Sleeping Platform Build. Thoughts?

edited to merge posts. thanks again for all the comments!

 

Bravo, that looks awesome!!!

 

Your plastic tots....are they the full length or short?

 

some deeper totes might make better use of space. I guess that's the backpacker coming out in me.

 

the totes are 34.75 inches long, 17 inches wide, and 6.5 inches tall. it leaves about 2.5 inches between the top of the tote and the top of the compartment. i agree that taller totes would have been better, but alas I could not find any that were taller while still being no wider or longer, as there is almost no room left or right and the length is just short enough to allow two in each side. i chose to go with four totes so that i can keep my paddling gear separate from other gear, as river gear gets wet and smelly fast. if i can't dry something out, I don't want it trashing the rest of my gear.

I also needed a bit of space above the totes for my paddle, racks, and a few other long things that wouldn't fit in to totes, so I can't really complain. In the end, most of the space will still be utilized one way or another.

 

Heck if I was you I would have whipped up a couple of drawers to eek every inch of space out of there I could, using one side for prone to wetness clothes and gear and the other side for nice dry clothes and then that last slot on the right in the last photo for my paddle, fishing poles, or whatever.

And to really class it up, you could make the drawers out of cedar.

 

For some reason the space looks a lot bigger than 2.5" in the picture. If you're using it for paddles and such then it sounds perfect for you. good build. are you making any use of the side spaces?

 

In the rear spaces, there is room for a pelican case for stuff I want to keep secure and out of sight. the other one will be for my daily use stuff like toiletries, contact cases, etc.

the front two spaces will hold tools. they are big enough to fit my tool box so one will have that while the other will hold my jack, tire iron, impact wrench, etc. i cant really make use of the middle side spaces because of the wheel wells

this frees up the interior extra cab, which will also get a spacer platform at some point, to hold the remainder of my gear, probably just clothes, and maybe a refrigerator at some point? not sure.

the pics were taken at a funny angle, so yeah it does look deeper than 2.5, but right now its just enough space for my paddles.

and cedar drawers wouldve been nice, but i need to keep costs down so i can spend money on having fun with the truck and the canoe

 

This is great, I'll be doing the same as you but WW kayaking! Once I save up a lil more gas money and perfect my roll a little more I'll be hitting the road just like you!!

Great platform I'm going to do the same but a platform that covers a little less than 3/4's of my bed. Reason being the wet/dirty camp/kayak gear. I have a clothes line that stretches the length of the camper on the driver side. I use this to hang my vest, skirt, and other wet items. Also works well for curtains, but I didn;t want it over hanging where I sleep so that is the main reason for the 3/4 platform.

Do you have a trip itinerary? If you would post some pics of all your gear fully loaded!

 

Awesome tacomajack! If you ever feel like picking up a T-Grip, let me know.

I’m still in the process of getting everything I want/need for the bed area, but I’ll take a pic this weekend with all my gear for a weekend trip.

As for an itinerary, I’m hoping to work for a year to bank up the cash to travel for an extended period of time. I want to start in March of 2013 at ALF (Ain’t Louie Fest) in Tennessee, and then travel west , south west, wherever it takes me. Alaska and Canada are on the list. Ultimate dream is the Payette in ID. When I finally get bored, I think I’ll sell the truck and roll it into a ticket to southeast Asia and travel some more over there. But weekends, especially during the summer, I get all over the PA/WV/MD/MA/NY area.

I see you’re in Kentucky. Are you planning to hit either Ohiopyle Falls Fest or Gauley Fest?

 

You sir are a man with a plan! a hell of a plan at that! I can see myself doing the same, I plan on driving the National Park highway out West, and work at one of the parks for a bit, save up and go to S. America. Hit up creeks, rivers etc. on my way there and while I'm out there.

I was trying to go to Ohiopyle Falls but I have to work at the Livery. Its like they knew I wanted to go, so they scheduled me to work . Gauley Fest I do plan on going to, and I'll also be in WV paddling the New the last weekend of August. If your in WV then, hit me up! We need more people in our raft!

Whats a T-grip lol sorry, I'm brain dead at the moment!

 

ChrisOC1,
Looks good. I had some weight issues too, but it worked out. I'll be adding some leafs to accommodate the heavier load. Bajataco has a sweet set up, it's interesting to see how many others he inspired.

For sleeping pads I made a three section set up out of high density foam inside of cotton covers. Don't forget the curtains! Hopefully you sealed all your wood up, especially with the wet gear concerns.

Cheers,
SP173

 

T-grip is the handle on a whitewater canoe paddle. Whitewater canoeists are known as T-Grippers.

Too bad you can't make Falls Fest. Not many canoes run the race so I'm going to represent. Barring any changes, I'll be on the Lower Gauley and the New during Gauleyfest weekend.

 

The HIP Sleeping Platform

http://s941.photobucket.com/albums/ad254/phlyphishers/sleeping platform/

I posted this on ExPo in 2010 (Easy Sleeping Platform) and last year in 1st Gen on this site (Sleeping Platform & Dog) and so far, everybody seems to like it.

Its fast, sturdy and best of all CHEAP!

Robert