Well, I finally finished building my new cargo storage unit / bed for the back of the runner, and got around to snapping a few pictures last night. I just added some of the pictures to my Flickr photo album, so hopefully there won't be any problems accessing it via the link below. Check out the pictures and let me know if you have any hints for improvements or additions.

Link to Pictures of 4Runner Cargo Storage / Bed

I know that there are already many different set ups that exist to go camping in a 4Runner, but I wanted to set mine up so that I don't have to remove the rear seat bottom to get 6 feet of length on the bed. The front end of the bed just rests on the folded up seat bottom. It is quite stable that way.

There is plenty of room for gear storage (underneath the bed), the bed stows away nicely (all the pieces of the bed are self contained in the storage unit) when the back seat is needed for passengers, and with the bed stowed away, there's still plenty of room in the back to go out and do groceries or whatever.

The bed will set up in less than 2 or 3 minutes, and is totally removable by a single person (easier with two people) from the truck as a single piece in less than 2 or 3 minutes.

 

Good design. I'm thinking about doing a storage thing like that in the back of my 4Runner, but I want drawers.

 

Yeah... I thought about drawers (and I may still add them), but for now I decided against them in case I need to store anything tall in the back. As it is now, I can just flip up the rear cubby cover and remove the front bed pieces from their storage spot.

 

I like that!

Some questions for you. Does the front bed section lie flat to the back? I know when I did mine that I was trying to maximize "human" space on top of the bed, so I wanted it just high enough to clear the wheel wells. (which is something like 10 inches, IIRC). How high is the top of the thing in the back?

Fantastic work, and I'll definitely be stealing several elements when I re-do mine!

 

Got any pics of how the front bed section rests on the rear seats? Did you use supports similar to the ones in the rear?

Great job, I like it!

 

No. I forgot to take pictures of how the front is supported. I will though, and I'll update this thread when I do. The pieces are directly supported by the edge of the seat (the part that folds up). I'll also take some height measurements for you guys too.

 

looks sweet, good job

 

Very nice work. Great design and the color even matches! What is the overall length of the bed?

 

The bed size is 6 feet long by 4 feet wide.

 

Very nice.

 

The whole bed is pretty much level. I think the head part is about 1 inch higher up than the foot part when the truck is parked on level ground. The top of the front bed section is approximately 21 inches off of the floor of the back seat, and the top of the rear of the bed is approximately 13 inches off of the floor of the cargo area. I have taken some pictures of how the front is supported by the seats also, but I still have to download them off the camera.

PS. I also wanted to maximize human space on top of the bed, but I found that this height gave me what I consider "usable" cargo space under the bed, while still leaving enough room on top so that it's not clausterphobic.

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

 

I have added the pictures showing how the front of the bed is supported by the seats and of how the set up bed looks with the sleeping gear installed. We went on our first "4Runner Camping trip" on the weekend, and it worked out really well.

Link to pictures of 4Runner cargo storage / bed

 

Hey GSGALLANT,
Did you just use plywood and 2x4 construction? It looks like you have painted 2x4's there. What kind of paint did you use? Additionally, did you just use indoor/outdoor carpet? Thanks.

Joel

 

Yes, the unit is built using 3/4" plywood on a 2"x4" frame. It's a bit heavy (70 lb?), but it is very stable. The carpet is just a scrap piece of house carpet that I got at the local flooring place. They had a 6'x8' piece for $25. I got lucky to find a piece that color, because it's pretty close to the color of the interior of the Runner.

For the paint, I just primed the wood, then used a regular grey latex paint. I need to do some touch ups... I let it dry 24 hours before putting the pieces together, but when I lifted the cover of the rear storage area for the first time after putting it together, the two pieces were stuck together in some places, and it took the paint off.

 

I like it alot

 

It's very nice, but i'm way to claustephobic to sleep in something like that. I'd have nightmares that I was sleeping in a coffin.

 

looks sweet, ive never seen interior like that in a 4runner