paint and polyurethane came to about $6
the 3m spray adhesive is $13, and i have lots left over for future projects
plastic tubs $6 each, so $12

i bought a couple handfuls of tools that can't be directly listed as consumed in this project, so i won't count them. i am also not counting the batteries, cable kits, hold-down, or the replacement of a couple bits i inadvertently killed by chance encounters with hidden drywall screws.

that makes the materials cost about $210. i'll throw another $260 at a memory-foam mattress and cover, too. i know this is a chunk of change, and i could have done it all for a lot less, but i wanted to do it right, such that the net is a tool that will both stand up to a lot of use and still look decent for a number of years. i didn't want it to look (or function) like an afterthought. it will directly pay for itself twice over, in saved hotel bills on a trip this fall, so it's not sunk funds by any stretch.

Keggo · 04-17-2006, 10:45 AM

Yeah man, that looks really awesome. I dig the outlets and whatnot.. Great job!

04-15-2006, 09:33 PM	#2 (permalink)
SnoViking Contributing Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: York PA Posts: 786	i really like the removable panel idea. Plus the invertor and battery are super slick. Its a nice clean look. keep up the good work __________________ Pat 1999 4Runner SR5 V6 4WD - Brush Guard, lift, Duelers, roof rack, acouple lights ~You will always be my little boy~ Hobbes (11/28/05) Future mods- more lift, tire gate, sliders, better lights, engine upgrades.

04-15-2006, 09:36 PM	#3 (permalink)
photoleif Contributing Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: 39.995, 105.119 Posts: 643	thanks! i still have to figure out where to put the tie-down anchors for the water jugs to maximize the mechanical advantage, but largely it's done. i'll finish the dual-batt setup shortly, though the platform has juice now. __________________ '95 Xtra cab 3VZE SR5V6 \| 33x10.50-15 BFG AT/KOs \| 4" Superlift \| OME torsion bars \| Total Chaos idler arm and uniball \| Rancho steering stabilizer \| Smittybilt front & rear tubular bumpers \| Sportsman topper \| Aisin hubs \| Dual Optimas \| Extended diff breathers \| Custom center console sometime: rear locker some sometime: retire the IFS My truck page Photography: http://www.aspen-graphics.com

04-15-2006, 09:43 PM	#4 (permalink)
*Corey* Co-Founder/Administrator Staff Join Date: May 2002 Location: Auburn, Washington Posts: 26,067	Pics are a no show for me. __________________ Corey 2007 FJ Cruiser Built for 4wheelin', expedition, camping, and overlanding use PNW FJ Cruisers ☺ Detailing 101 ☺ Join Topsites ☺ Muffler Comparisons ☺ Maggiolinas In The Wild FJ Cruiser Buildup ☺ New Roof Top Tent ☺ Video Of My Penthouse Part II ☺ Rehinge Your ARB/Engel Fridge Blog About Roof Top Tents ☺ FJC Magazines Online Review Of My Tent ☺ 2009 Specialized Rockhopper Pro

04-15-2006, 09:50 PM	#5 (permalink)
photoleif Contributing Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: 39.995, 105.119 Posts: 643	sorry corey. my website burped. check back for pix in a few..... __________________ '95 Xtra cab 3VZE SR5V6 \| 33x10.50-15 BFG AT/KOs \| 4" Superlift \| OME torsion bars \| Total Chaos idler arm and uniball \| Rancho steering stabilizer \| Smittybilt front & rear tubular bumpers \| Sportsman topper \| Aisin hubs \| Dual Optimas \| Extended diff breathers \| Custom center console sometime: rear locker some sometime: retire the IFS My truck page Photography: http://www.aspen-graphics.com

04-15-2006, 10:07 PM	#6 (permalink)
91_4x4runner Contributing Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: San Antonio, TX Posts: 1,078	2nd that on the pictures. __________________ ~Eric 1991 4Runner 3.0L 4x4 Black, 31" Michelin M/S tires, OME-901's 1992 Lexus SC400 4.0 V8, Green with Tan interior (donor) (PM me for parts) Near Future: FI 1UZ swap. (June) Far Future mods: F/R Lockers, SAS, 35's. UZswap.com - A discussion forum dedicated specifically to swapping UZ engines into Toyota trucks and 4Runners

04-15-2006, 10:19 PM	#7 (permalink)
photoleif Contributing Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: 39.995, 105.119 Posts: 643	sorry. my host is REALLY frustrating me at the moment. i'll bump the thread back up when my host gets their $#!^ straight. __________________ '95 Xtra cab 3VZE SR5V6 \| 33x10.50-15 BFG AT/KOs \| 4" Superlift \| OME torsion bars \| Total Chaos idler arm and uniball \| Rancho steering stabilizer \| Smittybilt front & rear tubular bumpers \| Sportsman topper \| Aisin hubs \| Dual Optimas \| Extended diff breathers \| Custom center console sometime: rear locker some sometime: retire the IFS My truck page Photography: http://www.aspen-graphics.com

04-15-2006, 10:21 PM	#8 (permalink)
AH64ID Contributing Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Idaho Posts: 4,637	Looking foreword to it..... __________________ -John '05 Dodge 3500 SRW 4x4 SLT 5.9 Cummins QC LB NV5600 2003 SR5 4Runner, V6 4WD. 1" cornfed lift Previous Toyota's '92 Red Truck NALA Speed doesn't kill, its the sudden stop that hurts.

04-16-2006, 02:16 AM	#9 (permalink)
photoleif Contributing Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: 39.995, 105.119 Posts: 643	ok thanks for your patience folks. my host has completed the work on their backbone connection, and i think the pix are fine now. __________________ '95 Xtra cab 3VZE SR5V6 \| 33x10.50-15 BFG AT/KOs \| 4" Superlift \| OME torsion bars \| Total Chaos idler arm and uniball \| Rancho steering stabilizer \| Smittybilt front & rear tubular bumpers \| Sportsman topper \| Aisin hubs \| Dual Optimas \| Extended diff breathers \| Custom center console sometime: rear locker some sometime: retire the IFS My truck page Photography: http://www.aspen-graphics.com

04-16-2006, 03:53 AM	#10 (permalink)
Rather Diesel Registered User Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Maryland Posts: 180	Nice work. I like it. Roy

04-16-2006, 04:14 AM	#11 (permalink)
*Corey* Co-Founder/Administrator Staff Join Date: May 2002 Location: Auburn, Washington Posts: 26,067	Pics are here! Looks great man. Should be very nice for getting away for the weekend and having an area to retire to at the end of the night. __________________ Corey 2007 FJ Cruiser Built for 4wheelin', expedition, camping, and overlanding use PNW FJ Cruisers ☺ Detailing 101 ☺ Join Topsites ☺ Muffler Comparisons ☺ Maggiolinas In The Wild FJ Cruiser Buildup ☺ New Roof Top Tent ☺ Video Of My Penthouse Part II ☺ Rehinge Your ARB/Engel Fridge Blog About Roof Top Tents ☺ FJC Magazines Online Review Of My Tent ☺ 2009 Specialized Rockhopper Pro

04-16-2006, 05:43 AM	#12 (permalink)
YotaJunky Contributing Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Vancouver BC Posts: 780	Great job. It makes me want to add carpeting to my platform. Troy __________________ '95 4WD 22R-E 4Runner, 5spd, 205k kms, 4.56 gears, extended diff breather mod, bilstein shocks, Aisin manual hub swap, 1.25 rear coil spacer, 32" BFG's -- my DD

04-16-2006, 08:38 AM	#13 (permalink)
leebee Contributing Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: marlbank, canada Posts: 2,449	very nice work, neat and tidy! im in the process of designing and building mine presently. unfortunately, i dont have the luxury of a full bed as i require the rear seats from time to time. i may have to 'borrow' a couple of your ideas to suit my applications! lee __________________ 93 sr5 v6 auto, 4x4 Photos http://s866.photobucket.com/albums/a...albumview=grid there are quite some attractive ladies on here with Toys. (compliments of ironmike) ifsc 3(.0) http://tlca.org www.of4wd.com www.sontt.com

04-16-2006, 11:22 AM	#16 (permalink)
AH64ID Contributing Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Idaho Posts: 4,637	Looks great. I wish I had done carpet on the platform we built in the back of my 95 runner. Looked ugly after a while. Couple of things... Next time how about a blond camo bikini clad model??? Is the painless system setup to charge a starting and a deep cycle at the same time? I only ask because we had a starting and a deep cycle in our chevy P/U and one of them, dont remember which, kept boiling over from over charge due to differnent rates. I know optimas cant boil over but not sure about the side affects of overcharging them? We didn't have a kit like the painless on though, they were simply tied together with a HD contunious duty solenoid hooked to an oil pressure switch. __________________ -John '05 Dodge 3500 SRW 4x4 SLT 5.9 Cummins QC LB NV5600 2003 SR5 4Runner, V6 4WD. 1" cornfed lift Previous Toyota's '92 Red Truck NALA Speed doesn't kill, its the sudden stop that hurts.

04-16-2006, 11:30 AM	#17 (permalink)
spindleshanks Registered User Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Loveland, CO Posts: 620	Looks cozy! It's encouraging to see how functional the bed of a Toyota can be...mine is still just bare, and it's largely useless to me unless I'm hauling something large. __________________ '03 beauty of a white Tacoma, check it out: http://www.yotatech.com/f83/spindles.../#post50606613 "The fingers you have used to dial this number are too fat. For information on how you can obtain your own personal dialing wand, please mash your palm against the keypad now."

04-16-2006, 05:03 PM	#20 (permalink)
YotaJunky Contributing Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Vancouver BC Posts: 780	Photleif, Great job! Please email me your diagrams. I would like to do the same for my 88 longbox. I think the dimensions may be different from yours, but I'm interested in the overall plan. TIA, Troy __________________ '95 4WD 22R-E 4Runner, 5spd, 205k kms, 4.56 gears, extended diff breather mod, bilstein shocks, Aisin manual hub swap, 1.25 rear coil spacer, 32" BFG's -- my DD Last edited by YotaJunky; 02-22-2008 at 09:52 PM.

04-16-2006, 07:07 PM	#21 (permalink)
Swissdrums Registered User Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: No.Va. Posts: 361	Awsome! I'm gonna get a tacoma...just to do this, awsome job, looks great __________________ 1994 Toyota 4Runner V6 Auto 4WD

04-16-2006, 08:47 PM	#23 (permalink)
JML Registered User Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Boulder CO Posts: 50	Could you give a brief rundown on the cost of all of that? I am thinking of doing the same. Been looking for free plywood. Can't find any, so I guess I'll just buy it all. __________________ Black '92 Pickup 22re - The mountain climber

04-17-2006, 12:01 AM	#24 (permalink)
photoleif Contributing Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: 39.995, 105.119 Posts: 643	ply: $22 a sheet x 3 for $66 1x2 is cheap -- i think $2, but hard to find a clear and straight one 4" brackets 10 pkgs @ 2.39/pr = $24ish for 20 bolts, nuts and screws were in the $20 range, and i have leftovers carpet $4.27/linear foot, so around $21 since it's 6 wide cut to 5 long spring catches are a buck each, so $10 recessed door rings are $5 each, ouch, but they look great 12v sockets were $5.75 each, so $12ish paint and polyurethane came to about $6 the 3m spray adhesive is $13, and i have lots left over for future projects plastic tubs $6 each, so $12 i bought a couple handfuls of tools that can't be directly listed as consumed in this project, so i won't count them. i am also not counting the batteries, cable kits, hold-down, or the replacement of a couple bits i inadvertently killed by chance encounters with hidden drywall screws. that makes the materials cost about $210. i'll throw another $260 at a memory-foam mattress and cover, too. i know this is a chunk of change, and i could have done it all for a lot less, but i wanted to do it right, such that the net is a tool that will both stand up to a lot of use and still look decent for a number of years. i didn't want it to look (or function) like an afterthought. it will directly pay for itself twice over, in saved hotel bills on a trip this fall, so it's not sunk funds by any stretch. __________________ '95 Xtra cab 3VZE SR5V6 \| 33x10.50-15 BFG AT/KOs \| 4" Superlift \| OME torsion bars \| Total Chaos idler arm and uniball \| Rancho steering stabilizer \| Smittybilt front & rear tubular bumpers \| Sportsman topper \| Aisin hubs \| Dual Optimas \| Extended diff breathers \| Custom center console sometime: rear locker some sometime: retire the IFS My truck page Photography: http://www.aspen-graphics.com Last edited by photoleif; 04-17-2006 at 12:16 AM. Reason: darn typos

04-17-2006, 10:45 AM	#25 (permalink)
Keggo Contributing Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Bakersfield, CA Posts: 1,831	Yeah man, that looks really awesome. I dig the outlets and whatnot.. Great job! __________________ - Kevin E. G. SOLD!!! '91 4Runner SR5 V6 5spd: CLICK!! FOR SALE NOW! Proud dad of Kai E. G.!

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