Just Finished - Bed Sleeper + Storage + Lighting

Just finished building out my bed with a sleeping platform that has various storage spot, curtains, a fan, and some LED lighting. I've got a battery that powers the electronics and will mount a solar panel that I have when I need to. Still need to punch a hole through the topper to connect the panel but I'm still building up the courage to do that. Taking the truck on a ~2 month road trip this fall around to Nat'l Parks in the western US. Going to be taking it on lots of weekend adventures this summer as well (I live in Colorado).

It's certainly not the most aesthetically pleasing build but it is SO very functional.


View from the outside. I used unistruts to make a very versatile roof rack. Everything I need to attach I can bolt on easily. I recently purchased a rifle case (www.carrycasesplus.com/seahorse-cases/SE-1530.html) that I will bolt on for additional storage.

Used cardboard to trace out how I needed to cut the platform, worked really well. There's a slot (shown) for a water tank and one on the other side (not shown) in which I can slide in a cooler.

The holes were originally just an idea to cut weight, I realized I would have to drill a LOT of holes to cut any significant wait...so I gave up.

Sewed the curtains myself and mounted them to dowels that were themselves mounted to aluminum angles. The angles were mounted to the window frame using the existing lag screws.

The sleeping bed uses a bouldering crashpad for the bulk of the bed, with a 2" foam topper on top. Since the crashpad is only 5' long I built in a little extra storage at the foot of the bed. The front cover opens up using cabinet hinges. I have 4 plastic storage bins that slide under the platform and hold them in with bungees.

All of the electricity is powered from a goal zero battery that I mounted to the sleeping platform. I have a solar panel that I will eventually mount to the top and feed the battery. Just got to build up the courage to punch a hole through my nice, new topper.


LED strip and puck lights. I am beyond thrilled with how nice they look and how well they light up the bed.

I am taking it out on a few climbing and mounting biking trips the next couple weekends, gonna try and get a few pictures of how it all looks when fully outfitted!

EDIT: 5/16/17

Installed a 20" LED Light Bar in the valence along the front bumper. Mounted the bar to unistrut then mounted the unistrut to the frame using existing holes.

Took the truck out for its first weekend trip for some climbing and mountain biking. If you are considering getting a new topper I highly encourage finding one with "windoors"!