Darren

Well, I know Taco guys don't have a problem sleeping in the back of their rigs, but 4Runners can be quite tricky for comfy accommodations in stock form (read, fetal position). I should note that I am 6'. Also, I didn't see that Bob has a write-up on this, so I'm going to have a stab at it. Actually, I know Alan ("HaveBlue") sleeps in the back of his, but he has a whole cargo storage unit going on.

But, as for the rest of us, have any of you ever slept in the back of your 4Runners? Since I haven't seen it documented previously, and it is a pretty new concept to me which one of my photo buddies had shown me last year in his '95 4Runner, I thought I'd pass along a tip. All that's required to fit lengthwise, is to remove a seat. So, in visual form, I have the following in addition to what my setup consists of. (I would do thumbnails, but I guess I haven't seen, or searched, how to use them.)



Remove the two bolts (arrows) holding the seat in with either a 12mm or 15/32's socket (not sure about the size for the 1990-1995 4Runners).




Remove the seat and screw bolts back in. This really opens things up.




I then use a Therm-a-Rest RidgeRest foam pad, which is 72x20x5/8".




Then goes on a Therm-a-Rest BaseCamp self-inflating air mattress, which is 72x20x1.75".




Here is a side view. Also on display here is my wonderful Coleman BlackCat propane heater. I've used this in my tent with lows at 13-15 degrees, with snow falling, and it heated it up to 30 degrees when I was ready to get up. It really makes getting up on cold mornings bearable. 30 degrees has never felt so wonderful!




My big (82x35") -5 degree rated Slumberjack bag and a pillow tops things off.




Use whatever room is left to store your gear. The tonneau cover comes off at night.




With the seat all the way forward, there is now 8" of available space. A far cry better than being cramped up if you leave the back seat in. If you're 6'8", you can probably sleep in the back of your 4Runner, too!




It's night-night time! Note that my Extreme-Aire case is level with the lowered seat back, which my pillow goes atop of. If you don't have a similar tool box, or the like, you'll need to stuff this area full of blankets or some other gear you have which can do the job.



Well, that's the story. I'm sure there are a number of folks out there who are already doing this, but I'm sure there are just as many who have yet to find out about it. The padding I have is sufficient, but I'm wishing it were quite a bit softer. I would prefer a standard air mattress, but I'm not sure if they come in 72x20". I'll keep searching. I do a lot of moving around before I fall to sleep, but having the 20" width is plenty sufficient for me. One could always remove the other seat for more room as well, so long as you don't think you'll be carrying any passengers. This should really prove to work out great for me. Now I can leave camp right away and not have to spend 15 minutes packing down my tent if I don't plan to be at the same spot for another night. I can get right up and go to shoot (photograph) sunrise.

Also, those eerie footsteps and I usually hear when I'm out traveling solo, will be less of a hair-raising of an experience behind the doors of the 'Runner! I guess I can't forget about those midnight mountain thunderstorms, either. I can't tell you the number of times (well, actually I can, but for the sake of storytelling . . .) I have been scared out of my tent from lightning flashes and the enhanced volume of thunder that bounces off the mountains and canyon walls. It will be nice not having to retreat three times in a night and losing a lot of sleep over this.

Hope this helps someone! See ya in the woods.

HaveBlue

Darren-
Cool setup!
From personal experience in my '92, though, you might want to either cut or remove your rear cargo tray before you try sleeping back there. Despite the mattress and padding, it managed to dig into a pressure point on my hip.
I have a couple 2" thick pieces of maple that would fit perfect in there. They're from the '83 and only way 50 lbs. each

I have 2 new projects on the drawing board as I type this. One for the back of the '83 to solve the one-night-I-don't-want-to-pitch-a-tent dilema and one for behind the 4Runner for when I have multiple occupants.

By the way, I just read about a trail near Idaho Springs I had forgotten about. Care to try it within the next month or so?

AFRunner

For primo sleeping without the full tent set-up or dragging a trailer, check out www.loftyshelters.com
Aaron

HaveBlue

I almost bought one of those or a setup similar until I remembered that I tend to forget where I'm sleeping. I'd probably have to get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and end up with a headache.

Scottiac

I do a similiar setup with my runner. I either don't carry the back seats at all or remove them at night and throw them in the front passenger seat.

I have two 4' x 3' pieces of plywood, and a little bit of plumbing as "legs" under it. They give me a deck about 10-12" up, which lets me store most of my stuff underneath, and have the whole 4' x 6' (plus a bit) space for snoozing.

I then throw some thermarests down for padding. Thinking about trying a futon pad instead, if I can find a cheap one somewhere.

Quite comfortable for two people and two australian shepards (one sleeps on the front seat with the back seats extending it into a nice couch, and one sleeps between us.)

I like the heater idea though! I recall waking up in Utah one morning with ice on the *inside* of the runner. My g/f was not too excited about that!

SHINYSIDEUP

Nice Set Up. I Figured Out The Same Thing About A Month Ago. What I Haven't Gotten Around To Doing Yet Is Finding Some Quick Release Pins To Replace The Bolts Securing The Bottom Portion Of The Seat. The Other Thing My Truck Has Which Is Great Is A Remote Starter (my Truck Is Automatic) If Its Cold Out I Usually Wake Up During The Night, Flick The Remote Starter And Fall Back To Sleep (it Has A 20 Minute Timer)same Thing In The Morning And Its Toasty Warm. I Have Limo Tint In The Side And Back Windows, Just Usually Wedge A Blanket In The Headliner Just Behind The Front Seats For Privacy. Btw, A Single Bed Sized Matress Fits Great With Both Seats Down.

r0cky

Man, that looks cozy! It makes me want to go make a fort in the back of my '03 even though I'm here at home!

Bob_98SR5

Darren,

Too funny man.

Your idea is an excellent one! Looks mighty comfy and toasty.

Robinhood150 and his wife sleep in the back of their 4runner. He has a twin size mattress the he semi-inflates and fits it to shape. then they throw some sleeping bags and i think a blanket underneath. it looks comfy and steve and miki seem to sleep well. oh, i believe he uses his air compressor to inflate it. not sure if its the cadillac or his tank. hopefully he'll chime in w/ some pics.

Bob

tulsa_97SR5

2002 was family medical emergancy year for us, seemed like every month we were having to drive from denver to PA or VA or NY for one of our parents surguries. We'd fold one side down, not remove anything & trade off driving & sleeping at each gas stop. With a couple of old, heavy sleeping bags for padding we had no problems. It made all the 20 - 24 hr drives a lot more tolerable.

UKMyers

I've spent 5 days once and 11 days once living in my Runner. For the 11 day trip I was touring Wales and Ireland. I am only 5'8" so I bought a Coleman TWIN size airmattress and it fits great in the back with just laying the seats down. I put my cooler on the passenger side it fits right between the wheel well and the seat back. For all my other stuff I bought two of them big rubbermaid containers and would just take them out at night and slide them under the truck. I was staying at RV parks and stuff every couple nights so I could pay a couple Euro and get a shower. Headroom is a little short with the matress in there but it's not unbearable at all. It is sure nice to sleep in your rig on them nights when it's chucking rain down which was the case about everynight in Ireland.

SkyRat

I too have been taking the bottom of the rear seats out for headroom while camping. We do the Robinhood method of air-mattress, covered by the biggest, thickest old school Coleman (rated -5 degrees), and our down sleeping bags. I hate the way the matterss feels though, it is hard to roll over or sit up when the thing moves so much under you. I am thinking of building some sort of platform that can store stuff underneath, and sleep on top.... For heat I just turn the truck and heater on in the morning before rising, I can reach the ignition from the bag. We were at about 20 degrees in Bishop last December. No problem...

SkyRat

Hey Scott, You have any pics of your deck setup??

Scottiac

I'll put some up tomorrow night... Don't have any with me right now.

Scofco

Thanks for the tip!
Never even considered that before.
Will definately come in handy this summer!

Darren

Alan,
I'm going to have to pass on the maple offer! I really like the sounds of both of your upcoming camping mods! I'm just going to have to figure out where and how I'll put my dirty shoes away when I get inside, so as to not leave them out and have bites taken out of the laces during the night! Ahem! As far as the Idaho Springs trail, I'll have to PM you on that. I have a number of weekend trips planned in the next month, but should be able to fit this in sometime.


Shinysideup,
Yeah, the remote starter would be awesome for this purpose. I could use that practically every trip, including those summer ones at 10,000'. I haven't read too much on this yet, though.


Hehe! Well, those pics were all done on my driveway, so there's no reason you can't, either! I get to try this stuff out for real during the next 2 weekends. I think it will work great.


I tried this, but it would be too much work for me to reach that far, and would get cold in the meantime. That's great it works for you, though. Sure beats the cost of a remote starter.

Col. Mustard

I'm going to try this mod in the coming weeks. I'm just itching to do some camping but not on frozen ground.

4RUNR

Is this some kind of a survival fetish, to camp out/have 'fun' in Siberian gulag type weather? I don't get it

Darren

You mean like this?

Flygtenstein

Couple things.

First, that looks really cool. I will have to check that out in my bro's truck since I have ghetto bass that will get in the way.

Second, the link to the other pictures from your buddy may move you out of the coolest pictures spot. I guess you still have the best pictures of people on the board though.

Brent Wilhelmi from the assorted CO4RJ's said with his dual battery set-up he could make it one whole night with the AC on in Moab because of the extra juice. Not sure how it would work with heat, but I thought I would throw that out there.

Keep up the good work,
Adrian

SkyRat

I want to do something like this...