Show us your truck bed sleeping platform/drawer/storage systems

Awesome. Thank you for that info. I was planning on using wood glue and screws to keep everything together. What wood did you use with your build? How are you planning on building your drawer system? Are you going to use drawer slides?

 

Awesome, thanks for all your info. Im hoping to get this build started this weekend.

Hope you start feeling better

 

It seems like winter completely skipped over Socal, so I'm hoping I'll be able to make some time to build this thing this weekend

 

Hey where did you get your MDO

 

Everytime I think about making an awesome bed platform I remember how much I like the headroom when sitting up. I recently throw a air mattress back there which was about the same height as where the platform would be and I felt claustrophobic. Anyone else have similar findings?

 

It could be due to the mid-rise cap, but I don't find it bad. ( I have a 4" memory foam mattress that I place on top +sheets)

One option is to build a modular platform, so when +1 camping you can make due with sleeping on top of the platform. When you are solo camping you can place the platform on the bed and sleep with lots of headroom.

It would be a squeeze, but I could also sleep with someone while the platform is down ( I tried it before and it made it clear to fit it was a spooning scenario haha)


And a couple more because I am happy with how this turned out! (Repost, but it will give others ideas too)

I built this out of 1x sheet of plywood and 2x lengths of board. If you didn't want the hinges, I don't believe it would be possible with the center being the width that it is.

 

Mid height makes a huge difference. Its only a few (4"?) extra inches but allows you to sit mostly all the way up and easier to roll over and what not. Ive got the Leer 180 and we fairly comfortably sleep two back there, just double up on the backpacking sleeping pads on the platform. I like sleeping with my head to the tailgate as you get the big window/door there and its also where the side windows open so you can get a cross breeze (ive also left the back window/door wide open when camping in the desert where there werent any bugs).

But no matter how you look at it, its gonna be kinda tight compared to many ground tents. But isnt all that much smaller then some roof top tents.

For me its the ease of set up. If were posting up at a campground or the race track or something well bring our big 6 person tent and a queen size air matress since its nice to have room and be able to stand up and what not... but if I just by myself or we're moving camp spots every night and it might rain... its nice to be able to just roll out a sleeping back and sleep. Also nice to not need a nice flat smooth piece of ground... I always bring a couple 2x4s and my traction jacks and with those can usually level out the truck with no care about how many rocks are on the ground.

Its pretty cheap to just throw some 2x6s across and a sheet of ply. I would do that and try it, if you dont like it you can probably sell it to someone locally.

 

I threw mine together real quick the night before a trip. 2x6’s across and two sheets of 3/4 ply. Took the measurements and had HD rip em down to size, then used cardboard and a jigsaw. To trim the ends to match the tailgate area and clear my bed supports. Grabbed a role of indoor outdoor carpet to cover it. I made my half’s equal so I can fold the one side on top of the other. Alllows me to fit the yeti and scepter cans on the bed floor so if they did leak they wouldn’t leak on the platform, then I just use s cable lock and lock em to the hitch outside at night. Also picked up some long tubs on wheels that roll underneath the platform.

Also made my move across the country nice by allowing me to run 2+ levels of stuff

 

Yes, but I want the storage space. I got a taller cap. ARE MX.

 

Hey guys first of all i bought my first Tacoma about a month ago. I wanted the AC for the long bed so i could build this bed platform but also because i happen to like the look of the shorter cab and longer bed. I spent a lot of time looking around online for ideas for my bed platform and took pieces from a lot of different designs to come up with my own. I figured I'd post it here to add to the collection and give yet another example of a bed platform arrangement.

A few of the criteria I had in mind for my design were the following.
-Easily removed without any bolt on components(comes out in three very manageable pieces, four including the across the lap desk piece)
-Two configurations: One wide bed platform with storage underneath to sleep two. And a configuration for one person (or a tight fit for two) with the added head room to sit up.
-I wanted it to be sturdy and tight fitting with no bow when on top and no noise from it bouncing around while driving

 

That’s really nice.

 

Daaang! I like that desk idea!

 

Looks great. Did you secure the long side storage bins to the bed?

 

No, my goal was not to have to. I knew that if i had to bolt the side boxes in, they would rarely come out and I wanted the flexibility to be able to go back to normal truck mode again. The thing i was afraid of in this design was that this would allow the boxes to rattle around, or cause the boxes to bend inwards when a persons weight was applied to the center platform, but because i was very precise in my measurements and cutting, everything is very tight and there is no rattling while driving (even aggressively and off road) and the center platform actually pushes against either side with weight applied in the center, which actually makes it very strong and sturdy while in the top position mode.

 

I have a cab-height shell and there's definitely no sitting up in it, but it's plenty big for me. I designed the platform in a way to minimize the overall height of it while maintaining the drawer height i wanted. It doesn't feel claustrophobic for me (I have a one man tent that is of similar headroom) but I also do not have the carpeted headliner in my shell which certainly makes it feel a bit bigger in there (white vs black roof color). I would have preferred a mid rise shell for the extra headroom but couldn't find one in the right color that was even double what I paid for my cab height...

You have to also consider how much time you're going to be spending in there. Personally, I'm only in the back of the truck, or tent, when i'm going to sleep, so the loss in headroom is not a concern with looking at all the storage I gained (AND I CAN SEE MY BACK SEAT NOW!)

 

@demo243 Dude, you packed a lot of stuff in there. Impressive. Quick question...what's the cat litter scooper for?

 

Poo flinging.

 

Moved across the country with 2 cats... yea it was a long drive.... the bottom level on the floor of the bed had 5 or 6 low containers, the upper half of the platform had 6 rubber maid tubs... but a whole lot more hahaha

 

Makes sense. I guess for my needs right now this isn't necessary. When I sleep back there I usually have my kid with me too. He likes the headroom to sit up and also to get dressed. He's 6, so for now we fit between the wheel wells. Having a long bed helps too.

 

Looks great. This is most likely what I’m going to be doing as well. Did you bolt the rear of your box down?