Sleeping Platform Ideas/Picts

For All that sleep beneath a Cap, How do you stop yourself for hitting your head when you wake up?

 

Which is why I sleep under the platform\deck even with an ARE MX topper.



Picture is a little deceiving, hard to tell how much room there is and where. But the deck is as deep as my pants inseam, and sits right below the lip of the bed on a frame. I put my gear and dog crate on top and sleep on a Cabela's 3" deluxe mattress pad which is on top of OEM bed mat. I use the platform a lot with the windoors and it makes it easy to put stuff in and out without climbing inside. I have lots of eye bolts on the deck and bed railing and lots of tie down straps & cords.

I can fully sit up and change clothes, etc. without wrestling and contortions. Spent 20 years sleeping in coffin racks on ships, sitting up is not something I am going to do without anymore. There are lots of variations of this design but this is the simplest and easiest IMO. Works for me and the dog while hunting.

 

Get the highest rise cap you can. Get used to not sitting up.

Or just build a bigger cap.

 

I have a Bed Rug if I needed sleep in the back of my junk...
but I prefer dragging along my trailer/RTT for the sleep duty.

Most everything would be removed from the bed for camping
and the food would be hung.
'cause I hate critters waking me up in the middle of the night.

I once had a plywood sleep platform in my '84
But after a few trail runs...
That flopped all over the place, banged up the bed and became fubar'd
prolly 'cause I failed to secure it to the bed.

In other words... a plywood/carpet insert didn't stay put where I rolled.

I'll lose the spare tire bed mount if I know I'll have to sleep in the bed.
Yeah I can stow it underneath if I must.
Just don't like it there when wheelin'

 

This is exactly what I am going to build in the next month.... how have you liked it so far? I like the cot style idea on one side so I can sit up and be able to sit inside the back if it is crappy outside or anything like that.

 

Length of truck bed pull out, dual air compressors mounted in front of driver side rear wheel well, 2.5 gallon tank behind driver wheel well. The right side storage I've got a boat anchor to winch out of sand, chains and all the recovery gear I need.

 

I just sold my '06 Tacoma TRD Sport 2WD and upgraded to a 2017 SR5 with 4WD. I am setting it up overland style which includes a cap, Front Runner rack, and (soon) a storage/bed platform unit in the back. I've spent a few months researching and thought I would do a little info dump of all the things I've learned. There are two ways you can go: commercially built or DIY. Below is info for both:

Commercially Built

1.) Truck Vault
Great customer service (Andrew Salmon is the rep I have spoken with) and seems like a well-built unit. The issue for me was price. For the sizing I was wanting it was going to cost $4K+ including freight. Hard to justify that kind of cash when there are other options.

Materials:
5/8", 7-layer MDO (medium density overlay)
Line-X coating
Black composite drawer faces
Roller/caster drawer system



Rollers flush-mounted into carcass of unit


Close up of rollers that the drawers slide on


Rear casters attached to inside of drawers


2.) Mobile Strong
Great customer service as well (I was working with Milana Hallen). Their units are a bit more affordable and they can customize as you need. For a long bed Tacoma you'll be somewhere in the $1600 range (dimensions are 68"L x 42"W x 10"H).

Materials:
HDPE
3/8" outer shell, 1/2" drawers
Seamless construction
Stainless drawer locks, handles and tie downs
1" aluminum tube strengthening bars
Carpet, rubber, or diamond plate aluminum top options



3.) Decked
In my opinion the best design of the commercially made units I found. They just announced plans to launch a mid-size truck version for Tacoma in Q1 2017. Left drawer will be slightly narrower than right (11" wide vs 18" wide). There will be no rear ammo cans but instead elongated cans on both sides in front. Unit will work with the existing composite bed liner. Pricing should be in the $1K range.

Materials:
HDPE co-molded around a steel frame
2000 lb load rating on top
200lb load per drawer (drawers do not have full extension; about 18" is left under the unit)
(4) sealed bearing wheels per drawer
Galvanized, stainless, and zinc chromate steel hardware
Full use of bed's footprint
UV & weather resistant
Lots of accessories (dividers, Core Trax, locks, drain plugs, D-boxes)
Easy to remove and install
3-year warranty
*Exact Tacoma dimensions yet to be released


CAD design they released this week on FB


DIY Storage Ideas
For those with some carpentry skills and the right tools (I'd say at least a table saw and drill), you can craft a unit exactly to your desired specs. I went through this exercise myself and given my lack of some key tools, the added expense of a lot of the hardware accessories, and the heavy weight of the ply and Herculiner coating, I decided a Decked system would be best for me. Below are some different ideas, links to materials, and pictures of various units.

Material
a. Plywood: 12-19mm thick (marine-grade, birch, MDO, etc)

Drawer slide mechanisms
a. Conventional Slides: https://www.gsf-promounts.com/str-80-super-slim-profile-120-270kg/ (these get really pricey the longer you need them to be)
b1. Ball transfer: https://www.mcmaster.com/#2415t13/=14v82vy (similar to what Truck Vault uses)
b2. Rear side-mount caster: https://www.mcmaster.com/#9994T91
c. UHMW skids: http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=23217&catid=868 (a company called Drifta in Australia uses this method)

Handle hardware
a. Spring handle:

$9 Reliable Hardware Company RH-0520BK-A Large Spring Loaded Recessed Handle, Black

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JQYVK8...TF8&colid=3W2C50DUQASWD&coliid=I2M2X5YOJMVGZL
b. T-handle:

$20 Buyers Products L8816 Folding T-Handle Latch

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IUJ925...UTF8&colid=3W2C50DUQASWD&coliid=IN8K3L046PFMF

Weather Protection
a. Rubber bulb seal: https://www.mcmaster.com/#1120a35/=14wcguv (you'll need to size this based on the thickness of plywood you use for your drawer faces)
b. Wood protection: Line-X or Herculiner (you could also use a coat of lacquer)
c. Accessories: Core Trax, turnbuckles, d-rings, aluminum trim

Images:

Unit with drawer slides





Unit with UHMW plastic skids (they glide on one another)




Unit with skate bearings


*Full set of forum posts here: http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/47516-LATEST-PROJECT-Truck-Drawers-Sleeping-Platform

Poor Man's Platform



*The Tacoma bed has (2) of these notches on each side (front and back) plus a lip ledge that runs the length of the bed at wheel-well height. I've read about some guys laying a 2x6 into those notches, using the notches as a ledge so the 2x6 can span the truck bed and provide support beams. Then you cut plywood (1/2" or 3/4") to size and lay it on top of the supports. This gives you a stable, supported platform and you can slide plastic tubs underneath with gear, etc. I plan to do this until the Decked units are available. This forum post helps explain: http://www.expeditionportal.com/for...ip-Jones-2015-Tacoma-DCLB-Build-Thread/page24

Miscellaneous Images









There are a ton of ways to do this but you ultimately need to figure out how you will use the unit, what features are most important, and what kind of $$ you can spend. Hope this is helpful!

 

What truck do you have that in? They don't make one for Tacoma & won't until next year.

 

@Wolftaco0503 - Read the full post and you'll answer your own question.

 

Some really great ideas & builds in here.

@mavrick6382 Thanks for that info. Looking at what commercial companies do gives DIYers ideas and options. Very helpful.

 

@JPinFL - Thanks much. That was really my main goal...give the DIY crowd some inspiration. I researched a ton to do the same and although I plan to pick up a Decked unit, I think building one yourself is a great option.

 

Really like the idea of this, except my topper doesn't seem to have the metal rim that overlaps the bed rails. I think something like this would require me to drill into the actual bed rail itself? I'd really like to have something simple like this in comparison to my current set up now, which is in need of a makeover and simplification. Thanks for the idea!

 

This is my third platform. I hope t will be the last.
The frame is made from 1"x.063 aluminum tubing. It's held together with brackets and .050" aluminum sheet metal and about 450 rivets. The deck is 3/8 plywood held down with rivenuts and m8 stainless screws. It's anchored by 4 turnbuckles. It's 55 pounds as it is in the photo. The drawer for it is from the old platform and is made from 3/4" plywood wood. I'm going to build a new drawer using the same materials as the platform.

 

I sacrificed a little headroom for more volume in the drawer. Rudimentary but cheap and effective.

 

I cut access panels to get to my turnbuckles in those corners. I'm also going to house the pump for my on board water system in the same location so having access to that will be nice as well.

 

Go cats, and nice truck

 

Back when I had a canopy, I made this for sleeping and storage. Pretty simple, strong, cheap and the 3-piece design was lightweight/easy to remove or install.

Made a hinged access lid for easier storage access, and made platform height so it was even with the top of the wheel wells (for every little bit of headroom possible).

 

I've been debating building a drawer and platform system for my full size truck. I've got the tools and skill to do it, but the Decked system has one great advantage over almost all the others-

You can hose and mop clean that sucker out.

I've got hunting dogs, and I used to have a Hallmark truck camper. That shit gets SWAMPY when you spend weeks out in the field getting, wet, muddy, hunting and hiking in muck- shooting ducks.. Wet dogs..

I would have to spend hours 'decontaminating' my camper to rid it of the accumulated funk.

That Decked system is all HDPE and stainless- you can remove the drawers and pressure wash that son of a gun, lol.

 

I also own a 99 Tacoma so I can post this here!

Sunday morning project on my 06 Tundra

 

I just finished my platform/drawers this weekend.
The 2 side pieces were designed and measured by hand and where a BITCH to cut, it took about 2 hours to scribe and test fit to get it to fit right. Im going to build another platform for my buddies 1st gen long bed soon. ill post pics when complete.