Simple DIY Bed Platform

I made a bed platform the other week for a camping trip I went on. I thought I'd make a quick DIY thread on it, in case anyone's interested in building one. Overall, it cost me about $200 to build (not including the jigsaw, which I already had). The most expensive part was the (optional) mattress pad, which cost about $110 at Cotsco.

Parts:
x2 3/4" Plywood (8ft x 4ft)
3M 90 Adhesive Spray
Roll of Carpet
3" Full Size Mattress Pad

Tools:
Jigsaw
Measuring Tape

First thing I did was have my plywood pieces cut into 3 planks that measured 20" x 56.5". * If you have a 6ft bed, you'll probably want to have the 3 planks cut to 24" X 56.5". If you don't have a large table saw, I'd recommend having someone at home depot (or wherever you buy your plywood) cut the pieces for you. Usually the service is free. I found that 56.5" wide fits the truck best, allowing a little bit of play between the wood and the sides of the truck bed. This way, the pieces are easy to move in and out of the truck.



The next thing I did was measure the the angles of the the truck bed near the tailgate. This is where the lip of the bed tapers off. Now you'll need to make a few precise cuts with the jigsaw. Be sure to get good measurements and draw out the cuts on the plywood before you go hacking away at it. I had to trim the edge off the third piece, making it 18.5" long (instead of 20"). You should only have to do this if you have a short bed. If you plan ahead, you could cut this off when you first cut the three pieces of plywood, making one plank measure 56.5" x 18.5".



Now that you have the 3 planks sized correctly, you can cover them in carpet. I cut the carpet so it had enough length to wrap around the edges of the plywood. This gives it a cleaner look, imo. I then covered the tops of the planks and the bottom of the carpet with 3M 90 and pressed them together. Now the pieces should all fit nicely into the back of the truck!



The tailgate should be able to close flush with the platform, as long as you measured everything correctly. Now you can put the mattress pad on top, to make a nice sleeping platform. If you have a short bed, you'll have to cut the mattress pad to fit.



The one problem with this design is that when you put pressure on the edge of the plank closest to the tailgate, it causes the plank to push upwards, since theres no lip on this part of the truck bed to support it. To counteract this, I added a little piece of wood on the edge to clip the other plank. This was sort of a last minute fix... There are definitely better ways to fix this problem. But here's a pic of how I did it.



I've seen plenty of other more elaborate designs for bed platforms, but this simple design also gets the job done. The 3/4" plywood is pretty sturdy. My girlfriend and I slept on it for a couple nights with no problems. Combined we probably weigh a little less than 300lbs, and we also had the weight of the mattress pad on there. Splitting it into three planks also makes it easy to stack them on top of each other, or lay them flat along the bottom of the truck bed if you need the extra space. Sleeping in the back would definitely be comfier with a 6' bed, but I can fit in the short bed if I lay somewhat diagonally, and I'm 6ft. It was tight with two people.... But we made it work! The mattress pad makes it surprisingly comfortable.
Hope this helps!

 

Did you use any 2x6s or no?

 

Nice write-up.

I personally prefer having headroom and since the distance between the wheel wells is an inch wider than a standard twin size bed I am anti-bed platform

..but srsly nicely done man you'll get lots of great camping use outa that thing.

 

No I didn't use any 2x6s. If it looks like it needs reinforcement over time, maybe I'll add something. But it seems sturdy enough as is.

And thanks Wheelinthesky. The platform gives me a little extra space diagonally, since I can lay on top of the wheel well. If i had a long bed, I wouldn't need as much space.... but oh well haha. Its also cool to be able to store stuff under the bed. there's about 9" of clearance underneath

 

Cool idea. Think I'd want more structure to the plywood. Over time I would think it would start to bow/sag a bit.

But now you can slide your camping gear under the platform and still have a place to sleep.

 

Looks good and easy to construct.

 

That's awesome man. It looks good and I really appreciate you making this.

 

Ya no problem!

 

Looks good OP!Nice write up!

 

Those bins are pretty sweet DoorDing. I like your build. I was thinking about adding a fold out extension at the foot, like you did