ginmtb
'74 FJ40 - my first!
I recently went camping with a friend and decided to try to do a hammock inside my 40. I read some other threads that guys shared involving hammocks. I ran my ENO hammock from corner to corner (front passenger A pillar to driver side C pillar? The back corner.) I had to shorten up my hammock and while it did work, it was really difficult to get into a sleeping bag inside a hammock. And it was a cold night so a sleeping bag was a must! The Tuffy console did create a slight obstruction when the hammock sagged. Not awful but noticeable.
I figured there must be a better option (I had a tent but I wanted to figure out an in car setup). It had to be easy to set up and store and it had to create a nice flat-ish surface so I could lay a sleeping pad and sleeping bag on it. I was thinking a cargo net would do the trick! Tons of cargo nets on the market but I wanted something that was really strong. I found the Gladiator Cargo Net in a search and it could hold a ton of weight. But at $139 for the size that would fit (4.75' x 6'), seemed more than I wanted to spend. Gladiator Cargo Net | Heavy-duty Pickup Truck Cargo Net. I do like the mesh woven into the webbing as well as the tie down straps and carry bag being provided. And I'm sure it is lighter and folds up smaller than what I got. After I ordered the webbing below I did find it on eBay for $115 but still seemed like a lot for something that would get limited use.
In my search I stumbled across a climbing web mat from a school supply store. It was huge at 8' x 9' and had a rating of 1,100#. I couldn't beat the price at $42, on sale normally $269 (unfortunately all sold out now
). I added a box of sharpie markers to reach $49 to get free shipping (can you ever have too many sharpie markers?). This is it pictured below folded in half in the width direction and then about 2' folded on the length direction. So about 4.5' x 6'.
For anchor points I used the following:
At the passenger side B pillar and the driver side rear corner. Removed the two bolts that are one of many that hold the top to the side panels. Metric so you can even use the same nut if you want.
KEN FORGING Eyebolt,M6 x 1.00,19.0mm,Lift w/Shoulder - 3XTA8|M6 - Grainger
Used these at the A pillar on both sides and I added one to one bolt on each hinge for the hatch (I only use one as an anchor - the other is a handy hanger for a lantern or anything else that can be hung - you can see it in the ENO hammock shot above in the upper left hand corner)
BUYERS PRODUCTS Rope Ring,Steel,1/4" dia.,2000 lb. Cap. - 426U82|B21 - Grainger
Use these to connect the webbing mat to the anchor points.
PEERLESS Quick Link,1/4in,880 lb Work Load Limit - 38XH96|PEE-8056235 - Grainger
I had a nice metric bolt kit with grade 11 bolts so I used those too. Everything was load rated, I think the eye bolts were the weak link at 210kg working load limit = 462#. Overkill? Absolutely. But last thing I want to do is come crashing down in the middle of the night.
Super comfy! And rock solid! No creaking of any kind when I climbed on top of the webbing. I put down an old foam sleeping pad to disperse the load so the webbing didn't create pressure points - a slightly wider one would be nice but not necessary. With a sleeping bag and pillow it will be really nice. The dual fan setup in the photo is a 12V battery powered model that I was using during my testing because it was pretty warm. I had it plugged into my big portable car charger/starter. I'm sure I'll bring that along but I wouldn't have it on the webbing. Probably on the rear bed just to circulate some air.
So if you're looking for a way to sleep in your 40 without taking out a seat to build a platform, this works really well. All in about $60-$65. I may end up cutting the web mat in half to reduce its size/weight so that would definitely reduce the cost per unit. If you installed another anchor at the driver side B pillar, you could disconnect the A pillar anchors and roll the web back. Then you could use it as storage during the drive to your campsite - it will obstruct some of your rear view however. But another option for the limited storage in our beloved 40's.
I figured there must be a better option (I had a tent but I wanted to figure out an in car setup). It had to be easy to set up and store and it had to create a nice flat-ish surface so I could lay a sleeping pad and sleeping bag on it. I was thinking a cargo net would do the trick! Tons of cargo nets on the market but I wanted something that was really strong. I found the Gladiator Cargo Net in a search and it could hold a ton of weight. But at $139 for the size that would fit (4.75' x 6'), seemed more than I wanted to spend. Gladiator Cargo Net | Heavy-duty Pickup Truck Cargo Net. I do like the mesh woven into the webbing as well as the tie down straps and carry bag being provided. And I'm sure it is lighter and folds up smaller than what I got. After I ordered the webbing below I did find it on eBay for $115 but still seemed like a lot for something that would get limited use.
In my search I stumbled across a climbing web mat from a school supply store. It was huge at 8' x 9' and had a rating of 1,100#. I couldn't beat the price at $42, on sale normally $269 (unfortunately all sold out now
). I added a box of sharpie markers to reach $49 to get free shipping (can you ever have too many sharpie markers?). This is it pictured below folded in half in the width direction and then about 2' folded on the length direction. So about 4.5' x 6'.
For anchor points I used the following:
At the passenger side B pillar and the driver side rear corner. Removed the two bolts that are one of many that hold the top to the side panels. Metric so you can even use the same nut if you want.
KEN FORGING Eyebolt,M6 x 1.00,19.0mm,Lift w/Shoulder - 3XTA8|M6 - Grainger
Used these at the A pillar on both sides and I added one to one bolt on each hinge for the hatch (I only use one as an anchor - the other is a handy hanger for a lantern or anything else that can be hung - you can see it in the ENO hammock shot above in the upper left hand corner)
BUYERS PRODUCTS Rope Ring,Steel,1/4" dia.,2000 lb. Cap. - 426U82|B21 - Grainger
Use these to connect the webbing mat to the anchor points.
PEERLESS Quick Link,1/4in,880 lb Work Load Limit - 38XH96|PEE-8056235 - Grainger
I had a nice metric bolt kit with grade 11 bolts so I used those too. Everything was load rated, I think the eye bolts were the weak link at 210kg working load limit = 462#. Overkill? Absolutely. But last thing I want to do is come crashing down in the middle of the night.
Super comfy! And rock solid! No creaking of any kind when I climbed on top of the webbing. I put down an old foam sleeping pad to disperse the load so the webbing didn't create pressure points - a slightly wider one would be nice but not necessary. With a sleeping bag and pillow it will be really nice. The dual fan setup in the photo is a 12V battery powered model that I was using during my testing because it was pretty warm. I had it plugged into my big portable car charger/starter. I'm sure I'll bring that along but I wouldn't have it on the webbing. Probably on the rear bed just to circulate some air.
So if you're looking for a way to sleep in your 40 without taking out a seat to build a platform, this works really well. All in about $60-$65. I may end up cutting the web mat in half to reduce its size/weight so that would definitely reduce the cost per unit. If you installed another anchor at the driver side B pillar, you could disconnect the A pillar anchors and roll the web back. Then you could use it as storage during the drive to your campsite - it will obstruct some of your rear view however. But another option for the limited storage in our beloved 40's.
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