Turning the bed into a portable living room.

I want a bean bag chair, video games and an electric guitar setup and ready to go inside a pickup bed at all times so I can bust out my living room.

Why hasn’t anyone asked about the Kool-Aid? You know there is a lot of Kool-Aid being consumed somewhere in this story. Drive out into the woods and bust out the living room drinking Kool-Aid all night long. I can see this story on 20/20 a few years from now.

 

LOL, I want to keep it simple, Just want to have a hidden living room that I bust out when out in the back-country.

 

Have a few ideas, but depends on what kind of video games we are talking about. One idea is using a Bakflip and mounting a monitor underneath the back panel. When you flip up the last panel, you'd have a nice mount point. For the game system, you could keep it inside to protect from water. Slide the rear window back and run the HDMI out to the monitor. Then you could throw your bean bag right in the bed and play games. Pretty easy to disassemble too.

If you were just doing mobile games, get an oversized tablet, weatherproof case, bluetooth controller. Same idea.

For the monitor, it's expensive, but the screen is IP65, hdmi, has speakers, and can be hardwired into 12 volt. https://www.rackmountsales.com/6u-1...n0QeedMtySORP4aIzYcTAur3tHXtcd8hoCux0QAvD_BwE

Or maybe one of these for better waterproofing. http://www.tru-vumonitors.com/products/waterproofnema4ip66.html

 

No shit - not sure what you definition of "keepin it simple" is OP??

Like the RV camp ground down the street from me - the folks call it "camping" never understood that one. Electricity, sewer, pool, wifi.... WTF

 

How about a headrest video screen monitor in one of the back seats so you view it through the back window. Connect the game system inside the truck. Not sure if game system still use wired controllers, if so send it through the opening in the back window when you want to play.
I guess you will have to sit your bean bag in the bed fairly close. Maybe even a folding beach chair would work and stow better.

Not sure about power needed for any of this. At least that headrest monitor shouldn’t use as much as an actual tv screen.

 

I sure hope for your sake I'm never out trying to enjoy nature and I hear some video games and a loud ass guitar.. I'd be extra PO'ed if it was todays rap/hip hop/pop tho.

At least you play guitar and aren't trying to rap, so that's cool.

I'm gonna take a wild shot at this and say a millennial for sure.

Problem solved.

 

OP,
you should do a build thread for this.
Also go to all the overland shows and set up there.

 

Your goal would be easier to accomplish if you untether it from having to literally be in the bed of the truck. You could just buy tailgating supplies - big tent, chairs, tables, generator, tv, etc and just put it up when you get wherever you're going. It'll be easier and more comfortable.

The bed of a Tacoma is too small to make a living room in.

 

If they can fit a daycare center in a Ranger....surely he can wedge a living room in his Taco!

 

That belongs in the WTF Welcome To Florida thread.

 

This is a pretty awesome thread.

OP, good luck with your plan.

Not sure where you're from, but many of the boys in the sticks don't take too kindly to having their peace and quiet (in the "middle of nowhere") interrupted by guitar-playing. Something to keep in mind when you travel places.

 

What the actual fuck though....

 

Super Bro

 

You could totally turn one of the bed storage pockets into a Mt Dew dispenser

 

There is a 900% chance the owner of this truck is soo close to raping someone.

 

OP - ignore 95% of the people in this thread, you're in the land of lift blocks, plasti-dip, and aftermarket grilles and I wouldn't expect them to understand. As a backcountry explorer myself I love your idea of getting out there and playing video games. We all have things we like to get out and do and that sounds like a lot of fun.

I built the back of my Tacoma into a bedroom, the truck is a great option for this. While I don't have a TV back there I do have other electronics so the planning process is the same. You need to figure out your power situation to establish feasibility. I just did some quick googling we'll start with these numbers for an example for you:

Smaller (like 24 inch) TV power draw: 125 watts
PS4 power draw: 125 watts

That's 250 watts, which is 21 amps @ 12 volts. Both of these will have to run through an inverter so we'll divide by 0.8 for efficiency loss and say you're gonna need 26 amps. Let's round up to 30 to be safe. This number might be low so you'll have to do your own research this is just an example. If you want you can buy a Kill-A-Watt and plug everything you want to use in your truck into a power strip plugged into the Kill A Watt and see just how much power you're going to need.

Now that you've ballparked your power demand situation you need to decide how to power it. Generator is a very easy option, it can supply the power you need no problem and all you need to do is add gas. Downside is you have to listen to it.

You could probably also just use the bed outlet if your demand is low enough, but then you have to worry about killing your battery or letting the truck idle the whole time.

Another option is a true deep cycle charged by solar and the alternator while driving. How long do you want to play video games for before the battery is dead? Two of these deep cycle batteries will give you 500 amp-hours of energy. Since you don't want to draw a battery below 50% that means 250 amp-hours of usable energy. 250/30 = ~8 hours of play time which can be extended with a solar panel when you have sunlight. Note that you'll have to maintain these batteries by charging them when you're home as it will take a LOT of driving to actually charge them fully with your alternator if possible at all (you can charge them a bit but i wouldn't consider it realistic to charge them fully just from alternator.) Combination of solar panel, alternator, and the right batteries should get you plenty of play time for a one or two day outing.

There is a ton of information out there on how to wire this stuff up on other forums, which you can do if you're a moderately skilled DIYer.

You should also consider a camper shell to chill out in, you'll definitely want win-doors and extended height (For example the Snugtop Hi-Liner Sport).

 

Certainly won't be used as a condom dispenser