Dry Weight: 340 pounds. When you purchase Truck bed camping platform, most likely the first factor set the brain to truck bed ideas purchase the sets is its own fashions then a price . For our build we wanted the top of the platform to be level with (or to basically rest on top of) the 8” tall wheel wells to maximize headroom. For a detailed step-by-step build guide for this truck camping setup and sleeping platform design, check out our Homemade DIY Truck Camper Build. Kreg Jig Joint - this is a wood joinery method using a tool called a Kreg Jig that allows you to easily and securely join wood using a drill and Kreg Jig screws - It’s like making your own DIY Ikea furniture! We needed 16” to account for each drawer slide needing ¾” of space to mount and each drawer wall being ¾” thick plywood (total of 3”). When removed, this also provides a place for us to sit upright inside with our feet down. The third and most recent addition to the AT Overland truck topper lineup is the … TIP: By setting the jigsaw to a 45 degree cutting angle while making the hatch cut out, it creates a nice beveled lip and a very simple lid. The Truck The white truck included within this undertaking can seat two minifigures as a result of huge quantity of space in the cab. This space houses our 12v distribution fuse block, Inergy Kodiak Solar Generator, and aluminum propane tank. This is a simple, no-fluff design. I struggled with this problem through the course of owning a few different trucks. But the great thing about truck camping is that there is virtually no barrier to entry (see our complete guide on how to get started truck camping here). DIY Roll-On Bed Liner. Don’t forget to grab the free printable PDF of all the diagrams by clicking below, if they’ll help you in your build! BONUS: If you’re a Toyota Pickup or even Tacoma owner these measurements should be very close to your own because Toyota didn’t change the 6ft bed layouts all that much over the years. You can expect to find an east-west facing bed that can accommodate most people, The bed’s dimensions are 60×80 which is very generous for a camper bed. You will also be supplied with a 30-gallon freshwater tank and fully molded integrated work surfaces for your convenience. We drop cut a 9”x9” hatch into Sections #1 & #2 to access the storage spaces in front of the wheel wells. Then we used a tupperware container to trace a nice rounded square to follow with the jigsaw. You simply go to your local hardware store and pull the 2” PVC pipe and fittings you need, cut, and assemble. Everything was left to cure per the manufacturer’s recommendations, and then reassembled. The Camperbox capitalizes on the convenience of sleeping in your vehicle with a small, packable conversion kit for a back-of-the-car bed. Wherever one’s adventures lead, a camper shell is the perfect, lightweight companion that won’t break the bank. Truck bed campers are among the most versatile ways to go on a camping trip. Then the Side Walls and Back Walls were attached to one another with Horizontal Kreg Jig joints. This laid the foundation for our truck bed sleeping platform design, and helped in planning the rest of the build. These 3 sections were cut from one 4x8 piece of plywood. The truck shell camping platform is the foundation of any DIY pickup truck camping build. However, this is not an ideal solution for long-term travel, overlanding, or extended truck canopy camping trips. After hours spent sitting in the pickup truck bed dreaming about the possibilities, we created this very rough design and began taking measurements and gathering materials and tools. In our first sleeping platform build we used long drawer slides and custom built-in storage to house all of our gear and equipment in a fixed and organized fashion in a full-width truck bed sleeping platform. So, I designed a storage unit of my … The common feature is the ability to demount the camper from the truck. And as you can see on the right, a 4”x5” hole was cut from the rear Passenger-side support to allow for longer items (like my Tenkara fly rod!) The build cost of this option is variable. $1,500: Truck Bed Cap. The Sleeping Platform Cover consists of 4 sections. After triple checking all of that math, we then mounted the drawer slides to the drawer supports as shown in the above photo. 4 - 4ftx8ft cabinet grade 3/4in. Once the three drawer walls (the two sides and back) were joined to the top of the drawer base and to one another, we were able to place Drawer #1 in between the drawer slides. However, we did not want these sections to require being screwed down into the supports, but instead wanted to find a way for them to rest on top. Sale. Portable Camping Power Part 3: Selecting a Camping Power Supply, How to Choose a Truck Canopy for Truck Shell Camping, Choosing the Best SUV or Truck Bed Mattress [Memory Foam vs Air Mattress vs Sleeping Pad], How to Choose The Best Dual Battery Setup, How to Install a Vent Fan in Your Truck Camper. This allows enough width for the cover sections to rest on securely without the need to screw them down, enabling us to easily and quickly remove the entire platform cover to access electrical or make repairs if needed. Each of the four Platform Cover Sections and the hatch lids were removed and bedlined separately, and the drawer faces, rear-facing surfaces of the supports, and platform base were done at the same time. From one ¾” thick 4x8 plywood board we cut: 3 Long Drawer Supports cut @ 7” tall x 71” long, 3 Short Driver-side supports cut @ 7” tall x 11” long, 2 Short Passenger-side supports cut @ 7” tall x 13 ½” long. It’s great for solo truck camping setups in a traditional camper shell or to optimize a truck camping setup with one of the newer wedge campers or pop-up style truck camper designs. Set it up the same way as it was in your truck and now you have a bed with storage! Thank you for your interest in our site! **TIP: check your table saw or circular saw blade to make sure that the blade is set at a true 90 degrees. Lay a few 3/16” thick pieces of plywood under the drawers to lift the drawers off the Platform Base while mounting. Save a pin for later if you want to come back to this post! You should then draw a layout of the bed. This is to leave room for our drawer faces to close flush in between the supports (see the below diagram to see how the drawer faces sit inside the drawer supports when closed). Essentially, it’s what makes your truck camping rig a home. Also, dragging your gear out in bins poses increased challenges if you’re hoping to stealth camp. The photo below shows the 3rd Width Addition we added to the rear passenger-side support, which helps to support Platform Cover Sections # 2 and 4 (discussed below). This is a great option when weight is a concern, because, unlike wooden truck bed sleeping platforms, PVC is very light. Plus with a child and all things that go along with them, this amount of disorganization would inevitably lead to marriage counselling. First we outlined the footprint of the truck bed to calculate how much space we had to work with and roughly how much plywood we would need. Contact Us, truck camping, overlanding, camp kitchen, gear. It works … This is definitely the most common option for creating a truck bed sleeping platform, and can provide a good mix of sleeping and storage solutions while truck shell camping. Somewhere to store dirty gear, shoes, etc. Next, you need to buy all the tools and materials that you will require for … No hammering necessary. Pro tip: the width near the cab and the width near the tailgate might be slightly different. Milliard Truck Tent | Standard 6.5ft Bed. Alternatively, in our latest sleeping platform build - optimized for either solo truck camping or a diy truck camper build using one of the latest wedge campers - we combined a mix of fixed drawer storage and modular storage to build a very versatile truck camping sleeping platform setup with an overall lower weight. A three-way refrigerator is also standard equipment in the Milner. Guide Gear Truck Tent. It’s also very easy to deconstruct and remove when not needed. The joint lowest priced tent on the list (which is a pretty … Kitchen appliances. And without any sleeping platform at all, you’ll be ready to go truck shell camping. For more truck camping and overlanding build tips and resources be sure to SUBSCRIBE for blog updates. Couple slats, a plywood platform, and voila: storage below, with sleeping area above. In the photos below you can see the two Width Additions mounted flush with the top of the 7” tall Drawer Supports. Drawer #1 Face cut @ 15 ¾” wide x 6 ⅞” tall, Drawer #2 Face cut @ 18 ½” wide x 6 ⅞” tall. UPDATE: We ended up going with a set of these stainless drawer handles* and they work great! Whether any camper can be used with your truck (2WD vs. 4WD, standard cab vs. extended cab, etc.) Section #4 was cut from a remnant from the drawer build. From your grandma’s backyard, to RV campsites, to the unexplored forests in your region. For more truck camping and overlanding build tips and resources be sure to SUBSCRIBE for blog updates. Although these sleeping platform builds are a bit more expensive than the other truck shell camping platform methods, as well as more technical to build, you should know that we had virtually zero carpentry experience going into our first build. and its capacities for carrying and /or towing - how much optional equipment is added to the truck camper - what you tow - and the weight of passengers and all other items you carry in your truck and camper. As you’ll see in the next section below - “Making The Truck Bed Sleeping Platform Cover” - we designed the Platform Cover to be four separate pieces of plywood that can easily be removed independently of each other. When the platform is removed or lowered, you gain increased headroom to make your truck camper a more comfortable place in inclement weather. to be stored alongside the passenger-side wheel well. This means we may receive a small commission, at no additional cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link. All-in our truck bed sleeping platform took about 3 long days to build. Sections #1, 2 and 3 were cut from one ¾” thick 4x8 sheet of plywood. If you’re not yet sure if pickup truck camping is right for you, check out our post on how we became a truck camping family for some inspiration, or head over to this post - Everything You Need to Know About Truck Bed Camping - to see practical info on how to get started. Milliard Truck Tent. You can spend less than a PVC sleeping platform build if you scrounge scrap materials from construction sites, or the scrap bins at your local lumber yard, or use materials you already have lying around. Or if you’re not entirely sure which sleeping platform option may be the best for your build, head on over to our post on choosing a truck bed sleeping platform. It’s essential to keeping you comfortable and organized, it acts as your kitchen when you’re hungry, your living room when the weather is crummy, and your bedroom when you come back to camp … See more ideas about truck bed, truck camping, truck bed camping. But all you need is a little time, patience, and the right tools and you can do just about anything. Check Latest Price. A truck camper is a demountable recreational vehicle (RV) that is loaded and unloaded from the bed of a full-size or mid-size pickup truck. It’s essential to keeping you comfortable and organized, it acts as your kitchen when you’re hungry, your living room when the weather is crummy, and your bedroom when you come back to camp after a long day of hiking and adventure. As we like to say at TCM, “If it doesn’t demount, it doesn’t count”. Yay math! Because we are for all intents and purposes complete carpentry noobs, throughout this guide we’ll make references to the below non-technical terms in order to help clarify parts of the assembly process. This “toenailing” gives the joint(s) an incredible amount of strength [link to Kreg Jig video]. And if the prospect of building your own truck bed sleeping platform seems completely overwhelming, know that we felt exactly the same way - having literally no prior experience with design or carpentry. This left us with 13” of interior width in Drawer#1 to house our stove! Outfitters Treehouse. The platform will allow you to store your camping supplies underneath your bed and eliminate the need to set up a tent. The first step in setting up your sleeping platform is taking measurements of the truck bed. Though a PVC sleeping platform like the one above does require the use of storage bins to store and organize your gear, this does allow you to store your gear under the platform in a slightly more organized fashion while truck shell camping. If a printable PDF of all the diagrams found below would help you in your build, you can print them at the bottom of the post. Best Value. The truck shell camping platform is the foundation of any DIY pickup truck camping build. *(This post contains affiliate links. You can literally just throw an air mattress, a sleeping bag, and some plastic storage containers* filled with gear in the bed of your truck, like our friend at #opt4scenic. Cost: Under $50 (mainly for the plastic storage bins). EASY- Setup is simple … However, using this amount of cabinet grade plywood does add a bit of extra weight to the truck, and it is also a bit of an ordeal to remove if needed. This sleeping platform also allows you to take advantage of the entire width between bed rails. Additionally, a camper shell and truck bed lock are essential for keeping people from stealing your items. Our mid/high-rise caps are with you for the long haul and large haul. Base Price: $10,500. For the sleeping platform to be complete you will need two outer boxes that go over your truck’s wheel wells. If you like to keep your pickup truck bed super clean, or you’re trying to avoid … If you’re interested in building a similar full width platform of your own, check out our detailed post - DIY Truck Bed Camper: Build the Ultimate Sleeping Platform. This U.S. military veteran … Note that they’re mounted 1” in from the end of the drawer supports. Elevated Truck Bed Sleeping Platform The first and most common approach is the elevated sleeping platform approach whereby you build a large plywood sheet or some other variation on that theme where you can place all your gear underneath, organized in drawers or boxes and then sleep above that. We used a 1 ½ inch hole saw to cut holes to use as handles in the Drawer Faces - this was kind of a FAIL and something we would not do again because they’re somewhat difficult to grip. Finally we measured, cut, and attached the Drawer Faces to the Drawer Walls and Drawer Base with horizontal Kreg Jig joints. Storage for long items - namely my Tenkara fly rod and our camp chairs, Drawer storage for all our kitchen, camping gear, and clothing that would make everything easily accessible, Enough headroom to still be able to sit up comfortably, **we ended up finding exterior solutions for these. By using cabinet grade plywood for the construction of a truck bed sleeping platform, you’ll be able to completely customize the build, strength, and storage options. Drawer #2 Base cut @ 17” wide x 70” long. So for about $700-$1000 (including the camper shell) you can have a great camping rig that you can be proud of. For many overlanders, there are three general choices: a camper (ie: a slide in truck bed camper), a roof top tent, or a sleeping platform either in an SUV or pickup truck with a cap. Then top with a sheet of at-least ½” plywood to serve as the sleeping platform. Most trucks feature a pre-installed tailgate table that can be used as a cooking … This also left 18 ¾” between the center drawer support and the passenger-side drawer support, which meant that Drawer#2 would have 15 ¾” of inside width after accounting for ¾” for each drawer slide and each drawer wall being ¾” thick plywood (again, a total of 3”). The short Driver-side and Passenger-side Supports (in front of and behind the wheel wells) were attached both vertically to the Platform Base and horizontally to the long Drawer Supports with Kreg Jig joints as shown in the picture below. This is obviously the cheapest and simplest option, and one I’m very fond of - as I grew up doing this with my family. * These are general guidelines to use when matching a Lance camper to your truck. We used a speed square to ensure all the supports stayed as close as possible to 90 degree angles from the base and the 48” EXACT square to make sure the supports were straight from front to back. You have the possibility of camping wherever you choose. You’ll find plenty of truck bed ideas fashions of botanical dining table and seats sets which can be popular in supplying marketplace. I also wanted to be able to use the entire bed of my truck on a daily basis, so a full-time sleeping/storage build was out of the question. Having a camper in the back of your truck provides you the gas mileage of tent camping with some of the organization of hauling a trailer and you won't get as wet when it rains. Drawer #1 Base cut @ 14 ½” wide x 70” long. We needed something more substantial, and because of our dual battery setup plans we needed fixed storage options for our equipment. While we had debated on staining the entire Truck Bed Sleeping Platform (it was built with cabinet grade red oak plywood afterall), we decided to use Duplicolor roll on truck bedliner* for a couple reasons: It provided more durable protection for the surface of the Sleeping Platform while hauling stuff around when we’re not truck camping, It is easily repairable - you literally just brush it on, It was WAY easier than staining and sealing that much surface area. You also need to determine the amount of space that is available to you at the back of your truck. But cost will increase when you begin buying plywood and integrating built in storage. And if you have any questions please hit us up in the comments section, or via email - we’d love to help you make your truck bed sleeping platform build a success! A 7 ¾” long 2”x1” piece of oak left over from cutting the Support Width Additions was attached to the underside of this section vertically using a couple Kreg Jig joints. So in this post we’ll walk you through the most common approaches to building a truck bed sleeping platform, while weighing some of the pros and cons of each. See our full disclosure.). A good camper shell can eliminate the worst aspects of having an open-air bed, while retaining the utility of a large storage area inherent to trucks, all without compromising a truck’s ability to carry a slide-in camper. We hope that this guide will help you realize your own pickup truck camping build. For one thing, setup time is greater than other options because you have to remove or at least rearrange your gear every time you stop to sleep or set up camp. Measure your truck bed and supplies The very first step is to accurately measure your truck to find out how much space you’ve got to work with. When you are done and you feel the pickup truck bed platform is put together correctly, install each piece in the truck. For more on our always evolving truck camper build and our adventures as a truck camping family of three, please SUBSCRIBE. Section #3 was cut to provide easy access to the rear driver-side storage area and wheel-well. Want to come back to this post later? Despite our strong desire to play an adult version of K’nex in the back of our truck, this just wasn’t the option for us. If you want to improve your security, you can devise a latching system using a hasp lock to provide an additional layer of security. plywood boards - we used red oak (not the lightest option), 1 - 500 piece box of 1 ¼ inch Kreg Jig screws*, 2 Sets - 60” long 500lb rated drawer slides * (for a total of 4 separate slides), 1 - box #8 1/2 inch self-tapping screws (for attaching the drawer slides), 1 - box #10 1/2 inch self-tapping screws (also for attaching the drawer slides), This was a game changer for executing our truck bed sleeping platform build and drawer system - this is a MUST HAVE tool if you’re carpentry noobs like us, Speed Square* and 48” T-Square* (great for making nice square cuts on long pieces of plywood). We did not bedline any unexposed surfaces. This may also, depending on build design, make the truck shell camping platform slightly more difficult to remove when needed, and is a good bit heavier than the previously discussed PVC truck bed platform option. Let’s go through the options in order of expense, so you can stop reading when your wallet cries uncle. A Note About Security: For both personal safety and peace of mind, make sure your truck bed camping build-out is secure.Both your tailgate and the canopy should have locks, but make sure they’re up to snuff. This will be by far your largest expense, but it’s worth it—these are the walls to your house. To accomplish this, we made sure the center drawer support was positioned exactly 16” from the driver-side drawer support. Gather Materials and Tools. Determining your budget is a pivotal part of deciding which sleeping platform will be right for your truck shell camping adventures. For weekend camping trips and short-term travel this is a great truck bed camping solution since you can just as easily pull everything right back out and go about your daily life, while still being able to use your truck like a truck. This was done to support the rear most passenger-side corner of the section that would otherwise be unsupported. Though this truck shell camping platform sacrifices some headroom compared to other build methods, we were able to maximize headroom by making sure the platform was built to rest just at wheel-well height and as low as possible. We also notched out an access in Drawer #1 for our Cook Partner Stove knobs and handle using a jigsaw. Horizontal Kreg Jig Joints were used to secure them together end-to-end in the format you see above. For our purposes, this just was not the way we wanted to go down. And things get disorganized FAST! You can build something as simple as a frame using 2x4s with a piece of ½” to ¾” plywood over the frame to create a basic truck shell camping platform that provides a space beneath for storage bins, like the above example built by jhydro. DIY Truck Camping Sleeping Platform Measure the length of your truck and the width of your bed between the vertical side bins. We accomplished this by installing three Width Additions - 2”x1” oak boards - mounted flush with the top of three of the supports with horizontal Kreg Jig joints as shown in the diagram below. This will ensure your cuts are nice and square which will help the supports stay square when joining.**. The list was daunting, but we knew we wanted: Enough space to sleep 2 (plus a rapidly growing toddler) to 3 people comfortably, A pickup truck camping platform strong enough to still be used to haul things when not in use for truck camping - while also being removable if need be, Built in storage for a Dual Battery Setup using our Inergy Kodiak Solar Generator, 12V charging ports for cell-phones & laptops. Cut a sheet of 1/2″ plywood to fit. COMMERCIAL. These serve to support Platform Cover Sections # 1 and 3 (discussed below). We also initially needed a wide enough (and strong enough) sleeping area to comfortably fit two adults and a growing toddler, and most transformer style sleeping platform builds didn’t allow for this. A truck camping setup that you can easily take in and out. Truck shell camping is an incredible way to travel and experience the outdoors; we hope this guide has helped you choose the best truck bed sleeping platform design for your own truck camping setup or overlanding build. Snap! We decided to place a ¾” plywood Platform Base on the bed of the truck to provide a nice level foundation to build the platform on, and by dividing the Platform Base into 3 sections it makes it easier to fit into the bed (and remove if needed) with the camper shell still on. We’ll reach out to you in the future if we post more content we think you’ll like. A few more things I want to make mention of is that our bed will actually rest from the passenger side of the truck bed to the sidewall of the drawers on the driver side. We then mounted the drawer to the slides per the manufacturer’s directions. If you want fun, freedom, and adventure, you want a truck camper. With the freedom they give you of setting up campsite anywhere your pickup truck can go. Each choice is made based on vehicle choice, budget and living/lifestyle needs of the traveler. I am not going to knock any one specific set up because they all have their advantages and disadvantages. The Drawer Base is what we refer to the bottom of the drawer as. Though we were inspired by many of the modular truck bed sleeping platforms that utilized a mixture of wood sleeping platform build and storage bins, we wanted something more organized and built in. MID/HIGH-RISE. This can lead to lost or misplaced gear, and abounding frustration - especially when you can’t find that choice bag of coffee in the morning that you swear you packed! Notice that the 5” tall Drawer Walls slide underneath them with plenty of clearance. Refrigerator is also standard equipment in the Milner this amount of strength [ link to Kreg Jig video ] and! Camper from the platform and unload it section by section Us to sit upright inside our! # 1 and 3 were cut from one ¾ ” thick 4x8 sheet of plywood Under the drawers lift! Work surfaces for your convenience Generator, and aluminum propane tank bed, truck camper build and our as! Simple and stable square when joining. * * vs. 4WD, standard cab vs. extended cab etc... ( mainly for the sleeping platform to be complete you will require for … at Atlas! One ¾ ” thick 4x8 sheet of plywood Under the drawers to lift the drawers lift... Was cut to provide easy access to the rear most passenger-side corner of the.. 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Purposes, this amount of disorganization would inevitably lead to marriage counselling store and pull the 2 PVC... % more space than a cab-high model and save on fuel with aerodynamics! Of research in camper forums to hit on the convenience of sleeping in your truck camping and overlanding build and. Have their advantages and disadvantages ’ t count ” t demount, ’. Purchase through a link a Lance camper to your truck bed sleeping platform to be complete you need. Any one specific set up because they all have their advantages and disadvantages Us to sit upright inside with feet... 3 sections were cut from a remnant from the drawer build but cost increase...
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