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

Built this today. I originally used 2x6 cross beams but wasn't high enough to get golf clubs underneath, so version 2.0 has the beams (blue) along the wheel wells. This gained about 2.5 inches. No center support but I have a 4x4 ready if needed. I used leftover Ikea dowels (blue) glued into the 2x6s and matching holes (green) in the plywood to keep marry plywood to beams.

 

Here's my second hand bed storage/sleeper

 

Are there bottoms to the drawers?

 

Has anyone made there selfs a shelve in there cap?

 

What kind of shelf?

 

I got it from Amazon:

$210 DAC Mid - Size Truck Tent by Dac Inc.-Vehicle Tents

https://www.amazon.com/DAC-Dac-Mid-...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=KYTHV78WE3VRN8MKHGBV

It's the midsize DAC topper tent. I think a couple of other places sell it

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...latform-drawer-storage-systems.424709/page-80

Added some cushion for the pushin

 

yep. the one has a space cut out for a stove to sit in/so heat can escape from said stove

 

I dig these set ups!

 

Where can I find a tank like that?

 

https://www.ebay.com/str/bammanufacturing

 

I could not get that ebay link to work right.

https://www.spunaluminumgastanks.com/

 

Thanks guys

 

I took a little different of an approach. I don't intend on spending a lot of time hanging out in the back, just wanted somewhere easy to crawl into and sleep, and I wanted to maximize space underneath the platform so I could fit storage bins, decoys, and a cooler.

I got some t-slot nuts off Amazon and bolted a support 2x4 right against the bed rail, with about an inch of clearance under the cap lip. Then I cut grooves for the cross-beams to sit in. I wanted to be able to take the platform out in sections, so I have 6 cross beams, each supporting a 23 inch wide section of half-inch plywood. I was in a time crunch (driving across the country tomorrow) and had packed most of my tools already, so I had to get rough cuts at home depot, so its a bit too tight at the moment to take the fully built sections in and out, but once I get settled out west I'll disassemble and cut more precisely. Because the bed rail doesn't extend all the way to the back of the bed, the last section doesn't have cross-beam support for the back half, so I drilled a 2x4 segment at the very end and it rests right on my cooler.

Not shown -- I laid a few moving blankets directly on top of the plywood sections, then put down a 1.5 inch foam mattress pad, then a few blankets. I was worried it wouldn't be enough cushion, but it's actually really comfortable.

 

How have you attached the platform/box to the bed?

 

I first looked at this thread back in summer of 2016 when I bought my first Tacoma. It was fairly new and much shorter. Now it is 92 pages long! Back then it was a source of inspiration. I was and am very impressed by how skilled some people are. I was envious of some of the elaborate drawer systems. After considerable consideration, I finally decided that my needs were better served by the simple slat approach to building a platform. I wanted to preserve the full-height utility of the truck bed and I did not have any place to store the drawers when they were not in the truck. I built a platform for my 2016 Tacoma but did not post any pictures. Recently I purchased a second 2019 Tacoma and I built an identical sleeping platform for it and this time I am posting some pictures.

While some of the earlier posts in this thread were the basis of my design, most people were aligning the plywood in two sections lengthwise with the truck. I decided I wanted it cross-ways with the truck so that the two pieces could be stacked in the front of the box leaving room at the back that was full height. I see that in some of the later posts in this thread that several people have done the same.

In any case, a bunch of pictures follow. Here are a few comments about what I built:

- The center slat is oak. It drops into knotches that were routed into the cross-slats
- I had to cut a 2" x 14" notch on one side of each piece of plywood to get the plywood to clear the wheelwell and the slanted Leer 180 topper opening. It is a snug fit but not too hard to get them in and out.
- The 5/8s plywood is padded with close cell foam (camping pads from Walmart) glued and stapled and then uphostered with vinyl fabric. The fabric is glued and stapled. I probably should not quit my day-job to be an upholster because my skills are lacking as you can see from the photos.
- My recovery gear (tire chains, heavy duty come-a-long, shovel, jumper cables, tools, tow straps, etc) all fit at the front of the box under the platform. They are not too hard to get at but my main recovery strategy is to NEVER get stuck.
- Also under the platform are a screen tent (bugs can be a problem in Wyoming), a DAC Tailgate Tent, two roll-up slat tables and two bag chairs
- The mattress is 2" of firm natural latex. (My first version back in 2016 was 2" of 3lb memory foam.) The latex is MUCH better then the memory foam. I can stand on it and my feet do not bottom out.
- All of the bedding (mattress, double sleeping bag, blankets and pillows) are wrapped cowboy bedroll style in a sheet of canvas to minimize dust.
- When the bed is stowed, there is still good visibility out the back window. Half the truck bed is full height and will hold a couple of coolers, a 5-gallon water jug, a couple of plastic bins with lids and more.
- I can deploy or stow the bed in less than 3 minutes.

 

How many of you guys are blasting your heads off the ceiling of your shells with the platforms that sit at the top of the bed sides? I have a cot I sleep on in the bed of my truck (maybe 8” tall) and I’ve blasted my head sitting up more than enough times.

 

Have any of you put molle on your Windows or camper top? Trying to find a way to put a little more storage inside.

 

S'why I just put the pad and sleeping bag on the bed mat. I have a DC, so I just fold down the rear seats for camping equipment. Just did a boondock weekend with my son, need to figure out my organization back there, but after two trips I'm quite pleased with the arrangement.

 

That’s how I generally camp - sleeping pad on the bed mat. Just barely enough room to sit up right.