Ok guys. So as stated, three of us will be driving an 87 4Runner down to South America this December. We knew we wanted a platform idea for a bed and spent plenty of time gathering ideas and brainstorming.

This is what we ended up settling on and honestly couldn't be happier.
It is an extremely lightweight minimalistic design which we really liked.
At the same time, it is one of the most versatile setups we tried.

The cross members are cedar 2x4 cut to length. We liked the smell of the cedar, living in central Texas and all and it is a very resilient working wood.

The platforms are planks of blondewood plywood at 1/2" thickness. This stuff is wonderful. Great strength to weight ratio.

Sanded and smoothed everything down. Its all cut to fit so its as simple as dropping and sliding everything into place. When not in use, everything comes right back down. Planks will end up getting cut again to make each plank into two separate three foot lengths. This will allow us to use just one or two of the complete four if we just wanted a little dinner or work table.

So altogether we will have (4) 36"x19.5" blondewood planks and (4) 2x4 cedar cross members. Without a way to measure accurately, I'd say all that comes to ~30 pounds. We already were intending on having our sleeping pads and bags with us so all you have to do is set the system up, slide the pad and bag in and you're done.

The intention was two on top and one on bottom with that additional space dedicated to gear. In a pinch, we would actually be able to sleep four. Mind you with all of this set up, the front two seats are unmolested, upright and ready to drive. Roof rack is going to free us up from the burdens of lots of interior gear so with this setup I think we will have more than enough space to play with effectively.

There wasn't much to it and it was very very very easy to build. All parts including an expensive gallon of exterior paint that will end up coating all the wood came out to about $115 at Lowes. For the exact system we were thinking of, I'm calling it a steal. Also, the first few shots show the Jipo wrapped up in a new bug net we picked up the other day from a military surplus store. It has a max height of 8'3" and a diameter of 41'. It is designed to engulf a bed or cot setup like a canopy but it fits nicely on the Jipo and covers all the windows. Makes great for nice open windows when the situation allows. Either way, here ya go guys.

http://picasaweb.google.com/Cale.Moody/4Runner#

 

Interesting, keep us posted and updated with future mods and pictures of the trip.

 

man i loved sleeping in my 4runner. that's gonna be fun!

 

Two questions come to mind..

What's going to keep the 2x4s from shifting?

You seriously going to lie on the ribbed bed with just a pad? ouch.

 

3 people asleep in a fiberglass rig in south america...gonna get hot even with the bug net (no way the diameter on that thing is 41', the circumference would not be close to that IMO)...the no see'ems are gonna get in unless sealed well.. When I went through jungle school in panama it was hot..

don't get up in a hurry, a song I heard on the way home today comes to mind..'bang your head'

either way good luck on your trip, I hope it is well planned and well financed....

 

I agree with ocd on that...
it's gonna be hot and muggy in that thing, lol.

 

Lookin good!!

Got some close quarters there. Your either going to be better friends when you get back or you'll never speak again. Depending if someone doesn't freak out and leave the other behind.

Keep us posted and send tons of Pictures!!!

 

be sure to pack lots of beans.

 

w000t bean-farts and muggy air.

 

We aren't doing these things because of how remarkably comfortable we are going to be. Its ok if we aren't completely accommodated. It'll help us realize what's really important.

The ribs aren't bad at all. We have already started sleeping in the truck every night. No reason to wait til the road to get used to it. Our pads are open cell inflatables. Put enough loft in them and you don't feel a thing.

I'm planning on sewing some guy out tabs on the netting and be able to tie into the vehicle and get it nice and taut. Good eye OC, the nets circumference is the 41' so that's a diameter of about 13 feet. Sorry for the misread.

We are not considering ourselves inconvenienced or misfortuned by our notions. We are considering ourselves the lucky ones. We get to give it a fair shot. The humidity is the last thing I am worried about.

 

So, why are you doing this?

 

Have at it and have fun with it!!! Do it while you can.

 

You could keep the air inside the box relatively cooler by hooking up some Peltierelements with some pc case fans and some cheap heatsinks. Just embed the elements into a few parts of the cap with the heatsinks attached to the "hot" (as in heat) side of the element on the exterior of the cap and a fan attached to the cold side of the element inside. You'd need to do a few this way to account for loss and the large air volume. Power it by putting a solar panel on top of the cap connected to a solar battery. The elements would run you $5-15 each depending on size and where you get them while the fans and heatsinks should run you barely anything at all. I use a small peltierelement to keep an insulated box below 50F while fermenting lager beer in a 5 IMP gallon carboy, cost me pennies to setup as compared to buying one of those coolers with the element in them. Got nothing on keeping down on the humidy and bean farts except for a desiccant and baking soda.

They also make for great CPU coolers btw, just gotta be careful of condensation.

 

Will you have enough storage space sleeping 3 people in the truck? Camped overnight with 3 people laying side by side above the wheel wells, but it was well below freezing and we needed all the warmth we could get. Don't think it would work with more than one guy though. Finding a place to put the cooler, backpacks etc was tough even though we were gone 1 night only.

 

Thanks Lumpy.

Authority, We're pleading the "why not?" reasoning on that one.

Mag, I'll PM you, thats great stuff right there.

Matt, we'll also have the roof rack for storage and underside compartments built on. And then it hits that level of "take what you need" and redefining our needs and wants. Like I said earlier too, we have been quite gifted in the sense of luck in that we are all under 6" and actually all wear the same size clothes for the most part and will get to drastically reduce wardrobe which tends to eat up the bulk of space. We are prioritizing equipment and gear as first. We don't mind roughen it physically. We don't mind struggling.

 

you're all 6" huh?.........lmfao..
we know what ya meant! good luck on the trip buddy!!!

 

I figure your probably on a budget and have probably thought about it, but the rooftop tent like Corey has seems like it would be the hot setup for a trip like this. Good luck, looking forward to seeing the pics of the trip.

 

Is that a Prolite 4 pad on the bottom? Are you taking a patch kit with you for any of the pads? Just a suggestion, since I know they're actually pretty comfortable blown up like you said, but if they won't hold air they are worse than a closed cell pad.

Looks like fun, hope you guys have a blast.

 

Why ? Where are you leaving from, where are you going?

So far you've just said you're sleeping in a truck in South America.

Do you have plans or just going to tough it out until you grow beards and talk to beach balls named Wilson?

I dont find anything wrong with what you're doing, but I'm just trying to understand.

 

use magnets to secure the bug screen to the truck. good magnets for sealing completely are the strip magnets inside the seals of refrigerator doors. you can lay them completely around the body of the truck. cut open the top of a fridge seal and pull the sucker straight out. find 'em at any recycling ctr that takes appliances.